“Wow. Look at this.” Elsie leans into her chair, looking mighty smug for someone who was knee-deep in bodily fluids not long ago. “Who would’ve thought that a simple conversation would’ve fixed everything? But now that you’ve kissed and made up, is it time to talk about Jasper yet?”

“Oh yes!” Daisy drops her arms around me like I’m a bad habit. “I’m super far behind on everything, I need all the details. Last I heard you were going on a hike?”

“They went to Colorado Springs to see some waterfalls and she got Jasper sick and he spent the entire time throwing up.” Elsie sums up my date with brutal efficiency. “Which is what she gets for thinking exercise is an acceptable date. But now Jasper has taken over and they’ve been doing book stuff, which I’ve been MIA for, thanks to sick kids.”

I’ve been acting like I didn’t mind not talking to Daisy, but with her not around and Elsie out of commission with her family, I haven’t had anyone to talk to about all the developments in my relationship. It’s been killing me. I almost bought a notebook at Target the other day and started journaling.

“Oh my god. You two.” I lean in and drop my sunglasses on the black steel table. “I have so much to tell you!”

“Hurry up and spill!” Elsie follows my lead, taking off her sunglasses even though the Colorado sun is high in the afternoon sky and shining in her face. “I didn’t ask my mother-in-law to babysit to not get all the details.”

Because Elsie has been with Brandon for what feels like centuries, she missed the hell that is dating apps and the casual hookups of adulthood. She’s been trying to live vicariously through me for years; it’s just that—unfortunately for both of us—my dating life sucks. I’ve had a handful of exciting one-night stands that left her sated, but otherwise it’s been a depressing cycle of jerks who are selfish and mediocre at best in bed. So me going on dates with Jasper Williams, the man who apparently writes her favorite romance novels, is a dream come true for her.

“Seriously.” Daisy cosigns. “I’ve been dying to know what has happened between you two. I almost started writing fan fiction about it.”

I try not to but I can’t help but laugh at that. Jasper showed me some fan fiction sites the other day. I was telling him about my favorite show that was canceled after one season and I fell into a deep rabbit hole of short stories shipping my favorite characters. I guess you could say my stance on happily ever afters is beginning to shift because I almost burst into tears when one story ended with Ginny and Mike having a little baseball team of their own.