40. Girl’s Girls Deserve the World

FORTY

When our friends came to pick up the girls the next morning, Parker announced that he was taking me out, which made Jo decide she was enacting a girls' day to buy a date night dress and prepare for Cory's wedding. It worked out well I guess, because the guys had a final fitting for their tuxes today.

"What do you want to do first?" she asked the second I opened the door to the apartment. She was dressed like an off-duty model with her band shirt tucked into the top of her black, distressed jeans. Jo was a cool girl through and through. I was impressed that shewanted to hang out with me.

I looked down at my lilac leggings and pink puffer vest. "Change."

I let her into the apartment and ran to my suitcase to find something that didn't clash with her vibe. I wasn't edgy like her, but I tried my best with light wash mom jeans and a Taylor Swift concert tee I liked to wear to bed. It'd have to do.

She laughed when I emerged from the bedroom. "You really didn't need to change. You looked great."

I shook my head. "I really did. Do people recognize you when you're out?"

"Sometimes. Not a ton when it's just me or me and the kids."

"Okay, good. Well, I changed just in case."

She linked her arm with mine and said, "Let's go spend the boys' money!" And ushered me to the elevator. Mark was waiting with a black Sedan when we exited the lobby.

He greeted us with a genuine smile. "Big day of shopping I hear?"

"Very big day. Parker and Del are going on a date tonight!"

"Ah, a mom and dad night out, huh? That"ll be good for you two." He opened the door and I slid in behind Jo.

They chatted for a few minutes and Jo told him the stores we had in mind. He offered to come in with us and carry our bags, but we said we could handle it. I, however, underestimated Jo's ability to talk me into trying new things.

I walked out of the dressing room in the most obnoxious dress I'd ever seen. There were multicolored feathers, for Christ's sake.

"I think this is a little out of my comfort zone. And not in a good way."

Jo laughed when she emerged from her dressing room adjacent to mine and saw we were trying on the same dress. "I have a lot of bad ideas, but this is ridiculous. Stop being so nice and just say it's hideous."

I sighed. "It's hideous."

The sales woman shot us a glare. "That's designer," she said in a snooty, rich person voice. I thought it sounded like something was stuck up her ass.

"Designer or not, PETA would be horrified… that it's so ugly," Jo mumbled under her breath and we dissolved into a fit of giggles. Her comment earned us another glare that we ignored.

"Okay, I think I love this one," I called from my room. She opened the door without asking.

Jo could be a little much, but I felt that way about myself, too. Maybe it was because we didn't try to be people we weren't. I'd begun to feel myself becoming less guarded around Parker and in general. I wasn't afraid to take up too much space.

"It's a little short. I'll be cold." I ran my hands down the silky fabric, and it moved like liquid over my waist and hips. The deep navy complimented my eyes and contrasted well with my blonde hair. The halter neck was beautiful and left my collarbone and shoulders on display. I was already excited to spray them with glitter.

"Easy! Wear a trench coat. It's a good investment. You can surprise him with nothing underneath later."

"Hmmm… I like the way you think."

She tapped her bottom lip. "What if we chopped your hair off, mom-bob style?"

"Parker is going to shit himself."

The mere suggestion of chopping my hair was all the encouragement I needed. I'd been debating for months, but I wasn't able to commit. We bought the dress and headed straight to the salon.

Jo had been going to her hairdresser, Enrique, for years, and he was happy to squeeze me in without an appointment. An hour later my hair was shaped into a cute, curly bob with tons of layers. It felt youthful and bouncy, but mature and confident at the same time. Jo insisted we take a photo together and tagged me on Instagram. My notifications and follow requests wouldn"t stop.

"Sorry, I didnt even think about it," she said when she caught me turning off my notifications for the app. "Do you want me to remove the tag?"

"No, it"s okay. I"ve been thinking about making my profile public. I'm just a little hesitant."

"I turn my comments off for people I don"t follow back, and it helps."

"That"s not a bad idea." I mulled it over and then made my profile public. It was like ripping off a bandaid. It wasn't like I was trying to hide anymore. The only person I'd ever been afraid of wasn"t able to hurt me anymore. My dad was gone. I knew that, logically, but my heart still bore the wounds. I sat there and watched my followers grow right before my eyes. Suddenly, my posts were shared in stories, mostly the ones of me and Parker from high school.

