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Being broke in college was rough.
Cady had banked on being able to secure a full scholarship, but she’d only gotten a partial. Her mom was a high school teacher, so she contributed as much as she could, but Cady still had to work a lot to pay for everything she needed.
She worked part-time at her college, tutoring and working in labs, but it still didn’t cover everything. Cady tried picking up a second part-time job a few times, mostly in restaurants, but the constant pressure to work more hours and the lack of control of when she worked didn’t gel with her school schedule.
She finally found a decent fit when she started driving for Lyft her junior year. It let her work whenever she had a block of free time, even when it was the middle of the night. Her bills got paid, and she didn’t always have to have her friends pay for her when they hung out…when she found any time to actually spend time with them.
Which brought up the secret extra perk of driving for Lyft: she got to meet a large variety of people without the pressures of having to ever see them again. For the most part, people either didn’t say anything to her, or they tried to make awkward small talk at the beginning of the ride before going on their phones or talking to other people in the car. Occasionally, people would want to talk the whole ride. A few people had just immediately fallen asleep. Only one person had given Cady creeper vibes, but he’d turned out to be okay (just VERY into unsolved murders…he tipped well).
There were downsides, obviously. It was pretty exhausting, and the pay wasn’t great (plus the wear-and-tear and gas ate into her profits), but it wasn’t the worst option, and it wasn’t going to be forever. She only had a little over a year left…she could manage it a little longer.
It was one night at the beginning of her senior year, that she picked up a pretty blonde that was talking to someone on her phone. The app said her name was Regina George. It only took a few seconds for Cady to realize she was in the middle of an argument, but she was trying to keep it down. Cady tried not to eavesdrop, but it was hard.
“Are you kidding me, Dre?” the blonde snapped into her phone. “I’m sorry I’m running late, okay? But you’ve been late to our last 5 dates.”
Cady tried not to eavesdrop, but it was hard. Regina was clearly trying to be quiet, but it was obvious that she was in the middle of an argument with whoever was on the other side of the call.
“I do have a job,” Regina snapped into the phone. “How fucking dare you say that? I…oh my God, I’m not doing this. I’m in a Lyft. Be at the restaurant or don’t, but I’m eating dinner. Bye.”
Regina locked eyes with Cady in the rearview mirror. “Sorry about that.”
“No worries,” Cady said. “Not the first argument I’ve heard.” Cady sort of wanted to ask who she was fighting with, but she kept the question to herself. They spent the rest of the ride mostly in silence, with Regina only asking Cady to change the radio station a few times.
They were there in no time, and Regina said a quick ‘thanks’ as she got out of the car. Cady gave her 5 stars. Cady usually gave her passengers 5 stars, but she made a point to do it for Regina, since it seemed like she was having a bad day.
It wasn’t much of anything. Cady probably would’ve forgotten about it soon after if it weren’t for a few things.
Regina George was…unusually gorgeous. Like, Cady didn’t think people like her existed in real life.
Regina gave her a huge tip. Big enough that she might not be stuck driving all night.
Cady got a notification that Regina had marked her as a favorite driver.
She smiled to herself. Something made her a little happy at the thought she might see this girl again.
—
It only took a week for Regina to call for another ride. She was standing outside of a gay club with two other girls.
“Hello!” Cady called out the window. The other two girls helped Regina into the passenger’s seat.
“Is it okay if she sits here?” one of the girls asked. “She’s pretty drunk, but she won’t let us come with her.”
“You don’t live on my side of town,” Regina slurred out. “Go home. I’ll call you when I wake up.”
“Are you sure we can’t go with you?” the other girl asked. “Gretchen’s gonna worry all night.”
Regina snarled at her. “Worry, then.”
“Regina, come on,” The first girl (Cady assumed that was Gretchen) said.
“I’ll be fiiiine,” Regina said, then she pointed at Cady. “She’ll get me home safe.”
“I’ll have her text when she gets inside,” Cady piped up. “If that helps.”
Gretchen smiled. “Yeah, that would be great. Thanks so much!”
Cady nodded and pulled away. Regina started messing with her radio, and Cady found it a little endearing.
“Your radio isn’t playing good music,” Regina said. “Make it play good music.”
