MISFIT IN THE CITY: Series One

Episode Two: THE BIRTHDAY PARTY (part 1)

[In this next episode, Neena tries to address her hook-up drought, and someone's about to have a birthday party! So let's begin with part 1, enjoy... :-)]

Episode Two: THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

Part One

Neena had once heard that all great love stories begin at the bar. She'd heard it from herself and her single friends, back when they'd been in their mid-twenties, a time when they'd believed that they could actually find love at a bar.

At thirty-three, the story was a little different. Neena didn't want to find love at a bar. She wanted to drink impressive cocktails, and maybe wind up with an impressive hook-up before the night was over. This need was as important as ever, considering the fact that she hadn't had gotten laid since midway through her European summer. In the grander scope, two months wasn't a long time at all for someone like Neena. In fact, she had that special ability to be like a "sex camel," surviving sex-less stretches for over a year when necessary, during times when her single life had been rather bleak.

The marathon accomplishment in deprivation was all well and good, but Neena didn't want to merely be a survivor. She wanted to be a champion, even if the game was a superficial contest of a wham-bam rendez-vous.

Her quest for winning was set to begin on a warm night in early September. Neena hurried down a busy Midtown street, dressed to impress for the upscale bar that awaited. On a normal night, Neena wasn't likely to seek out a bar in the corporate-heavy area of Midtown, but she was meeting Alice for drinks at a happening Asian place called "Ko." Securing quality time with her married best friend on a weeknight was a rarity, so Neena had naturally jumped at the chance. As an added bonus, the waiters at Ko were eighty-percent male, above-average attractive, and very flirty, all of which she'd discovered from her aggregated research on Google Reviews and Yelp.

She stepped into the dark and sexy setting of Ko. At the front there was a lounge for mingling and sharing apps while looking sexy, whereas the back was an intimate restaurant environment.

She followed the dimly lit orange glow of the lounge straight up to the bar, where her date Alice was surrounded by a group of friends. Upon closer inspection, the people surrounding Alice seemed to be her advertising co-workers, a fact that confused Neena.

Alice's eyes lit up as she noticed Neena approaching. "You made it!"

Neena kept a safe distance between herself and Alice's crew, not wanting the corporate life she'd left behind to re-envelop her.

"Is this a work drinks thing?" Neena said. "Because I can just meet you after you're done."

"Don't be silly!" Alice said. "I thought the drinks would be quick, but now that you're here...why don't we all hang together?"

"Hang?" Neena said, already full of suspicion.

"By the way, have you met Kevin?" Alice gestured to a thirty-something man in a suit.

The next thing Neena knew, introductions were being made, and the next-next thing she knew, she'd been blind-sided into a set-up.

Neena discreetly pinched Alice's forearm.

"Ow!" Alice said wincing.

"What the hell, dude?" Neena whispered. "Are you actually match-dot-comming me?"

Alice smiled innocently. "Just have a harmless chat and see where it goes!"

It was hard to be upset with Alice, because the thing about grown-up BFFs, was that one of them always got married before the other. And the one who got married first? She was the one who would make it her personal mission to close the gap. It was a thoughtful gesture at its core, albeit pushy and presumptuous. On the other hand, if it could somehow aid Neena in her quest to end the night in a hook-up...maybe it had potential.