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Liv: She’s going to have so much fun tonight. And get absolutely no sleep. Be ready for her to be cranky tomorrow.

Fletcher: Looking forward to it...

Fletcher: I swear she was a baby yesterday.

Liv: My dad says life’s like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.

Fletcher: Your dad’s right.

Liv: So what are you doing now? Crying about your baby girl being gone? Combing all your gray hair? Stuffing your pockets with Werther’s?

Fletcher: Nah. Too busy putting STAY OFF THE LAWN signs out front.

Liv: If I wasn’t going out tonight, I’d hang out and keep you distracted.

Fletcher: No need. I have a date tonight too.

The words felt like a punch to the stomach. All of a sudden, I was twenty years old again, seeing the announcement for his and Regina’s wedding coming through the mail. They had looked so perfect together in the picture from their elopement. Her, thin, with perfectly glossy hair and stunning olive skin. Him, a young resident with a jaw that could cut stone and a smile that could melt ice.

And then there was me. A twenty-year-old with only an associate’s degree, working at the local feedlot. Single as a Pringle with no prospects in sight just like my verbally abusive college boyfriend had predicted.

I wanted to hide my phone, ignore how upset I was about him going on a single date. But if I didn’t reply, it would probably look suspicious. I didn’t want him to know how much this bothered me.

Liv: Fun! Who are you taking out?

I stared at the phone, forgetting that I was in the dressing room for a reason other than texting him.

Fletcher: Morganne.

The word stared back at me. Of course he would date Brenda’s perfectly petite daughter. It was just another reminder that Fletcher wasn’t into big girls like me with wide hips and boob sweat and thighs that rubbed holes in jeans.

I needed to focus onreality. On this date with Knox, who clearly liked what I had to give.

So I texted Fletcher to have a good time and tried on the shirt. Because I wanted to look and feel good tonight, not like I’d never be enough.

* * *

I lookedin the mirror moments before Knox was due to pick me up. The shirt had been a good option, and we even found a pair of khaki linen shorts with a paper bag waist so I didn’t have to wear jeans. I paired it with sandals and curled my brunette hair so it fell below my shoulders in loose waves.

I didn’t wear much makeup usually, but mascara and eyeliner made my eyes stand out and a swipe of dusty rose lipstick made me feel a little more confident. And that was good because Knox was objectively a catch.

He had a good job, looked great in his uniform, and we’d grown up together. I knew him. I didn’t need to wonder what kind of guy he was or if he’d disappear on me after a couple weeks.

A knock sounded on my front door. I expected to feel nervous, but... I didn’t.

I smiled at myself in the mirror, doing one last check that there wasn’t anything in my teeth, and then went to the door.

But it wasn’t Knox.

It was Fletcher.

All my nerves kicked up in my stomach as I saw him looking handsome as ever in trendy khaki pants with white sneakers, paired with a white button down that hugged his defined pecs.

Just when I thought he looked hot in his doctor outfit with a stethoscope around his neck, he put this image in my head.

“What’s up?” I said, feeling his eyes slide over my body.

Suddenly, I was very aware of my bare legs with all their curves and dimples. Heat rose up my neck, filling my cheeks, as his gaze slowly grazed back up to my eyes.