I never imagined I would be living in someone else\u2019s guest room at 23. My name is Jordan, and until recently I thought finishing college would be the beginning of something exciting. Instead, it turned into scrolling through rental listings at 2 A.M., trying not to panic about how expensive the real world had turned out to be. Everything decent was either out of my price range or sketchy beyond belief. I did not want to end up in some damp basement with a curtain for a door simply because I was broke and stubborn.<\/p>\n
So when my best friend Fred offered a solution, I took a breath and said, \u201cMaybe.\u201d Fred and I had known each other since middle school. We shared after-school basketball games, late-night homework struggles, and nearly everything in between. He was the kind of friend who did not need a reason to help. He simply did.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a guest room that\u2019s basically collecting dust,\u201d he told me. \u201cStay as long as you need.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hesitated. \u201cYou sure your mom\u2019s cool with that?\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed. \u201cShe suggested it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, something about moving into a friend\u2019s family home made me feel as though I were crossing an invisible line. I did not want to become anyone\u2019s charity case, but I also did not want to keep crashing on a couch with springs that poked through like needles. After a week of going back and forth, I packed my things and accepted the offer.<\/p>\n
Their house felt different\u2014not just larger, but warmer. It did not try too hard to feel lived in; it simply was. Worn bookshelves, soft light, houseplants that were actually thriving. It felt curated without being cold. The moment we pulled into the driveway, I felt out of place in a way that was not exactly bad, just unfamiliar.<\/p>\n
Fred opened the door ahead of me and called out that we were home. That was when I saw her\u2014Michelle, his mother. She stepped into view from the kitchen, drying her hands with a dish towel. I had seen her before, of course, at school functions or on random weekends during high school. But somehow she looked different now. Maybe it was because I was not a kid anymore.<\/p>\n
She was tall and poised, carrying a quiet elegance that did not seem to come from effort. She wore a loose button-down over a tank top, jeans rolled at the ankles, her bare feet against the wood floor. Her smile was warm and easy.<\/p>\n
\u201cJordan,\u201d she said, as though we had been friends for years. \u201cWelcome home.\u201d<\/p>\n
I managed a half-smile. \u201cThanks. I appreciate you letting me stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n
She waved it off. \u201cFred\u2019s always talked about how you\u2019re like family. It\u2019ll be nice having another young man in the house.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was something in the way she said it\u2014sincere, yet layered with an undertone I could not quite place. It was not anything overtly strange, just something I felt without understanding.<\/p>\n
She showed me the guest room herself. It was cozy and sunlit, with a window overlooking the backyard. There was even a small desk, which made me feel less like a squatter. Michelle stood in the doorway, her arms loosely crossed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you need anything\u2014extra blankets, different pillows\u2014just let me know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n
She nodded, then turned to leave. Before stepping out, she looked back at me. \u201cI\u2019m really glad you\u2019re here, Jordan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something about the way she said it stayed with me.<\/p>\n
That night, after Fred went to bed and the house fell quiet, I lay staring at the ceiling, wondering why I could not stop replaying that moment\u2014her smile, her tone, the way her eyes lingered just a second longer than necessary. I told myself it was nothing, only nerves, the adjustment to a new place. Yet as I closed my eyes, it was not the unfamiliar ceiling I kept picturing. It was her.<\/p>\n
The next morning began quietly. Sunlight streamed through the blinds, and for a second I forgot I was not in my old apartment. The bed was far too comfortable for a broke recent graduate. I pulled on a hoodie and wandered into the kitchen, half expecting Fred to already be up.<\/p>\n
Instead, Michelle stood at the stove. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled as though it were entirely normal to see me wandering in barefoot and groggy.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoffee\u2019s fresh,\u201d she said. \u201cMugs are in the cabinet by the sink.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks,\u201d I muttered.<\/p>\n
She was cooking eggs, and the smell woke me more effectively than the coffee. The kitchen felt lived in but not cluttered: reading glasses on the counter, a half-finished crossword folded beside the fruit bowl.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sleep okay?\u201d she asked, flipping an egg.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. The bed\u2019s better than I deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n
She laughed lightly. \u201cYou deserve a good bed, Jordan.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was not flirtatious, not exactly\u2014but it was personal. I nodded, took a sip of coffee, and leaned against the counter.<\/p>\n
Fred shuffled in minutes later, yawning, and Michelle handed him a plate before he could ask. Then she gave one to me. We sat together, talking about sports, traffic, a meme Fred had seen. Yet Michelle directed small comments toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou college boys always sleep so late.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou eat like someone who just escaped a dining hall.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fred laughed, thinking nothing of it. But I felt a subtle shift in the air.<\/p>\n