Cady flicked through the stations a few times, until Regina batted her hand away and started to nod her head along with the song playing. Cady laughed a little and handed her a water bottle.
“Your friends seemed nice,” Cady said.
“Gretchen and Karen? Yeah, they’re fine,” Regina said. “Except they spent the entire night making out with each other and ignoring me, so I kind of hate them right now.”
Cady nodded. That must have been why they were at a gay club. She was a little disappointed, but it was probably for the best…Cady didn’t need to pine after a random girl that she’d picked up in her Lyft twice that had a boyfriend. Her love life was hopeless enough without that.
“Sorry about that,” Cady said. “I’ve played 5th wheel to my two best friends and their dates many times. Not fun.”
“Not at all,” Regina mumbled. “But it’s my fault. I’m the one that told them to start dating. I’ve regretted it every day since.” Regina put her hands over her eyes. “I’m gonna regret those last…3 shots in the morning, too.”
“You’ll be okay,” Cady said. “Just make sure you get some water. Maybe eat something.”
Regina looked over at her and gave her a small smile. “I knew there was a reason I liked you the first time.”
Cady wanted to ask more about that, but Regina was half asleep at this point. Cady probably wouldn’t get very valuable answers…but she was curious why Regina had favorited her after that first ride.
They pulled up to the address, and Regina turned to Cady and patted her on the cheek. “Thanks for the ride. Five stars.”
Cady didn’t know why it made her blush. “Thanks. Maybe I’ll see you again.”
“Probably,” Regina said, starting to get out of the car, but then falling down.
“Fuck!” Regina shouted. “Ow!”
“Regina!” Cady said, jumping out of the car and running over to help Regina off the ground. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Regina said. She took another step and stumbled a little. “Are you okay?”
“Okay, I’m helping you inside,” Cady said, throwing Regina’s arm over her shoulders.
“My hero,” Regina mumbled, laughing to herself a little. Regina managed to get the door open, and Cady walked her to the couch.
“I’m gonna get you some more water, okay?” Cady felt really weird being in someone’s house after giving them a ride, but she wanted to make sure Regina was okay. “Can you text your friend?”
Regina flopped down on her couch, gave Cady a thumbs up, then grabbed her phone. Cady found her way to the kitchen, got some water, and found a loaf of bread.
“Here, eat this,” Cady said, setting the bread on Regina’s coffee table. “You’ll feel better.”
“Did you just bring me untoasted bread?” Regina asked. “Fuck that, I’m ordering pizza. Want some?”
Cady shook her head. “I should probably go.”
Regina sat up and patted the couch next to her. “Nope. Stay with me. Watch some TV. Help me sober up.”
Part of Cady wanted to say no, because being in Regina’s house was weird enough on its own, but the other part of her wanted to say yes because Regina’s crooked, drunk smile was…it was really cute.
So much for not pining after a straight passenger. God, she was way too much of a sap.
“Fine, but I’m leaving as soon as the pizza shows up.”
She didn’t…she stayed and ate a few slices with Regina, watching TV and making sure that Regina kept drinking water.
“Okay…I’m starting to be really thankful that you’re not a murderer,” Regina said after a few episodes of some random dating show. She was sounding a lot more sober. “I just…let you into my house.”
Cady briefly thought about joking that she was a murderer…but she knew how hard she would panic if the roles were reversed.
“Nope. Totally normal person,” Cady said with a smile. “Just here to help.”
“Well, thank you,” Regina said. They sat there in silence for a few seconds, before Regina said, “I don’t usually get this drunk. I don’t usually have to be practically carried into my house by my Lyft driver. It’s just…I’ve been really stressed lately. Work is crazy, and my relationship is annoying right now, and I wanted to blow off some steam.”
“No judgment,” Cady said. “We’ve all been there.”
Regina sighed. “God, I’m gonna be so embarrassed by this in the morning.”
Cady put a hand on Regina’s shoulder. “It’s totally fine, okay? Not usually how my rides go, but it’s been fun. Plus, I got a free midnight snack, so that’s cool.”
Regina looked at her phone. “Shit, it’s late. I’ll walk you to your car.” They both got off of the couch and walked outside. “Thanks again. Five stars.”
“You said that already. In the car.”
“Yeah, I don’t really remember driving here,” Regina said with a shrug. “So…have a good night, or whatever.”
