Summer of Natalie VII

I left my house earlier than usual this morning so I could get to Leann's by late afternoon and discuss the evening, I knew I would have to do some convincing to get her to come along.  Leann can be finicky depending on her mood so I decide that if she's having a glass of wine when I walk through the door I'll tell her my plan and if she's doing work and studying I'll tell her about the new pub I want to check out this evening.

I finally get to her place after fighting my way through rush hour traffic on a friday afternoon...awful. I walk in to find her studying with a glass of wine.  It brings me back to our university days and I remind her that if she studies drunk she'll have to write her tests the same way.  I grab a beer from the fridge and join her on the couch.  Leann knows I've been struggling with my life lately and never passes up the opportunity to grill me on everything from my feelings to my day to day life.  It's not like she's being nosy, I know she is genuinely concerned for me and is aware this is not the first time I've been down this road.  She has been a close friend to me and my family for over a decade and I love that I have another friend and support in my life that I can just be open and honest with and never feel for bad for just being me.  Leann is the type of friend that won't pay you lip service, if she thinks you're wrong or misinformed she will be the first to tell you.  This is why I love and respect her so much, her views don't change just to suit me and she would never want mine to change to suit her.  We have always been free to express ourselves openly without fear, I honestly don't know if I have many friends like that...I wonder how many close friends I actually have?

I decide to just tell Leann my plan for the evening, but not before I top up her glass and let her finish it.  "Are you seriously trying to take me on a date with you?" I put on my best convincing face and get ready to state my defence.  "It's not a date Leann, we are just meeting for a drink and it would only ever be friendship".  She grabs her purse and heads for the balcony, I highly doubt this calls for a smoke but I go along cause I'm two beers in and feel like joining her.  We light up and discuss the evening, basically it involves her telling me her list of demands and notifying me that her tab is my tab...fair enough.

Leann and I were ready to hit the town, she looks over at me and hands me the keys "it's probably best that you stay sober incase you need to run".