I kept trying to figure out the best excuse to come up with.

I hit my forehead gently and then scoffed at all the lines I had come up with.

"Take a deep breath, Tiff," I told myself. "Ourgh."

I turned to look at my reflection in the mirror and tried practising some of the sentences I could tell Luciano.

"Uh, can I go out? I think it's important that you let me. Oh no no," I scoffed. "That sounds authoritative, and he'll think I'm trying to boss him around."

"Okay, how about, ...