"Hon, if you can walk just a tad faster, we just might make it to the restaurant by next year." Ross said sarcastically as he grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the new chic restaurant which was coincidentally named Chic. Weird, huh? It's supposedly the new rage in the city with the motto: More money for less food.

Personally I think it's completely stupid but beggars can't be choosers. Ross was paying.

"Ross, where's Carmen?" I asked him. Usually, you couldn't pry these two apart. I mean, it does make sense though. Carmen has problems and Ross is nosy.

He sighed dramatically. "You know, I love the dear but I told her I had a doctor's appointment. Ever since she's been dumped, she took this psychology class and she's been trying to psychoanalyze me every chance she gets. I mean, honey, I already have a therapist I'm paying to do that. I don't need another one."

"I know! She's been telling me that my obsession with eating healthy is due to the fact that since I can't control anything in life AKA my love life so I control my diet. Somewhere along that lines. " I laughed. "Isn't that absurd?"

He didn't laugh with me. "Babe, I hate to admit it but she's kind of has a point. I know it sounds ridiculous but now you do have a boyfriend, so maybe you can just loosen up on the diet. I mean you are almost obsessive-compulsive. Chips, chocolate, fries, caviar. You're missing out."

Yea…right. Imbeciles.

"Whatever" I said as I pushed open the door to the restaurant. I shrugged indifferently, it wasn't anything special. Ross has taken us to a dozen restaurants just like this. The only difference is this restaurant was too poor to have actual tables. Instead, they have wooden boards on the floors with pillows surrounding it.

"Wow." Ross said. "It's so pretty. Look, so Indian influenced." He began to motion for the waiter, who eventually led us to the corner. Great. Eating on the floor now. What are we? Dogs?

"Listen Brooke" he said as we sat down, one on each end of the board. "Your mom called yesterday."

"Uh huh" I flipped through the menu. What the hell is this?

"And since you weren't here, I talked to her." He continued. "Well, she asked me about you and suddenly the topic of your love life came up, and I told her you had a serious boyfriend."

"Uh huh." What? Fifty-dollar frog legs? In a supposedly Indian-influenced restaurant? Absurd!

"And you know how you have that family reunion coming up real soon? Like in a week?"

"Yea." I said absentmindedly. I guess I wasn't paying too much attention at the moment. What? No chicken?

"Anyway, she said you should take your new boyfriend too because your whole family would love to meet them and I said sure."

My eyes shot open and I whipped my neck up so fast, I almost got whiplash. "WHAT? YOU SAID WHAT? WHY? BUT? HOW? But but but…." After a while, it just all came out like verbal vomit.

"What's wrong?" He asked with concern. "That's not a problem right. I mean, he should be fine with it. You don't live but a few hours away from here."

I stared at him in disbelief. "A few hours, Ross? Try ten. New Mexico isn't close. First of all, I can't just tell him out of the blue like this and expect him to go. Second of all, you're like psycho. Why would you tell my mother such a thing?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Not a big deal, Brooke. Just back out of it."

I laughed bitterly. Oh no. No NO NO! That's not even possible now. Why? Because by now, most of my family will know that I have a boyfriend and backing out now only means that I lied. I did but still. They would never let me live it down. Mother of Pearls, someone hates me out there with a passion too!

"I can't just back out of it, Ross" I hissed. "You know my mom."

He seemed lost in thought for a moment until his eyes widened and he grinned at me, holding out his hand. "Hun, give me your phone."

"Uhh…why?"

"I'm going to call him."

"Call who?"

"Him. You know him."

I blinked.

"Your boyfriend, silly. "

"No!"

"Why not?" He whined.

I sighed. As reluctant as I was to tell him the truth, I had. The truth must be set free or he'll find out someway. He's got money, mind you.

"Okay Ross." I took a deep breath. I didn't even know why I was so afraid to tell him this. Maybe it's because I'm the most horrible liar in the whole world. This lie was only a day old and has gotten me in so much trouble. Might as well.

"I lied. There is no one. I just wanted you to shut up." I confessed.

He gave me a look filled with sympathy. "Brookie, you are so… stupid."

Huh?

He rolled his eyes at me and scooted further up. "Why would you tell me and Carmen such a thing! You know we're blabbermouths. We can't keep our mouth shut for the life of us. You know all our friends and everybody else knows by now!"

My mouth dropped open. All my friends knew? Damn, the truth wasn't going to do me any good now. I groaned and put my head in my hands. "What am I going to do?"

"Well, I don't know. Get yourself a real boyfriend?" He commented sarcastically.

I growled. "Ross, you are not helping the situation at hand. I think I have about a week to find myself a guy. I can't let my family pity me. I still have my pride you know."

I think any other family would have been fine with the fact that their twenty-five year old daughter doesn't have a husband yet because she is still in the prime of her life but no, not my family. They still haven't progressed to the twenty-first century yet and still go by the rule: You're nothing without a man.

You know what I say to that?

BITE me.

If I come back without a guy when I claimed I did, they're just going to give me a sympathy look and say what they say to Cousin Max every year. "You poor soul." Which always translates to "You pathetic human being. What is wrong with you?"

It's a wonder how I came to grow up with this attitude about men. They've ruined me.

"You know what? I know plenty of guys. I'll help you out." Ross offered me a hopeful smile but I just shook my head.

"Your friends are flamboyantly gay. It'll never work." I sighed. "The way I see it, I only have one option, find a guy as fast as I can, make in fall in love with me within a week, and then invite him to go meet my parents."

Ross whistled. "Long shot, Brooke. The way I see it, you ask a friend to pretend."

"WHO?"

"I don't know. Ryan?"

"No, he's got a psychotic girlfriend. She'll freak." I just shrugged.

This is no big deal. I'm a charming person. I've got tons of charisma. Why wouldn't I be able to find a guy? I'm friendly, outgoing, fit, and witty.

I suddenly feel a burst of confidence, which I don't know, came from myself or the margarita I downed. Either way, I was determined. No more wallowing in self-pity and no more parents hounding me about my love life. I stuck my chin out in persistence and looked at Ross. "I've got the solution. We, my friend, are going man hunting."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh brother."

"I can find myself a man within a week. I can do it."

I can do it.