I nodded solemnly. “Good plan.”

“I mean it.”

“Sure.”

“I want to be one of those powerful women who doesn’t give a single shit about what men think.”

“You are that woman.”

Tiffany peeked at me. “No, I’m not. I got sad over Cameron, remember?”

“You can be independent and still have feelings. It doesn’t make you weak.”

She wiped her glassy eyes and nodded. “You know what? You’re right. I am powerful.”

“Yeah, you are.”

“I don’t need a boyfriend.”

“Absolutely not.”

“I have you,” she said with a smile. “My best friend.”

I grinned. Nodded.

Tiffany let out a soft laugh. “I love being a girl.”

“Me too,” I replied, the words coming easily.

We lay there in silence for a while, just staring at the ceiling, before Tiffany broke it with a groggy mumble.

“I still want a boyfriend, though.”

I groaned. “Tiff.”

“What? Powerful girls can still want love...”

I rolled my eyes, fighting the smile that crept onto my face. “Sure, but you just got through saying you’re never dating again. Make up your mind.”

“I can’t help it,” Tiffany whined, shifting to curl up on her side, her voice turning soft and almost sheepish. “I just…want someone to like me. You know? Not just for who they think I am, not just for some idealized version of me in their head, but for who I really am. I want someone to see me, all of me, the weird parts, the messy parts, and still think I’m worth it. I want them to appreciate the way I think, the way I laugh at my own jokes, the way I get excited about the most random things. Not just because I look a certain way or fit into some idea they already had. I don’t want to be some version of me that they’ve already decided on. I just want to be me. And I want that to be enough.” She exhaled slowly, like she was letting go of something she’d been holding inside for too long. “Don’t we all want that? To be loved by someone who understands us? Someone who looks at us and just gets it, who doesn’t need us to be anything other than exactly who we are?” She let out a small, tired laugh. “I guess that’s a lot to ask for, huh?”

I swallowed, feeling a lump rise in my throat.

Her words were like a sharp punch to my chest, hitting me in a way I hadn’t expected. Because I knew exactly what she meant.

I wanted all of that too…