Page 90 of Don't Think

Just as I lift an apple halfway to my mouth, Gareth drops onto the barstool next to me at the kitchen island. I catch him out of the corner of my eye, watching me intently while he gets settled.

“What?” I ask, then finally take a bite.

“How much longer?” he asks, hands clasped on the worktop in front of him.

I frown. Thinking he means the show we’re heading to, I reply, “Doors don’t open until seven, so probably another twenty minutes.”

He lets out a quiet laugh and shakes his head. “Not the show, man. I mean how much longer until you tell everyone about you and Allie?”

My eyes go wide. I whip around on the stool so fast I almost topple over.

“Keep your voice down,” I say through my teeth.

I glance around to make sure we’re alone before leaning in a little. “We’re telling everyone at the barbecue tomorrow, okay?”

As soon as the words leave my mouth, James’s head pops into the kitchenette, and my stomach sinks.

“Relax,” James says, stepping fully into the room. “I already knew.”

“Youknew?” I practically yell, half rising out of my seat. I swing my glare back to Gareth. “You fuckingtoldhim?”

I was hesitant to tell Gareth in the first place, knowing he has a big mouth, but I figured I could trust him with this one thing.

Apparently, that was a mistake.

Allie’s going to lose her shit.

James drops onto the stool next to Gareth, leaning forward to see me across the island.

“He didn’t tell me,” he says with a shrug. “I figured it out. Well, Ana did, actually. We just figured it’d be more helpful to keep quiet and let you guys come clean on your own.” He grins like it’s no big deal.

I drag both hands down my face, already feeling my blood pressure skyrocketing. My face is probably turning ten different shades of red by now.

Then something registers, and my head snaps toward James.

“Wait—Ana knows? Does that meaneveryoneknows?”

He shakes his head. “Nora definitely doesn’t. Ana figured it out that first night at their place. Said she saw you two in the kitchen, standing just a littletooclose.” He shoots me a grin and wiggles his eyebrows.

I groan. “Look, we’re planning to tell everyone tomorrow, okay? So can you please just pretend you didn’t know? Nobody was supposed to know except Gareth.”

His expression slowly drops. “Yeah, man. Of course,” he agrees quietly.

“Thanks,” I say, letting out a breath and sliding off the barstool.

I’m halfway out of the kitchen when I feel a tap on my shoulder that stops me in my tracks. I turn to see James behind me with his hands shoved in his pockets and a frown on his face.

“Can I ask you something?” he asks.

I nod, swallowing hard. “What’s up?”

He hesitates, then shrugs a little. “Why didn’t you want me to know? Did you think I’d judge you for it?”

“Honestly, man?” I say, shaking my head with a shrug. “I don’t even know. I wasn’t thinking about what would happenafter.I was just caught up in the moment. And I’m sorry it went down like this… but I’m not sorry we did it.”

I pause, then glance back up at him. “But Idofeel like shit for lying to you. You’ve always had my back, even when you didn’t have to. I should’ve trusted you with this.”

His expression softens. “Does she make you happy?”