After he left for work, I stayed to rinse dishes. Michelle wiped down the counter slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks for helping,\u201d she said. \u201cFred thinks stacking everything in the sink like Tetris counts as cleaning.\u201d<\/p>\n
I chuckled. \u201cYou\u2019re letting me live here rent-free. It\u2019s the least I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
She tilted her head. \u201cYou say that like it\u2019s a favor. You being here feels nice. The house hasn\u2019t had this kind of energy in a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did not know how to respond. I kept scrubbing a pan.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re very mature for your age,\u201d she added. \u201cComfortable to be around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caught off guard, I raised an eyebrow. \u201cYou don\u2019t look like someone\u2019s mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words slipped out half joking, half not. She froze for a fraction of a second, her eyes searching mine, then smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cCareful,\u201d she said lightly. \u201cYou\u2019ll make me feel flattered.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rest of the day passed normally\u2014errands, freelance work, a game on television with Fred that evening. Yet every time Michelle walked through the room, I noticed her presence more than I should have. And each time our eyes met, something seemed to pass between us, just beneath the surface.<\/p>\n
Later that night, while Fred gamed upstairs with headphones on, I was in the kitchen making a sandwich when Michelle walked in barefoot again, sweater sleeves pulled over her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cMidnight snack?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cCollege habits,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n
She smiled. \u201cI used to do the same thing when I thought ramen and coffee counted as nutrition.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause followed\u2014not awkward, just charged.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have a quiet confidence about you,\u201d she said. \u201cMost guys your age don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou make it easy to feel comfortable,\u201d I answered.<\/p>\n
She did not reply. She only smiled and touched my arm lightly as she passed. I stood there long after she left, staring at the half-made sandwich. A line was forming. I could feel it. I was not sure whether I wanted to step over it\u2014or if I already had.<\/p>\n
The days began to blur. The guest room started to feel like home. Each morning I would find Michelle already awake, moving through the kitchen, humming softly. Soon she began asking for small favors\u2014reaching for a box on a high shelf, checking a leaky faucet, carrying groceries inside.<\/p>\n
All normal requests. Yet her hand would brush mine when passing something. Her fingers would linger slightly longer than necessary. She stood closer than she needed to.<\/p>\n
At first, I told myself I was imagining it. But then I caught her watching me\u2014not glancing, watching. Her eyes followed me as I moved around the kitchen, tied my shoes by the door, typed at the dining table. When I looked up, she would look away, smiling faintly.<\/p>\n
One afternoon, she asked for help rearranging the bookshelves. We sat side by side on the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always this organized?\u201d I asked, flipping through a paperback.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d she replied. \u201cI just need things to feel in place when everything else isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer carried more weight than it seemed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you dating anyone?\u201d she asked casually.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Not lately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not? You\u2019re good-looking. Smart. Thoughtful.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed softly. \u201cI don\u2019t always feel seen that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes held mine. \u201cI know the feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
The silence that followed felt heavier than any before. Fred\u2019s voice drifted faintly from upstairs, reminding me of the world just beyond this moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou seem like someone who carries more than he lets on,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She was not wrong.<\/p>\n
That night, as she passed me in the hallway on her way to bed, her hair down and a loose T-shirt brushing mid-thigh, something shifted again. She smiled. \u201cSleep well, Jordan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou too.\u201d<\/p>\n
As I stared at myself in the bathroom mirror afterward, I knew something real was changing.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Fred left for a weekend camping trip with friends. He joked that his mother would overfeed me and drove off. The house grew quiet in a new way, each sound amplified\u2014the ticking clock, the settling wood, Michelle\u2019s soft footsteps.<\/p>\n
I sat flipping through television channels when she entered holding a bottle of wine and two glasses.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep me company for dinner?\u201d she asked. \u201cFeels strange cooking for one.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hesitated only briefly. \u201cI\u2019d like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
