Another long silence followed. Three dots started then stopped, then started again.
DANIELLE: Kit Kats tomorrow?
I exhaled an excited gust of air. It wasn’t a yes—yet. But, it also wasn’t a no. I reveled in the possibility.
ME: Perfect. Sweet dreams, beautiful.
DANIELLE: You’re going to be the death of me, Taylor. Goodnight.
I found her use ofdeathamusing. Whether or not Danielle would admit it, we’d brought each other back to life.
When I did walk out of here, I wanted it to be toward new beginnings, and Danielle wouldn’t be another end.
27
Dylan
“What’s with the dopey smile?”My mother slipped me a curious glance as she settled into a seat across from me.
“Dopey? Is that any way to speak to your only son? The one you kept waiting at the restaurant for fifteen minutes?” I faked a scowl before rising from my seat to kiss her cheek.
We always had lunch together on Thursdays, but she’d been at their house in Florida until the end of July, and I’d bailed on her the last few weeks. My mother had seen right through me ever since I was a kid, and I wasn’t ready to tell her yet. I wasn’t ashamed of PJ and me. In fact, not being able to yell about us from the rooftops was eating away at me, but my mother was best friends with PJ’s mother, Ellie. I would not only be putting her in an awful position by swearing her to secrecy, but she also saw PJ as a little girl. I hoped my own mother wouldn’t view me as a creeper, but I delayed crossing that bridge as long as I could.
“You know how hard it is to find parking, and you kept me waiting for weeks, my darling boy. You’re keeping something from me, but that’s okay.” She lifted her menu, still affording me a good piece of her stink eye from behind it. “I’ll find out eventually. Always do.”
I let out a long sigh and rested my elbows on the table. “Fine. I’m ... seeing someone.”
The menu plopped out of her hands before she gaped at me.
“Who? When?” She scooted to the edge of her seat, her eyes bugged out as she gaped at me. “Oh God, not Jeannine again. I mean, if it’s her, I’m ... happy for you.” She winced, her silent plea for me to tell her she was wrong.
I burst out laughing. “No, you’re not. Nice attempt to backtrack. But no, it’s not her. But it’s ... someone else you know.” I swallowed and leaned back in my seat.
“Someone else I know? Do I know them well?”
I folded my arms and nodded. Her eyes fluttered, probably from the parade of female possibilities traipsing through her brain.
She rested her head on her wrist and searched my gaze. “Is it serious?”
“I’m in love with her.” I nodded with a goofy grin splitting my lips. “She’s it for me. I’ve never been more sure of anything. So yeah, maybe my smile is a little dopey.” I smiled around the rim of my water glass and took a sip. My mother’s eyes were lit up like the seven-foot Christmas tree she still made my stepfather buy every year. My stomach turned, knowing once she found out who the girl was, her gaze would burn more than shine.
“Hey, Bianca! I thought that was you!” I cringed at Ellie’s voice before turning around.
“Oh! Hey, Dylan,” she breathed before planting a quick kiss on my cheek. “I’m meeting my sister for lunch today, and, of course, she’s late. We’re supposed to head up to visit Jack after lunch, so I wish she’d get a move on.” Ellie tsked and glanced at her watch. She was tiny and beautiful like her daughter and just as feisty if you crossed her. Before our stepfathers had come along, the four of us had traveled everywhere together, our mothers tough enough for us to not miss the gaping absence of fathers. Jack’s father had died, but mine was a deadbeat who’d never grown up. Our mothers did both jobs for years, and I had nothing but a ton of admiration for both of them.
A rush of shame flooded my veins when I realized once Ellie found out about her daughter and me, maybe she wouldn’t hate me as much as Nick would, but she’d probably never look at me the same way.
“How’s Jack doing?” My mother grabbed Ellie’s forearm.
“He’s fine. Thank God. He should be home soon. It’s the little one that’s giving us trouble.” She raised a brow at my mother, and I did my best to appear stoic and unaffected, as I was the main cause of thetrouble.
“PJ?” Mom straightened in her seat. “What’s wrong? I thought she was staying here to go to school?”
Ellie let out an audible sigh. “She is. But she’s tight-lipped on whatreallymade her change her mind. And she isneverhome.” Ellie scoffed and crossed her arms. “I see her at school during the summer program classes, but that’s it. It’s like she’s got this big secret she’s afraid to spill so she won’t speak. Even her brother has no clue, and she usually tells him everything. She’s eighteen, so not much Nick or I can do. I’m hopeful she’ll come around and tell us soon. Her father is losing his mind as you can imagine. He thinks she has a secret boyfriend.”
My mother drew back in her chair as Ellie laughed, nodding at her friend but glowering at me. My mother should have been a private detective instead of an office manager. She sniffed things out in seconds.
“Do you think she does?” My mother’s words were slow, but Ellie didn’t seem fazed.
