Free Boycotts and Barflies by Victoria Michaels

Perhaps her old art teacher from high school had died and she  was going to read the obituary, or even better, it could be a wedding  announcement for someone she’d hated  in high school, and probably someone  who Grace knew for a fact had slept with half of the football team.
    “You’ll never guess what happened. One of my old friends that I haven’t seen in  forever called. She’s moving to Spokane. Isn’t that great?”
    Flipping through her mail, Grace could hear the excitement in her mother’s  voice. “Wow, Mom, that’s great,” she mumbled as she glanced down at her Visa  bill. Damn, all that shopping with Meg, Grace thought.
    Susan started her speed -talking again, but Grace missed the first part of her  wild rambling because she was busy waving the bill at Meg, pointing at the  total. Grace started paying attention again when she caught the words, “My  friend’s son … Portland … date.”
    “Whoa, Mom. Stop right there. Listen, there’s something you should know. I’m boycotting boys for a while.” There was silence on the line, then hysteria. “Mom, why are you crying?”
    “So who is it? Is it Meg or Bianca?” the woman asked between sobs.
    “Meg or Bianca what, Mom?” Grace was confused by Susan’s over the top  reaction. Damn, I really should pay attention when she fast talks.
    “Which one of them turned you into a lesbian?” she sobbed into the phone. Grace burst into laughter. “Mom, Meg, Bianca, and I ar e not lesbians, I swear.  We’ve just been dating too many losers, so we’re taking a little break from  dating men for a few weeks, but not forever, OK?” Bianca laughed as she  walked in on the middle of Grace’s bizarre conversation with her mother.
    “Well, when this silly boycott is over, I’m going to give you his number. I gotta  go to yoga class. I love you!” Before Grace could say good -bye, the line went  dead.
    Meg giggled. “So, now she thinks we’re lesbians?”

    “Apparently. Maybe I should have let her keep thinking that. At least she  wouldn’t give my number out to any guys for a while.” Grace sat down on one  of the kitchen bar stools and expectantly looked at her friends. “So, what’s on  the agenda for this evening, ladies? I don’t have a class to teach until late
    tomorrow.
    Do you want to go out?”
    Meg jumped to her feet, clapping. “I know the perfect place! We can get a bite to eat and dance and  ”—

    Bianca interrupted with a smirk on her face. “And see the guy you haven’t stopped talking about since you met him last night? Is that where you want to go?” she asked suspiciously.
    With a shameless smile on her face, Meg started jumping up and down whining. “Please, please, please, please …”
    45
    “See, this is what happens when you go out to  a bar with one of your clients  instead of us —you fall in love,” Bianca said sarcastically as she batted her  eyelashes and put her hand over her heart.
    “Come on, Bianca, let’s go check out Mr. Wonderful, a man she can’t date for  another three and a half weeks,” Grace teased while Meg continued pleading. “Fine,” Bianca said grudgingly. “But there better be some other cute guys there  for me to look at, because if I have to watch you make goo -goo eyes all night, I  may throw up!” Meg picked up a pillow from the  couch to launch at Bianca, but  the redhead took off for her room before it even left her friend’s hand.
    After an hour filled with showers and general beautification, they were ready to hit the town. Bianca was in a short red dress that showed off her incredible legs. The dress accentuated her hair which she kept long and poker straight.  Meg wore a long sweater with a pair of leggings, and a few new magenta streaks in her black hair when she emerged from the bathroom. Grace had been physically forced into a  black patterned miniskirt, with a black, off the shoulder top and a pair of knee