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seconds, praying neither of them would pay me any mind.
    I wasn’t that lucky.
    “Mornin’, sugar,” Jeremy drawled out.
    It was possibly one of the worst things he could have said. Sugar was Jeremy’s nickname for me throughout our entire relationship. The fact that it was the first time I’d heard him use that particular endearment since he and Charlotte had gotten together wasn’t lost on me—or her either, for that matter. I didn’t have to turn and look to catch her reaction to Jeremy’s pet name for me. She made her feelings known by throwing the fork down on the counter and stomping off into the kitchen.
    I turned and narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you trying to get her to poison my food, Jer? You already know she can’t stand me.”
    He let out a frustrated breath and ran both hands through his hair. Jeremy’s hair was one of my favorite features on him. His reddish-brown hair, which normally lightened up in the summer, was now a gorgeous darker bronze color. When we had been together, I could sit for hours and just run my fingers through the silky auburn strands.
    “She overreacted,” he responded dryly.
    I didn’t agree with him. I would have responded the same way if the shoe were on the other foot. But it wasn’t like I could admit that. I wanted to hurl knives every time he called her baby in front of me.
    “Whether you think she’s overreacting or not, you can’t call me sugar in front of your girlfriend, Jeremy. The last thing I need is for you to give her more ammunition to hate me. I’ve done that enough just by breathing.”
    He looked at me, and I could see the sadness in his deep brown eyes. I was always able to tell how Jeremy was feeling just by looking into those eyes.
    “I don’t understand why the two of you can’t just get along.”
    I felt my defenses rising at his statement. “Why don’t you ask her? I haven’t done a damn thing to warrant her acting like a bitch every time I’m around.”
    He pinched the bridge of his nose. It was something he did whenever he was under extreme stress.
    Welcome to my world, buddy.
    “I know, trust me. I just hate this shit,” he said with an exasperated sigh.
    I couldn’t help my response to that. It pissed me off to know he wasn’t happy with how things were, but he wasn’t man enough to do anything about it.
    “Well, you made your choice, Jer, so you gotta stick with it.”
    His head swung back around to face me, and I could see the anger there.
    “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” he asked heatedly.
    “It means that you choose to let your girlfriend lead you around by the short hairs at the expense of our friendship. If you don’t have the balls to stand up to her, that’s your problem, not mine. You’ve made it clear where I stand with you, so you might as well just suck it up and live with it.”
    I knew I was being slightly dramatic, but everything that had been festering inside me all these months was finally coming to a head, and I just couldn’t contain it anymore. I couldn’t stand feeling so miserable day in and day out. That wasn’t me. I’d always been a happy person. Even growing up with the world’s shittiest parents hadn’t made me feel as bad as I was feeling lately.
    I got up and started to head to Emmy’s office in the back of the diner, but I decided to throw one last parting shot his way before I left. Turning to him again, I called out, “And don’t call me sugar anymore!” Then, I just walked away.

I found myself standing on a pedestal in front of a three-way mirror with my mouth hanging open in horror. I was covered from neck to knee in the most hideous excuse of a dress I’d ever seen. I looked like I’d just stepped out of a 1980s prom. The only things missing were the crimped hair and foot-high bangs. And the worst part was that the dress was fuchsia !
    “Uh…Emmy? Remember what I said on the phone?”
    “Yup,” she responded, looking at herself in equal horror.
    “I’m