Alex stepped into the coffee shop and was instantly in a lung-crushing hug. “Alex! It’s so good to see you! How was San Diego?”

            “Fantastic. Aw, I missed you, Dana!” Alex pulled away and kissed her friend on the cheek, taking a step back and looking her over. “And you look great!”

            “Oh shut up. You look amazing.” Dana grabbed Alex’s hand and led her to the table the tennis player was seated at. There sat five ladies she had never seen before, and Bette Porter, who she had broken up with roughly four months previously. “Everyone, this is Alex Elliots. Alex, this is Alice, Kit, Carmen, Tina, Helena, and Bette. Jenny’s also apart of our little group, but she couldn’t make it.”

            “Hey,” Alex said, smiling genially. “Listen, I really want to get to know you guys, but Shane’s waiting for me outside. So, Dana, I’ll call you later, okay? Oh, by the way, Derek wanted to listen in.”

            “Oh, that’s fine,” Dana said, giving Alex another hug. “But you have to come hang out with us soon, okay? I’ve missed you!”

            “Alright, I promise.” Alex squeezed her hard and said, “It was nice to meet you all! Bye, Dana,” before returning to the parking lot. Shane was fingering her cell phone when Alex got back in the car.

            “You ready?” Shane asked, tucking her phone back into her pocket.

            “That depends…do you wanna hear something that’s going to be fucking hilarious?”

            Shane raised an eyebrow. “…Sure…”

            Without any further explanation, Alex got her phone out and put it on speakerphone, placing it on Shane’s dashboard.

Alice: “Okay —Dana— who the hell was that and why haven’t I slept with her?”

Dana: “Alexandra Elliots, my best friend in the entire world…besides you.”

Bette: “I didn’t know you two knew each other.”

Dana: “Wait —what?”

Bette: “Well…Alex and I were seeing each other for a few weeks before she went to San Diego.”

Tina: “Really? Her?”

Helena: “Well good job, Bette. That woman is second best to only Tina.”

Dana: “Ha, you wish you’d gone out with her. She would’ve told me. Besides, I hadn’t even introduced you yet.”

Alice: “And why hadn’t you? I swear to God: that’s the most fucking beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life. That’s the first time I’ve met her and she made me a little horny. Bette —is she as good at sex as she looks like she’d be?”