Just then the doorbell rings and Trevor answers the door.

  “Oh, sweetie.” Gregg hands Trevor the bag and pulls me into his arms. “Trev told me everything. It’s okay, cry it out.” He holds me tightly and taps my back in a rhythm. Rub, rub, tap, tap. Rub, rub, tap, tap.

  “Gregg,” I say after a minute.

  “Yeah, sweetie?” he answers as he rocks me.

  “I’m feeling sick.”

  He releases me at once. “Sorry, I tend to get a little mommy when my friends hurt.”

  “No, thank you.”

  They don’t let me have one drop of alcohol. Instead, they have me eat pizza, cake, and ice cream with orange soda, which they say cures all. We play games, watch movies, and at some point, all three of us fall asleep in my bed.

  When I wake up with the two of them on either side of me, I check my phone, but nothing from Cory. I really ruined it for myself. He’s obviously not coming to talk since it’s now three in the morning.

  I look up the hockey blog that Jana loves, and there I am a crying mess, Trevor holding me up as we exit Carmelo’s. With captions like, “the it couple is broken,” “rumor is Cory’s already at the tattoo removal place,” and “Ande crushed when Cory gives her the cold shoulder.”

  There’s a lot that’s untrue. No one has the sister twist, which surprises me. The gang must have kept tight lipped on that, which just further proves what good people they all are.

  It was just last night that we made love. A night I never wanted to end. Now we’re over, all because I was too afraid to be honest with him when I expected that in return. No wonder he’s done with me. I’d be done with me too.

  “Just get some sleep, sweetie.” Gregg takes my hand and turns toward me. “We’re here for you.”

  “Thank you,” I say to both of them although only Gregg hears it. He squeezes my hand while Trevor snores in my other ear.

  I’m not sure I could ever leave Florida because of my friendship with Trevor and Gregg, but getting away from Cory and not worrying about running into him sounds pretty good right now. Every time I saw him—whether at a restaurant, at the beach, or on TV—would be like picking a scab and allowing it to bleed. Yeah, no thank you. Maybe running away is my best option.

  I wake up with a skull-pounding headache and a dry mouth.

  “Morning, sunshine.” Kane is sitting in a chair next to my bed with his feet up on the mattress and a coffee in his hands.

  “Why are you in my apartment?”

  “At first I was worried about you hurting yourself or breaking all your furniture, then I worried about you dying in your own pile of vomit because you drank half of Carmelo’s bar last night.” He drops his feet to the floor and stands. “Come have breakfast.”

  I lift the sheets. “I’m not hungry. How did I get in my boxers?” I follow him, snagging some sweatpants off the floor to put on.

  “Well, lucky for you we share a locker room, so I’ve seen your shit plenty. But you thought I was Ande for a while. Let me tell you that was an experience.”

  “What? You’re fucking around, right?” I follow him, squinting with every step because my brain feels like Jell-O.

  “Afraid not.” He dishes out some eggs, toast, and hash browns he obviously made while I was asleep. “I already ate, so this is all to help you get over your damn hangover.”

  “Shit, man, I’m sorry.”

  He shrugs and sits on the stool across from me, handing me a fork. “It’s okay. But more important, how are you feeling this morning?”

  I run through last night in my head for a second. Ande and York. York and Ande. Sisters. “Fuck. They’re sisters. That’s all I can think of.”

  “Yeah, it’s fucked up, but other than that, anything else you want to do right now?”

  I look up at him, confused. “No.”

  “Nothing at all?”

  I fork a piece of egg and bring it to my mouth. “You make a mean breakfast.”

  “You should try my French toast and peameal bacon. I’m a forever bachelor. You learn to cook after a while.” He sips his coffee.

  “Pea what?” I stop eating and look at him.

  Kane rolls his eyes. “Canadian bacon to you yanks. Anyway, stop changing the subject.”

  I sigh. “I feel like you’re looking for something else from me?”

  He shakes his head. “What are you gonna do about Ande, asshole?”

