Ch.17: So Close, So Far, Yet Much Closer

With what she had in mind spilled out, Aoko soon realizes that Kaitou Kid was harder to get rid of than the average person—both because of who he is and what's been happening recently. Swallowing her own stubbornness, she finds a way to come to terms with her current situation rather than live in anger. Perhaps with a lighter mindset, things will finally take a turn for the better.


At the sound of the front door opening, Aoko breathed out a quiet sigh. She finally had an excuse to leave for her room and let her father deal with Kid.

During the time in between, she had stolen a few glances at Kid's face as he sat staring at her living room blinds in silence. But she never let herself stare for long, quickly returning to work on her school assignment. With barely a grunt as a greeting for her father walking in, she gathered her stuff and headed up the stairs. She did not miss the question shot her way with his eyes when she passed by in a hurry.

The two voices coming from downstairs quieted down once Aoko pushed her door shut. Letting her school bag drop at the foot of her desk, she then fell down on top of her bed. The coolness of the fabric against her face helped ease the headache building up.

Every night over the past week, she had patrolled through the house with a sturdy broom in hand. After an instance where she had passed out from some kind of sleeping gas, she even borrowed a gas mask from her father's workplace. Each little trick Kid tried to use, she armed herself the next evening to combat it. But if one girl like her was able to stall his entry, then surely he hadn't been taking her seriously. What got on her nerves, more than him being Kaitou Kid, was the indifference he held no matter what she did in addition to the mess he left behind from the traps set for her.

Aoko breathed out slowly as she turned over to the side. If this had been yesterday, she would've charged back downstairs and made Kid leave through brute force. All her previous anger now fell flat and left her drained. This empty, sour feeling occupying her mind was…disappointment.

Realizing that, she briskly sat up. What was she let down by?

Perhaps her feelings were aimed at her father, being that he was the one allowing Kid to run free and infiltrate her school. She could blame Hakuba too. Still, she had faith in both of them. They must've done what they thought was right, like choosing the lesser evil. Then maybe her dissatisfaction was caused by Kaitou Kid himself. That stupid crook couldn't even apologize to her face, not even as a lie when he could've easily done so. Stories from her father and the news outlets were enough to paint an image of him being this untouchable trickster who would do anything to slip out of trouble. However, hearing Kid mention his own family and seeing the frustration as he glared back at her which he retracted just as quickly—something along the vein of pity needled its way into her.

A light smacking sound rang out as she slapped her cheeks before mumbling, "Aoko, what are you doing? You gotta get those last two pages done before tomorrow…" Pushing herself off her bed, she went over to pick up the bag lying on the ground.

After a change of clothes, she returned to her desk where she had laid out the schoolwork that needed to be completed by the end of the week-long break. As she sat staring at the paper in front of her, hoping for the work to keep her mind busy, the atmosphere suddenly felt too quiet. Gone was the sound of muffled voices. With little progress done, Aoko stood up. She could not bear to work in silence while her own thoughts buzzed around.

Keeping close to the guardrails on the stairs, she creeped down each step. Once halfway down, she crouched in order to peek at the entranceway's shoe cubby. The pair of loafers belonging to Kid was missing, answering the question of whether he was truly gone or not. She picked up her pace, nearly skipping the last few steps.

When she reached the kitchen, she found her father standing next to the counter where an electric kettle was heating up some water. With his tie loosened, he appeared ready to retire for the day. As he walked over to the dish drying rack to get a mug, he threw out a question at her. "So…did something happen when I was gone?"

"W-what makes you think that?" Sticking to her daily routine, she went to the fridge to check the ingredients left inside. Food wasn't going to make itself.

"Well…" He gently scratched the handle of the ceramic mug with his thumb. "Just thought you'd be more angry. Y'know, like taking things in your own hands and chasing him out of here."

"Nothing happened." She had promised she would be fine being with Kid alone before her father left. But by the end, she barely managed to keep it together. "…He didn't say anything this time? I mean, what did you guys talk about today?"

He paused midway through picking up a metallic canister, surprised by her asking. "Uh, just the usual. Nothing new."

"…What does that mean?"

The tin container creaked as he pried it apart to retrieve a packet of instant coffee. "Well, you know him. He's…difficult, even with all the pleasant small talk. Can't really get him to tell us what we really need to know."

