"Swept" Chapter 1

“So, yeah. I’m going out tonight.”

It wasn’t the first time Michelle had said it. She was beginning to feel a little incredulous. 

She tried to appreciate Veronica: her older-sister-type of aptitude, her caring, her regard for the safety a person should feel when they’re going out with some random guy they met online. Especially in the kinds of chat rooms Michelle frequented when she was bored, and a little bit tipsy... But this guy was fine. Seriously. 

“I promise,” Michelle said. “He’s a really laid-back guy. Very…” 

She struggled for the words while she conjured up an appreciation for how he, well, seemed. A little older than she was, but not by much. Nothing pretentious. He was taller that she was (but most men were). The way he presented himself, even in their texting, phone calls, and most recently, video chats, made him seem… important. She found something terribly attractive about that. His piercing blue eyes didn’t hurt. Rather, the opposite. And then, at the end of all that... something just a little mysterious that she couldn't quite place her finger on.

“It’ll be nice,” she finally relented. “He’s a funny guy. Great sense of humor,” she pointed out, generically.

Veronica relented, if only by a little.

“Fine,” she said. “I know. You can’t hang on to shit-fuck forever. But… you sure it’s not too soon to get back out there and splash in?”

Shit-fuck, she thought. Yeah, her ex was anything if a shit-fuck. But she was over him. She had to be over him. He was yesterday’s news. A done deal. Finalé. Done.

“Yeah,” Michelle said. “I’m done with shit-fuck. And that’s why I’m doing this. It’s been three months. I’m finished. And this guy…”

Michelle thought about him again. The welling she felt in her throat when she thought of him. His confidence. And his interest, which he made apparent in no uncertain terms. 

“You’re gonna love him,” she said, also in no uncertain terms, to her roommate.

“Fine.” Veronica relented. But…”

“But what?” Michelle said. She felt the same sense of rebellion she had when… when her father would chastise her for going out in a tube top. Not something she would do anymore, granted (tacky!), but why did she feel as if her roommate were… judging her?

“But… what?” Michelle repeated. 

“Well, he's also loaded, apparently, you little gold-digger.” 

"So?" 

"So," Veronica said, "Just don't get surprised if his caviar dreams turn out to be ramen noodles, and if his family's 'pharmaceutical firm' is just corndog talk for 'his dad manages a CVS'."

"The kind of restaurant we're going to?" Michelle said. "Let's just say I could never afford it. I'm staying optimistic."

Veronica glanced up and down at Michelle’s outfit. “You might want to put on a bra, is all I’m saying.”

Michelle looked down to survey her more-than capable handful. She was going to. Veronica didn’t understand, and frankly, she was overstepping her bounds at this point — just because you shack up with a roommate for six months doesn't mean that person could play den mom. Michelle was done with college.

“I’m gonna,” she said, deciding to stick it to her flat-chested roomie. “But when you’ve got these — “she thrusted her chest outward as she leaned backwards against the arm of the couch — “you steer away from wearing a bra a much as you can.