'YOU SURVIVED,' MY MOTHER DECLARED with a laugh when I walked through the door.

'Um, hi,' I replied, surprised to see her. 'What was that supposed to mean?'

'Your first time ice-skating with EunJi,' she explained. 'How was it?'

'Cold,' I responded, shedding my layers before joining her in the living room. 'I wasn't expecting you to be home.'

She picked up the wine glass that was on the end table as I sat down next to her on the couch. My stomach churned as I watched her take a sip.

'And how was the concert?'

'Uh, it was amazing,' I responded, trying to conceal my discomfort. 'How was your date?'

'He's so incredible, I could die,' my mother gushed, instantly transformed into a giddy sixteen-year-old. 'He took me to this sushi restaurant, and then we went dancing. He makes me feel like I'm the only girl in the room. And believe me, every girl in the room is looking at him. He's so...'

If she said dreamy, I was going to laugh.

'.... intense.'

This description got a raise of an eyebrow out of me. 

I knew she was talking about the same guy who had walked into the house last night. I could feel my cheeks heating up just thinking about how nonchalant he'd been about at seeing me in a towel. like it was the most common thing in the world. And of course, I couldn't have been any more awkward. I hadn't told anyone about it, not even EunJi. It was not a moment I wanted to relive. 

'He sounds great,' I replied, distracted again when she took another sip from the wine glass.

'I can't -' She stopped when she saw me staring at the glass. She set it down