In retrospect, I probably picked a bad place to sit down. I had been waiting for my roommate to finish her date and pick me up for the last forty-five minutes. I told her to meet me at the corner of 7th and Broadway at 10pm. Marley had already told me that the date would not be a long one; she'd been fixed up by a friend with a guy she had no interest in. She'd texted me at 9:30 to tell me she'd be there on time.
However, 10 had rolled past, and then so had 10:30. I didn't have enough cash on me to pay for a cab home, so my plan was either to wait until Marley showed up or dawn arrived. At least with the new day, I could walk to class.
I sat down on the curb to wait for Marley. About five minutes later, I was approached by two guys from my college. They weren't in my classes, but I'd seen them around at parties and school events. Both were attractive in their own ways, which was probably why I'd noticed them, but things had never passed the nod stage with us.
The guys had been drinking. Nothing too extreme, though one of them practically tripped over an uneven joint in the sidewalk. "Hey, I know you," said the one. Even though they were both likely juniors in college, this one looked young. He had a boyish face with no stubble, blond hair and piercing blue eyes. He was just taller than me, maybe 5'9" or so.
"Yeah," I said more to have something to do other than be pissed at Marley for not showing. "You were at Ellen's party last month."
"That's right," the other said. He was tall and dark with wavy brown hair and an appearance of moodiness, though he seemed pretty happy at the moment. "You're Marley's roommate. I remember."
The blond one looked at me. "So what are you doing here?"
The darker leaned in towards me. I could smell the scent of lager on his breath, but it wasn't overwhelming. They'd probably just had enough to walk up to women they'd only nodded at before, and no more. "I mean, does Marley know you do this? Is it safe?"
"Yeah, she's very aware of where I am, and this corner is as safe as anyplace."
The blond one just nodded, but the dark haired guy continued. "How much?"
I furrowed my brows and looked at him. "How much for what?"
He leaned in closer. His lips were thick and red, close enough for me to kiss if I wanted. The warmth from his body made me want to pull in closer to him and get rid of the cold feeling I'd had from sitting on the sidewalk. "Oh right, you guys have price lists."
I had a sudden inkling of what was going on. Girl on the street corner, suddenly friendly, asking about prices. I wanted to burst out laughing, but I wasn't sure if they'd see the joke in this. Besides they were both cute, if a little socially awkward, and I'd always been curious about multiple partners. Two guys who I barely knew socially would be the best choice for this. Close enough to know they're not a threat, but far enough away as not to run into them daily for the rest of my life.
"How much you got?" I asked, deciding to play along. If nothing else, this would pass the time until Marley showed.
"About three hundred," he said seriously. "I know that two guys is more, but we didn't know if it was double the price or there was some kind of group discount."
Now I did laugh. These guys definitely were on the awkward side, but it made a sour evening that much better.
"No group discounts," I said with a grin. "I'm not Walmart."
The blond finally spoke again. "My apartment is just around the corner."
I nodded. "Got coffee there?"