[pt. 1, “Dinner”](https://www.reddit.com/r/Erotica/comments/12of1g5/sara_alice_more_than_friends_pt_1_dinner_27ff/) | [pt. 2, “Wine”](https://www.reddit.com/r/Erotica/comments/12pqens/sara_alice_more_than_friends_pt_2_wine_27ff_domsub/)
It was the night before Alice left for her study abroad.
Her entire junior year would be spent in Rome and Florence, and I wouldn’t see her until the next fall. As a sending off party, she invited me to go out to dinner with her and some of her music friends. Fittingly, we met at an Italian place, but the menu was illegible to me. I sat across from Alice as we waited for the others.
“You can just order for me, right? I don’t know what any of this means.”
“None of it?”
“Alice, I know *spaghetti*, chicken parm, and eggplant parm. I don’t see those anywhere on here.”
“Look, spaghetti!” She laughed and pointed to the word on the menu, which was surrounded on both ends by impenetrable Italian.
I rolled my eyes and smiled.
“I thought you’d be able to read it because of your Spanish.”
“Sorry to disappoint you and my abuela, but my Spanish is about as good as my Italian.”
I looked over at her as she studied the menu. Alice was the picture of style and sophistication. She wore a black dress that hung perfectly around her. The neckline plunged down low enough that even I had trouble keeping my eyes up, but I could at least pretend I was looking at her silver necklace. Her skin was hauntingly pale like Roman marble, and her hair was perfectly black and glossy and curled. Like so much about her, it looked effortless, but I knew it had to be studied and practiced.
I lacked her elegance. Sitting across from her, I must have looked like her foil in every possible way. She was tall—if not six feet, then almost—and I was short, plain, flat-chested, and brown. The only thing we shared was black hair, but hers was lush and thick like she floated out of a shampoo add. Me, on the other hand, could only be charitably described as having rolled out of bed and fallen into my oversized glasses.
Alice’s two friends arrived, James and Elijah. James might have been half an inch taller than Alice, but she was in heels and effectively the tallest in the group.
“Hey! Sara, right?” Elijah smiled warmly as he took a seat next to me in the booth.
“Yeah, good to see you again, Elijah.”
“You two know each other?” James asked. “Feels kinda like a double date.” He smirked as he sat next to Alice. She cocked an eyebrow.
“Yeah,” I said. “We all met after that concert. When Alice played with your string quartet.” I guess James didn’t recognize or remember me.
“Oh, right,” he replies. “Our string quintet *recital*.” The way he says the last word is like he’s politely trying to correct my use of “concert.” I roll my eyes and stare at the menu. Under the table, Alice taps my leg with her shoe. I look up, and she’s suppressing a smile.
“So what looks good?” Elijah asked me.
“I always defer to Alice in these situations,” I say.
“The *Saltimbocca alla Romana* is a favorite, but I get it every time,” she says. “Maybe we can start with some braised artichokes?”
“I’m going to get the *Pappardelle al Cinghiale*,” James announces, as if anyone asked.
The server comes, and we order. Elijah turns to me and says, “Are you coming to the opera too?”
“Yeah! I’m excited. I’ve never been. The closest I’ve come is seeing *Les Mis*.” Out of the corner of my eye, I could see James sneer, but I ignored him.
“My professor’s in the orchestra,” said Elijah. “I’m excited to hear her play.”
“Yeah, Alice was telling me she was the one who got us the tickets. That’s so nice of her!”
“I think you’ll really like *L’elisir d’amore.* The music is gorgeous, and the story’s a lot of fun.”
“I’m excited!”
We all sampled each other’s food, and James insisted that his was excellent, but it tasted way too fatty and strong for me. As always, my favorite was whatever chicken dish Alice ordered for me.
I had never felt so classy in my life as I did walking into the opera house. I was wearing the dark magenta dress Alice had bought me for my birthday. It fit tightly to my figure and was sleeveless with a one-shoulder neck. Even though I knew it looked good on me, it felt a little like wearing a costume.
Elijah and I chatted pleasantly as we took our seats. He sat on my left, Alice on my right, and James to her right. As soon as the lights went down and the music started, I clearly saw James rest his hand on Alice’s knee, but she gently brushed him away.
Elijah hadn’t been wrong. The songs were pretty, and I was surprised at how engaging the story was. During the intermission, we went out to the lobby, and I bought a grossly overpriced Dr. Pepper.
“Oh look, there’s a photo booth,” I said pointing to a photographer next to a sign that said “Under 40s Night.”
“Yes, it’s the opera’s attempt to lure the unembalmed crowd,” said James.
“Let’s get a picture!” said Alice.
They had an assortment of props and hats and masks for us. I chose those little binoculars, and we all gathered around Alice, smiling.
“Now one with you and me, Sara,” she said. I stood next to her, and at the last second, she bent down and landed a kiss on my cheek.
The shock on my face was real, and the photo would be my profile picture for the next three years.
Source: reddit.com/r/Erotica/comments/12qphih/sara_alice_more_than_friends_pt_3_before_27ff