“Just get your ass here, Jills. And don’t forget to wear the pink dress I gave you.”

“I have my period.”

“So?”

“So, I’m cranky, and I don’t want to wear pink. And it’s tight.”

“Quit being a baby and get here as soon as you can. In pink.”

“Goodbye, Perry.”

“Goodbye. Love you.” I heard a loud kissy noise through the phone before she hung up.

I tossed my phone on the bed and studied myself in the full-length mirror. Ugh, I looked ridiculous. Perry could pull it off, but it wasn’t my color. It wasn’t even a delicate, soft shade but a screaming hot monstrosity. I promised her I’d wear pink for the entire weekend of her wedding, but not for events loosely related to it. We were seeing Hallowed Realm at The Groove that night, and just because she’d managed to nail them down for the reception, she thought this counted as wedding attire in some way.

Next up would be the bachelorette party and the shower. I was sure she already had my outfits picked out for those too. I turned away from the mirror, not caring for the reflection staring back at me. I went to the closet, figuring I’d change and that would be that. I threw back my head and let out a long groan. Dammit. I knew she’d win. She knew I’d end up giving in.

I dropped to my knees instead. What the hell kind of shoes would go with this thing? I probably didn’t need to think too hard. We were going to The Groove, not the regal ballroom. I wouldn’t look out of place no matter what I wore.

I pulled out some black flats, refusing to wear anything with a heel. What I was really craving was a soak in a hot tub. I wanted so badly to cancel, even though I’d been looking forward to this night. I hadn’t seen them play since Summerfest when Chase filled in as backup acoustic, and I loved their sound. The four of us were making a night of it, and I should’ve been psyched to get there, pink dress be damned.

Unfortunately, I was having the opposite reaction. I shuffled over to my bed and fell back into it. Like I’d told Perry, I was cranky, especially irritable because I had something akin to hot pink taffy stretched tightly around my abdomen.

Chase and I were driving separately. He had a meeting at school regarding the upcoming seminar happening at the end of the month. Yay.

My phone rang beside me. God, Perry. I’m coming, okay? I still had plenty of time. I patted my hand around for hardness, then brought it to my face. Daniel?

“Hey, Daniel. What’s up?”

“Hi, Mom. Any chance you can come pick me up at Cassie’s? I know you have plans tonight but wasn’t sure when. If not, no problem. I can just keep trying to reach Dad.”

I bolted up to a sitting position. Did they have a fight? Break up? She’d picked him up that morning for reasons unbeknownst to me, so he didn’t have a car.

“Sure. No problem at all. Everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just need to get to my laptop as soon as I can.”

Hmm… maybe to join an online dating site? After getting the address, I sent off a quick text to Perry and slid into the car. It wouldn’t make much sense to spend time chiseling the dress off only to come home and repaint it on.

I’d barely seen Daniel all week. He’d commuted three days to Chicago instead of his usual two, and the remaining time was spent at the downtown office. It’d be nice to chat a bit with him alone, even if it was only for the length of a car ride.

I tried not to think about the condoms I’d found in the basement, and it wasn’t something I wanted to bring up with him, although I had that right. They were mine. But that just ended up creeping me out more, knowing they were taken out of my bedside drawer. I didn’t know if any were used because I didn’t know exactly how many I had left. My whole body shivered. It felt like long, icy fingernails were dragging all over it. Not a conversation I wanted to be having with myself.

After a short—too short—drive, I pulled up in front of the duplex. I would’ve liked her to live farther away. I heard Tokyo was nice this time of year. I waited for Daniel to come out as I checked out the place through my car window. I wondered if she rented the upper or lower half, and the whole scenario with the cat came back to me. It probably wasn’t even hers but her neighbor’s.

Daniel opened the side door and waved before stepping back inside a minute. Then he strolled out all happy-go-lucky-like and came to the car. It appeared I could rule out some kind of argument between them.

