“It turns out, she had a tapeworm in her,” Olivia said, before taking a quick sip of her tall hot chocolate from Starbucks. “Damn Hadley got it again. I swear, that doctor knows everything at the most random moments.” She rolled her green eyes as she waved her hands, including the one holding her hot chocolate.

“Obviously he knows how to please you,” Shelby told her friend mischievously, nudging Olivia with her shoulder. Her nose scrunched up and her dark eyes sparkled. “How many times have you done it this past week?”

“That is a very private question,” Olivia told her friend firmly, glancing down at her. She smiled then. “But, in total, maybe seven times.”

Shelby studied her friend for a moment. Olivia was smiling a lot more than she had when she was with Owen and her eyes had already reclaimed that excited sparkle that had lost itself somewhere long ago. She was relaxed and laidback and her style had come to back to her as well. Currently, she was wearing a black hat with Jack written on the side with white stitching in flowy, dramatic letters. On the back where there was a Jack Skellington picture was now covered by a Jack Sparrow pin because, as Olivia pointed out, “There are tons of Jacks out there; I don’t want people getting my affiliation with Jack Sparrow confused with any other Jack.” She was wearing a black Shady hoodie over a long-sleeved shirt and tight, low-cut jeans. On her feet were worn black and pink Converses. She looked natural; she looked happy.

“He’s good for you, you know,” Shelby said as the two got out of the car. The young woman pulled out her umbrella while Olivia opted to walk in the light drizzle. “I mean, the whole sex thing is obviously a bonus, but I think generally… he’s good for you.”

“God, Shelb,” Olivia said, tilting her head back in exasperation. “You make it seem like we’re dating or something. We’re just having fun.”

“Exclusive fun,” Shelby pointed out as they walked around the empty street corner. While rainy days were common for Boulder, people still preferred the indoors where it was cozy, warm, and dry. However, the two women were on a mission to pick Shelby’s perfect wedding dress, and, if extra lucky, maybe the bridesmaid’s dresses.

“We’ve never even been on a date,” Olivia said defensively, looking at her friend despite the abnormally low bill of her cap.

“He brought over Chinese food Tuesday night,” Shelby reminded her. “You are both obviously happier together than apart, but apparently that hasn’t stopped from fighting.” At this, she rolled her eyes and opened the door to a local bridal shop and let Olivia enter before following her in. “Which means,” she continued, “that you’re both not trying to change yourself for each other. Which is healthy in a relationship.” She grinned at her deductive reasoning.

“I don’t even know if it’s a relationship,” Olivia said shrugging, downing the rest of her hot chocolate before throwing it away in the nearest trash can. She put her hands on her stomach and frowned. “God, I’m all, like, bloated now. I hope I’ll be able to fit in the dresses.”

“Oh shut up,” Shelby said, shoving her friend. “And yes, it is a relationship. I’m surprised you don’t recognize it as one. I mean, think of it like a patient, right? The symptoms of a common disease are pretty easy to diagnose, right? He brings her flowers, she writes him poems, they go on romantic dates; they’re dating, right? But what if they have abnormal symptoms but the diagnosis is still the same? You’re part of a diagnostics team; this should be easy for you to understand.”

Olivia still looked doubtful when an assistant with platinum blonde hair and dark eyes walked over to them. She had a friendly smile, and a sharp black and white pantsuit. “Hello,” she greeted with a soft but expressive voice. “My name is Melanie.” She shook both Shelby and Olivia’s hand. “How may I help you today?”

“I’m actually looking for a wedding dress,” Shelby said with an excited smile. She couldn’t deny how excited she was for her upcoming nuptials.

“Congratulations!” Melanie exclaimed, seeming genuinely excited. “Oh, how incredible. When’s the date?”

“We haven’t actually set a date yet,” Shelby explained. “I mean, we’re both pretty impulsive, so we want to plan for everything early in case we decide to get married next month.” Melanie grinned at Shelby, but the young woman continued. “Although there is something you can help us with besides the obvious, of course.”

“Of course!” Melanie exclaimed. “Anything.”

“Well, my friend here just got out of a somewhat serious not-really relationship,” Shelby began, and Olivia let out a groan. “She has just engaged in very good sex with her boss, who, by the way, is good looking and the two have shared hardcore sexual tension for three years beforehand. Their bout of fun is exclusive and they both enjoy each other’s presence, but they haven’t been out on a date before. Do you believe that this is a relationship?”

Melanie glanced at Olivia. “Oh, yeah,” she said with a mischievous smile. “Absolutely. Is he cute?”

“He’s very… sexually appealing,” Olivia said, a light blush cascading her cheeks. It was odd talking about Mason this way, with no relation to work and all relation to her. “But we agreed we don’t want the whole stigma of being boyfriend-girlfriend.”

“You don’t have to be boyfriend-girlfriend to be in a relationship,” Melanie said with a warm smile. “Those are just labels that are given to people because our society likes labels; they need labels to explain everything. The thing is, you don’t have to explain yourself to anyone. If you’re happy, no one else matters. You’re whatever you want to be.”

Olivia paused a moment, taking everything Melanie said in. The woman knew what she was talking about, and Olivia wasn’t exactly surprised; she primarily interacted with people in relationships on a day-to-day basis. “I like her,” Olivia said, giving a glance at her friend. Shelby only grinned in return.

“Well, speaking of liking,” Melanie said humbly, “I have many dresses here that are absolutely to die for. Is there anything in particular that you have in mind?” Her thin brows perked up at the question and she looked at Shelby with a patient expression.

Shelby blushed. All throughout high school, college, and graduate school, she was known for being the brains. She was incredibly smart and ambitious, and while she dressed somewhat feminine when she wasn’t working, she’s always wanted to try something more. “I… I want to feel like a princess,” Shelby replied with a shy smile. “I want the whole white, puffy dress. I want to feel beautiful.”

“You are beautiful,” Melanie said with a smile, “but we can definitely enhance your natural beauty.” She turned and the two young women her followed her past the bridesmaids and prom dresses before leading her to the center of the store, where there were numerous dressing rooms with mirrors covering the doors. Many sofas were in the center of that section of the store for anyone not trying on anything.

“Now,” Melanie said, leading Shelby and Olivia to an empty dressing room. “I’m going to take your sizes and go find you a few dresses to start off in. Anything in particular about the dresses that catch your eye, please, do not hesitate to tell me.” With that, she turned and walked towards the largest part of the store; the wedding dress section.

When she had disappeared, Olivia turned to look at her friend. “Are you excited?” she asked with a smile.

“Of course I am!” Shelby exclaimed.

“Oh, I’m so happy for you!” Olivia told her honestly, and pulled her friend into a tight hug. “But remember,” she said, releasing Shelby, “that we don’t have to get anything today. Don’t let anyone pressure you into getting something you don’t want to wear, okay? It’s your day.”

“I know,” Shelby said, just as Melanie returned with three dresses over her arm. Despite the thickness of each dress, she seemed completely at ease with carrying the heavy dresses. Obviously she had been doing this for quite a while.

“Ready?” Melanie, asked, her brow raised and a smile on her face.

“Absolutely,” Shelby said, and with one last glance at Olivia, she disappeared with the three dresses in her dressing room.

Olivia took a seat in one of the couches, her fingers softly drumming on the arm of said couch. Her thoughts drifted to her earlier conversation with Melanie and Shelby. She was definitely happy with Mason, that was for sure. So what if they had never been on a date or called each other terms of endearment? They cared about each other, and that was what mattered.