Silvia didn't care either.

When Guillermo tried to insist about moving in together, she just told him to go to hell. He did so for a couple of weeks, until she had to admit she actually missed him. So she called him and treated him to a beer at a bar their friends would never go to—neutral territory to talk without interruptions.

Silvia didn't let him say a single word.

"Look, I do like you, and I wouldn't wanna break up with you. But what we already have is all you're ever gonna get from me. You ain't moving in with me and I ain't meeting your children. We won't play modern family or go on family vacations to the beach. I'm not your girlfriend and sure as hell I'll never be your wife. We won't be sharing our bills and buying a car. If things work for you such as they are right now, I'd love to keep seeing you. If not, I'll understand. You have the right to find someone that fits your expectations better than me."

Guillermo took a few days to think about it. By the end of the next week, he agreed to keep dating her on her terms.

By then, the third leg of No Return's world tour was coming to an end in Eastern Europe. And the year too.

Something had changed between Jim and Silvia since they'd talked over the phone twice. She would explain it saying they'd gotten personal. Comforting each other had brought them closer again, like when they'd first met. And it wasn't something she wanted to keep that way over the internet.

The task of the week game had come to a subtle end. Jim would still take her on tour with him, and Silvia did her best to find something interesting to post at least once a week.

When he got back to LA in December, the communication between them lagged. And Silvia found out she felt sort of relieved. Any healthy human bond fluctuated, and she needed this pause. However, it didn't last long, with their birthdays and the holidays around the corner.

One Monday, Silvia woke up a couple of hours before her alarm set off and felt like punching herself. It was December 16, Jim's birthday, and even though the day was already breaking outside her window, she'd waken up just past Los Angeles midnight.

So she could only grab her tablet and write to him.

Her DM was actually the first congratulation message of the hundreds he got that day, but he only noticed many hours later. Right then, he was already partying hard with his friends.

For Christmas, Jim sent her a picture of himself wearing more makeup than Alice Cooper in his prime and a Santa Claus hat, holding a huge hunting knife covered in something that looked like thick blood. Silvia laughed out loud and replied with a picture of kittens with red ribbons.

Two days later, one minute after midnight in Argentina, Silvia was fighting monsters with her brother when her phone buzzed. They were cornered against the crumbling wall of an old castle, and she had to fight her way out of the ambush in order to get to her phone. The call was just about to skip to voicemail when she picked up.

"Well, who's older again?"

Her brother saw her stagger and pushed a chair for her to drop there.

"Hey!" she managed to say, sitting down.

"Happy birthday, cougar! Are you doing anything on your day?"

"Thanks, Jay! It's Thursday, so I have to go to work. How are you?"

"Fine, fine! We're going out for dinner, but I wanted to be the first to congratulate you on your aging. Thirty-five! Dude, it only happens once, right?"

"Thank God!"

"When are you throwing your party?"

"After New Year, as always. Go now, and thanks for calling!"

"Have fun! See ya!"

Jim disconnected, chuckling, and turned around to find Sean at the open front door, one eyebrow up, shaking his head.

"Move your ass, sucker. Barbara's waiting in your car."

Jim followed him out, rolling his eyes.