"Hmph, sounds about right," Aoko mumbled, taking out some plates from the fridge. It looked like she would only need to prepare the rice and heat up the leftovers. By the time she got everything laid out on the countertop and peeled off the plastic wrap, the scent of coffee wafted through the air.

Her father never discussed details about his meetings with Kid, but she had eavesdropped on most of them. Kid had been keenly aware of her presence nearby, and thus made an effort to lock the door or set boobytraps leading to where her father waited. The second best thing she could do was press the side of her head against the door or wall and strain her ears. From the few words she managed to decipher, she learned nothing useful either.

But Aoko felt certain of one thing—Kid wanted something out of this and he hadn't admitted to the police, her father, nor Hakuba of what it was. No way that guy wasn't hiding more behind his seemingly truthful promises of being friends with the police. It was high time for her to take action and find out for herself. "Dad, Aoko got an idea."

"Hm?" Face half-covered by the steaming mug, he turned back around.

Staring him dead in the eyes to show her serious intentions, Aoko proposed her plan. "If you can't get him to talk, then Aoko will pitch in. She'll make him spill the beans!"


"Kid, you little…" One second she lost sight of him, the next she found him standing in the middle of her room.

"What? You asked for me to stay, and here I am. And I'm bored." He carried on walking in a circular path, taking in the interior with fake interest.

"I-I didn't say anything." She was going to keep calm this time, but Kid poking his nose around her room uninvited really tested her patience. The most annoying part was how he acted like yesterday didn't happen, all smiles and cheeriness. "Get outta Aoko's room already, will you?"

Playing deaf to her demand, he continued walking around with his hands clasped behind his back. "The way the inspector invited me for dinner was strange and I was wondering why you've been so quiet today. So therefore, it could've only been you who asked him to say it."

Deep breaths, she told herself. "So? Is this why you're here snooping around in a girl's room? Falling to petty vengeance now?"

Not reacting much to her remark, Kid replied, "Am I wrong for being curious?"

As he got closer towards her windows, Aoko saw him reach out for something for the first time. "Hey! No touching!" Who knew what he could be doing with those sticky fingers of his.

Same as before, he ignored her.

It somewhat relieved her to see that he simply pulled the curtain aside just enough to see what was behind. If he had touched any of her drawers, there was no way he was leaving without a bruise or two.

After a brief glance, Kid frowned as he focused on something at the bottom side of the window frame. "Did you forget to call a repairman?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Aoko walked up to see what Kid had pointed out. In a dusty corner, a few strips of yellowing tape were stuck to the glass on both sides—out of sight, out of mind. "Well, it's only a few cracks and nobody can really see it. Saves both Dad and Aoko's money and time."

He smirked. "Ha, living next to a playground is all great until someone kicks the ball too hard or throws a rock. It's bound to happen."

"Shut up, the kids here are nice. This happened way before the park was even made." When she looked outside, she was reminded how rare it was for her to open the curtain on this side of her windows. "...It felt like forever ago."

As soon as she left his side, he raised a brow. "You aren't going to tell me the rest of it? You're leaving me in the dark here."

Before answering, she thought about it. Was it her place to tell what happened? A little over ten years had passed since then. "Hm…Aoko might, but only if you get the hell out."

"Fine, I'll return to my lil' spot downstairs." With a shrug, he walked past her and finally left her room.

"Good." Keeping him within her sights this time, Aoko followed him. Her father hadn't returned from his errands trip yet, which gave her a good chance to practice the tips he had given to her last night.

Like the day before, Kid sat at the side of the couch furthest away from the dining area. He grinned at her. "Okay, I'm out here now. Where's the end of the story I've been promised?"

The way he asked sounded like a young child begging to hear the end of a fairytale, except this story was no fantasy. She crossed her arms. "Aoko doesn't like talking about it freely, just letting you know."

"Come on, you've got me mildly interested. And now you're making me want to know even more." His face lit up so suddenly one could imagine a lightbulb appearing above his head. "How about this? You tell me, and I treat you to a food place tomorrow! Deal? It'll be fun."

"…And Aoko gets to pick?" She saw him nod. Be it a lie or not, she decided to play along to get on his good side. "A-Alright. The park next to our house wasn't always there."

"You told me that part already." Kid lazily leaned against the armrest, having calmed down after getting her to talk.

