Chase Me

1

"Okay okay, I'm gonna go"

I walked over to the mirror and stared at myself. My hair was a frizzy mess and my nails desperately needed to be done. It didn't help that I have bags under my eyes from working the night shift line.

"Opal I'm telling you for the millionth time, you probably won't meet a man in your apartment, or on your way to work, or at the supermarket, you need to go OUT OUT"

"Shut up! I said I was going...but it's going to be awkward, I literally want to die already".

Imani laughed, we've had this conversation before and it always ended in me saying I would try to go out on my own but never did.

Imani and I have been friends for 11 years and she is the only friend that I could trust with my life. She was 3 years older than me and managed to marry a millionaire. I always begged her to share the prayer she used to get her man but she told me it was all strategy. The same strategy that I still couldn't bring myself to adapt.

"You'll be fine. Here's what you're going to do. Go to the french restaurant on 90th Avenue, Mark always goes there with his buddies for lunch, all you have to do is show up there looking pretty and let nature do its work."

"I'm supposed to go to an upscale restaurant by myself? C'mon do you even know me?" I rolled my eyes with the thought of how this would turn out.

"Who's the stay at home wife doing pilates now hoe? You asked how I got my man and I'm trying to help you out. Just trust me on this." Even though we were on the phone I could sense her smiling.

"Okay, you win, when I show up looking like an IDIOT, what do I do next?" I belted. Walking over to the closet, I started to contemplate if I really wanted to go through this.

Let me see, I've been single for the last 3 years, no luck on dating sites, only creeps and hookups. I live in a crappy area and the guys here....well let's just say I would be the one paying for their bus ticket.

"You're going to go straight to the bar, if you go to a table, everyone is going to assume you came there with someone. Secondly, you can't be on your phon-"

"You can just stop there Imani, if I cant be on my phone what am I gonna do? Stare into space? Into a wall?"

"Will you just shut up and listen, you CAN'T be on your phone because it won't make you seem open to approach. What you can do is bring a book, either to read or to write in and before you interrupt me, the book is going to make you look mysterious, and it's going to be a conversation starter, you know like 'oh hey what you reading'."

"Understood?" Imani continued. I heard her loud and clear and I understood exactly what she wanted me to do but I didn't know if I was capable of doing that.

I cleared my throat "Yes Mani, I got it, understood, comprehende, I'm gonna do it but only if you come with me, you know, to bail me out if after half an hour literally no one comes up to me."

"Okay done!" she squealed, "but I'm not coming in with you, I'll stay outside in my car and if you need me I'm there. I don't think you'll need me though, I'd snatch you up in 30 seconds. Try and be ready for 1pm, that's usually when all the hotties arrive and Opal, for the love of God please wear some heels, not those cheap looking ones from Walmart you got last week though. Bye love you!"

I stared at the phone as this hoe just hung up on me. That little voice in my head kept screaming 'so desperate, imagine going through with this just to meet a man.' It was right but I was 26 and I wanted to be married and have a family of my own. If I couldn't find a good match where I was, I would make myself be seen somewhere else. I mean nothing wrong in that, I'm not doing the chasing, I'm just putting myself where I can be chased.