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crowd.
    The drums then joined the group, the loud, fast beat threatening to steal the show and take over the bass and guitar. But, it didn’t, quieting down just enough, so that all the instruments worked in harmony, supporting the still chaotic guitar.
                  “I hear you and George.”
    I opened my eyes, understanding what Ben was trying to say. My friends would stand by me through this and help me move on. Ben’s eyes watched mine, and I simply nodded. He smiled, winking at me, and I sighed in acceptance. Sometimes it was difficult to fathom how I wound up so lucky, how I met such a wonderful group of friends. But, as soon as I opened up my mouth to speak, we heard noise from behind us.
                  “Georgie!” A woman shouted from the crowd, waving her hands frantically, running towards my friend.
                  He closed the five steps between our distance, coming in close to Ben and me. “Oh, shit. We have a Stage Five clinger coming towards us. This chick won’t give up. I can’t even remember her,” George muttered to us. He looked up at me, his eyes pleading, slight pout on his lips.
                  I sighed in irritation. “You owe me. Big time.”
                  He smiled widely with relief. “You’re like an angel sent from above.”
                  I rolled my eyes before turning toward him. Ben, knowing what I was about to do, took a few steps back. We’ve done this routine so many times, I’ve lost count. I draped my arms over his neck as he dipped his head. Our cheeks pressed together, making it seem more than it really was, while his hands rested on my lower back.  I never did this around Ryan; I would never disrespect him in such a manner. But, I was single…for now. So, if I could help my friend out, why not? Besides this chick would just ruin our night. I had been enabling George and his man-whoring ways since we met. It never bothered me, because hugging him felt the equivalent of hugging my brother. There had never been an ounce of sexual tension between us. Ever.
                  ”Georgie?” the woman asked. Her eyes asked the question that her mouth didn’t.
    I turned towards her from my position, giving the petite girl a slow once over. I appeared haughty, seeming unimpressed.
                  “I’m George’s girlfriend. And you are?”
                  “George?” she asked, her eyes furiously demanding an answer from him.
                  “This is…Abigail. She and I are old friends from college. She recently broke up with her boyfriend, and it… ignited our passion.”
                  I had to keep from laughing at the end of that statement. Ignited our passion? Who spoke like that?  Ben must have been thinking the same, because I heard him covering up his laughs with coughs. The woman glared furiously between George and me.  I didn’t feel bad about what I was doing, because I felt as though I was doing her a favor. Even if she couldn’t see it at the time, George would never be boyfriend material until he wanted to be, which wasn’t happening any time soon. There were still way too many women left in New York City that he hadn’t slept with yet. Every moment she wasted pining over a man who could never be what she wanted was a minute she lost looking for Mr. Right.
                  “Congratulations.” She spat each syllable at us before she turned and stormed away.
    As soon as she was gone, I let go of my friend and heard Ben’s unapologetically loud laughter. When I glanced over, a tear rolled down his cheek. George knew what was so funny as he had the tiniest amount of pink in his cheeks.
                  “Every time someone uses the phrase ‘ignite our passions’ tonight appropriately, you have to buy the group a round of shots,” Ben said to George.
                  “What?