"Well, Aoko needs a way to remember…" In order to recall the events, she had to dig deep within her set of childhood memories. "There was a house next to ours a long time ago. One night, an explosion shook everyone awake. Something must've hit my window, or the shockwave broke it. Anyways, it scared the crap out of me." She remembered now, how she hid under her blankets with the smell of smoke entering her room before her father came in to hurriedly get her out in case the fire spread. "We learned later there was a gas leak next door and a fire got started by accident."

Kid listened to her quietly, only asking something when she paused. "…And what happened to the people that lived there?"

"Aoko's family had just moved in so we never knew them, or at least Aoko doesn't remember meeting them. Dad told me nobody survived the fire. A woman and a child, I think." For some time, she had trouble sleeping in her own room. Once the blaze had been put out and authorities began investigating, she peeked outside once in a while out of morbid curiosity. From the number of people shifting through the remains of the house, Aoko assumed it was a high-profile incident. Years later, the names involved eluded her but she didn't want to search them up. Associating dead names and faces to the fire would only serve to upset herself when everyone else had moved on. "And that's the end of it. See? Nothing super interesting, just a gloomy story."

"Eh, not what I expected to hear but…" He cleared his throat before bringing in a brighter mood to the air with a celebratory smile. "Congratulations, you've earned your prize!"

"What's with you today? Did you hit your head on the way here?" To be rewarded with the promise of food so enthusiastically felt like being treated like a dog.

"I'm playing with you, Nakamori-chan." Kid laid down to take up the entire length of the couch, making himself at home by interlacing his fingers behind his head.

The events from the day before were still fresh on her mind. She wasn't exactly proud of the conversation between her and Kid. His vaguely smug attitude now had to be a front. Kid must know that she knew too. "How can you act like yesterday didn't happen?"

"…Hm." One of his feet lazily hung off to the side, swinging to the beat of a melody inside his head. "If you act out a scenario well enough, you can supplant the truth. Isn't that amazing?"

She frowned, slowly beginning to understand his character. "Fine, Aoko will pretend with you but there won't be a next time." Kid liked to speak in a theatrical way to avoid saying anything directly, all smokes and mirrors like his magic tricks. To see past this, she needed to focus beyond what he was showing upfront.

A chuckle came from Kid before he closed his eyes as if ready to take a nap right on the spot. But a string of beeping sounds interrupted the still atmosphere.

Stepping out to the dark entrance hall, Aoko picked up the old phone receiver. "Hello? This is Nakamori residence speaking."

"Oh, is this Inspector Nakamori's daughter? May I speak to your father?"

The voice sounded like it belonged to one of the officers from the task force. "If you're looking for my father, he's currently out. Please call him through his cellphone." After she said that, the man excused himself and ended the call. When she returned to the living room, she knew the nosy thief would ask sooner or later what it was about. "It's work stuff. Dad'll probably make a detour and come back later." Hopefully, he could return before nightfall.

Not replying right away, he stretched and yawned. "This gives you plenty of time to decide on the place. It's best to pick while you have an empty stomach."

"Y-you really weren't lying to get Aoko to talk?" The possibility of it being a complete lie never left her mind when she played along.

Kid raised his head to give her a look between disbelief and annoyance.


Later in the evening, her father returned but only to drop off the things he had bought from the supermarket. From the brief talk before he hurried back to his car, he had to cover the workload of one of his officers that hadn't shown up on time. Morning came and he had gone back to the police building again.

The one bright spot of her day was that she had a good reason to leave the house.

She had been eyeing this one dessert shop ever since she saw an advertisement on her way from school. With Keiko away to visit family however, going to a place where tables had multiple seats all by herself felt too awkward. And on opening day, there was bound to be a crowd. It somewhat relieved Aoko to see Kid waiting for her at the promised spot, with the only problem being who he was. Not even the colourful assortment of cakes and fancy macarons were enough to distract her from the person sitting on the other side of the table.

"Why the long face? Feeling sick already?" Kid pulled the fork out of his mouth.

"O-of course not. Aoko is starving." The small sponge cake in front of her was only half-eaten. If she acted strangely then other people sitting close by might start asking questions, so Aoko breathed in to relax her expression and take another bite. As she chewed, she prayed the food could eventually distract her from the thought of him being there.

Having finished with his plate, Kid pushed it to the side and pulled in the second one he had brought to the table. The fork between his fingers spun as he twisted it mindlessly.

