heels. Eventually, she got her by the collar and pulled her back into the house. Not a good start to the evening , Karma thought, breathless.
Making her way to the car, Karma brushed the dog hair off the front of her skirt before pulling open the door and sliding in.
“At least you got her quickly this time,” Eva said with a laugh.
Karma didn’t bother to reply; she just laid her head back on the headrest.
“You left your purse on the top of the car.”
“Of course I did.” With a groan, she opened the door and grabbed her purse.
“Nice outfit,” Eva said approvingly. “Let me guess, you asked your dad what to wear?”
“Of course,” Karma said as she turned to take in Eva’s look for the night. She scrunched up her nose. “What in the world are you wearing?”
“A dress.” Eva put the car in drive and took off down the road.
“Obviously, but why in the world are you wearing a polka-dot dress with a collar to a club? It looks like something from the fifties.”
“Hey, I’m not the one that has trouble getting laid. I can pick up a man perfectly fine no matter what I’m wearing.”
“Great, rub it in.” Karma threw her head back against the headrest again.
The drive into the city took well over an hour, so they chatted about school and listened to music. Karma let her mind wander. She hoped they really would find the perfect guy for her. She could picture him clearly in her mind: tall, blond, smart, with the chiseled face of a Greek god.
Eva leaned forward and turned down the radio. “Are you sure you want to go through with this? It’s okay if you don’t want to.”
“Yes, I’m sure. Stop asking, you sound like my father.”
“Just making sure, it’s kinda a big deal.” Eva flicked her blinker and pulled into one of those paid parking lots. They parked and jumped out of the car.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
“I hope we don’t have to walk too far. These shoes are already pinching my toes,” Karma complained as they made their way to the machine to pay.
“It’s not far.”
“Good,” Karma mumbled, looking around. All she saw was a bunch of warehouses. No neon lights shouting club in sight. She didn’t really know her way around the D.C. area too well. Her father had an office there, but she had only been there a handful of times.
“Come on.” Eva linked her long bony arm through Karma’s and pulled her along. “Do you have your fake ID on you?”
“Of course. Do you have a condom on you? I meant to ask you to stop at the drugstore.”
Eva laughed and rummaged through her purse. “Here, take three. You never know…”
Karma grabbed the condoms and tossed them in her purse. “Thanks.”
“So, what kind of guy do you want for your first?”
Shrugging, Karma said, “No idea. I guess I’ll know him when I see him.” She didn’t need to make herself sound more pathetic by describing the man of her dreams.
“What kind of guys do you even like?”
Karma shrugged again. “I don’t really have a type, per se.”
“Everyone has a type. Geeks, beefcakes, nice guys, emo, jocks, straight-laced, pretty boys, must I go on?”
“Yeah, yeah, I just don’t know which type is my type. I guess a good-looking clean-cut guy always works.”
“Boring,” Eva said, rolling her eyes.
“Hey, you’re the one that’s pushing me into the corner. I like guys who make me laugh, are protective, and have an IQ in the triple digits.”
“Good Lord, you don’t ask for much, do you?”
“Whatever, we’re not here looking for my future husband. We’re looking for a hot guy to take me back to his place and have his way with me.”
“Now that we can handle, that’s what I like to hear.”
“We’ll see. I’m not holding my breath.”
“Think positive. What you put out into the universe comes back in abundance.”
“Now you sound like my loon of a mother.”
“It’s true,” Eva said simply with a
Christina Leigh Pritchard