Penelope’s eyes fluttered open, and for a moment she forgot where she was. She blinked twice, trying to clear the light from her eyes. Although she had to squeeze her body into the couch, she still felt comfortable. As she started to uncurl, she felt a weight pressing up against her legs. With a jolt, she looked down and saw the culprit: Nolan. Her head was on one end of the couch, and Nolan’s was on the other. They’d fallen asleep with their legs sandwiched together and their feet close to each other’s faces.

Just a couple days ago, Penelope would have been disgusted to be so close to Nolan’s body, but this morning it felt weirdly comfortable. They had been open with each other last night and Penelope was starting to see a different side of Nolan—literally.

Penelope slowly removed her body from the couch and shimmied out from the crevice she was in. She quietly picked up her laptop, making sure not to wake Nolan, and went to her room, shutting off the lamps on the way. Now that the sun was coming up, Nolan would still have plenty of light to wake up to.

As Penelope brushed her teeth, her mind started to spiral out in anxiety. What was she doing? She had just gone on a date— a good date—with Marcus, and she was already sabotaging it by sleeping next to her roommate. True, nothing had actually happened, but that wasn’t normal between roommates, was it?

She had to talk to someone…and this was not a story her mother would appreciate.

***

Penelope knocked tentatively on Flo’s door. It was still early, after all. Maybe Flo was sleeping—

The door swung open to reveal Flo in a fuzzy, bright pink robe and matching slippers.

“More muffins?” Flo asked, her eyes lighting up.

“Not this morning, sorry,” Penelope said, kicking herself for not coming with a gift.

“Ah, well. Is there a problem upstairs?” asked Flo, her expression turning to concern.

“I guess you could say that,” said Penelope tentatively. “Can I come in for a minute?”

“Of course, of course,” said Flo, ushering Penelope inside where it was warmer.

“Come sit at the table,” Flo said, pulling out a table. “I was just making coffee.”

“That sounds great,” said Penelope, as her eyes floated around the apartment. She was trying to spot all of the new paper cranes that had appeared. Penelope had counted four before Flo set a steaming mug of caffeine in front of her.

“Now,” Flo said, sitting across from Penelope with her own mug, “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“I just don’t know if living with Nolan is a good idea,” said Penelope, taking a sip and letting the coffee warm the back of her throat. “I thought I could make it work, but…it’s hard.”

“Of course it is, dear—that’s why it’s meant to be temporary,” replied Flo.

“Yes, but he’s loud, and annoying, and I don’t know, somehow we ended up talking all night and falling asleep together—with our clothes on. It’s just… distracting,” said Penelope, looking away from Flo.

“I see,” said Flo, smiling. “Yes, that sounds complicated.”

“And then there’s Marcus, who you met last night, which makes things even more complicated.”

“Yes, he seems like a very nice young man.”

“Here’s the thing, Flo. I just got out of a relationship. One that started with a guy who I thought was good for me. He made me laugh, he bought me dinner, he complimented me. But in the end, he just made me feel smaller and smaller—like I owed him. How do I know I won’t make the same mistake all over again?” Penelope felt herself starting to get emotional describing her life with Jake to Flo. She hadn’t really talked about it with many people.

“You don’t know, unfortunately,” said Flo, sympathetically. “That’s what dating is, trying to find the right partner and screwing it up. A lot.”

“But not you and Barb,” said Penelope. “You guys figured it out. You found each other.”

“Oh please. Don’t think our relationship was perfect,” said Flo with a chuckle. “Far from it. But we learned how to communicate and trust our instincts.”

“What do you mean?” asked Penelope, her head cocking to the side.

“You have to trust the part of yourself that’s telling you whether you’re making a decision out of fear or out of love,” said Flo.

“I don’t understand,” said Penelope, thoroughly confused.

“For example,” said Flo, leaning across the table, “did you fall asleep with Nolan because you couldn’t stand being alone or because you felt comfortable with him?”

Penelope scrunched her nose up in thought. “I…don’t know,” she said, honestly. “I really didn’t like him, and he’s always on my nerves, but…”

“But maybe that’s changing as you get to know him?” Flo smiled again. “People are complicated, Penelope. They’re rarely all good or all bad.”

“Except in this case there’s an apartment on the line,” Penelope said, explaining her biggest apprehension. “How do I know he’s not just using me to get the apartment?”

“I suppose you don’t,” said Flo. “But I like him. And I have good instincts.”

Penelope silently drank her coffee, thinking. Flo quietly plucked a paper crane from the end of the table and turned it over in her hand as she spoke.

“You’re a smart girl, Penelope,” Flo observed. “But, I think you sometimes just need to get out of your head and listen to your heart for a change.”