I brought Dean's motorcycle back at 8:40 pm. He sat on the porch rail waiting for me with his mother's helmet in his hand. I jumped off the motorcycle, took off his helmet, and put it on the seat.

"You're late," Dean grumbled.

I just grinned. I should be angry at him for his drunken kiss, but he had helped me finagle a date with Tyler. Right now, I was too happy to be mad.

"So did you have fun?" he asked.

"You'll find out when you read Tyler's texts."

"About that. I don't have time anymore. I'm way too busy," he claimed.

"I paid you until the end of the month. Are you going to refund my money for the last week?"

"Did you refill my gas tank?"

I shook my head.

"Then I guess we're even," Dean concluded, hopping off the rail.

"So who do you have an appointment with tonight?" I asked, unable to hide my curiosity.

"That's none of your business."

"What business does one do at nine in the evening?"

"You wouldn't approve," he replied with such a somber expression that I was instantly worried.

I prayed he wasn't using drugs. They could make people do strange things. My mind spun with a million questions. Foremost was why he kissed me today.

"No more questions," Dean resolved as he walked toward me. "I'm taking you home."

"Just drop me off at the theater. Melaney will be waiting for me. She went to the seven o'clock movie while I was on my date. I'm spending the night at her house."

He handed me the other helmet which I slid on, and he put on his.

"When are you getting a car?" I inquired even though he told me not to ask any more questions.

He shook his head, but answered anyway, "You hate cars. They're too confining." He straddled the seat, and I got on behind him.

"That's just my opinion. What do all your girlfriends say about riding on a motorcycle?" I fished for information about his alleged appointment.

"I've never had any complaints."

He started the engine. Talking would be impossible now. I supposed thousands of girls would be thrilled to take my place pressed this close to Dean. I held on tight to his waist as he drove the motorcycle to the movie theater.

He parked beside Melaney's sedan and switched off the engine. I jumped off the seat, took the plastic bag containing my clothes and sneakers out of the cargo case, removed Diane's leather outfit, and stuffed it in for the last time. I placed the helmet on top and zipped up the case.

Melaney got out of her car and stood beside the open door. For a second, I noticed a strange emotion in Melaney's eyes, one I seldom saw . . . jealousy. She was jealous of me, of me being with Dean.

If Dean hadn't kissed me, I would tell her she was being ridiculous. But he had. 

I definitely couldn't talk to him or Melaney about any of it, so I had no one to help me figure it all out. I wanted to scream with frustration, instead I calmly asked, "How was the movie?" as Melaney simultaneously asked, "How was your date?"

"You first," I prompted.

"Thrilling and so action packed that I sat on the edge of my seat the entire time!" Melaney raved.

"Sounds just like my date," I teased.

Both Melaney and Dean scowled at me.

"Lighten up, please. I'm joking." I wondered if I was the only one left with a sense of humor.

"Well, you two have a lot to talk about, and I'm late again. I'll see you later." Dean turned on the motorcycle and left without saying goodbye.

"I'm changing his nickname to White Rabbit. He's always late for an important date, but he won't tell me who with," I complained.

Pain flashed across Melaney's face, so I changed the subject. "So how funny was the movie?"

Melaney chuckled. "Hilarious! I laughed so hard. I think I broke a rib. You have to go see it."

"Why don't you give me a synopsis in case The Rents ask me questions?" I suggested as I walked around the car, opened the passenger door, and tossed the plastic bag on the floor beside my duffle bag.

"Later," Melaney said, "First, I want to hear all about your date with Tyler." She got in the driver's side and put on her seat belt.

I latched mine, sat on top of it, and then shut the door. Melaney started the car, pulled through the parking space, and headed to her house. On the way there, I told her every single detail of my date from the beginning to the end when I left Tyler standing there dazed and confused as I rode off into the sunset just like an old Western movie.

I giggled. "You should have seen his face. He couldn't believe that I didn't immediately agree to go on another date with him."

"He's probably never been turned down before," Melaney assumed.