Cady laughed as she got in her car. “Same to you!”
Cady waited until Regina got inside safely before pulling off. She really hoped that she’d see Regina again.
—
Two weeks went by, and every time that Cady heard her phone ping, she’d hope the ride request was from Regina…and she was always let down. She tried to tell herself it was because Regina was a guaranteed 5-star rating and big tip, but she knew that she just wanted to see her blonde hair and beautiful smile again.
In a totally normal way. Not in a gay way.
Okay, slightly in a gay way, but she’d accepted that Regina had a boyfriend. Even if she didn’t, she was straight.
That didn’t stop Cady from wanting to see her again, though.
It wasn’t until she got a request at 1 o’clock in the morning one day that her prayers were answered. Regina was waiting for her…and she was crying.
Okay, so maybe not prayers answered exactly…
“Hey,” Cady said as Regina got into the seat next to her. “You okay?”
“Drive,” Regina said, staring straight out the windshield. She sounded furious.
“Okay,” Cady said. “Do you want me to turn on the radio, or-”
“Fucking drive, Cady!” Regina snapped, and Cady immediately obliged. They drove in silence for a bit, before Regina said, “Sorry for snapping, I just…I could kill that stupid bitch right now!”
Cady didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Regina was grinding her teeth so hard that Cady could hear it.
“So…bad night?” Cady said, not being able to stand the silence.
Regina looked like she was going to snap at Cady again, but she took a deep breath. “Found out I’m dating a fucking cheater. Or I was. Fucking Dre…”
“Wow…” Cady said, not being able to imagine a world where Regina wasn’t someone’s top priority. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Regina said. “Word of advice, though? If you’re seeing someone on the side, don’t message them while you’re sitting right next to your girlfriend that you begged to spend the night.”
“Sounds like a scumbag,” Cady said, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter.
“She is!” Regina yelled. “She is a complete fucking scumbag!”
“Does the other girl know that you were dating the same person?” Cady asked. She wasn’t a fan of blaming the other woman in the situation when it was really the cheater’s fault.
“No idea,” Regina said. “Don’t really care.”
“Well…I think the main person you should be mad at is your ex-boyfriend,” Cady said.
Regina looked confused, then laughed a little. “Dre’s a girl. I’m a lesbian. She’s the fucking scumbag, not the other girl. Unless the other girl knew about me, in which case, fuck both of them.”
Oh.
Oh.
Oh no.
Cady had seen this girl that she thought was straight a total of two (now three) times, and she’d already been crushing. Now that she knew Regina was gay?
Cady shook her head and reminded herself that Regina had just gotten cheated on. She didn’t need Cady being creepy added to her shitty night.
“Okay, that makes more sense,” Cady said with a nervous laugh. “Again, sorry that happened.”
“I should’ve known,” Regina said. “She was always going on and on about how I didn’t pay enough attention to her and that I needed to spend more time with her, but it was always when she wasn’t busy. I own a business. I couldn’t just chase her around.”
Cady thought back to that first ride…to the argument and the girl on the other side of the call seeming to imply that Regina didn’t have a job.
The fucking nerve.
“What’s your business?” Cady asked, trying to distract Regina a little.
“I own a boutique,” Regina said. “Opened it right out of high school with a little seed money from my dad. It took some time to turn a profit, but I’m finally in the black. Just barely. Should be able to start paying my dad back later this year, so that’s something. Hoping to expand eventually, but that’s a while off.”
“That’s so cool!” Cady said. “And what does she do?”
“She’s a lawyer…and an influencer. She gives legal advice on TikTok or something,” Regina said. “Doesn’t make my job any less fucking real.”
“Of course it doesn’t,” Cady said. “Opening a business is hard, much less a successful one. I think it’s super impressive.”
“Thanks,” Regina said, giving her a smile, but it dropped off of her face. “Dre didn’t agree. She called it a ‘hobby’ and wanted me to move in with her and basically be arm candy for her at parties. Like I don’t have my own dreams.”
Cady hated this Dre girl, and she didn’t even know her. “I’ve been there. My ex-boyfriend didn’t see the point of me going to college. He wanted me to marry him and start having kids. We were 18. It was insane.”
“Nightmare,” Regina said, and Cady laughed.
