The Cuffing Season (The Anti-Cinderella Chronicles) by Tawdra Kandle

Author:Tawdra Kandle [Kandle, Tawdra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tawdra Kandle Romance
Published: 2019-11-18T18:30:00+00:00

5

“Are you sure I look all right?” I looked down at my dark green T-shirt and jeans. “We’re going to be outside, I guess, since it’s a park, but I also don’t want to look like I didn’t care what I looked like for our date.”

Sophia didn’t even look up from the cups she was washing in her kitchen sink. “Yeah, you’re fine. You’re great.”

“How do you know? You didn’t even look.” I turned again to face her full-length mirror.

“I don’t have to look. You’ve been wearing the same clothes since you walked into my apartment twenty minutes ago. It was fine then. It’s fine now. Why are you so nervous about this date?”

“I’m not nervous.” The denial was knee-jerk. “I want to look good for Tyla. She’s not a college student or just out of school. Tyla’s a woman, with a career and a business.”

“Don’t I just know it.” Sophia muttered the words, but I heard them nonetheless.

“Soph, what’s up with you?” I turned to face her, crossing my arms. “Seriously. You’ve been in a perpetually pissy mood for over a month now. What’s going on?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She dried her hands on the dishtowel, keeping her back to me. “I haven’t been any different than I normally am. It’s you who’s changing. This whole cuffing season thing is making you a different person.”

Privately, I disagreed, but I wasn’t going to take on that argument. I’d been raised by a mom and sisters, and I knew when to fight and when to just keep quiet. “I’m sorry if it feels that way,” I began, hunting my way through a tactful response. “Maybe it’s that we’re all changing. College is over, and we’re trying to find the way forward for the next part of our lives.”

“Maybe.” Sophia began sorting through piles of stuff on her counter, still not looking me in the eye.

“I mean, we’re all working in jobs that don’t necessarily love, waiting for our break to move into something we do enjoy. You’re at the coffee shop until you get enough photography gigs to support yourself. Preston is at the juice bar until his climbing sponsorships come through. And I’m at stupid Allister’s until I make enough on my writing. We’re all in limbo, sort of.”

“Yeah, I guess.” She finally met my eye. “You seem like you’re ahead of us now. Writing the column gave you a step up.”

“It’s temporary,” I pointed out. “And it won’t mean much if I can’t translate the visibility into something permanent.” Maybe that was it, I thought. Sophia was envious that I was getting my big break. It made sense. “I’m sure something huge is going to happen pretty soon for you, too, Soph. You’ll land a job and get to ditch the coffee.”

“I’m not worried about that. I like my life now. I meet interesting people at Espresso Wishes, and the hours there are flexible for when I do get photography work. I love that I get to climb with you and Preston regularly.

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