Kayla and Lucy exchange dubious glances.
Even as the words leave my mouth, I wonder how realistic it is to think we could just be friends. How long would it take for lines to blur and feelings to develop? How long until I let myguard down and share too many pieces of myself, only to find I can never get them back?
“If that’s really how you feel, you need to make sure he knows that,” Lucy says. “Because he’s definitely into you.”
“You’re right,” I say. “Maybe I should cancel.”
“Wait a second,” Kayla says. “Look, it’s just a date. It’s not a lifetime commitment. What if you go into the evening without any expectations and see what happens? For all you know, you could find out he has really bad breath or that he braids his leg hair and this will all resolve itself.”
“Or maybe you’ll realize that some risks are worth taking,” Lucy adds.
I open my mouth to protest, but she cuts me off.
“Can you have an open mind about this? Please? Consider it a Christmas gift to me.”
I lift my brows. “So you changed your mind on the Taylor Swift vinyls you asked for?”
“I’m serious,” Lucy says. “This is what I want. I want you to spend the evening with him, but I want you to be present on this date. No having one foot already out the door. No thinking ten steps ahead and psyching yourself out. Just be in the moment with him, and if by the end of the night you’re still not feeling it, I’ll never mention him again.”
I fold my arms over my chest. “Swear on Taylor Swift’s entire discography?”
My sister nods. “Even the ten-minute version of ‘All Too Well.’ And you know I don’t mess around when it comes to Taylor.”
It’s true. The girl once battled Ticketmaster for nine and a half hours for nosebleed seats and then stood out in the pouring rain with thousands of other Swifties during a four-hour concert.
I throw my hands up. “Okay. Deal.”
Lucy and Kayla share a victory high five.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work so I can leave on time,” I say, shooing them from the room.
Kayla bounces. “Leave on time for what?”
“Yes, what’s it called again?” Lucy asks, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.
“My hangout,” I answer.
Lucy makes the sound of a gameshow buzzer. “Wrong. Try again.”
I huff out a breath. “Fine. My date. Are you happy now?”
Their squeals are my answer as I close the door behind them. If they’re excited about tonight, maybe I can give myself permission to get a little excited too.
12
MJ
“June Bug,no,”I say, edging closer to the puppy who has one of my favorite loafers in a choke hold in the living room. “Leave it alone.”
She lets out a playful yip, because of course, she thinks this is a game. It doesn’t matter to her that this is my favorite pair of shoes or that I haven’t been able to find any like them since the early aughts.
“Come on.” I take another step toward her, and she hunkers to the ground, raising her cute little butt in the air. “Who’s a good girl?”
The puppy pauses to scratch before unleashing a series of excited barks, bouncing around in a circle like a wind-up toy, right on top of my loafer.
“That’s right. You are.” Another step, and then I snatch up my loafer.
“You know, sister, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’ve been bamboozled,” Rose calls from the kitchen where she’s eating lunch.
