Thank you for being my friend and family. Thank you for everything you did for me and Mom when she was so sick. You’ll never know how much you mean to me.”
“Of course I know,” she says with a heavy dose of emotion. “You and Buck are all I have, too. Just because we aren’t related doesn’t mean we aren’t family. In fact, what we have is even better because we got to choose each other.”
Sammy gets up and walks across the room to her bedroom. When she comes back out she’s carrying a small plastic bag. “This is for you.”
“What is it?” I ask.
“Just something I bought for you last week after you told me you were ready to buy your first house.”
I open the bag and peek inside before pulling out a brand-new diary. It has a pink cover just like my old one, but this one doesn’t say Dream. It says, Believe.
“The time for dreaming is over, Ash. It’s time to believe that all of your dreams are going to come true. Because they are.”
“I hope so, Sammy. I’m so ready, I can taste it.”
My friend grabs me by the hand and pulls me up. “Let’s get you ready for your date with Buck.” Walking across her sheepskin rug, I realize that if Buck and I are meant to be, we could create a real family. He and I would be the parents to the next generation and Sammy would be their grandmother. The thought fills me with joy.
While my brain keeps concocting possibilities, Sammy goes old school and rolls my hair in hot rollers so the curl will last longer before applying a clay mask to my face.
“Davis’s mom is hosting a movie night on Wednesday,” I tell her. “It’s gonna be Sixteen Candles if you want to come.”
“That sounds like a lot of fun, but I’ve decided to give the spanker another chance.”
“What, why? The last time you saw him you broke his nose.”
“Yeah, well, he says he’s learned his lesson. He’s called every day to tell me how sorry he is. He’s even sent flowers and chocolate, and not the kind you buy in the grocery store either.” She proudly clarifies, “He ordered them online.”
“Wow, okay. Have a good time. Just make sure you have a baseball bat handy,” I tease.
“Don’t worry. He’s learned not to cross me. Plus, he’s normally so sweet you’d never know he had a kinky side. I sure didn’t.”
At five forty-five I’m back at my house wearing the dress that Sammy gave to me, the same one I had on the night she and I ran into Chad.
I’m going to kiss Buck tonight if I have to tie him up to do it. After my lip lock with Davis this afternoon, I need to finally decide which of these men is my number one. Is it the boy I’ve dreamed about since I was a sophomore in high school, or is it my best friend, the guy who saved me from total social Siberia in high school and has encouraged my dreams ever since?
Chapter Forty-One
April 14, 2016
Dear Molly,
The UPS guy who delivers to Millersville Meadow asked me out on a date. While I should be flattered, he’s got to be forty. It’s not that older men can’t be attractive, but Ray is not one of those men. He’s got a receding hairline, a beer belly, and horrible breath—like the stench of dead mice.
When I signed for the boxes, he leaned in way too close and said, “I think it’s about time we take our little flirtation out on a date.” What flirtation? The guy is totally cracked if he thinks my signing on the dotted line is anything more than me doing my job.
I told him I was gay to get him to back off, but he said I just haven’t met the right man. What? There aren’t enough showers to wash away the revulsion I feel. Then he promised to take me somewhere nice, as if an expensive restaurant is all it takes for a successful date.
Where are all the good guys?
Buck looks dapper, gorgeous, and all “superhero in repose” when he picks me up for dinner. He’s wearing a midnight blue suit with a crisp, white, open-collar shirt. Seriously, he’s so like Blane in Pretty in Pink it’s uncanny.
“You look very pretty,” he says while giving me an appreciative once-over.
“You too.”
“Pretty, really?” He pretends to be offended. “If that’s the case, we might as well spend the