I hit snooze for the third time and rolled onto my stomach, burying my head under the covers. Oh, how I longed for the days when I could sleep in as late as I wanted on Sunday mornings. Already, my head was spinning with everything I needed to accomplish today. I usually tried to save coffee for an afternoon pick-me-up, but it was moving to the top of my to-do list.

After spending yesterday working on my project, I met my parents for the show in the evening. The event was surprisingly fun and without drama. Still, I was relieved they were heading back to Indiana in a few hours. The last thing I wanted was yet another confrontation with my mother.

Thinking back, I tried to figure out when things had gotten so bad between us. She’d always been controlling in that I know what’s best for you way. In high school, I typically endured it without complaint, but things were different now. I was different.

Maybe that was the problem. My mother still expected me to be her little girl, following her guidance and instructions to a T. By choosing a college halfway across the country, I’d taken that first step toward independence. Staying in Vegas last summer, then breaking up with Matt—both against her advice—constituted steps two and three. My insistence on finding my own way after graduation might be our breaking point.

That realization made me sad but also somewhat resigned. A part of me would always want to make my mother happy and proud. But I also knew myself well enough to understand that my life would be different than hers, different than what she dreamed of for me. If she couldn’t get past that, I’d have to learn to be okay with her disappointment.

Pushing back the covers, I finally got out of bed and walked straight into the shower, which only brought back memories of Nicholas. As determined as I’d been to take the physical side of my relationships slowly, each one of the Ts was making it pretty damn difficult. Between Nicholas’s caveman routine, Shane’s racy, semi-public groping, and unraveling the unexpected depth to Cole’s personality, I was toast.

Sooner or later, I would have to accept that I was really doing this—I was dating three men. None of the excuses I’d come up with when I first started going out with them held true anymore. I wasn’t following a hunch or giving into my curiosity. No, I was legitimately falling for all three of them, and it was scary as hell.

I finished my shower, then headed for the kitchen. Coffee alone wasn’t going to get me out of my sleepy, self-pitying slump, so I whipped up a batch of chocolate chip pancakes instead of settling for my usual breakfast of fruit and Greek yogurt or cereal.

Just as I sat down with my pile of textbooks after breakfast, I received a text message.

Cole: Is there any way I can take you up on your offer to help Jeremy with his application? He needs to write a personal statement and insists all my ideas are crap.

I knew that offer would come back to bite me.

Me: Of course. When?

Cole: Can you do it this morning? We’ll come over there.

I glanced at the stack of textbooks and sighed. So much for getting ahead on the week’s assignments.

Me: Yep. Give me 30 minutes to get dressed.

Actually, I needed ten to get dressed and twenty to straighten up my apartment. There was nothing I could do about the papers covering every inch of my small table, so I focused on clearing the coffee table and couch before moving on to the kitchen and bedroom.

By the time they arrived, I felt ready to take on the challenge of helping Jeremy. Regardless of his reasons for showing up in Vegas, he was endeavoring to create a better future. That much I could respect.

Cole took me aside while Jeremy set up Cole’s laptop on the coffee table. “Thank you for this. Is it okay if I use your room for a conference call? It shouldn’t take too long.”

“Yes, go, we’ll be fine.”

He kissed me lightly on the lips. “If he gives you any trouble, feel free to slap him.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Joining Jeremy on the couch, I attempted to sound enthusiastic. “Okay, personal statement time.”

“I read online that it should start with a favorite quote or highlight my accomplishments. I don’t have any to highlight.”

“No offense, but this is an application for technical school, not Harvard. They probably just want to get a sense of who you are and why you care about the program.” I thought back to what he’d told me in the bar. “Why don’t you tell them about the Camaro? Explain how all it took was that first ride to fall in love with cars. In your own words, of course.”

“Do you think that’ll work?”

“Absolutely.” I gave him a few tips on structuring his paragraphs, then left him alone to write the first draft while I continued sorting through the research piled on my dining table.

I was so engrossed in my work that I jumped when he spoke from directly behind me sometime later. “I’ve never met a girl as hot as you that was so into school.”

“It’s who, not that, and are you suggesting hot girls can’t be smart?” I snipped back, uncomfortable with his proximity.

Jeremy held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

I slipped out of my chair and away from him. “Let’s see what you wrote.” After skimming the text, I corrected his spelling and grammar mistakes and made several suggested changes to wording and sentence structure. Overall, it was a decent personal statement, perfectly adequate for the application in question.

“Wow, you’re good at that,” he said, after accepting my suggestions. Was he still surprised I was attractive and intelligent?

“I’m a journalism major. I do a lot of writing and editing. Are you happy with it?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t make me sound like a total loser, so that’s a plus.”

I couldn’t help snorting at his comment. “That would kind of defeat the purpose.”

“Would you mind checking over the rest of my application for mistakes?”

“Not a problem. Help yourself to anything in the fridge, but there’s not much.”

I quickly proofread his application, only pausing when I got to the employment section. His work history wasn’t the greatest—he hadn’t stayed at any of the jobs listed for more than a few months, until his most recent one. I was surprised to find that he worked at AutoShop for more than a year and the end date listed was the current month. Did he get fired or decide to leave on his own?

Something still didn’t add up about Jeremy’s sudden arrival in Vegas and his supposed commitment to making amends with his brother after all this time. Was I merely being overly suspicious? Unable to resist, I jotted down the address and phone number of the AutoShop in my phone for future reference.

Cole finally came out of the bedroom as I was finishing up. “I’m so sorry. That took way longer than I expected. How are things going out here?”