  “Nothing. She played me. She purposely wanted to break me, and she did. I loved her, man.”

  “I know. You tattooed her name on your chest.”

  I point the fork at him. “Exactly!”

  “But you also slept with her sister. And her sister lied to her and told her that she’d slept with you after you were already pursuing Ande.”

  “And?”

  “And that’ll fuck with someone who has trust issues. Seriously, man, I know you were brought up by Ward and June Cleaver.”

  “Who?”

  He shakes his head. “This damn generation. The Cleavers?”

  I shake my head and shrug, not knowing who he’s talking about.

  “You had a great childhood with parents who loved you and all that shit, right?”

  I nod.

  “From what I hear, Ande had a mom who deserted her and a dad who ended up addicted to pills and died. An estranged sister, an ass of an ex-boyfriend who cheated on her. She’s not exactly used to people sticking around for her.”

  I bury my head in my plate. Ande told me all that. She was worried about dating me because of her insecurities, but they all seemed to vanish once we’d been dating for a while.

  “She purposely set out to hurt me.” I fight the reason I cannot go to her now.

  “In the end, she fell in love with you.”

  “It was all an act,” I say.

  “No, it wasn’t. Do you remember how she looked at you? Surely you know in your heart how much that girl loves you. Don’t be ignorant. At the end of the day, you can do whatever you want, but you need to look at the whole situation before you decide, not just cherry-pick the parts you want.” Kane’s getting angry, and I lean back, wondering why he cares so much. “Listen Cory”—when he uses my first name, he sounds so much like a dad—“some of us come from shitty childhoods, and shitty childhoods can fuck a person up.”

  “I know.”

  “Some people deserve a second chance to get it right. She gave you one.”

  I say nothing, so he continues.

  “You need to really think it over before you decide to walk away from what you two might have.”

  He makes his point just as my doorbell rings. He stands and answers the door. I know who it is before they even emerge from the hallway, because I can hear their voices.

  “Why are you guys here?” I ask, watching my parents walk into my kitchen.

  “Because I swore I’d never let you make a mistake without telling you first.” My mom comes up to me and hugs me. “Go put a shirt on.”

  I stand and my dad hugs me too. “Son.” He nods at me when I pull away.

  I go into my bedroom and pull a T-shirt out of my drawer while I hear my mom asking Kane how he prepares such fluffy eggs and telling him that the hash browns could be a tad crispier and how she uses butter and oil to get that effect. I hurry out of my room before I put my T-shirt on to try to save Kane.

  “Why are you guys here again?” I step back into the kitchen. It’s not that I don’t want to see my parents. It’s just that I think I’ve already had more lecturing than I can handle hungover.

  “Oh look, Cindy, there’s the tattoo,” my dad says, pointing at my chest.

  “Let me see my future daughter-in-law’s handwriting.” My mom comes over and inspects the ink.

  “It’s still healing,” I say, backing away from her touch. “And I’m assuming you’re here because of the stupid blog, so you know she’s not your future daughter-in-law.” I pull my T-shirt over my head.

  “Oh no, she is.” Mom goes back into my kitchen. “Want some chocolate chip pancakes like old times?” My mom doesn’t wait for my answer before she digs into my cabinets, searching for what she needs. “This is pitiful, you have nothing.”

  “I can run to the store while you talk to Beaver here. What do you need?” Kane asks, and my parents crack up.

  “Oh, we’re no Ward and June,” my dad says with humor.

  My mom takes a receipt from the counter and writes down the ingredients she needs. “Thanks, Kane, I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem. I’ll be back soon. Maybe you can talk some sense into him.”

  Kane leaves after I flip him off behind my parents’ backs.

  “Come sit.” My parents take me to the family room, sandwiching me between them like when I was ten and in trouble. “This girl, Ande? You love her?”

  “I did until she deceived me.”

  “Tell us what happened. How do you go from tattooing her name on your skin to breaking up?” my dad asks.

