Naughty Resolution - Cassie Cole Page 0,1

on one date per week. Or let Brad hook you up with one of his friends.”

“I don’t have any single friends,” Brad said. “Unless you count my coworker who just got divorced at age fifty-nine.”

Britney waved a hand in his face while focusing on me. “My point is you can try, Laura. And then you would have a date to our wedding!”

I laughed and pointed with my wine glass. “There it is. The real motivation behind your pestering.”

“She has a one-track mind right now,” Brad fake-whispered to me, loud enough for Britney to hear. “The wedding is the only thing she cares about.”

“It’s a fringe benefit!” she replied. “My primary motivation is I want my bestie to be happy. As happy as I am. Come on. It wouldn’t hurt to just say the words! Put it out into the universe and see what happens!”

Britney was like a dog chasing a tennis ball: she wasn’t going to give up until she got what she wanted. So I downed the rest of my wine and said, “Okay, fine. My resolution is to find my soulmate this year.”

Britney squealed with glee and threw her arms around me. “We should drink to celebrate.”

“No, I just had—”

“Bartender! Three more shots!”

I took another shot to appease my friend. We made our way out to the dance floor and danced to bad music for a while, then returned to the bar for more drinks. We laughed and drank and exchanged stories about the good and bad things that had happened this year.

Before we knew it, the entire bar crowd started counting down from ten. We all turned to face the televisions behind the bar, which showed the Gateway Arch lit up with spotlights.

“FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO! ONE!”

Everyone roared: “HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

The crowd in the bar cheered and toasted, and everyone partnered off for midnight kisses. I looked around the room at my friends and coworkers. Everyone seemed so happy.

But I felt alone.

I opened the dating app on my phone. Maybe Britney has a point…

*

I don’t remember much after that.

Sunlight streamed through the windows onto my face, bright and oppressive. My head pounded. My vision was blurry when I opened my eyes, and it took a few blinks before I could see anything. I was strewn out on Britney’s couch. A blanket was draped over me, but underneath I was still wearing last night’s cocktail dress.

“Ugh,” I groaned as I sat up.

There was a noise behind me in the kitchen. “Bacon or sausage?” Brad asked.

I slowly turned my head. “Neither.”

He was standing in front of the stove. Something sizzled in a pan, and the smell of cooking meat floated out to me. “You need to eat something,” he insisted while focusing on the skillet. “Best way to get over a hangover is some greasy food.”

I pushed off the couch and walked over to the breakfast bar attached to the kitchen. “Britney still asleep?”

“Dead to the world,” Brad replied. “She sleeps like a corpse.”

I chuckled while watching him scramble eggs in a bowl. I definitely wished I had a man to cook me breakfast. Someone to snuggle with on weekend mornings. Staying in bed all day, comfortable and happy under the covers.

“You get any bites?” Brad asked.

I frowned at the food. “Bites? What?”

“Any bites on that dating site,” he said.

I laughed it off. “We’re only a few hours into the new year. I’m going to need a day or two.”

Brad looked up from the skillet and frowned. “After walking home from the bar, you and Brits spent an hour messaging guys online. It sounded like you had some success…”

I stared at him for a few seconds, then pulled out my phone. When I saw what was waiting for me on the online dating app, I groaned. I had messaged a bunch of different guys with the same cheesy, misspelled line. Josh, Theo, Isaac, Quinn, Dante. It went on and on. I opened the first one:

Me: Wanta be my newyars revolution?

Josh: LOL. I’m assuming you mean your New Year’s resolution?

Me: That was a tesht

Me: To maek sure u love me for whoo I am

Me: (You past)

Josh: Good to know I PASSED ;-)

Me: Ur sxy

Me: I wanta lick ur chest

“Oh my God,” I said. “I can’t believe I said that!”

“That bad, huh?” Brad asked.

“It looks like I have a date with Josh tonight at six.”

“Josh?” Britney asked as she came walking out of the bedroom. Her hair was crazy, but she looked bright and perky. “I thought you had a date