"Tyler Price has had everything handed to him on a silver platter since the day he was born. He'll have to do some more chasing if he wants to date me again."

"What if he doesn't?" 

"Don't you dare try to burst my bubble, Melaney Miller! I finally had a date with Tyler Price, and he kissed me! Right now, I'm too high on happiness to ever come down!"

She smiled at my elation. "I really am happy for you, Jasmine. I'll try not to be a downer."

"Good. . . I'm just following Dean's advice. He suggested that I make Tyler chase after me for a while, to keep his interest."

"Of course, he did." She parked the car in her driveway. "You better change into something less revealing before my parents see you."

I removed a t-shirt and skirt from my duffel bag. I pulled the shirt over my cami, the skirt over my shorts, and changed out of the suede boots and into my sneakers.

"I can't believe that you bought that . . . costume and pink boots! You despise pink," Melaney remarked as I stuffed the pink books into my bag.

"I know, but they were on sale, and I wanted to make a good first impression." I didn't tell her that I bought them because they matched Diane's pink motorcycle outfit.

"Tyler has already met you, and I think that you made a wrong impression tonight. That outfit isn't the real you."

"Reality is overrated. I prefer fairy tales. Now tell me all about the movie," I urged.

"When we get to my room," Melaney insisted as we got out of the car and walked toward the front door. Soft lamp light shone through the living room windows and onto the lawn. "My parents must be watching television."

We entered the house. Her parents sat side by side on the sofa. They were the perfect example of opposites attract. Melaney's mother was dark and petite; her father was tall and fair. He had been my daddy's best friend and partner in Cornerstone Construction. Every time I saw him, my heart ached with the memories, and his kind, blue eyes reflected back the same sorrow.

Melaney and I wished her parents goodnight and went upstairs to her bedroom. The sleeping bags that we'd used for sleepovers since kindergarten were in the middle of the floor. Melaney's was the purple one, and mine was blue.

We washed up in the bathroom, put on our pajamas, and turned off the lights. We plumped our pillows and flopped on top of our cozy cocoons. It was too hot to sleep inside of them in the summer.

The plastic stars on the ceiling glowed in the dark as Melaney described each scene of the movie so I would be prepared for The Rents' prying questions. I laughed so hard, tears came out of my eyes. Mostly because Melaney could always make me laugh, but partly because I realized, this was the first movie since Daddy died that Melaney and I didn't go see together.

After the car accident, I refused to go to the movie theater with my mother. I was afraid something horrible would happen to us on the way home. Eventually, Melaney persuaded me to watch a movie with her and her family at the mall. She convinced me that everyone would be okay. We all made it back to her house in one piece, and since then I always attended movies with Melaney, until tonight. I felt sort of sad and told her, "I'm sorry you had to watch the movie by yourself."

"Don't be sorry. You deserve to be happy," Melaney responded in a wistful voice. "You've had this crazy crush on Tyler Price since third grade, and tonight you finally kissed your Handsome Prince. All your dreams are coming true at last."

If only I could have sweet dreams tonight, instead of the usual nightmares.

* * *

The big black wolf threw back its head and howled. I screamed in terror and tugged at the seat belt, but the harder I pulled, the tighter the strap became. I was trapped!

"Daddy, please help me!" I shrieked, but he didn't move.

He was slumped to one side over the bent steering wheel. Blood dripped from the cuts on his face, mixing with shards of ice and glass from the shattered windshield.

I shivered as snow blew relentlessly into the wrecked car and covered my red wool coat with cold white flakes.

The wolf stared at me with its evil black eyes, opened its enormous jaws filled with razor sharp teeth, and then prowled toward me.

I screamed and screamed, but Daddy couldn't hear me anymore.

A/N: Video above is Before the Morning by Josh Wilson.

"Cause the pain that you've been feeling.

It can't compare to the joy that's coming.

So hold on you gotta wait for the light.

Press on and just fight the good fight.

Cause the pain that you've been feeling.

It's just the dark before the morning."

Have your friends ever liked the same person as you? Let me know in the comments.

Forever Remember to Live, Laugh, and LOVE! - 3L