When he looked up and made eye contact, she nearly choked. "W-what?"

He stayed silent, his gaze shifting slightly to the side to look at something behind her. Whatever held his attention out of the blue, it didn't seem to please him greatly. He stabbed his fork into the slice of cake rather forcefully as he broke his line of sight.

Because she sat close enough to read his displeasure, Aoko became intrigued by what he spotted. Right after considering taking a glance behind her when she set her utensil down, a loud voice made her nearly jump out of her own skin.

"Everyone, stop! Do not eat anything or move your dishes from your tables!"

Sounds of talking and dish clattering ceased before making way for concerned murmurs. People began standing up from their seats to crane their necks at the person who had just yelled. Among them was Kid, and soon Aoko followed. From the other end of the seating area, a small crowd had gathered while some quickly walked away.

The same voice spoke up again, "Please wait until the police arrive. I need everyone's cooperation."

"Great…" Kid muttered as he sat back down.

Still confused at what was going on, Aoko remained standing. Why did the voice sound so familiar? She wasn't the only one who wanted answers, as many left their tables to take a look for themselves. Deciding against joining, she frowned at Kid and asked, "How about you tell Aoko what's happening?"

"Ah well, I suspect that some of the food might be contaminated with poison…" With suspicious care, he stacked his uneaten cake on top of the empty plate. "I prefer not to test my luck again…"

She looked down at the things she had been eating just a moment ago. "P-poison?" Apart from the feeling of sudden anxiety, Aoko felt fine and Kid himself appeared unaffected. "Then that means…did someone get poisoned over there?"

Crossing his arms, Kid sighed with a grim face, "Most likely, or else he wouldn't have yelled like this."

"Oh…" As to who he meant, Aoko had no clue. But her question was answered shortly enough when a series of police cars arrived near the scene. Once they entered the shop to begin their work, people were allowed to leave except for a few individuals. Much to her surprise, Kid wanted to stay around with other curious onlookers.

With the seating area nearly empty now, Aoko had a clear view of the scene. A section had been cordoned off. On the floor motionless laid a woman whose body was soon covered with a sheet by someone wearing protective equipment. The sight of a dead person didn't sicken her as much as the idea of what happened to them.

A small distance away was a man in a suit taking notes from the customers that were held back from leaving. Although he stood as the figure of authority, Aoko saw how he nodded along to a boy who looked to be her own age. The high schooler in question had an intense air to him as he pointed around and seemed to be explaining something to the group. One part of her wanted to know what they were discussing, but the other half became preoccupied by his face. She began to realize why some people wanted to see how things played out. "Is that…Kudo Shinichi?"

"You're a little slow on the uptake but at least you got it right." Kid laughed for a short bit.

Her cheeks reddened from taking so long to recognize the famed detective. "Sh-shut up, you. You're a fan of his or something?"

"Hm, not really." He then glanced to the side. "Ah, looks like the party is over."

Surely enough, an officer from the investigation squad walked over to them and had them ushered outside so they could begin clearing the crime scene and removing the body. When Aoko stepped outside, a sigh escaped from her. Just when she had believed she would get to enjoy herself with free dessert paid from Kid's pockets, something terrible happened.

After both she and Kid had a mutual agreement to leave, someone called out in their direction.

"Wait!" A girl with a strange horn-like cowlick nearly ran out of the entrance of the buffet establishment, waving a hand at them.

Aoko paused in her steps. "May I help you…?"

Her fingers gripped the strap of her shoulder bag as she jogged up to them. "Um, could you two stay around here for a few more minutes?"

"Oh, okay." After the girl thanked them both and returned inside, Aoko headed to the sidewalk where some of the police cars were parked. It wouldn't hurt to wait a little since she had all day free. As for Kid, he followed her with a look of boredom. With nothing else to do as they stood there, Aoko turned to him. "Any idea what that was for?"

"She's the detective's girlfriend, Mouri Ran. He probably sent her."

"As in the daughter of Sleeping Kogoro? Wow…" It made sense for local celebrities to have connections to one another. She had heard that even the child giving Kaitou Kid trouble at his heists was related to Kudo Shinichi. An idea suddenly sprouted, and Aoko marched back towards the crime scene much to Kid's confusion. "Aoko is gonna go see something for herself. Don't do anything stupid while she's gone, got that?"

