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chewed it like a wild animal.
    “I don’t want to get a place somewhere . I need to set up in just the right spot. I want to be in the middle of it all.” Nikla smiled as she thought about the possibilities of getting a spot in the middle of downtown Virginia Beach. “I don’t want to settle.”
    “Fine. So you want the best. Why not get your man to help you? You know he has the means.”
    Nikla shook her head. “I’m not using Justin or anyone else. I’m doing this all on my own.”
    Deana pumped her fist in the air. “You go, girl. Once you do open your place, I’ll be so proud of you. I just hope I see that happening within my lifetime.”
    “Very funny.” Nikla hoped for the same thing, too.
    “So when are you and Justin going to double with me?” Deana called the waitress over to get a refill on her sweetened iced tea.
    “When you pin yourself down to one man.”
    “Or woman?” Nikla’s friend winked at her.
    Nikla dropped her fork onto her plate, making a loud, clattering noise that alerted the patrons around them. “Are you switching teams?”
    Deana shook her head. “Just exploring options. I’ve never been with a woman before, but with the way things are now with guys, I’m tempted to try.”
    “If it’s not in your nature, don’t do it. You don’t want to lead anyone on and get their feelings hurt.” Nikla sighed.
    “Jesus, you are so serious. It’s just sex. It doesn’t have to be love.”
    “For me it does. Me? I need to be with a man , capital M kind of man.” Like the guy who tried scaring her away from the front of Decadent Treats.
    Justin approached that category, but his kindness and generosity made up for the fact that his slight frame didn’t qualify him as the type of man Nikla really wanted.
    Damn. Had she just admitted to herself that she had settled?
    No, Justin treated her well. No surprises.
    “When you pick your man or woman, let me know and we’ll arrange for a nice dinner.” Nikla left half of her food on her plate, another habit she developed when she started her weight loss journey.
    “Why does it have to be one or the other? I could come with both.” Deana laughed.
    “What in the world am I going to do with you?” Nikla couldn’t help but join in the laughter.
    “Just love me.” Deana leaned forward. “Now let’s get to some juicy topics. Sex still good with you and your boy?”
    Nikla kept smiling while her insides crumbled. Too bad she couldn’t lie to save her life. “It’s been a while since we’ve been together.”
    Deana cocked her head.
    Before her friend could inquire further, Nikla supplied her with more details. “With his busy schedule and mine, it’s hard for us to get together.”
    She would leave out the fact that sex had become humdrum and dull. Always the same: missionary. He would climax before Nikla could reach her orgasm. Being the nice guy, he always handed Nikla her trusty vibrator so that she could finish herself.
    “You need to find time or get adventurous.”
    “Adventurous?” Nikla wrinkled her nose.
    “Yeah, do it at work. Go to a building you two don’t work at and do it in the elevator.” A secret smile rose on Deana’s face. “One time I did it in a post office.”
    Nikla chuckled. “Liar. You didn’t do anything like that in front of a lobby full of people.”
    “No. Not during business hours. After hours when the office is closed and they leave the lobby open for people to go to their post office boxes.”
    Nikla shook her head. “That’s a little reckless. You know they have cameras all around there. You could have been arrested.”
    “Haven’t been yet.”
    Nikla requested their checks. “Thanks for the advice. I think I’m doing okay.”
    “And you’re happy with ‘okay’?”
    Nikla didn’t answer. If she were honest with herself, she would have broken up with Justin when they couldn’t make time for each other. How could she justify leaving a man who hadn’t done anything to deserve