  I know they’re not leaving without hearing it all, so I tell them the whole story up until last night, when everything came to a head. Of course, I leave out the details about us sleeping together or her spectacular blow job skills, but they get the gist.

  “She wanted to hurt you,” Dad says, looking at my mom.

  I nod. “Yes.”

  “But she never did because she fell in love with you, then she wanted to tell you but was afraid she’d lose you because she’s lost everyone she’s ever loved before?” Mom says like she understands Ande or something.

  “I mean, I guess you could say that, but yeah, she set out to hurt me. You don’t do that to someone you love.”

  “She didn’t love you when she set out to do that,” my dad says. “In fact, she didn’t like you much at all, son, and I can’t say I blame her.”

  I stew on that for a moment before I open my mouth and say something disrespectful. “Regardless, what type of person does that make her?”

  How can I be the only one who gets this?

  My mom taps my leg with her hand. “We never told you this because we didn’t want you to think differently of your grandparents, but when I first brought your dad home, Grandma and Grandpa weren’t happy.”

  I look from my mom to my dad and back. “Why?”

  My dad laughs. “Because I’m Black,” he answers as though it’s obvious.

  “They were so close-minded and didn’t think I could really love your father. They thought he was dating me as some prize to show off or something stupid like that. But I told them I loved your father, and I was going to date him no matter what they thought of it. Gradually, they got better, but for a while there, I thought I might have to step away from them. If they couldn’t accept your father, I couldn’t have them as part of my life. I wanted the love we shared to be celebrated, not chastised.” She looks at my dad.

  “Could you imagine if we didn’t agree with a decision you were making in your life and you walked away from us? Now you’re alone in the world. How would you feel?” my dad asks. “Sure, your mom had me, but what if something had happened to me? She would’ve already walked away from her parents and family. How would you feel if you didn’t have us, Cory?”

  I shrug. “It would suck.”

  I think of holidays and the traditions that are still a part of my life. The fact that I can call my parents for anything at any time and I know I’ll take priority. The fact that they’re here right now after seeing that I broke up with Ande. I know I’m lucky.

  My mom blinks back tears. “Good people make bad decisions, Cory. You’ve made plenty.”

  “Technically, you wouldn’t be in this predicament if you hadn’t decided to sleep with someone in every town,” my dad says.

  I huff. “It wasn’t every town.”

  “Well… that’s up for debate, but you’re not completely innocent here,” he says.

  “You don’t have a brother, but what if your cousin Malcolm would’ve slept with Ande at some point? How would you feel?”

  “I’d be pissed.” My answer is quick and truthful.

  “Fortunately, you can’t put yourself in Ande’s shoes. You grew up with great parents who love and adore you. You’ve never been abandoned. Even Grandma and Grandpa came around before we married. But try to be understanding. In the end, she fell in love with you, and it sounds like she wanted to do what was right.” My mom pats my leg and stands because the door opens and Kane comes in.

  I look at my dad. “What if?”

  He smiles, clearly knowing where my mind is. What if I fall in love and she breaks my heart?

  “Maybe you’re understanding her fear a little more than you think. Love is putting all your trust and faith in someone else. And when you love someone, sometimes forgiveness is the greatest gift you can give them. It’s always a risk though. What you have to figure out is if it’s worth it. Is Ande worth the risk?” He pats my back and stands.

  I stay on the couch while Kane takes lessons on pancakes from my mom and my dad finishes my breakfast, complimenting Kane on his fluffy eggs. Instead of waiting for more food, I grab my keys and wallet from the table and start walking toward the door.

  My mom holds out her arm like she used to when she had to slam on the brakes in the car. “Go shower. No woman wants a man reeking of alcohol to come groveling at her doorstep.”

  I circle back around and shut my bedroom door to take the fastest shower of my life because I have my answer. Ande is worth the risk.

  I wake up to my shower running.

  “What the hell?” I groan at Trevor nudging me awake.

  “We had our night of sulking. Now it’s time to pick ourselves up,” he says.