We cooked together\u2014she searing chicken, I chopping vegetables. Soft jazz played in the background. The space glowed warmly. Conversation flowed easily\u2014her work in corporate interior design, my uncertain job search. By the second glass of wine, the formality between us dissolved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t remember the last time I laughed like this,\u201d she admitted.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou deserve to,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Later, we sat in the dim living room. The bottle was empty. Our knees brushed beneath the coffee table, neither of us moving away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was nervous about you staying here,\u201d she confessed. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what it would feel like having someone else in the house again.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad it\u2019s you,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
The silence vibrated between us. I leaned in slowly. She did not retreat. Our lips met\u2014soft, hesitant, inevitable.<\/p>\n
When we pulled apart, she whispered, \u201cThis isn\u2019t just in my head, is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
That night, I lay awake replaying everything. Then came a soft knock. Michelle stood in the doorway, backlit by the hall light, wearing a simple cotton nightgown.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I come in?\u201d<\/p>\n
She stepped inside. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to pretend nothing happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you sure?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never been more sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
We crossed the space between us carefully, then kissed again\u2014no hesitation this time. Her hands found my neck; mine circled her waist. We moved slowly, deliberately. When she rested her forehead against mine, she whispered, \u201cI feel like I\u2019m breaking a rule.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo do I.\u201d<\/p>\n
We sat on the bed\u2019s edge before she leaned back against the pillows and reached for me. The rest of the night unfolded in warmth and quiet\u2014soft touches, whispered names, rain tapping against the window. Nothing rushed, only tenderness and inevitability.<\/p>\n
Later, under the quilt, her breathing steadied against my chest. She looked younger in sleep, the weight she carried momentarily gone. I stared at the ceiling, trying to frame what had happened, but there was no neat explanation.<\/p>\n
Morning arrived pale and gentle. When she opened her eyes, there was no pretense left.<\/p>\n
There was no going back.<\/p>\n
The morning felt like waking inside a dream I was not supposed to inhabit. I expected panic or regret. Instead, I felt calm, as though something had finally aligned. Michelle stirred beside me, her hand resting lightly on my chest. When she opened her eyes, she did not flinch or pull away. The question was not what we had done, but what would happen now.<\/p>\n
Fred was not due back until late evening, leaving us the house to ourselves. We moved through the morning quietly, carefully. She made coffee while I showered. I dried dishes while she swept the floor. Nothing appeared unusual, yet every brush of her arm carried new meaning.<\/p>\n
By the time Fred returned, we had already slipped into a rhythm.<\/p>\n
That rhythm deepened into routine. She would wake early, hair pinned back, cardigan slipping off one shoulder, and hand me coffee with a look that spoke more than words. At breakfast, while Fred scrolled on his phone, her foot would find mine under the table. Sometimes she left small things outside my door\u2014a folded towel, a new toothbrush, fresh socks. Thoughtful, intimate gestures.<\/p>\n
We began texting. Nothing incriminating\u2014\u201cLunch is in the fridge,\u201d \u201cDid you sleep okay?\u201d Once, simply, \u201cStill thinking about you.\u201d I replied, \u201cMe too.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Fred was out or immersed in gaming upstairs, Michelle would knock on my door during the day, never long, just enough. Once she slipped in while I worked on my laptop and sat beside me on the bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been thinking,\u201d she said softly. \u201cAbout how easy this feels. And how terrifying that is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTerrifying for me too,\u201d I admitted. \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t feel wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve woken up a part of me I thought was gone,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re everything I didn\u2019t know I was missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
There were no grand declarations, only stolen moments\u2014a kiss in the hallway, a soft goodnight outside my door. Another evening, when Fred went to a late movie, she slipped into my room after I turned off the lamp. We moved together with quiet urgency, aware that time was borrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis can\u2019t last,\u201d she whispered afterward.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet neither of us moved.<\/p>\n
Each day felt both like risk and gift. We mastered restraint when Fred was home. But secrets gather weight. Over time, confidence blurred caution.<\/p>\n
Fred began to notice.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou home all day again?\u201d he asked casually one Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking on freelance stuff,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n
He shrugged. \u201cJust seems like you and my mom talk a lot lately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s around. I\u2019m around.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. Just never seen her so chatty.\u201d<\/p>\n
That night, Michelle slipped into my room with unsettled energy.<\/p>\n
