“Now that sounds fun.” She released a puff of smoke, looking out into the yard. She seemed to be lost in thought.

She disappeared after we hung out on the porch into her bedroom—-she had a weird look, but I didn’t think too much of it. She reappeared hours later while I was into my homework.

“Hey girl, I’m off!” Kelly adjusted her earring while running out of her bedroom. She had her pinky looped through a pair of heels while she tried to fix her hoop into her ear.

She was always off to someplace with someone. I looked up at her over my laptop. “What’s the adventure this time?”

Before she could answer, a knock at the front door pulled both of our attentions to the foyer. I popped up and went to look through the peephole. “It’s Shane,” I whispered, plastering a mischievous smile on my face.

Kelly was such a maneater. That, or he had a great stash of nose candy. Kelly had a preference for the rich kid substances on occasion—I told her it was no good, but she was in her wild child era.

I opened the door to see Shane standing awkwardly with a bundle of flowers. He also dressed up from his standard casual attire. Kelly stumbled back into the hallway to ready herself just out of our direct line of vision.

“Wow,” I said. “Are these for me? You shouldn’t have.” I held out my hands and took the flowers from him.

He gave a nervous laugh as I took them. “Is Kelly ready?”

She was poking her head out from the hallway with a thumbs up. She was finishing her buckles on her heels. “Yeah. Come on in. She might be ready, or it could take about a year fo her to come out. I’ll go put these in a vase.”

Holding up the bouquet for her to see, I shuffled into the kitchen to get the flowers properly displayed on the dining table. It was bittersweet to see a man come over with flowers, and it made my heart squeeze for her. I secretly wished I didn’t hole myself up when I lived with Sylvia, but it was to protect myself. I had plenty of time to get flowers from a man.

“Almost...Ready!” She called over to Shane as she ran back to her room. He patiently stood in the foyer in wait.

I wondered what her plans consisted of. I never pried beyond what she wanted to share. She kept a lot to herself despite being my best friend. Frankly, with the things I did hear, I didn’t feel the need to pry anymore than she was willing to share.

She finally appeared ready. Frazzled, but ready. I showed them both out and called out after them. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do! Love you, dude!”