Imperfections by Shaniel Watson Page B

home. How's Conner?"
    "He's doing great. I think I have the most well-behaved baby in the world, he's so cute I could just eat him up and I know a lot of mothers say this but I think he's going to be a genius."
    Chloe stops chewing and rolls her eyes. "Are you serious, Isabelle? You sound like every other woman that's given birth and they all sound freaking ridiculous."
    My eyes shift between Chloe and Isabelle as they speak. I always thought Chloe was pretty or exotic as most guys say when they see a girl and they don't know exactly what race she is. Exotic with her slanted eyes and glossy pin straight hair, it's a good mix with her brown skin. Isabelle is fair-skinned with curly blond hair. She used to live in L.A. and came east to go to college. They're total opposites but somehow they're friends. Isabelle is an optimist and Chloe…isn't. That's the only way I can describe Chloe.
    "I do not. I know my child, he's doing things most babies his age can't do yet."
    "What is he doing, pooping and sucking his toes at the same time?"
    "When you have kids, Chloe, you'll understand." Isabelle brushes her curly blond hair out of her face.
    "That's why I'm not going to have kids for a long time. They turn your brains to mush. Your whole life has to revolve around them. I don't have time for that. I have to keep my manicure, pedicure, hair, and the most important one, my body, tight. Can't do that with a kid hanging off your breast. Laws of gravity you know."
    Ava raises her hand in agreement with Chloe and Isabelle narrows her eyes at them. "Girl, I agree with you on some of what you said."
    Isabelle and I give her the really-you're-agreeing-with-Chloe look.
    "Let me clarify, I do not want to have kids until after I'm married because I don't care what people say, your body does change. I need the body I have right now to be stretch mark free and perky. Don't give me that look, Isabelle, you know your body has changed since you've had your baby genius."
    "My body has changed a little but it's still the same and Kevin loves my post-baby body because he loves me and that's all that matters. If a guy is really into you, he won't care about what's on the outside, he'll want to get to know what's on the inside first."
    We all look at each other and laugh and speak at the same time.
    "Right!"
    "We all know most guys are visual. If they like what they see, they'll eventually find out what you have going on upstairs if you keep your legs closed long enough for them to find out," Isabelle says.
    Chloe looks at Isabelle, combing her fingers through her short, black hair with a streak of blue framing her face. "That's not what you told me when you hooked up with Kevin at a frat party the first time you met. In the biblical sense he really got to know your insides first, while you were bent over the bathroom sink."
    Isabelle's face turns beet red. "Chloe, I told you that in secret, big mouth."
    "Who here hasn't hooked up and had a one-nighter in college. At least you married yours and you're happy," Chloe says, looking around the table at us.
    Everyone here except for me. Couldn't bring myself to do a one-night stand, that's just not me. I came close with one or two guys but I couldn't.
    Tapping her fingers on the table Chloe whispers, "Omg, don't look, there is a hottie looking over here."
    "Where?" Isabelle says, looking in the direction of the guy by the door.
    "I said don't look."
    "I think he's walking over here to our table. If I wasn't in love with my husband—"
    "Well I sure as hell don't have a husband. I'm willing and able to fulfill all his fantasies, he is smoking hot!"
    "You're acting like you've never seen a man before." I turn to see the smoking hot man and I can't believe my eyes. Ava. I know she has something to do with him showing up here. She picks up her glass of water to take a sip and I mouth to her, "I'm going to kill you." My back is turned to him and I feel him walk up behind my chair. I can see Isabelle and Chloe