“We’re done,” I said, setting the laptop on the coffee table.

“Excellent.”

Jeremy stood. “I saw a bus stop a few blocks away, so I’ll head out. Thanks for your help, Emma.”

“You’re welcome.”

“See you at the club tonight?” Jeremy asked his brother.

“Yep, see you there.”

After Jeremy left, I relaxed into the couch. “How is the bartending going?”

“Pretty well. He’s mostly caught on, and the female customers seem to like him.”

I laughed. “Not surprising.”

Cole pulled me into his lap. “Should I be worried about you switching Reid men? He is your age, after all.”

“Not even a little bit, but he’s got that dark and dangerous look women like. It should earn him good tips.”

He bit down on my earlobe. “I can be dark and dangerous.”

“I’m not sure you can, and I like that about you. You’re sexy without the broodiness.”

“Sexier than my—” He was interrupted by a knock at the door. “How much you want to bet Jeremy needs bus money,” Cole said, moving me off his lap and walking to the door. But when he opened it, his brother wasn’t standing there. My parents were.

Oh. Shit.

“Is this the wrong apartment?” I heard my mother say through the whooshing in my ears. Her face peeked around Cole’s body. “Apparently not.”

“You must be Emma’s parents,” Cole said politely as he helped them inside with their luggage. “I’m Cole Reid.”

“Cole is one of Shane’s roommates,” I added quickly. Panicking, I tried to think of a plausible excuse for him to be in my apartment. Spotting his laptop, I grabbed it and handed it to him. “He stopped by to pick up this laptop. Shane, um, accidentally left it here Friday night.”

As far as explanations went, it wasn’t terrible. My delivery, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired. If my parents didn’t know for a fact I was lying, they undoubtedly suspected as much.

When I caught sight of the crestfallen expression on Cole’s face, I knew my parents were the least of my worries. In the moment, my automatic reaction had been to lie about my relationship with him. It hadn’t occurred to me—not even for a second—to tell my parents the truth.

“It was nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Harris. I’ll get out of your hair.” He gave me a sad smile before heading to the door. I followed him and mouthed an “I’m sorry” right before he walked out.

When I turned back around, both of my parents were watching me, but I couldn’t tell what they were thinking. “What are you doing here? I thought your flight was leaving soon.”

“It got delayed, so we decided to pick up lunch and surprise you.” My dad held up a takeout bag I hadn’t noticed before.

“Okay, let me get plates and drinks.” I began rummaging in the kitchen, doing anything to take my mind off the fact that I sort of got caught with one of my boyfriends and introduced him as nothing more than Shane’s roommate. “We’ll have to eat around the coffee table.”

“Can’t we clean off your table?” my mother asked.

I spun around. “No!”

Both of my parents froze, looking shocked, and I realized my hands were shaking. I seriously needed to get a grip. After taking a deep breath, I forced a smile.

“Sorry. I spent all day yesterday going through that research, and it’s organized exactly how I want it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” my dad said, “the coffee table is fine.”

My mother was oddly quiet throughout lunch, and I was on edge, constantly wondering if she would bring up Cole. I barely picked at my food, too sick to even fake normalcy. I kept replaying the scene over and over in my head. Seeing my parents in the doorway. Panicking. Regarding Cole as if he meant nothing to me. The look on his face. The disappointment.

Mostly, I was angry at myself. Even if I wasn’t ready to reveal that we were dating, I could have introduced him as a friend. I could have asked him to stay and allowed him the chance to get to know my parents as Shane had. I could have, should have, treated him with care instead of indifference.

I was in the middle of trying to figure out something to tell my parents that might make up for it when my mother cleared her throat daintily.

“Emma, I wanted to let you know that I’m not upset you don’t want the law office position. I do think you should take time to consider it, but I’ll leave that up to you.”

Was that supposed to be an apology? I honestly couldn’t tell.

“Okay.”

“As you start applying for jobs, I hope you’ll take our offer for you to move back home seriously. It’s important to not overextend yourself financially, and saving on rent, utilities, and food would help tremendously.”

It was now or never. I may not have been ready to deal with explaining the Ts, but I could at least stand my ground on this. “I appreciate the offer, but you should know that I’m not planning on moving back to Indiana.”

My mother paled beneath her generously-applied blush. “Never?”

“I can’t predict the future, but not anytime soon.”

“I see.”

Noticing tears in her eyes, I reminded myself that she pushed because she loved me. “This isn’t about you.” Mostly true. “It’s about me. I like living in a big city and trying new things. Exploring new places. I don’t know where I’ll end up, but that’s part of the appeal. If I don’t experience that now, I might not get another chance.”

My dad gave me a slight but approving nod while my mother sat there still and quiet. With nothing left to say, I wrapped up my uneaten lunch and began collecting the dishes. My dad gathered the trash and joined me in the kitchen while my mother called a cab.

“She’ll come around,” he said quietly.

“I hope you’re right.”

After loading my mother’s bag in the cab, I gave her a hug. I wanted her to understand that while I didn’t agree with her about my future, I was still willing to work on our relationship.

“See you guys at graduation?” For the first time, it didn’t seem like a given that they’d both attend.

“Of course,” Dad said as he squeezed me tightly. “Don’t work too hard.”

“I’ll try not to. Tell Chris to call me.” I hadn’t heard from my brother in weeks, and we needed to finalize the plans we made over Christmas for him to visit during spring break.

“Will do.”

As I watched the cab drive away, a sense of melancholy washed over me. It felt like things were about to change in a big way. Or maybe they already had, and I was just now getting around to realizing it.