“Yeah, it killed the relationship pretty quick,” Cady said, then she added, “Although, me figuring out I’m gay would’ve probably killed it even if he was perfect. I just got to break up with him without feeling bad.”
Regina raised an eyebrow, and Cady swore Regina checked her out. She chalked it up to wishful thinking.
“Yeah, that’ll do it,” Regina said. She seemed to be distracted for a moment, so Cady went to keep talking, but Regina growled and crossed her arms. “I can’t believe the nerve of that fucking asshole. She really thought I’d stay with her, too. She seemed shocked when I walked out. Does she think I’m worthless? That I’d get cheated on and stand by her? I’m a fucking catch!”
“Yeah, you are,” Cady said…really struggling to hold back from being too gay.
“Exactly! I deserve a better future than being the fucking loyal trophy wife that has their stupid fucking wife running around behind her back!”
Cady could feel Regina working herself up again.
“Wanna get tacos?” Cady asked, and Regina looked at her confused. “I just…know there’s a couple really good carts that are only open overnight, and they’re not that far from your house. Street tacos can cure anything and everything.”
Regina chewed her lip for a few seconds. “Sure we won’t get sick?”
Cady shook her head. “Nah, I go to these all the time. They’re amazing. They’ll change your life.”
“Hmm…” Regina thought it over for a few more seconds, then said, “Sure. But if I get sick, I’m suing you.”
Cady glanced over and saw Regina smiling.
“It’s a deal.”
—
“These are the best fucking tacos I’ve ever had,” Regina said, shoving another one into her mouth. Cady watched Regina as they sat in the car…tear streaks down her cheeks and hot sauce on the corner of her mouth. Cady was completely enamored.
She needed to find a way to ask this girl out. Not now…not while Regina was heartbroken and angry…but eventually, she’d take her on a date if Regina would let her. She might get rejected, but Regina was worth the risk to her ego and heart.
“Happy to please,” Cady said. “Feeling any better?”
“Much,” Regina said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “Fuck Dre. I’m glad we broke up in the middle of the night, now.”
Cady laughed. “I told you! Street tacos are magical.”
Regina looked at Cady. “Thanks for cheering me up. This is the second time you’ve had to take care of me.”
“I didn’t have to,” Cady said. “I wanted to.”
“Well, it’s still sweet. You’re sweet,” Regina said, and Cady smiled wide. “I think I’m ready to go home now.”
Cady tried to push down her disappointment as she started the car. “Sure.”
The drive was quick, and Regina went to get out of the car, but Cady grabbed her arm.
“Everything okay?” Regina asked.
“Oh, um…” Cady hadn’t had a plan. She’d impulsively just grabbed Regina without a plan! “I…uh…I should give you my number.” When Cady saw Regina’s eyebrows raise, she quickly added, “Y’know, if you need a ride. You can just call me, so I can be in range.”
Regina smirked, like she knew Cady was covering, but she handed over her phone nonetheless. “Put in your number.”
Cady quickly did as she was told, then handed the phone back and let Regina walk into her house. When Cady got home, she saw a text from a number she didn’t have saved. She smiled, and put Regina’s name into her contacts, then read the message a few more times.
Regina: You didn’t need an excuse to give me your number.
—
Cady started driving Regina more and more. She’d be on the way to pick someone else up, then she’d cancel it if Regina shot her a text or gave her a call. At the start, it was just driving her between errands or hangouts with Gretchen and Karen or other friends.
Then, about a month in, a simple ride became…something else.
“Hey!” Cady said as Regina got into the car. “How’re you doing?”
“Alright,” Regina said. “Dre picked up the last of her stuff today, so that sucked.”
Cady frowned…just like she always did when Regina mentioned Dre. “I’m sorry. How did that go?”
“Well, she brought her new girlfriend, so I almost punched her in the face,” Regina said. “God, I hate her.”
“She seems like a total jerk,” Cady said. “What did you see in her?”
“Eh, it was fun when we got together,” Regina said with a shrug. “We partied a lot. Talked shit on our friends. She was finishing school, and I was opening the boutique, but I didn’t take work as seriously as she did. But then a few years went by, I stopped being such a bitch to everybody, and I really started to care and invest in my business, and it took off. I think that she’d expected me to get bored and sell it off or something, so she started being a dick about it. And we realized that we didn’t have much to talk about if we weren’t making fun of people…so we just fought instead.”
