= Sarah POV =
"I guess you're right. What is even a semi-friend? I don't get it," Heather said, pouring herself some ocha.
I took out my phone and looked it up.
"Oh, I guess it's kind of like friends with benefits," I said, reading up a forum article about it.
Heather spat out her ocha and looked up at me "Why didn't she just say that straight away? Oh hell no, I'm no friends with benefits. So she just wanted to use me and discard me just like that?" Heather said seething.
"But you are in love with her…" I said, putting away my phone and getting some tissue to clean up the ocha all over the table.
"Sorry, I…" Heather said, realizing the mess she had made, and she helped me clean the side of the table closer to her.
"It's fine; I guess you have a much more traditional worldview than the people Amber. Maybe this works in your favour. As long as you don't end up in her house, or she doesn't end up in your house, then there is no problem, and you don't have to worry about her having her way with you without being in a committed relationship, " I suggested
"Just create that kind of boundary, and you should be fine," I suggested, gathering the soiled tissue and disposing it in a small metal trash can in the corner of the room.
"That's true. I'm a grown woman; I can take care of myself. If Amber works late, I can have someone else send her home or get her a cab. I don't have to put myself in a position where I get taken advantage of… again," Heather said firmly " No matter how cute I think she is," she wavered and then sighed, running her hand through her hair.
"If it helps, if I see her getting you in a compromising position, I'll try to pull you away or separate you two somehow, ok? Maybe you should also consider getting back in the dating pool; having a significant other may help you move on because clearly you and Amber aren't on the same page," I suggested.
Heather nodded " That's true. Ok, I'll see if I can arrange any lesbian singles nights. Let's go together, k? Let's leave Amber and Chris behind; neither deserves us," Heather said, nodding to herself, settling on the idea.
"Oh-ok…" I replied, a bit nervous about setting up an entire lesbian dating event for the first time just so that we can meet new people, "Maybe instead of that, let's ask around and see if there is anything being held that is for lesbians and join in; it seems like a lot of work to set up a whole event just so that we can find new people
"But what if Amber comes as well?" Heather asked, biting her lip.
"Well, then you get to see her for who she really is. Besides, with everyone around, I doubt she would go for her boss so blatantly, would she?" I shrugged.
Heather nodded "Right, ok, I'll ask around, and then we'll go on the most inconvenient day for the both of them, a day when Chris is not at work, and Amber has classes after work. Then we can go and see other fish in the sea with fresh eyes!" Heather declared.
I pour out the remainder of the ocha into our cups and raise up mine.
"Yeah! No more being treated like some kind of trophy to be won!" I declared proudly.
Heather picked up her cup of ocha as well
"And no more being treated like a cheap fling that you can discard the next minute!" Heather declared as well!
As we clanked out ceramic cups together, a waitress came in with the bill, and Heather quickly downed her ocha and signed it.
"Please come again," the waitress said as Heather and I gathered up our personal belongings and walked out of the private dining space.
"Ok, we both have to stay focused. I think I'll need to sit down and do some apartment hunting. Chris really has been too comfortable, and it's becoming impossible for me to think for myself. I really need my own separate space to decide how I want to proceed with Chris clearly," I said.
"Well, I have a spare room; you can stay at my place if you need a place to crash," Heather suggested.
"Urgh, no. Thanks but no. Between Chris and Ms. Jun, I think you might find yourself in deep water, and I think you have your hands full with Amber," I sighed.