Since Forever Ago by Olivia Besse

agreement.
    “But then her phone started buzzing like crazy!” Audrey continued, a disbelieving look on her face. “Can you believe it? The second that he thinks Riley’s ignoring him, he starts sending her a bunch of messages like some desperate little teenager!”
    “Do tell,” Liz said with a grin.
    “It’s so crazy,” Riley mumbled, shaking her head at the absurdity of it all. “The moment I decide to move on, he tries to claw his way back in.”
    “At that point, she was so buzzed that she’d already entered ‘I hate him’ territory,” Audrey commented cheerfully. “He never even stood a chance.”
    “First, he was all, ‘How’ve you been?’ I’ve been shitty, that’s how I’ve been, you dickwad,” Riley muttered in disgust. “Then came ‘I miss you.’ After I ignored that too, he sent me a ‘do you miss me?’ and then a ‘can I come see you?’ Who the hell does he think he is?”
    “Don’t forget the ‘I can’t stop thinking about you’. Oh! And the ‘is it too late?’” Audrey added with a wrinkle of her nose. “Duh! How about an entire month too late, asshole!”
    “Disgusting,” Liz seethed in disapproval.
    “I guess it’s true what they say,” Audrey murmured in a somber voice. “The heart wants what it can’t have.”
    “So that’s it?” Liz asked. “You’re done?”
    “I’m done!” Riley squealed in relief.
    “Or at least until this vodka wears off,” Audrey whispered into Liz’s ear.
    “Well, cheers to that,” Liz said, clinking her glass against each of their own. “To being pathetic, lonely spinsters together.”
    “Look on the bright side,” Riley attempted. “We’re all single now. Together and united.”
    “Is there really anything bright about that?” Liz mused before downing the rest of her drink.
    “We can go man hunting together,” Audrey murmured. “The world is our oyster.”
    “She’s right. Maybe we can find you a nice distraction tonight,” Riley added with a shrug
    “I don’t want a distraction. I don’t even know how to interact with guys our age! All I ever did with Henry was grab coffee, pick up dry cleaning and go out for dinner at 6 PM.”
    “Well, today’s your lucky day,” Riley began with a small smile. “Because it just so happens that I’ve pretty much cracked the code on dating.”
    It was about time that Riley came clean to her friends, especially since all three of them were single for once. Now that she was pretty much over Noah, save for the fleeting moments during which she had practically flung herself across the table in hopes of wrestling her phone out of Audrey’s death grip, she really needed to step up her efforts if she wanted to meet a quality guy. And what better way was there to accomplish that than with two awesome wingwomen by her side?
    “What the hell are you talking about?” Liz mumbled out, staring at Riley with an unimpressed look on her face. “You’ve been on nothing but horrible dates for the past month.”
    “The issue wasn’t me ,” Riley insisted, rolling her eyes dismissively. “Those guys were just socially inept! But my techniques should work swimmingly with normal guys! We just have to meet them!”
    “Swimmingly?”
    “I know what guys really want,” Riley told her proudly, prompting Audrey’s gaze to dart over once the seemingly magical words left her mouth. “Max has been teaching me for the past month.”
    “Max?” Liz blurted out with a cringe. “What would Max know about girls? You could smell his fear of commitment from a mile away.”
    “Exactly!” Riley stated matter-of-factly. “He’s the pickiest guy I’ve ever met. Of course he’d have the best advice!”
    “I don’t know...”
    “Plus, he’s really cute!” Audrey said with a nod. “Cute guys are the hardest to impress.”
    “So what exactly did Cutie Pie Fletcher have to say?” Liz asked, skeptically raising her eyebrow in interest.
    “First of all, he told me to cut the independent