“Sounds like you grew up, but she was just sort of…shitty as a person,” Cady said. “No offense.”
“No, you’re right,” Regina said. “We probably should’ve broken up a while ago. But it still hurt that she fucked some random girl. Or at least one. Who knows if there were more.”
“I’m sorry,” Cady said. “No one deserves to get hurt by someone they love.” Regina just made a small noise as they pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store. “You need a ride home when you’re done?”
“Why don’t you just come in?” Regina asked. “I’m sure you have some shopping to do.”
“Oh,” Cady said, surprised. “You sure? Because I can wait out here-”
“Cady, don’t be stupid,” Regina said, starting to get out of the car. “Just come in.”
Cady unbuckled her seatbelt. Sure, originally, she’d planned to maybe try to see if she could squeeze in another quick ride while Regina was in the store, but she wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to spend more time with Regina.
They walked in, and Regina grabbed a cart. She started going down the aisles throwing stuff in her cart, and Cady walked beside her, grabbing a few things for herself.
“So,” Regina said after a minute. “Tell me about yourself.”
“What?” Cady said, not expecting the question.
“You know all about me,” Regina said. “My business, my asshole ex, my friends. I don’t know anything about you outside of driving for Lyft and being nice enough to take care of me when I’m a mess.”
Cady smiled. “Well, what do you want to know?”
“Anything,” Regina said. “Where are you from? What got you driving for Lyft? What are your friends like?” She briefly paused before adding, “Seeing anyone?”
“Um…okay…well, I’m from not far from here. Evanston.”
“My grandparents live there,” Regina said. “We used to go there every few Christmases, but I haven’t been since high school.”
“Yeah, my mom’s still there,” Cady said. “She used to be a researcher, but she took a job at North Shore high school when I was 16. We both wanted a more normal life.”
“Where were you before that?”
“Kenya,” Cady said.
“Wow…what was that like?”
“Really fun, but pretty lonely,” Cady said. “Not a lot of kids my age on research sites, y’know? But I’m glad that’s how I grew up. I got to spend a lot of time following really cool animals for my mom’s research. It was great. Almost wanted to do that, too, but I’m not super interested in having to relocate around the world for work. Travelling would be nice, but I’d like a solid home base somewhere in America.”
“So what do you want to do?” Regina asked. “Unless Lyft’s your dream job?”
Cady laughed. “No, that’s just to pay for school. I’ve got one more year of undergrad, and then, I’ll probably do grad school. I’m a math major. Not sure exactly what I’m going to do with that, but probably something in analysis...maybe engineering.”
“I assume that’s for the money?” Regina asked. “Because I can’t imagine any other reason that someone would be a math major.”
“Believe it or not, I like math,” Cady said with a shrug, throwing something else in the cart. “I was on the mathletes in high school and everything.”
“God, I’m glad I met you now and not in high school. You wouldn’t have been able to pay me to talk to you if you were on the mathletes.” She looked Cady up and down. “Although, you were probably far and away the hottest person on that team, so you might’ve caught my eye. Maybe we would’ve made out under the bleachers or something.”
Cady blushed. “I-I wasn’t out, yet.”
“Neither was I. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t have fun here and there.”
“Yeah…but I didn’t even know I was gay until college.”
“Maybe you would’ve figured it out sooner if you were around me,” Regina said with a smirk and a wink.
Cady felt her mouth go dry.
“Maybe,” Cady said, biting her lip and avoiding eye contact. “Probably.”
Regina’s smirk got even wider. “Definitely.”
Cady cleared her throat and tried to refocus herself before she said anything embarrassing. “Yeah, so, um…friends! You asked about friends.”
“Uh huh,” Regina said. Cady was glad that Regina didn’t take the opportunity to point out how obviously flustered she was.
“I have a few acquaintances, but my best friends are Janis and Damian,” Cady said. “We’ve been thick as thieves since I moved to Evanston. They’ve always looked out for me. Made sure I got caught up with pop culture and helped me with dating and stuff. Once we finished high school, we decided to get a place together.
