“Yeah, pretty much,” I said, talking while I looked at the menu. “I think it hit TikTok the other day, so it started up again. It’s been nonstop all week.”
“What are people saying?” Benny asked.
I laughed a little. “Mostly that I’m not the asshole.” I looked directly at Brad, and he smirked.
“A few people told me I should have sued you for breach of contract.” I laughed at this. Never. “A bunch of comments said we’re both assholes.”
“This is true,” Brad said, looking at his phone. “We are assholes. But only to each other. It’s the foundation of our friendship.”
“I had a bunch of girls ask if I’d date them and break up with them so they can find their soulmate,” I said, amused, perusing the burger options.
“Are you gonna do it?” Brad asked. “Offer your services?”
I scoffed. “No.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“They only want to date me to break up with me. I have like two hundred messages right now and they’re all the same.”
“What if there’s someone cool in there?” Benny chimed in.
I gave him a look. “Someone cool who wants to break up with me? Before we’ve even met? I’m a novelty. A fun story to tell their friends. They got to date the good luck charm guy from Reddit. No thank you. Besides, my streak’s not even a real thing.”
“As someone on the benefiting end of it, I’m gonna tell you, it’s real,” Brad said.
“It’s a series of coincidences,” I said. “There is nothing magical about any of it.”
Brad shook his head. “Look, you can believe whatever the heck you want. But when I met Faith, and I mean the second I laid eyes on her, it was like I got hit by a truck. It was the same way for her. You’re ferrying women to their happily ever afters. You could charge for this shit.”
“Oh, now you tell me,” I said, slapping the menu shut. “I could have used the extra twelve hundred bucks last month.”
He flipped me off.
I grabbed another mozzarella stick. “You know, I actually did sort of meet somebody from it.”
Benny looked interested. “You did? Who?”
“Just some girl. A nurse. She messaged me a few days ago. Said she’s got the same thing I do.”
“The good luck charm thing?” Benny asked.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
She was beautiful. In her picture she was wearing light blue scrubs and her long brown hair was in a braid. She had hazel eyes, a broad grin. She didn’t look like a nurse. She looked like a movie star playing a nurse. She seemed pretty cool too.
“So you gonna hook up with her or what?” Brad said.
“I don’t think she lives here. She’s a travel nurse.”
“Damn. That sucks. Where’s she at?” Brad said.
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask.”
“You should ask,” Benny said. “What if she’s in Vegas or something? We could all go. It’d be fun.”
Brad nodded at me. “You know, if she’s got the same thing you do, if you guys date each other, you’ll both find your soulmates when you break up.”
I laughed a little, dipping my mozzarella stick in ranch.
“No, I’m serious,” he said. “Think about it. You guys would cancel each other out.”
“I don’t know about that. She was pretty nice though.”
“Did you text her today?” Brad asked.
“No. Why?”
“I don’t know. Just getting tired of your ass being single all the time. You’re messing up the ratio.”
“Bold of you to assume I care about the ratio,” I said, taking a bite.
Only lately I sort of did care.
Benny and Brad were both in serious relationships now. I didn’t like fifth wheeling it when their girlfriends were around—and they usually were.
They were starting to do the couples thing for all the trips and birthdays. They were all going up to Lutsen in October to go hiking. They asked me if I wanted to go, but I didn’t. Not alone.
I puffed my cheeks and blew a breath. “I’m just getting burnt out on dating, I think.”