Leaving him, she squeezed past the gathering of witnesses waiting to be interviewed by the police. The moment she stepped past the doorway, she nearly ran into someone that was heading out. "Oh! Sorry, I— Huh?" For a split second, she believed Kid had teleported to be in front of her until she looked at him properly. From afar, she couldn't quite see the resemblance. Apart from the neater hair, the blue eye colour, and the lack of glasses, his face was nearly identical to him. "Y-you're Kudo-san, right?"

"Yes." The detective confirmed with a polite smile. "Are you Nakamori Aoko? I asked Ran to stop you guys from leaving, so I apologize for any confusion it might've caused."

As far as she could remember, they had never met before. But coming from Kudo Shinichi, it wouldn't surprise her that he got her name from clues she'd never noticed. "Um, actually, Aoko wanted to ask Kudo-san something! Is there a way to contact Edogawa Conan? Aoko needs advice from the 'Kid-Killer' himself."

Briefly, a series of emotions contorted his face until he chuckled gingerly. "Well…you see, Conan-kun isn't in Japan anymore. But I can answer any questions you might have. Let's go somewhere a little more quiet first, Aoko-san."

"Okay." Going back inside, she followed him as he led her to a shaded corner behind a partition wall.

After carefully glancing around for something, Kudo asked her in a low voice, "Do you know?"

"Does Aoko know what?" The way he appeared so serious all of a sudden worried her.

"How can I say this… Has Hakuba-kun talked to you about the new transfer student?"

"You've spoken with Hakuba-kun…?" Her mouth fell agape and she sputtered out, "Y-you know about Kaitou Kid a-and how he's..."

Once he heard that, he relaxed to some degree. "I do. Has he told you anything which could help the police?"

"Um, he and Aoko are not exactly friends, so no. Not even Aoko's father could get him to talk." At best, she tolerated his presence well enough now. Then again, she had sworn to herself she would somehow squeeze some new information out of him. "That's why Aoko wished to speak with Conan-kun. He might know how to…"

"Ah, Conan-kun told me everything I need to know, and I had the opportunity to speak with Kid a few times." Kudo smirked thinly. "But I don't get many chances these days."

There was hope for her self-imposed mission. She needed to know more of what was happening behind the scenes. "How come?"

"We didn't exactly get off on the right foot, and I've got my own side of business to take care of. So it's been mostly Hakuba-kun and Inspector Nakamori leading the way."

"So that's how it is." She thought the renowned detective would be more involved if he was in contact with Hakuba. "Then what do you think Aoko should do? Kid is always coming over to loiter around our house, so Aoko is trying to make the most of it to help Dad." With a handful of school-less days left ahead, Kid might stay for longer, as painful as that sounded.

"Huh…" He trailed off into silence for a moment, glancing at the windows. "I wanted to speak to him about the contaminated plates for this case, but I digress." A smile lifted the corners of his mouth as his gaze returned to her. "Just keep doing what you've been doing. Give him some time and see where this goes."


When the sun hit her eyes as she walked out, Aoko found herself chewing the inside of her lips. Before she got to ask what he meant, the detective had been urgently called over by one of the police officers on site.

On her way down the street, she was taken aback by the fact that Kid remained standing in the same spot where she last saw him. "...Why are you still here?"

Upon seeing her approach, he put away his phone. "What? I waited like I'd been asked. Can we leave now?"

Due to the detective's presence at the crime scene, the investigation was wrapping up faster than she thought. Seeing that Kudo hadn't objected to her stepping out of the building, Aoko assumed things were over. "Yeah, Aoko is heading back home."

Kid shoved his hands into his pockets and walked beside her. "Are you gonna tell me what you and the detective were discussing?" His eyes narrowed with suspicion. "You two better not be conspiring something behind my back."

Inside her mind, she wished Kudo and her had talked enough to form any sort of plan. "As if. Aoko just asked a few questions."

Walking a little faster, he tilted his head down nearly to her eye-level. "And what were they?"

"None of your business, that's what." It was difficult to ignore the intent gaze demanding her to answer him, but she kept her head facing straight ahead.

"If they involve me, then it is."

They crossed a busy intersection. All the while, Aoko could almost feel him burn a hole into the side of her face. By her own reasoning, Kid was right and deserved to know. "..."

