Girlfriends (Patrick Sanchez) by Patrick Sanchez Read Free Book Online

lived here, Mary?”
    “Why do you keep calling me Mary?” Gina said before remembering she lied about her name earlier.
    “Isn’t that your name?”
    “No, Gina. You must’ve misheard me.” God, she hoped he’d buy it. After all, it was pretty loud at Rumors. She figured she could convince him that he misunderstood when she introduced herself as Mary, and hopefully he wouldn’t ask about the White House.
    “Well, Gina, can I walk you home?” Griffin asked.
    “I guess so. Jerry, right?”
    “Griffin.”
    “Oh, yeah,” Gina said, taking a quick glimpse at his protruding belly, trying to decide if she could really ignore it.
    God! Am I that desperate? she thought, heading toward her apartment. She wasn’t sure if it was the liquor or the fatigue, but it was almost as if she were floating outside of her body and watching herself walk to her apartment with a fat, shapeless shlub.
    What are you doing? she called to herself from above. No, no, no! But she wasn’t able to stop herself. Somehow, tonight loneliness got the best of her and she needed a warm body, even if it was Griffin’s. It was finally happening. She was settling for whatever she could get. Of course, she could get better, but in the wee hours of a Sunday morning, Griffin was there and available. He would have to do.
    The thought of settling always scared Gina. She had seen so many of her friends do it—marry guys who were nice, and made a decent living, and might make good fathers—guys who they felt as passionate about as a doorknob. She didn’t want that for herself, but that was an easy philosophy to have when she was twenty-two. It was getting harder to remain steadfast as the big three-zero approached. She was truly amazed on the rare occasions when she met couples that were truly in love—where both partners were really into each other. With most couples it was obvious that one person was totally in love while the other person was there just to avoid being alone.
    There always seems to be a settler and a settlee. I don’t care to be either one, Gina thought to herself as she put the key into the door of her apartment.
    “Come on in,” she said to Griffin as she struggled to push the door open.

The Personals
    C heryl closed the front door behind her and dragged into her living room. She was getting really tired of the whole scene with Peter, and having a run-in with Gina certainly didn’t help matters. The whole mess had been going on for far too long. She was tired of being Peter’s friend. She was so over hearing him say how much he cared about her and enjoyed her company—how he loved her but wasn’t in love with her. She really didn’t know if she was “in love” with him either. That’s how she rationalized the whole ridiculous relationship. It was just as meaningless to her as it was to him, at least that’s what she tried to tell herself. Neither one of them had a significant other, so their arrangement allowed them to have dates to weddings and Christmas parties, kept them from eating in restaurants alone, and certainly provided a sexual outlet for both of them. She knew the moment she or Peter hooked up with someone else, they would adjust their friendship to a purely platonic relationship. Cheryl just hoped she found someone before Peter did.
    What the hell was Gina doing over at Peter’s in the wee hours of the morning? She’s worse than an ex-wife who won’t let go of her former husband, Cheryl thought to herself as she kicked off her shoes and plopped down onto the sofa. The whole feud between her and Gina was so stupid, but Cheryl had grown weary of trying to patch things up with Gina and gave up trying a long time ago.
    Cheryl missed having Gina as a friend. They were so much alike—both attractive, young, smart women who just couldn’t seem to get their act together, especially when it came to men. Cheryl used to think Gina would eventually forgive her, and one day they would be friends again. But, now that