Nora I don’t have many friends, I have Alex and then maybe a few people that I say are friends, but I never hang out with them, which is why I am looking forward to shopping and hanging out with Lily. “Do you have any particular place you want to go?” Lily asked. I had agreed to meet her at her house, so we could drive together, it would be easier that way. I always hated taking more than one car when carpooling was a choice. “I don’t. I honestly haven’t been shopping in a while.” “Great, I know exactly the place then.” Lily drove us to the expensive part of town, and I quickly realized I wouldn’t be able to afford this shopping trip, it would basically be window shopping for me. “I see that look on your face. I only brought you here because Ace gave me his bank card and told me to make sure you treated yourself.” “I can’t spend his money.” “Why not, he offered.” “I’m not comfortable with it. He may be my boyfriend, but I’m not going to use his money.” I don’t wa

Nora We are officially launching the new marketing campaign for Gavin’s club and I’m pretty excited. It’s the first major solo deal that I had, and it came with a promotion. I’m officially a junior partner, which means I get a raise and I get a team to supervise. I’ve been working towards this for years. “Congratulations,” Alex whispered. “Where is your lover?” I slapped him on his arm. “His name is Ace, and he’ll be here soon.” “This launch party is for you and his best friend; he should be here.” “Why are you being so defensive?” “I’m sorry. It was a bad day and I’m projecting my anger. This is your day and I’m happy for you. This is what you have been working towards.” “I know, and it’s hard to believe that I finally fulfilled that goal of mine.” “Well, I see lover boy headed this way. I’ll catch up with you later.” Ace kissed me before congratulating me. “I’m glad you can make it.” “I wouldn’t miss this for anything. I’m sorry I’m a bit late, though. I had to

Ace “I can’t believe you proposed. You just ruined your fun.” Gavin was pissing me off with the negativity about marriage. Gavin has a sorted history with my sister, and he is taking it out on me. I didn’t know they were seeing each other until it was years after they broke up. The breakup was bad because neither one of them believes in happily ever after anymore.“What are you going to do when you get bored? You’ll be legally tied to someone, and it’s not as easy to leave.” “You need to shut up. If this is how you feel about relationships, I’m glad Lily left you. You’re so miserable that you want other people to be miserable with you. I love Nora and I want her to be mine for the rest of our lives. You need to grow up and find something that makes you happy. You don’t have to like my choices, but as my best friend you should want to support me.”I threw some bills on the table to pay for lunch before leaving Gavin at the table. He keeps stepping over the line with Nora and I

Nora Things I was afraid of before Ace: Being rejected. Rejection is hard, especially if you’re already in a relationship and they break up with you, it’s heartbreaking. It makes you second guess your worth, and your ability to be a likable person. Ace has slowly started erasing this fear from my mind. I trust him more and I can confidently say he isn’t going anywhere. To take a chance. I lived a cautious life, which is probably why I got involved with the wrong me, but Ace has helped. He has shown me that taking a Chance doesn’t mean you have to do something risky; it means you have to trust and be open-minded. Afraid to be me. I was afraid to be myself and ask for what I wanted, but with Ace, I don’t worry about it. If I want something he usually knows it, or he happily obliges me. Ace has been the perfect person for me, and as we talk about marriage and family, I find myself falling more in love with him. We’ve been engaged for a few months now and I think I’m finally r

Nora My parents decided to stay a bit longer than we had agreed, I didn’t argue since they hardly make the trip to visit, but it was taking a toll on me. If I didn’t have my new position at work, I think I would be able to balance it better, but work has kept me busy. I’ve gained more control over marketing, and I supervise a larger team than before. I was sadly counting down the days until my parents left. My mother complained about being in the house with nothing to do while we were at work. I made her a list of things to see in the city, but she didn’t want to use public transportation. I don’t remember my mother complaining this much, maybe she kept it between her and dad but it’s getting hard to handle. “You have a surprise waiting for you on your desk,” Anna, our receptionist, sang as I walked by after one of my meetings ended. I didn’t have to step into my office to see the large bouquet of yellow and pink roses. I walked over to them with a smile on my face knowing the