“They’re both the life of the party in different ways, and they’re great at bringing me out of my shell when I throw myself into work and school too hard. Janis is an artist. Damian is a stage actor. There’s a lot of singing at parties and get-togethers, and they’re both amazing at it. They’re also both gay, so I probably should have figured out I was gay sooner. Birds of a feather and all that.”
“Yeah, I get that,” Regina said. “You met my friends one of the rare times that they weren’t attached at the mouth. Watching them try to insist that they weren’t gay in high school was painful. Making out at parties is one thing, but going on romantic ass dates and hooking up afterwards ‘as friends’ is another. So yeah, us gays really do gravitate towards each other. Although, if I could do it again, I don’t know that I would make friends with two people who are clearly in love with each other. Especially now that I’m alone.”
Regina aggressively tossed something into the cart, so Cady spoke up again.
“Any more questions for me?” Cady asked.
That seemed to pull Regina out of her bad mood. “I do think I asked you one other thing.”
Cady racked her brain, trying to remember. “Did you…ask me about hobbies? Because I don’t have many. I do like dancing, though. That’s fun.”
“Good to know,” Regina said, “but I asked if you were single.”
“Oh!” Cady said. “Oh, yeah. I’m single. Completely single. I haven’t even been on a date in ages…which I’m starting to realize makes me sound very, very sad.”
“No, not sad,” Regina said with a laugh. “Just…available. Which is a little surprising. You’d think someone as cute as you would have people lining up.”
So…Cady may sometimes miss things like this, but she was sure that Regina was flirting with her. Which…great…except Regina just got out of a relationship, and she didn’t seem totally over her ex, so Cady didn’t know what to do.
“I…I…” Cady shook her head a few times. “Thank you?”
“See? Cute,” Regina said, laughing again, then she tilted her head towards the registers. “Do you need to grab anything else? I’m ready to check out.”
Cady blinked a few times before nodding. “Yeah, I’ve got everything.”
They checked out, got Regina home. Cady helped Regina take everything inside, then she got back in her car.
“Bye, Cady!” Regina called from her door. “See you soon!”
Cady waved, then pulled away. After that day, there were more and more of these rides that turned out to be more than just rides.
Regina had said she wanted a ride to the park, then she’d invited Cady to walk with her.
Regina had gotten a ride to a movie theater, then told Cady that she had two tickets, and she ‘didn’t want the second one to go to waste.’
Regina had gone to a club with Gretchen and Karen, and she’d asked Cady to stay with her to make sure she didn’t get too drunk.
These definitely felt like dates, but Regina still brought up Dre from time to time, and Cady was a little worried about being a rebound. She wanted to keep a little distance until she was sure Regina was over her ex, but Regina was making it hard. She was a constant flirt, and Cady couldn’t help but flirt back.
“You look good,” Regina said as she entered the car one day. She tucked Cady’s hair behind her ear. “I like it when you wear your hair down.”
“I know,” Cady said, smirking.
“Oh, you do?” Regina asked.
“Yeah, that’s why I did it,” Cady said. “You always touch it when I wear it down.”
Regina almost looked a little bashful…almost.
“Well, it’s soft,” Regina said, touching a few loose strands of Cady’s hair. “How do you expect me to not touch it?”
“I don’t,” Cady said. “I’d be pretty disappointed if you didn’t.”
They went to get coffee together that day (under the guise that Cady was just giving Regina a ride, but she might as well grab a cup for herself). There was always a not-date reason for why they spent time together, but it was starting to become more and more of a stretch. They’d hung out with each other’s friends. Regina had fully taken Cady out to dinner…more than once. Regina had even spent the night at Cady’s house (on her couch after a night out with Janis and Damian, but still).
So yeah…Cady was starting to go a little crazy, because it had been months, and she really just wanted to kiss Regina and ask Regina to be her girlfriend, but while she knew Regina would kiss her back, she wasn’t sure Regina would say yes to the second part. Cady just needed to know that all of this meant as much to Regina as it did to her.
“You need to talk to her,” Janis said while they hung out at their apartment a couple of days after Christmas. “I know that you’re worried about her ex or whatever, but I can’t watch you two dance around each other anymore. You like her, and I know she likes you.”
“I know,” Cady said. “I just don’t know how much she likes me.”
