DREAMS

If Kiera comes home someday with a fiancé she’s known less than a month, I’ll be suspicious too.

Fuck, I hope Kiera never does anything like what I’m doing right now.

The conversation turns to Nicole, and I relax. I drape my arm over the back of her chair, happy to fade into the background while she enjoys time with people she loves.

It’s kind of fun to see Nicole in her childhood home. It makes her look younger, more rebellious. I can imagine her up in her bedroom, wearing those big headphones she likes, listening to her favorite music and plotting her escape to New York.

Unfortunately, that makes me think of where I’ll be sleeping tonight, which is not a thought I feel comfortable having in front of Nicole’s dad.

I try to focus on the conversation instead.

“I’m glad you gave up that idea of running your own company,” Bill says. “That’s too much responsibility for a girl your age.”

Nicole tenses next to me, but she keeps her voice light. “You run your own business.”

“It’s not the sam