Page 15 of Kiss Me Softly

“It wasn’t enough for her. There was always something for her to criticize. It drove me crazy.”

She sighed deeply and drained the rest of her beer.

“When I told her I was bisexual after college she acted like I was doing it just to hurt her. She told me it was ridiculous.”

Aurora pitched her voice higher to imitate her mother.

“For God’s sake Aurora Marie, make up your mind. You either like men or you like women, it’s not natural to like both. Why are you always trying to embarrass me?”

“Wow, that’s kind of harsh.”

I’d only ever liked women, but I had enough bisexual and pansexual friends to know that their preferences were just as valid as mine were.

“Anyway, I never cut her off or anything, but now we mostly communicate through text. It’s safer that way.”

“And your dad?” I asked.

“Dad’s always been more interested in my brother than me. And now that he’s got three grandsons, he’s in hog heaven.”

I felt a stab of sadness. My mother was super annoying with all her meddling, but I knew she loved me. And my father was one of my best buddies. Neither of them had batted an eye when I came out to them. They’d always just accepted me exactly the way I was.

“Well now you’ve got your fabulous new city life,” I reminded her. “Things are looking up for you.”

She smiled. “They really are. I’ve got a great new job, an apartment I love, and a great new friend.”

“Really? Who is she?” I teased.

“You, silly.”

My phone beeped and I looked down to see another whiny text from Barbie.

“Is that Barbie?” Aurora asked.

“How did you know?”

“You looked annoyed.”

I sighed. “I really need to break up with her.”

“Why don’t you? You’ve been saying that ever since I moved here. What are you waiting for?”

I pulled my knees up to my chest and rested my chin on my knees.

“It’s going to be a whole scene with her,” I said. “I just know it. And I really hate drama.”

“Well if your plan is to just ignore her as much as possible and hope she breaks up with you, it’s not working.”

“You’re right,” I told her. “I need to stop fucking around and talk to her about how I’m feeling. It’s not fair to me to expect Barbie to read my mind. Although as soon as my mother knows I’m single, she’s going to be trying to fix me up again. I’ll be back to her dragging strange women with her every time I see her. And the nagging about me being single and how she wants to have grandchildren. So. Much. Nagging.”

“Why don’t you just introduce me to your parents and say I’m your girlfriend?” she asked.

I looked at her in surprise. “Are you suggesting that we start fake dating to avoid my mother’s matchmaking?”

Aurora shrugged. “Why not? It’ll take care of your Barbie situation and give you some breathing room with your mother until you meet someone you really want to date. Then we can stage a breakup.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her that I already met someone I wanted to date, and she was sitting next to me on the fire escape. But I didn’t want to mess up our friendship. Aurora was too important to me.

“That might be your best crazy idea ever,” I said.

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