Page 132 of Homecoming

“You do not, so shut your face. I’m telling you the truth, which you say you don’t want to hear, but you reallydobecause you want to date Myles. Among other things.”

“Stop!”

“Not going to stop. Listen, Ren, there’s absolutely no reason you can’t be with Myles if you want to be. If you can’t deal with him being your technical boss, even if he never acts like he has power over you, then leave the job. But don’t turn your back on someone who could become your forever.”

Renata groaned at the wordforever, but Kara pressed on, undeterred.

“Take it from me, I tried that, and thankfully, all my efforts to hold Dan at arm’s length failed. It would’ve been a big mistake to turn my back on him simply because of some obstacles that were easily overcome once I decided to take the risk.”

“My mother would never forgive me for dating my boss.”

“Your mother’s life and mistakes aren’t your burden to carry. Her regrets aren’t going to become yours simply because the situation is similar.”

“I hate you even more when you’re right.”

“You’re making me laugh harder than Dan does, and that’s not easy to do. Are we still on for dinner tonight, or are we in the biggest fight?”

“We’re on for dinner, but you’d better not be smug about being right for the first time ever.”

“Whatever.Why don’t you ask Myles to join us? I’d love to meet him.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“Why not?”

“Because.”

“Renata… You’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m not. It’s just, you know…”

“Chris was a long,longtime ago.”

“Believe me. I know.”

Hearing his name was enough to make Renata want to crawl into the fetal position with a week’s worth of mocha shakes and Netflix for days and days.

“It’s really hard to take that kind of chance again, after what happened to both of us with our first loves. I can’t tell you how hard I resisted what was happening with Dan, and you know what I realize now?”

“What’s that?”

“How much time I wasted that could’ve been spent being happy.”

“I’ve never been gutsy like you are.”

“Shut all the way up with that shit! You’re the badass I’ve always wanted to be! Remember when that awful girl in school was hassling me, and you punched her in the face?”

“And got suspended and spent six weeks with my broken hand in plaster?”

“That was the coolest thing I’d ever seen, and it’s still right up there in my all-time top ten. Please don’t tell me you don’t havethe fortitude to at least try to see if this thing with Myles is the real deal.”

“I thought I had the real deal before.”

“That was nowhere close to the real deal. He was a boy pretending to be a man, and he didn’t deserve you.”

“And Myles does?”

“Myles is a full-grown man with a good job, and he’s nice to you, which is already three thousand steps above what’s-his-name. I like him, and I haven’t even met him yet. Bring him to dinner, and I’ll give you a more thorough assessment after.”

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