\u201cFred\u2019s getting suspicious,\u201d she said quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said something?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s asking more. Watching.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been careful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCareful doesn\u2019t mean invisible.\u201d<\/p>\n
We sat in silence, tension thick between us.<\/p>\n
The next week, with Fred working late, the moment he left she met me in the hallway. We did not go to my room; instead, she pulled me into the laundry room and kissed me with urgency. There was something frantic in it, as though we were chasing something slipping through our fingers.<\/p>\n
Afterward, leaning breathless against the wall, she whispered, \u201cWhat are we doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to lie to Fred,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I can\u2019t stop this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we don\u2019t stop,\u201d I replied. \u201cWe\u2019re just smart.\u201d<\/p>\n
She laughed shakily. \u201cYou make it sound easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was not.<\/p>\n
A few nights later, it nearly unraveled. I slipped into the laundry room and kissed her neck. We did not hear the front door open. Fred\u2019s voice echoed down the hallway about forgetting his wallet. I slipped away through the back hall and into the guest room, heart pounding.<\/p>\n
Michelle did not come by that night. I did not sleep.<\/p>\n
The next morning, she handed me coffee while Fred stood only 2 feet away buttering toast.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t keep doing this,\u201d she murmured.<\/p>\n
I said nothing.<\/p>\n
After Fred left, I reached for her. She stepped back.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot now,\u201d she whispered. \u201cPlease.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time, I understood fully: if this collapsed, it would not only hurt Fred. It would hurt all of us.<\/p>\n
Things did not end. They settled into a fragile stillness. No late-night visits for several days. No lingering touches. Just silence heavy with everything unspoken.<\/p>\n
One morning, after Fred left early for the gym, we sat across from each other with coffee.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you regret it?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
She stared out the window before answering. \u201cNo. But I\u2019m scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMe too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe built something that wasn\u2019t supposed to exist,\u201d she said. \u201cNow I don\u2019t know how to live in it without waiting for it to break.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it hasn\u2019t,\u201d I replied. \u201cWe\u2019re still here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve brought something back into my life,\u201d she said quietly. \u201cLike I\u2019m not invisible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith you,\u201d I told her, \u201cI feel like I\u2019m exactly where I\u2019m supposed to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
That became our unspoken agreement. No plans for the future. No labels. Just the present.<\/p>\n
We resumed our routine\u2014careful, softer. Fred remained unaware, or perhaps unwilling to see. We performed our roles while carving out a hidden world beneath them.<\/p>\n
One evening, stringing lights across the backyard fence while Fred was at a movie, our fingers brushed. Later, sitting on the porch as the lights flickered on, she rested her head on my shoulder.<\/p>\n
Another time, we crossed paths in the hallway, paused inches apart, shared a quick kiss, then disappeared into separate rooms.<\/p>\n
One night, after Fred fell asleep, she came again to my room. We lay together with the window open, the breeze moving the curtains.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how long we can keep this,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we keep it as long as we can,\u201d I answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s enough for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
We understood it would not last forever. Life would shift. The world would demand answers we did not want to give. But for now, we had this\u2014our quiet flame, hidden from the wind.<\/p>\n
Every secret carries weight. The longer it is held, the heavier it becomes. We learned to move within that weight, adjusting, accommodating, pretending. In public spaces we were careful\u2014measured smiles, appropriate distance, conversations that revealed nothing. In private, however, the undercurrent remained constant, steady as a pulse.<\/p>\n
Fred\u2019s presence in the house created a strange duality. When he was there, we became disciplined. She was his mother; I was his friend. We laughed together at the table, watched games in the living room, discussed work and errands and plans as though nothing else existed beneath the surface. Yet sometimes I would feel her foot press lightly against mine under the table, or catch her gaze lingering a fraction too long before she looked away.<\/p>\n
When he left the house, even briefly, the air would shift. A door closing downstairs could feel like a starting signal. We did not always act on it. Sometimes we simply stood closer than necessary in the kitchen, hands brushing as she passed me a plate. Sometimes it was only a look exchanged across the room, enough to remind us that our hidden world still existed.<\/p>\n
There were evenings when we risked more than we should have. A kiss stolen in the narrow space between the pantry and the refrigerator. A hurried embrace in the hallway when the shower was running upstairs and masked the sound of our whispers. Each time, we told ourselves we were being careful. Each time, we knew that careful was not the same as safe.<\/p>\n
