Driving back out onto the street, she parked along the curb. After turning off the car, she stepped out, securing her purse on her shoulder. She waited for a break in traffic and then ran across in her tennis shoes. It wasn’t until she got to the stairs that she remembered.

Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her glasses, stuck them on her face. Then she unfastened her hair tie, allowing her hair to fall down her back and shoulders. Slipping her hair tie on her wrist, she started making her way up the stairs.

She had to stop a couple of times to regain her balance. The glasses caused her to feel slightly disoriented, her spatial awareness impaired. Usually, she tried to wear them for a little while before coming over to get used to them. Tonight, she’d been so impatient she’d almost forgotten them entirely.

Stay focused, Lauren, she chastised herself.

Once she reached the front door, she smoothed her hair down around her neck, pasted on a smile and knocked.

She heard movement inside almost immediately, but the door didn’t open. To her left, Amelia’s eyes peeked through the blinds. When she saw it was Lauren, the blinds clicked back in place and the front door popped open.

“Lauren! Hi. I wasn’t expecting you,” she said, her tone happy and a grin on her face.

“Hey.” Lauren matched her smile. “My mom was out, and I remember you saying your mom was going out, so I thought I’d stop by. I hope it’s okay. I probably should’ve called first, huh?”

“No, it’s fine. I’m just chillin’, anyway.” Amelia ushered her inside.

A blanket was tossed on the couch, a bowl of popcorn beside it. The television was paused in the middle of what looked like a rom-com movie.

“Millie’s chillin’,” she said in a singsong way.

“Millie?” Amelia raised a brow.

Lauren nudged her with her elbow. “Yeah, it’s a nickname for Amelia, right?”

“I guess. It’s just that no one’s ever really called me by a nickname before.”

“Then it can be our thing,” Lauren said, even though she didn’t really want it to be. She didn’t want to call Amelia that. She just wanted to see the look on Whitney’s face when she did.

“What will I call you?” Amelia asked.

Lauren shrugged. “There’s not really any good nickname for Lauren.”

“Challenge accepted.” Amelia smiled, her gaze flickering over to the paused TV. “I was watching The Kissing Booth, but we can watch something else if you want.”

Romance movies had never been Lauren’s thing, but she could tell Amelia wanted to finish watching it. And, really, she’d been the one to barge in. “No, it’s fine. That sounds fun.”

“Cool. Can I get you anything?”

“Nah, I’m good.”