“Thanks, Mom.” He got in and buckled his seat belt. “Cassie wasn’t sure when she’d be able to make it back, and I got a work call. I need to get into one of my files and get back to them.” He looked at me. “That’s, ah, different. Bright.”

“Your Aunt Perry dressed me tonight.” I was about to ask where Cassie was when I remembered the meeting at school. Although, it should’ve been over already. “Why don’t you have your car?” I asked.

“She said I’m always the one to drive, so she wanted to for a change. We were supposed to do something today, but she totally forgot about some work thing. Once she remembered, she was already late and had to take off right away.”

Hmm. It didn’t matter what the situation; whenever Cassie was involved, something didn’t jibe. He could say she had Fruit Loops for breakfast and I’d be suspicious. I could spit farther with my mouth closed than I could trust her.

“Oh, hey. Before I forget, I know Aunt Perry’s still checking about the bachelorette party, but Cassie said there’s a wedding shower too and that the maid of honor usually hosts it.”

What in the…? I couldn’t even. I was starting to get seriously freaked out by the way she seemed to be lodging herself into my world. Maybe I had a narcissistic disorder, but I didn’t fucking think so. Yes, it really was all about me. So, what was next? Making a suit out of my skin so she could wear me around and take over my life completely?

I white-knuckled the steering wheel. “Yes, usually.”

He laughed. “So, are you, Mom? Having a shower for her?”

“I’m still working out the details.” The only ‘details’ I had to work out were solid color decorations versus sparkled. I had a date, I had a location—at the house—with catering arranged, and I had a guest list that sure as hell didn’t include Cassie.

“Great. You can let me know when you get it figured out. I know it’ll mean a lot to her.”

I could no longer feel my fingers, and my teeth were halfway through my tongue.

“Mom?”

“What? Oh, right. Sure.” I smiled, feeling as phony as a deranged drama teacher. “Hey, what do you think about getting together with me and Chase some night for dinner?”

He shrugged. “Whatever you want, Mom.”

Wait, that didn’t sound so good. “You guys get along okay, don’t you? Chase seems to think so.”

“Yeah, he’s all right, but….”

“But what?”

“Nothing. Forget it.”

“No, Daniel. I do not want to forget it. What were you going to say?”

“It just seems a little weird, that’s all.”

“What seems weird?”

“You know what, it doesn’t matter. Just forget it.”

Dammit. “I’m assuming you’re talking about the age difference here?” He shrugged again. “What’s going on, Daniel? You didn’t seem to have a problem with it before. In fact, you said it was fine.”

I turned onto my street, going even slower than the posted twenty-five limit. I considered circling the block a few times so we could talk this out before we got home.

“And I’m not saying it’s not fine now. It’s your life, Mom.”

“Yes, and you’re a huge part of that life. So much so that I want you to be honest with me.”

He sighed. “It’s just that… I don’t know. Lately it’s been coming up more, making me question how it would be if I had a girlfriend your age. It’d be weird for me, that’s all.”

“Coming up more from where? I don’t get that.”

I crawled into my driveway, and he already had his hand on the door handle, ready to bolt. The dress was cutting into my rib cage, and I struggled to get a decent breath.

He wasn’t answering me. “Daniel, it’s not the age. It’s the person. Where’s all this suddenly coming from?”

We were barely in the garage when he was opening the car door. “Like I said, it’s your life. I’m not trying to start anything, okay?”

“But you’re not finishing it either.”

“I have to go, Mom. I have to work.”

He was gone and inside the house before I could get out another word. Where’s all this suddenly coming from? Like I didn’t already fucking know.

I lay my head back and closed my eyes. The purse sitting on the floor behind my seat was frantically trying to get my attention. My cell was inside, and with each ding it felt like I had an annoying kid kicking my chair during a flight.

I reached behind and grabbed my purse, plopping it onto my lap. I pried it open to see Perry’s text lighting up the screen.

Get your pink ass here, Jills.