The List
Maya
“I’m done with dating.”That was the first thing I said to my best friend Nina the moment we sat down at our table.
She slowly looked up from her phone, blinking at me as I had just announced the end of civilization.
“What?” she said. “Why? Did something happen on your last date?”
The waitress chose that exact moment to bring our drinks. I waited until she walked away before leaning across the table.
“Did you know he brought his mother on the date?” I say.
Nina’s head snapped up.“No, he didn’t.”
I nodded slowly and took a sip of my drink.“Oh yes, he did.”
She slammed her hand on the table.“That man did NOT bring his mother to a first date!”
A couple at the next table shot us annoyed looks.
I shrugged.“She ordered for him… and for me.”
Nina stared at me.“That’s not a date,” she said. “That’s a hostage situation.”
I laughed despite myself.“Tell me about it.”
After a couple of drinks, the buzz started warming my cheeks and loosening my thoughts.
And that’s when the crazy idea hit me. I pulled my notebook from beside my laptop and opened it.“New plan.”
Nina raised one suspicious eyebrow.“What are you doing? Creating dating goals?”
I flipped to a blank page.“No,” I said dramatically.“Life-changing goals.”
Across the top of the page, I wrote:
Dirty Bucket List
Nina nearly choked on her drink.“Oh, this I have to see.”
I laughed and started writing, not because I actually planned to do any of it, but because, for once, it felt good to imagine being bold.
Fearless, Reckless.
Someone who didn’t overthink every little thing.
I wrote the first one.
Item One: Kiss someone in an elevator.
Nina leaned closer.“Oh, we’re starting to get spicy already.”
Item Two: Go on a luxury date with a powerful CEO.
“Ambitious,” she muttered.
Item Three: Spend one night in a penthouse suite.
She whistled.“Girl, you’re dreaming big tonight.”
I grinned and kept going.
Item Four: Nipple plays only orgasm in the back of a car.
Item Five: Have my partner use a sex toy on me while I’m blindfolded.
Item Six: Get a G-spot orgasm in the office.
Item Seven: Try wax play.
Nina leaned over my shoulder again.“You’re wild tonight.”
“Wine makes me brave,” I admitted.
I added a few more until the list reached ten.
Item Eight: Make him watch while I pleasure myself.
Item Nine: Get each other off in public.
By now, Nina was fanning herself dramatically.“Lord help whatever man ends up with you.”
I laughed and wrote the last one.
The one that made me laugh the hardest.
Item Ten: Never fall for the boss.
I snapped the notebook shut.“Perfect.”
Nina shook her head, smiling.“You'd better hide that thing if you don’t plan on actually doing any of it.”
“Relax,” I said confidently. “No one will ever see it.”
We spent the rest of the night drinking and talking about my terrible dating history.
But by the time the night started winding down, the laughter faded a little. Because the truth was, it had been years since I had someone to go home to.
Someone to eat dinner with, Someone who looked at me like I was theirs. Apparently, that kind of thing was harder to find than I thought.
When the waitress brought our final round, my mind drifted somewhere dangerous.
To someone, I definitely shouldn’t have been thinking about my boss.
For a brief, reckless moment, a thought slipped into my head. He’d actually be perfect to complete this list, I snorted and opened the notebook again.
Then I grabbed my pen and wrote in bold letters across the bottom.
YOUR BOSS IS OFF-LIMITS. I underlined it twice.
Then I added one last sentence. NO MATTER HOW PERFECT HE LOOKS.
I closed the notebook and tossed it into my bag.
Completely certain of one thing.
My boss or anyone would never see this list, not in a million years.
The next morning…
I realized I had left my notebook in the conference room right before my boss walked in for the first executive meeting of the day.