  I roll over, pulling the comforter over my head. “Go away. I’m staying here all day.”

  “We don’t lie in bed and feel sorry for ourselves all day. Come on.” He throws the covers off. “Don’t make me undress you and dump a bucket of cold water on you. Or worse, have Gregg give you a sponge bath.”

  I spring up. “I’m up.”

  Gregg laughs and escorts me into the bathroom, shutting the door once I’m inside the steamy room.

  My shoulders fall for a moment, remembering the night before, but I undress and step into the scalding water. Damn, it’s so fucking hot, it’s all I can do to get to the handle to lower the temperature.

  I shampoo and condition my hair, and I even shave because I don’t want to leave this room. Trevor and Gregg are going to force me to do things I don’t want to do. Probably a brunch or something where I’ll have to make conversation.

  But a knock on the door says I can’t hide anymore, so I turn off the water, wrap my hair in a towel, and dry off my body.

  Another knock.

  “I’m applying body lotion. Give me a break!” I shout, pumping lotion into my hand and spreading it over my arms and legs.

  “Hurry!” Trevor yells and I make a face at the door. “Don’t look at me like that. Just get out here.”

  I shake my head and put on my facial moisturizer. I shake out and towel dry my hair, having no energy to style it. When I finally emerge, I go to my closet to pick out clothes for the day. I decide on cutoff shorts and a T-shirt. In my hamper is Cory’s Florida Fury jersey, so I pick it up and take it into the living area where Trevor and Gregg are.

  “Do either one of you want this? Or I can just take the kitchen shears to it.” I look up and Trevor and Gregg aren’t there, but Cory is. He’s got dark circles under his eyes, but he’s showered and clean. I look around. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’d hate to see you take kitchen shears to it, but I’d understand if you did.”

  I drop the jersey on the breakfast stool and head into the kitchen. Mostly because I need to stay busy.

  “Why are you here?” Everything in me wants to hope, but I push back the instinct.

  “Because I love you,” he says plainly. “I should’ve stopped to get you flowers or candies or whatever guys do to say they’re sorry, but I just wanted to get here as soon as I could. My mom made me shower, and that delayed me a bit and—”

  I laugh at the idea of his mom making him shower.

  He gets up from the chair and meets me on the other side of the breakfast bar. “I’m sorry for how I acted. I was taken by surprise, but I should’ve listened to your explanation.”

  I pour myself a coffee and lift a cup for him.

  “Not yet,” he says.

  “I’m not sure I had a good explanation. I should never have done what I did.”

  “Do you regret it?” he asks, stopping me before I can leave the kitchen.

  I look up into his eyes. “Of course I do. More than anything. I was just so angry, but that was only because York told me you’d slept with her that night she came into town. I didn’t know you’d actually ended it with her.”

  “I’m glad you did it.”

  I can’t help but laugh. “You’ve lost your mind. You’re happy that I tricked you into falling in love with me?”

  He takes my hand and leads me to the couch. “How did you trick me?”

  “I set out to make you fall in love with me so I could hurt you.”

  “Sure, you wanted me to fall in love with you, but you didn’t drug me or anything. I fell in love with you because you’re who you are. And you didn’t want to hurt me. You were going to tell me. Looking back, I can actually see all the times I think you might have been trying to get it out.”

  “You’re reaching for reasons to rationalize what I did, Cory.”

  He shakes his head. “I just need an answer to one question.”

  “I really am on the pill. I wouldn’t trick you and get pregnant.”

  “No.” He laughs. “That wasn’t the question.”

  “Then what is?” I bite my lower lip, waiting.

  “Do you love me?”

  My shoulders drop. “You know I do.”

  “But say it,” he insists, taking my hands.

  “I love you, Cory.”

  “That’s all I need. I want us to forget all the other bullshit, because I love you too. I want us to start fresh from this point on.” His one hand releases mine and comes up to cradle my cheek. “I love you so much, Ande, I never want to be without you. God, I barely made it twelve hours.”