Mom, Dawn and Quinta sat on the couch of my living room, their feet propped up on the coffee table and heads all the way back. I'd put towels on their clothes and on the couch to prevent any accidents. A high possibility, considering neither of the three would stop fidgeting.

"Stop," I commanded to Quinta as she lifted her hand for the third time to scratch her nose. "You're rubbing the mask off."

She grunted. "I can't help it if I'm itchy."

"It's in your mind. Your mask has a lot of honey in it so if anything, you should be feeling fresher than a cucumber."

I put my hands on my hips and inspected my creations. Each one of them had a different mask on. Quinta's skin leaned on the oily side and I'd made her mask to cleanse and hydrate, so her pores didn't have to overcompensate oil production. Meanwhile, Dawn's had aloe in it to help repair a few old scars on her cheeks that still gave her trouble. Mom's was mostly vitamin E based, since she'd also lucked out in the genetic pool and didn't have major issues aside from a few wrinkles here and there.

"Hmm, this feels very good," Dawn said, lacing her fingers over her belly. "But it does smell kinda funky."

I made some notes on the feedback, since it was why were here anyway.

"That could be because you're used to the chemical stuff, but I'll see if I can find a way to improve the fragrance."

After all, part of the use of cosmetics was about the experience. People weren't prone to put stinky gunk on their faces, even if it was promised as the cure to all their blemishes. If I wanted to launch these products commercially, I had to cater to the market—and the market was full of fussier people than these three.

"My mask is running," Mom said, which was a strange mental picture, but when I glanced over her, I noted her mask dripping down her neck.

I adjusted the towel more snugly around her face and made another note. I'd have to research a thickening agent that didn't alter the purpose of the formula, but made the application easier.

The list of observations on my notebook was already over a page long, and this was just the first of many experiments to come. Lost among my scribbles were my marbles, because surely this was a symptom of insanity. This must have been why Bryce insisted on buying the products someone else made, because the task of starting a product line was monumental. And yet I'd never been more excited.

Well, there was one exception. Crashing Tae Yang's date last night and making out with him had sent my head on overdrive too.

After clearing my throat, I said, "It's time to start removing them. Sit still and I'll go one by one, okay?"

With various degrees of enthusiasm they responded, "Okay."

First was Quinta, who I'd put the mask on first. After most of it was removed from her face using damp cotton pads, I instructed her to rinse the rest off with some warm water. Then I repeated the process with Dawn and Mom.

The latter touched her cheeks. "Ohh, this feels good."

My chest grew three sizes larger.

After putting hydrating creams on them with plenty of anti-aging ingredients, I was finally able to sit down and catch my breath. I grabbed the notepad with feedback and assigned priorities to each one of them. There were things I didn't have the means to tackle, because they would cost too much money or too long to research, but others seemed more feasible. Adding more of an ingredient, or less, or changing it for something with a better texture or smell. I had a lot of work ahead of me and I couldn't wait.

"More free facials," was Quinta's conclusion from the whole experiment.

"Seconded," Dawn said before biting into a couple of chips. "I think I like this girl's night better than bingo nights."

"It's cheaper," Mom said, pouring herself a soda.

What she didn't know was I'd spent a lot more money on making these products than on any bingo night with them.

I best kept it that way, too, because I wasn't looking forward to lectures these days. It was also why Mom didn't know about Tae Yang, aside from what we'd talked about shortly after my return from South Korea.

"I feel sorry for you," Dawn told me while in snacking bliss.

"Me?" I pointed at myself to be sure and she nodded.

"Yeah, you. Hanging out with a bunch of old women on a Saturday instead of going out dancing with people your age."

I rolled my eyes. "We've had this conversation before, you guys are more fun than people my age."

These three had zero filter and enough life experience that whatever spilled out of their mouths was a good time. The only person around my age I regularly hung out with was Leyna, but she spent most of her time with her boyfriend.

And then there was Tae Yang. He was but a recent addition to the small roster of people I talked to on a regular basis and since yesterday, we hadn't exchanged a single text message.

"You're just saying that not to feel bad about yourself." Quinta snorted as she inspected the array of snacks they'd pushed to the farthest edge of the coffee table. "I bet if you had a boy toy right now we wouldn't see your face for weeks."

I pursed my lips. "No more boy toys for me, remember?"

Mom nodded. "Boys are no good."

For the most part, yes. But some of them felt really good in my arms. Especially one. The one I shouldn't be thinking about.

"Are you sure you don't have a boy toy right now?" Quinta narrowed her eyes at me. "You?"

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

Dawn's chest vibrated with her chuckles. "Oh, I think you and all of us know what that means, you dick-magnet."

"Dawn!" Mom and I screamed in unison.