I wasn"t prepared for the way I'd feel about people declaring themselves #TeamDarker or commenting crying and angry emojis because they thought Parker was off the market. Parker shared a Halloween photo to his story, and it blew up immediately. I reshared it to mine. A comment from Evan popped up. "Is this a hard launch?" I hit the heart next to his comment, but didn"t reply back.

Parker:

Are you claiming me publicly now, Dellie Girl?

I started to type out a frantic reply saying that I didn"t mean to, and I could switch my profile back, but he sent another message before I could.

Parker:

I like it.

"See." Jo peeked over my shoulder. "Nothing to worry about. Let"s get lunch and you can tell me all about being Aurora."

Jo grilled me, and I mean really grilled me, about past books and my current work in progress, about which I kept my mouth shut.

"I have a really fun idea that you should just say yes to without overanalyzing."

"Haha nice try." Overanalyzing was all I knew.

She grabbed my hands in hers across the table. "Can we go to a local bookstore and sign the copies they have on hand? I've always wanted to see an author do that."

I thought it over. "I don't want anyone to recognize me now that everyone is talking about me and Parker."

"What if we're sneaky? I have a friend who owns a store downtown. I could ask her to be discreet."

I anxiously chewed my lip. It did sound fun. I never signed books at local stores back home in case someone from Roe was there. It was a drama I didn't need. I liked to write the stories on my little laptop and pretend that no one read them. Though, hanging out with my readers online and hearing how much Jo loved my books gave me a warm feeling inside I couldn't describe.

"Promise it'll be low-key?"

She held out her pinky, and I looped it with mine. "Promise."

I wanted to cry, but wouldn't. The small store was full of romance books of all kinds. Every subgenre was represented in some way, and there was a suggestion box where customers could advocate for new voices to be added.

The shelves were stocked with my books. Before the book deal, Thomas and I were practically a two person show. We tried our best and failed a couple times, celebrated the highs and drank through the lows. I spammed him with video after video of my books on the shelves. The only signings I'd been to were where I'd brought my own books that readers had pre-ordered. Since the book deal, I'd had people send me pictures of my books in stores, but I hadn't yet seen them for myself.

The owner was a woman that looked to be in her late sixties or early seventies. She wore a sweater that said "I'd rather be reading" with a floral, floor length skirt. Her eyes were kind when she smiled at us.

"Josephine, how are you dear? And you brought a friend! Welcome to Haven Romance."

Jo shoved me in front of her. "Gretta, this is Aurora."

The name always felt strange when I heard it in reference to myself, but it also felt good. Being Aurora felt empowering. She was an accomplished author that had her shit together, and people really liked her.

Gretta reached for my hand and I put it in her small one. "It's nice to meet you Aurora."

"You too." I was genuinely happy lately, and I knew it had more to do about my life with Parker than anything, but this was something I'd dreamt about as a little girl.

Gretta stepped back and gestured around the store. "I'd say I can show you around, but Josephine is here plenty often." She turned her attention to my friend. "I'm not sure anything's changed in the two days you've been away, dear."

Jo cracked a sheepish smile. "It's okay, I'm not here for me. This is actually Aurora James, the author."

That caught the attention of the young employee reshelving books, and Gretta looked shocked.

"Aurora, my goodness. This is amazing. I'm not the most prepared, but we do have all your books in store. Please excuse the mess. We're reorganizing."

"Your store is beautiful. This is actually the first time I've seen my book in a store. I just got a traditional publishing deal."

"Congratulations, that's a huge accomplishment! I'm sure your family is very proud."

They might be if I was brave enough to tell them.

"Thank you."

"Could she sign the books you have in stock?" Jo piped up. I think she was even more excited than I was.

I spent the next two hours signing my butt off. My wrist was tired but I was happy. I'd always known that Parker's dream would come true, but I'd been hesitant to go after my own. I felt liberated.

I uploaded a quick story post to my readers to tell them to grab them before they were gone, and then we were out the door.