“Even more reason to talk to her!” Janis said. “Cady, if you wait any longer, someone else is going to ask her out, and then you’re gonna cry, and I’m gonna have to kill Regina for hurting you.”
Cady laughed. “You wouldn’t have to kill her.”
Janis rolled her eyes. “Cady, you know I’m right. You need to make a move. Soon. Or you’ll regret it.”
Cady sighed. Janis was right. There was no way that Regina would wait around for her forever.
“Okay,” Cady finally said.
“Okay?” Janis asked, hopefully.
Cady nodded. “I’ll talk to her. I’ll…tell her how I feel. January 1st.”
Janis groaned. “Why not now?”
“Because it can be a New Year’s Resolution!” Cady said defensively. “And…it gives me a few days to work up the courage to ask her out.”
Janis shook her head, but she shot Cady a smile. “Fine, fine! But you have to do it on January 1st.”
“I will.”
“You promise? Because I swear, if I have to watch you pine after her for even one extra day-”
“I promise, Janis,” Cady said. “I’ll work my shift, get a couple of hours of sleep, then go to Regina’s place and ask her out on a date. A real date.”
Janis closed her eyes and whispered, “Yes, bitch.”
So the plan was set…and then Regina asked her out to a New Year’s Eve party the next day.
“Shit,” Cady said, sitting on a park bench with Regina. “I…I can’t. New Year’s Eve is a huge day for Lyft. I make a lot of money, and I need it right now.”
Cady didn’t let Regina know that it was because she was losing money every time she hung out with Regina instead of driving, and she couldn’t keep letting Janis and Damian cover her extra rent.
“Come on,” Regina said. “It’ll be fun! You can’t ring in the new year driving around drunk assholes all night.”
“It’s what I did last year,” Cady said. “It wasn’t so bad.”
“Yeah, but last year, you didn’t know me,” Regina said with a smirk.
Cady really wanted to cave. She wanted to spend the night with Regina…maybe kiss her at midnight.
But she was pretty sure she wouldn’t make rent if she skipped out. She (unfortunately) needed to be responsible.
“I’m so sorry,” Cady said. She’d never meant it more in her life. “I need the money…but I can give you a ride?”
Regina laughed, but it sounded a little hollow. “Sure, Cady. Sounds good.”
Cady felt like she was making a mistake.
—
Cady had a hard time keeping her eyes on the road as she drove Regina to the New Year’s party. Regina looked absolutely incredible in her dress, and Cady cursed the entirety of American history for making her have to earn money to afford to live.
“You can still go,” Regina said. There was an edge to her voice that sounded a little like pleading. “There’s time for you to stop by your house and change.”
“Do you want me to be homeless?” Cady asked, jokingly. “Because it sort of sounds like you want me to be homeless.”
“So dramatic,” Regina said, rolling her eyes. “Besides, I wouldn’t let that happen. You’d just move in with me.”
Cady bit her lip. “Looking to U-haul with me?”
“We’ve known each other for months,” Regina replied. “Does that really count as a U-haul?”
“It does if we haven’t even been on a date,” Cady said without thinking. Regina looked at her long and hard from the passenger's seat as they pulled up to the party. “We’re here.”
Regina looked away from Cady and towards the venue. “Last chance, Cady. Just come in with me.”
Cady was holding onto her sense of responsibility by her fingernails. “Have a good time. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Regina gave Cady a small smile that looked a little sad, then got out of the car.
“Happy New Year, Cady,” Regina said, before she closed the door and walked away.
It took Cady a full ten minutes to pull away.
Stupid job. Stupid bills.
Cady had a ride lined up in less than 5 minutes, but right before she picked up her first non-Regina fare of the night, her phone rang.
“Regina, I told you, I can’t-”
“Dre is here. With the girl she cheated with.”
Cady pulled over her car. “What? How?”
“I don’t know! Friend overlap, I guess?” Cady heard Regina take a deep breath. “Look, I’m over her. I’m so over her, but I don’t want to watch her make out with her new girlfriend all night while I’m still single. I don’t think I can do this alone.”
Cady sighed, ignoring the fluttering in her chest hearing Regina say that she was over Dre. “Regina-”
“I’ll pay you whatever you lose for the night,” Regina said quickly. “Please, Cady.”
Well…she wasn’t saying no to that.