Yet despite the tension, something quieter began to grow between us\u2014less frantic, more deliberate. The early urgency, fueled by secrecy and fear of discovery, slowly gave way to something steadier. When she came to my room late at night, we sometimes spoke more than we touched. She would lie with her head on my chest and tell me about the years that had felt heavy, about how easily routine could make a person feel unseen. I told her about the uncertainty that followed graduation, the quiet fear of failing before I had even begun.<\/p>\n
In those conversations, the secrecy felt almost secondary. What bound us was not only desire but recognition. We saw each other in ways neither of us felt seen before.<\/p>\n
Still, reality pressed in. There were moments when Fred\u2019s voice from the next room felt like a reminder that the foundation beneath us was unstable. I would catch myself studying his face, wondering whether he suspected more than he let on. Michelle, too, seemed to carry that awareness with her\u2014her laughter sometimes a shade too bright, her movements slightly restrained when he was close.<\/p>\n
One afternoon, as the three of us sat in the living room, Fred joked about how quiet the house would be if I ever moved out. The comment was casual, tossed into the air without weight, but it landed heavily in my chest. Michelle\u2019s smile faltered for just a fraction of a second before she recovered.<\/p>\n
The possibility of leaving had always hovered in the background. My stay had been meant to be temporary. Job applications still went out. Interviews were scheduled. The outside world had not paused simply because we had carved out a hidden space within these walls.<\/p>\n
Later that evening, after Fred went upstairs, Michelle stood with me in the kitchen, hands resting on the counter.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll find something soon,\u201d she said softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd when you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
The question lingered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d I admitted.<\/p>\n
She nodded, as though she had expected no other answer. Neither of us spoke about what that would mean for us. We had avoided the future deliberately, as though naming it would fracture the present.<\/p>\n
In the weeks that followed, our connection remained\u2014sometimes intense, sometimes subdued, always present. There were days when we barely touched, relying only on shared glances and the comfort of proximity. There were nights when she came to my room and we lay awake listening to the hum of the house, memorizing the rhythm of each other\u2019s breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t regret you,\u201d she told me once in the dark.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t regret you either,\u201d I answered.<\/p>\n
Regret was not the word that haunted us. Consequence was.<\/p>\n
And yet, even with that awareness, we continued. Not recklessly, not blindly, but knowingly. We understood the fragility of what we held. We understood that it existed in a narrow window of time and circumstance. Perhaps that was why it felt so vivid\u2014because it was finite.<\/p>\n
One quiet evening, we sat again on the back porch, the string lights glowing softly along the fence. Fred was out with friends. The air was cool, the sky dimming toward night. Michelle leaned into me, her head resting lightly against my shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe never meant for this to happen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you ever wish it hadn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n
I considered the question carefully. \u201cNo,\u201d I said at last. \u201cEven if it\u2019s complicated. Even if it ends.\u201d<\/p>\n
She exhaled slowly, as though releasing something she had been holding for a long time.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes,\u201d she murmured, \u201ca moment is enough. Even if it doesn\u2019t last forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
We sat in silence after that, the lights flickering softly, the world beyond the fence carrying on unaware. Inside the house, our roles waited for us\u2014mother and son, friends and roommates. Outside, under the dim glow of borrowed light, we allowed ourselves to exist without labels.<\/p>\n
We knew circumstances would eventually shift. I would find work. I would move out. The secrecy that defined us would either unravel or dissolve quietly into memory. There was no illusion that we could remain suspended in that fragile space indefinitely.<\/p>\n
But in the meantime, we held what we had. A look across a crowded kitchen. A hand finding another in the dark. A quiet understanding that, for a brief and improbable stretch of time, we had stepped outside the boundaries of expectation and discovered something neither of us had anticipated.<\/p>\n
And sometimes that\u2019s more than most people ever<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I never imagined I would be living in someone else\u2019s guest room at 23. My name is Jordan, and until recently I thought finishing college<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-viral-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralarticles.it.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralarticles.it.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralarticles.it.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralarticles.it.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralarticles.it.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3107"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/viralarticles.it.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3109,"href":"https:\/\/viralarticles.it.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3107\/revisions\/3109"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralarticles.it.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralarticles.it.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralarticles.it.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralarticles.it.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}