I hid my face with my hands, hating that she was right. Up until this year, I'd always had at least one guy fluttering about me. As soon as one would tire out of me, another one would replace him and lift up my hopes of him being The One. Rinse and repeat all the way into the past, ever since I'd been in high school in Venezuela.

Dawn shrugged. "It stands to reason that if there are chick-magnets there are also dick-magnets, and we're in the presence of one."

I threw a chip at her. Unfortunately, she caught it in the air and just ate it.

"For your information, no. I don't have any boy toys right now."

What had happened with Tae Yang was a one-off, a kiss product of bizarre circumstances. Not because we'd actually built up to it. It didn't mean anything.

The pang in my chest told me exactly how I felt about that. I reached forward and grabbed a handful of peanut butter filled pretzel bites to drown my sorrows.

"Whatever happened with that cutie from the plane?" Quinta asked.

The question sent my snack down the wrong pipe and I started choking.

While dying a slow, pretzel-induced death, I said, "Nothing happened."

Dawn passed me a glass of soda, which I didn't think would help. "Why not? I caught a glimpse of him when he went to the store and whew, he looks like a celebrity."

He looked even better up close.

Mom had mercy on me and came over to whack my back, which did help alleviate the issue. Beside me she said, "We said no more boys, right, Cecilia?"

I drank some water and wiped the tears from my eyes. "We did. After this entire mess with Bryce, I need a big, solid break from trash men."

Quinta's eyebrows went up. "Well, is this one trash too?"

"No, but that's beside the point." I waved my hand. "He's just a friend—one who isn't even my age."

"That's not a deal breaker. My second husband was ten years older than me," Dawn said. "Which was fine because a man ten years older than a woman is about three years less mature than her."

I cringed. "My point exactly. Tae Yang is six whole years younger than me. That would make him what, half as mature as me?"

"And what makes you think you'd be a whole lot more mature than him? I mean you did date your asshole of a boss for almost a year." Quinta laughed.

"Against our advice," Dawn added.

The full body cringe I got had my shoulders up at ear level. "Thanks. I'm tired of my own mistakes too."

"Better keep it that way," Mom said. Both a promise and a threat.

"All I'm saying, as someone who also has her fair share of experience with men, is when you find a really good one you can't let him go." Dawn shook her head.

"Exactly," Quinta quipped. "For every good guy out there, at least three women will be vying to marry him off."

"Can we talk about something else?" I begged, especially because the thought of Tae Yang marrying someone else enticed my snacks into crawling up my throat.

"I started work in a new house," Mom said and I was grateful that she wanted to talk about me dating guys even less than I did.

I jumped at the opportunity and turned to her. "Oh, that's true! Friends of Miguel's girlfriend, wasn't it?"

"Who?" Dawn asked.

"My cousin," I replied. "Uncle Gabriel's son."

"Yes," Mom continued, nibbling on some crackers with cheese. "Big mansion in Winter Park, only young people."

"Sounds like a lot to clean," Quinta said, looking up at the ceiling. "God knows I have enough with just cleaning my own apartment."

"Are they paying you well, mami?" I asked her. "And more importantly, do they treat you well?"

"Sí. Cómo es que se dice?" She tapped her chin. "Muy educados."

I sagged on my chair and translated. "Very polite. That's good, I won't have to murder anyone."

A couple of times Uncle Gabriel had been out of town, Mom had taken on jobs at other houses to keep herself busy where she'd been treated like crap. The owners had been some of Uncle's business partners, which at first we'd thought was a smart move. But they probably had seen her as less than, for being a cleaning lady who had to be paid in cash, probably under the assumption she was undocumented.

Joke was on them. Mom was employed by a cleaning company Uncle had created especially for her, which meant that not only she had papers, but also connections. As soon as Uncle had found out what happened he'd cut the relationship off with those people and been more careful on who he recommended to Mom.

"It's weird," Mom said, shrugging. "They are rich kids, together."

"No entiendo," I told her.

She switched to Spanish. "Osea, son todos unos chamitos pero viven juntos en esa mansión. Unos estudiantes no podrían pagar algo así."

My eyebrows went up. "A lo mejor no son estudiantes."

"Aja pero sino, para qué viven juntos si tienen toda esa plata?"

Good point.

I turned to the other two and said, "Turns out they're a bunch of kids who apparently have enough money to live together in a mansion, which makes no sense."

"How young?" Quinta leaned forward. "Scratch that, are any of them old enough for Cecilia?"

Mom groaned and I threw a chip at Quinta.

Dawn whistled. "Forget the airplane cutie, bag a young and rich guy instead!"

I wrinkled my nose because that was sort of what I'd thought when I first started dating Bryce in the first place, and that hadn't turned out well.

Mom folded her arms and leveled a stare at me. "No! No dating my customers."

"Don't worry, Mom. Your daughter's not interested in dating anymore."

Famous last words.

SONG OF THE DAY: ABBA - Dancing Queen

the way i'm cackling