“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Cady said, turning around and hanging up the phone. She walked in…and very quickly realized that she was underdressed. This was a whole fancy affair, and she was in jeans and a Hello Kitty t-shirt. She was surprised they hadn’t stopped her at the door.
“Cady!” she heard as Regina approached her and pulled her into a hug. “Thank you so much for coming.”
“Yeah, glad to help…although, I feel a little out of place,” Cady said, trying not to shrink into herself.
Regina laughed a little. “Maybe you should’ve just agreed to come in the first place.”
“Maybe I would’ve had I known you were going to pay me,” Cady said, starting to loosen up a bit.
“I didn’t know that’s what it took to get you out for the night,” Regina said, grabbing her hand. “I would’ve offered sooner.”
Cady smiled. “What, did you think I was lying?”
Regina gave a little shrug. “Maybe.”
Cady felt a little confused, but she needed to focus on why she was here. “So where’s your ex?”
Regina rolled her eyes and motioned with her head. “Over there. The one in black and white.”
Cady saw her, hanging on some other girl, and immediately, she questioned what Regina saw in her.
“You are…so far out of her league,” Cady said. “It’s crazy.”
Regina smiled. “Thank you. And I know.”
“Sure you wanna be seen with me?” Cady asked. “I sort of feel like I’m bringing down your stock.”
“Yeah, I don’t give a shit about that. I just wanted you here,” Regina said, then she quickly added. “For support.”
The way Regina said it let Cady know that there was more to it. Tonight, she would be a good friend, but she was getting more and more excited for tomorrow.
—
They spent the next few hours eating and dancing and laughing and Cady was agonizing over the fact that they were on yet another not-date-that’s-a-date. It didn’t help that Regina kept resting her head on Cady’s shoulder or wrapping her arms around Cady’s waist.
She was just there to support Regina through seeing her ex. Once the night was over, and they were nowhere near stupid Dre, Cady would ask Regina out.
“Having fun?” Regina asked. “Because it looks like you’re having fun.”
“I am,” Cady said, smiling.
“Well, then I’m glad I got you to be irresponsible,” Regina said, pressing her face against Cady’s neck. Cady was pretty sure that she felt Regina give her neck a quick kiss, but she wasn’t sure if she was imagining it. She pulled Regina against her and debated in her head if she should just ask Regina out, now.
Midnight was fast approaching…what was the difference between asking now and asking in less than fifteen minutes?
“So…I have something to confess,” Regina said, knocking Cady out of her thoughts. “When I saw Dre here, it hit me how much I…just didn’t care about her anymore. I saw her with her girlfriend, and it made me sad, but it wasn’t because I wanted to one-up her or I didn’t want her to see me alone. It didn’t really have anything to do with her at all.”
Cady was confused. “Then…why did you call me?”
“Seriously? I have to spell it out for you?” Regina laughed at Cady’s still confused expression. “I was sad that I didn’t have you here. That I wouldn’t be able to be with you when the clock struck zero.”
“I…I…Regina-”
“I’m sorry I lied,” Regina said. “To be fair, I tried to invite you, but you wouldn’t budge. I was getting worried you would never make a move…and then I got a little nervous that I’d somehow misread all the signs and that you didn’t like me like that.”
“No! I was gonna ask you out,” Cady said. “Tomorrow. I was gonna work tonight, then go to your house tomorrow and take you out on a date.”
Regina laughed. “Cady, I think we’ve been on enough dates to just cut to the girlfriend part.”
Cady smiled. “I…I wanted to know that I wasn’t just a rebound.”
“Cady, it was never that with you,” Regina said. “The only silver lining of getting cheated on was that I was free to date the cute Lyft driver that ate pizza with me when I got drunk.”
Cady’s smile was so big that it hurt a little. “Well, we could still go on a date before we make things official.”
Regina rolled her eyes. “Cady, just be my girlfriend.”
“Like you said, it’s been months,” Cady said, teasingly. “What’s one more night?”
“I’ve already waited long enough!” Regina said. “And something you’ll learn about me? I’m not a very patient person.”
“Yeah, I’m starting to figure that out,” Cady said. The last ten minutes started to tick off of the year. “So if I didn’t want to wait until midnight to kiss my girlfriend?”
Regina smiled and pulled Cady into a kiss.