Page 61 of Don't Think

“Oh, stop it,” she says with a chuckle. “I just want the details. No judgment—I promise.”

I pinch my eyes shut, the headache already settling in from having to remember the embarrassment that was last night, along with the world’s biggest hangover pounding deep in my skull.

Dragging my hands down my face, I force myself upright, leaning back against the headboard.

“There are… no details,” I admit with a shrug.

“Oh, come on, Allie,” she says, tilting her head. “No guy stays the night and sneaks out the next morning for there to be no details.”

I roll my eyes. “Well, that’s where you’re wrong. There are no details to be had.”

“Are you upset that nothing happened?”

“Oh, I didn’t say nothing happened. I just said there aren’t anydetails.”

She narrows her eyes, turning her body toward me like she’s settling in for the world’s biggest gossip session. “Alright. What happened?”

“I’m just stupid,” I say with another shrug. “Simple as that. I kissed him last night… and he pulled away.”

She chuckles—and it takeseverythingin me not to kick her straight off my bed.

“Did he pull away because he didn’t want tokissyou?” she asks. “Or was it because he has enough human decency not to put you in that situation while you wereplastered?”

I scoff, shaking my head. “Well, isn’t that the same thing?”

“No!” she exclaims, laughing. “It’s not, Allie.”

I grab a pillow and toss it at her. “Whose side are you on here?”

She catches it effortlessly and lays it across her lap. “Yours, obviously. But I’m willing to bet you’re not seeing this right.” She leans in slightly, her tone softening. “Would you rather he took advantage of you while you were drunk? Or waited until you were sober, comfortable, and knew exactly what you wanted?”

Nora appears in the doorway, leaning against the frame as she looks between the two of us.

“I couldn’t find your phone anywhere down there,” she says, gesturing toward the stairs.

Ana pats her pockets dramatically, then slowly pulls her phone out and holds it up.

“Silly me. It was right here,” she says, standing from the bed like nothing happened.

She and Nora head for the door, but just before stepping out, Ana glances back over her shoulder.

“We’ll talk more later. But right now, it’s flamingo time. We’ll meet you downstairs.”

The door closes, and I let out the world’s most dramatic grunt, collapsing face-first onto my pillow.

The pillow that smells like Jax.

The mix of sandalwood and warm lavender instantly soothes me, making me want to sink even deeper into it and pretend he’s still here instead of it just being… empty.

But I know if I do, Ana and Nora will barge back in and drag me out by my hair like a misbehaving child.

Stupid freakin’ flamingos.

I don’t know whose bright idea it was to add the zoo to the itinerary, but I’m going to fight them.

Between the mile-and-a-half hike it took just togetto the entrance, and now walking all over this place, my feet are already killing me. The heat isn’t doing my hangover any favors either, but I’ve swallowed every complaint for one reason, and one reason only:

I decided today was going to be agoodday.