When they crossed another street, he suddenly pointed at a sign with his thumb. "Tell me, and I'm covering the bills."

On the signboard resting on the ground, a chalk drawing of an arrow pointed to a small restaurant around the corner. "Grr, I-I'm not stupid!" Sure, the tiny cake she managed to finish without incident barely counted as a meal but she was not about to be bribed with food a second time. "There's no using that trick again…" Besides, she had lost her appetite after what happened.

"Ah, magicians really shouldn't use the same trick twice, don't they? My bad." Not missing a beat, he covered his attempt with a half-witted grin.

One of her brows twitched as she resisted the urge to scowl. If he wanted a reaction out of her, then she won't let him have it. She needed to take a deep breath and stay quiet until—

"...You know, the inspector looks like a red balloon about to pop when he's mad." His smirk grew with a glint to his eyes. "Just like you right now!"

"Quit it!" A few passerby gave her an odd stare when she stopped walking to yell at him but she didn't care. "Can't you see that I'm not in the mood to talk?!" She swallowed thickly, pushing down the same bitter sentiment from before—how she wanted him to disappear so that everything returned to normal and 'Kaitou Kid' remained a ghostly legend who kept hogging the spotlight on the news.

Meeting her glare, Kid seemed to not care much for the outburst. "Okay… I'll glue my mouth shut until we get to your place."

"Until we—What?!" Realizing they were still out in public, she grabbed the front of his jacket. She pulled him towards an alleyway close by so they could talk without a filter. Her hand thrusted a finger into his chest and she hissed, "Just go back to your own house already, Kid! Aoko isn't your babysitter!"

He too seemed to drop his courteous attitude. "In case it hasn't been obvious, I have nothing to do in my free time apart from my own brand of 'work'. Can't I have my own fun during a break week?"

"...You think this is fun?"

"Hey, hey, the whole mess at the buffet wasn't my fault," said Kid defensively.

She scoffed, balling her fingers into fists. "I don't mean that, you idiot! Every time you come over, you mess with me. You enjoy making others feel stupid, is that it?"

"Look, you just happen to be the right mix of challenging and fun." His shoes scraped against the pavement as he leaned his back on the wall. "You played the part of a night-shift guard really well but I was getting too tired to entertain you every day like that."

"A-Aoko was not playing!" There he went again, misconstruing her attempts at keeping him out as merely a game. Despite the fact she had promised to stop being so vigilant, she tried her damndest to keep Kid within her peripheral vision. Had her actions somehow backfired and now Kid was enjoying all the attention she fed to him, or was this meant to be his form of a payback? "If you've got so much free time, why don't you go bug someone else?"

Exhaling through his nose, Kid pushed himself off of the building side. He dusted his hands off before putting them back inside his pockets. "Let me rephrase what I said before. You just happen to be nearby when I meet with the inspector. I'm making the best of the situation we're both stuck in."

His argument wasn't convincing. "Once your talk with Dad was over, you could've just left. Then, there won't be a problem to be stuck with!"

"Not all our problems go away when I leave your house, dummy."

"Of course Aoko knows that…" Obviously nothing got resolved permanently, only a temporary break from each other's company. It still felt so surreal how she was indirectly part of a situation revolving around a shady organization, suspicious cover-ups, and a teenage phantom thief. There was so much wrong going on that she felt compelled to help, but she could only accomplish so much as someone who had been living a regular life.

But she was not about to run away. She had to make things work between herself and Kid, even if he was being a nuisance. This way, it would at least give her some peace of mind in all this insanity. Kid would get no special treatment from her, not like what the media or the police had given him, when he was just some boy who knew how to lie in his own fancy ways.

"..." Giving one last serious look at Kid, she spoke with her jaw clenched to keep her voice steady "Fine, Aoko will forgive you for being a parasite." She then spun on her heels to resume her walk back home.

"P-parasite?" Kid echoed, following her once more.

"That's what Aoko calls someone when they freeload at her home." She saw the surprise on his face. "Aoko just wanted to complain, but she wouldn't mind if a certain someone started helping around the house for once." Guest or not, he should start sharing his part of the chores based on how much time he spent there. He had should clean up after himself too. His smoke bombs left a powdery residue all over any solid surface, and she could still find tiny pieces of confetti hidden in her clothes.

He sighed with a laugh. "Seriously?"