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She shakes her head, refusing to look in my direction. Instead, she stares up at the stars until her breathing goes back to normal.
I sigh, wishing none of this was happening. That my parents weren’t moving my brothers and me to Colorado. That we were just staying here—right next door to my best friend. And this was any other normal night.
I hate them for doing this to me.
I’ll never forgive them.Never.
For the longest time, I lay there, mad at my parents and the world.
Then I notice Lily’s eyes have fallen shut and she’s asleep.
So much for staying up all night.
Well, forherat least.
But there’s no way I’ll miss a single second.
Rolling onto my side again, I watch her for the longest time, trying to memorize everything about her.
I wish I could tell her how I feel but I don’t even know what this is. I just know she’s a part of me and not even moving away will change that.
Suddenly, a strange urge comes over me and no matter what I do, I can’t seem to talk myself out of it.
I hold my breath, scared I’ll wake her up, but my hand moves toward her. Every inch closer makes me feel more alive—and kinda scared out of my mind. But I know I can’t leave without doing it.
Slowly, I take her hand in mine, feeling the warmth of her palm as it rests in my own.
I exhale.
This is what home feels like.She’smy home.
I’ll be back, Lily. I promise.
CHAPTER1
Lily
If it wasn’t for these dirty bitches, I don’t know how I’d make it through the week. I’d probably end up one of those lonely, drunk ladies who has way too many cats and an impressive collection of yarn.
“Hey, Lil, can you flip the open sign off for me?” Tasia asks as she stumbles into the reading alcove of her adult bookstore with two dark brown folding chairs tucked under her arms. They almost look like extensions of her body since the color is nearly a perfect match to her beautiful, dark skin.
Beside me, Anna calmly sets her phone in her lap, then pushes her large-framed glasses up her face. Without missing a beat, she raises her right hand and flips the bird toward the front of the building. “Got it.”
Tasia’s expression deadpans. “Hilarious, Chang. Ever think of going into comedy?”
“I aim to please,” Anna retorts with the kind of straight face only she can manage. Maybe it’s her Korean roots showing. Or a prerequisite for being a female computer programmer. Pretty sure those ladies major in‘Smart Ass.’
Trying to hide my smirk, I push off the small purple loveseat and stand up. “On it.”
Tasia’s dark eyes sparkle as she beams her giant smile at me and sets the first chair out. Then she turns to Anna and says, “See, that’s whyshe’smy BFF.”
“Kiss ass,” Anna says, pretending to sneeze as she picks her phone back up.
I laugh under my breath and weave through the bookshelves toward the front of the store.
So far, only three of us are on time—me, Tasia, and Anna. We’re waiting on Vivian, who’s notoriously late, but for some reason, it would be weird if she wasn’t.
TheDirty B’shave been meeting every Thursday night in the back of Tasia’s bookstore for the past three years. In that time, the four of us have built something I hadn’t realized I was missing in my life.
