Girl Talk

“So, when he dropped me off, he said, ‘Thanks for coming with me tonight.’ It must have been a date. Sure, it may have been a spur of the moment thing as I got off work when he was leaving. But it counts, right?” asked Linda, looking between the girls who had come to hear her story. It started with Ramona, who had been serving Linda. Then Leigha and Anita joined after work. Then Sierra. Where the men were hiding, they didn’t know, nor did they care, as no customer seemed to be coming in at the moment, which might have been because the a/c had broken.

None of the girls want to admit the reason it wasn’t a date.

“It could have been a date,” offered Anita.

“You know Cyrus best,” added Leigha.

“Which worries me.”

Linda flopped her head on the table.

“What if we have reached the point in our relationship where we have to settle? We’re both steady with our jobs, but we barely see each other. We’ve been dating for over ten years. I’m at a loss on how to make it interesting or where we are going next when he is only putting in the smallest effort.”

“Sexy cosplay,” announced Leigha as she stood up. Any woman who was drinking spat out their tea.

“Cyrus has never been into cosplay…” whispered Linda, looking bothered by the subject as she twitched in her seat.

“Why would you even suggest something like that when you have no romantic experience?” asked Sierra as Leigha sat back down.

“It’s from a manga. Guys like seeing girls when they dress out of the ordinary for them. Plus, it’s not like you have any experience.”

“Fufufu, unlike you, I have a goal and one that is not male-centric. Until I reach my goal, men and romance are on hold.”

Everyone looked at Sierra with blank stares before Linda turned to Anita.

“I saw you attending the show with Norman. Are you both dating?”

“No, though we do go on dates. I am still looking for my soulmate.”

“Is it true that Shasta rescued you from some thugs at the beach?” teased Leigha, Anita turning pink.

“Thugs!?” gasped Linda and Ramona together.

“Not thugs, university students at the beach were teasing her, so Shasta stopped them. Even gave Anita his shirt to cover up,” answered Sierra taking a sip of tea. The women looked from her to Anita, who was turning bright red.

“H-how much did you see?”

“The whole thing. I was in line for ice cream when it happened.”

“You didn’t tell me he gave you his shirt,” yelled Leigha.

“Did you keep it?” asked Linda, leaning forward in her seat.

“I have yet to give it back. I cleaned it, and-and it’s in my locker.”

“Gah! That’s so cute,” squealed Leigha, hugging Anita with force.

“I should take one of Cyrus’ shirts, clean it and give it back to him,” pondered Linda.

“How would you even get into his house?” asked Ramona.

“How do you even know where he lives?” queried Sierra.

Linda smirked as she took a bite of the parfait Cyrus had made earlier, “A woman in love has her ways.”

“Speaking of a woman in love, how are you and my brother coming along?” asked Leigha. The women turned to Ramona, who was turning completely red.

“We had fun at the beach.”

“After you passed out.” Sierra poked Leigha, who pouted at the jab.

“It was nice not to have to worry about my clumsiness to have a normal day,” added Ramona. She looked down at the edge of the table, remembering that day.

All the girls sighed.

“What?” Ramona looked between the women.

“Don’t you love Miles?” asked Anita?

“L-love?”

“We established on Valentine’s Day that you like him. How are your feelings now after more than three months of establishing that?” asked Leigha.

Ramona looked down to her lap, completely red and confirmed, “I like him.”

“Squee.” Leigha jumped from her seat to Ramona’s.

“I finally got a sister-in-law!”

“But I don’t even know if he likes me back.”

The whisper stopped Leigha’s rocking. Linda placed an encouraging hand on Ramona’s shoulder.

“Boys tend to be a little dense about these things sometimes. He’ll come around so long as you keep making an effort with your feelings for him.”

 “And if anything, you can confess to him at the next team bonding,” added Sierra.

“Oh, wouldn’t that be romantic. We could go to the Obon Festival or something, and you can confess to him as the fireworks go off. It will be so cute,” cheered Leigha.

“Maybe I can make him see the Obon Festival as a date since he asked me to go with him,” commented Linda to herself, but the girls overheard.

“What?”