Day 87: Tales Of Billboard Discoveries And Supportive “Friends”
Day 87 Of How To Move On From A Man — 1LD
If you’re new here to 1 Lovelock Drive, welcome! Let me fill you in on what you’ve missed.
I’m Andie and my ex, Douglas, dumped me. This is my break-up, so to speak. Douglas is a power player in Melbourne, worth more than I could ever comprehend.
I have no idea why we broke up.
I work and live at 1 Lovelock Drive. There, my best friend James and I are building Highway, our unisex clothing line. Our two other best friends, GG and Sophia, are investors.
GG is dating Douglas’ brother. Awkward.
My friends have been acting strange since the breakup. Since things have changed, I’ve found papers in James’ briefcase outlining plans for an expensive office space for our business.
Breakfast.
Alex’s house.
Richmond.
He had this wonderful home I really didn’t want to leave. And after more sexual frustration releasing sex, I wanted this little holiday away from my relationship cataclysm to last forever.
Alas, he had to go to work and I had to go back to 1 Lovelock Drive.
“What are you doing this morning?” Alex asked, putting the last touches on his suit with a pair of silver cufflinks, the right shaped like a bull, the left shaped like a bear.
“I have to go to Chapel Street. Look at something for work.”
“Does it have anything to do with the office space?”
I nodded. It had everything to do with going real estate hunting with him. I didn’t bother telling Alex what Sophia told me the other day. I had dragged Alex too far into this professional dilemma. He didn’t need to feel responsible for whatever this next storm was. “
Can I help?”
“It’s a little out of your way. My friend Sophia, do you remember her from back in the day? Well, she told me to go look at something on the corner of Chapel Street and Toorak Road. And she knew about our tour through 120 Collins, too. I’m going to go see what’s there.”
“I’ll come with you.”
I shook my head. “You don’t need to do that.”
“I insist,” he replied. “Call me curious.”
I screwed my face up. He’s curious?
“I mean, come on, this is so weird. This isn’t how friendships work, nor how you do business at this level. Something isn’t right here. In fact, something stinks, for sure.”
It was oddly comforting to hear someone else agree with what was happening. It didn’t feel right to me either. I didn’t like speculating what it could be either, for fear of getting it wrong.
That’s how bad it stunk.
Yet, until Alex came along, I didn’t have anyone to corroborate that feeling. “Are you sure work won’t mind?”
“I’m having a meeting with a client. A very sexy client!”
Alex leaned in and kissed me.
I drove us to Chapel Street. The immovable morning traffic added unnecessary suspense to the journey. It didn’t help that Alex insisted on speculating the entire time, too.
We found a car park a few metres from the corner Sophia described. Walking to the intersection, I couldn’t decide what spot to stand in. Where was I looking?
At the storefronts?
At the people?
At the myriad of tram stops?
“Look up,” Alex said, with a solemn tone. I followed his lead, staring at a billboard that wrapped around a joint apartment building and retail space.
There, in bold letters, said,
“Coming soon: Highway”
And the models? James, GG and Sophia.
What. The. Fuck.
You’re reading The Andie Chronicles, the 2023 romance-fiction series from the 1 Lovelock Drive (1LD) universe.
Want to hear what happens next? Don’t forget to hit subscribe!
TikTok | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest | Twitter | Facebook | 1LD on Medium | Support 1 Lovelock Drive On Substack