Page 97 of Dear Pink

“Do you think she ghosted him again?” Gloria asks in a quiet voice.

“Who? Elise?”

Damn, all my sisters are on the porch.

“No, Hannah.”

I sink into the hammock, swaddling the sides over me like a crochet burrito. Please don’t let them bring their gossip party here.

“Guys, quit being unkind. He’s clearly depressed,” Gina says.

“Let’s go check on him,” Gemma says. “Mom said he’s been out there for hours.”

“Yeah, let's dive into his personal business. I’m bored,” Ghita says in a snarky tone.

Crap. The clock’s run out. It won’t be long now.

Seconds later, six pairs of feet thunder down the hill and halt behind me. I keep my eyes closed. Maybe ignoring them will work.

“Is he asleep?” Gabriela asks.

“I’m gonna poke him,” Ghita says.

When I hear her grab a fallen branch, I uncoil myself and yell, “Don’t you dare hit me with that thing, Ghita. I will poke you back harder, so you better get ready to run.”

“Fine.” She lowers the branch. “I have on my new heels today anyway. Be a shame to ruin them.”

“Did Hannah dump you again?” Gloria asks.

I flip out of the hammock and stomp my foot. “Nope. Not having this conversation with the six of you.” No way I’ll admit I got the old “bump and run.” I suffered enough pain this week already.

They follow me as I ascend the hill. “Come on, Gabe. We’re here to help. Please tell us.”

I reach the French doors and turn around. “There’s nothing to say.” I don’t grasp what happened myself.

“Last we saw, you chased her to the car during the nail party,” Ghita says. “Something definitely happened.”

“It was so romantic,” Gemma gushes. “You guys are cute together.”

“You two looked more than okay from the window,” Giovanna adds, and they all giggle.

“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. My love life is hysterical. Happy to entertain you.” Is Hannah laughing at me too?

Gina throws her arms around my waist. “Sorry, Gabe. It’s not funny. What happened?”

“Yeah. What did you do?” Ghita asks.

I close my eyes and relive our night together. I thought we worked through our issues. Our bodies were in sync. Recalling the smell of her skin and her touches sends a shiver down my spine. The whole night felt perfect and right. We weren’t just having sex. It was beyond physical, but if I tell my sisters, I’ll sound like a wuss. I’d never hear the end of it. My stomach somersaults. I miss Hannah.

She mentioned slowing our roll, but the tie between us went way beyond casual that night. We held one another, took our time exploring. The sex was closer to love, or so I thought. But her damn receipt note baffles me. “See you around.” What the hell does that mean? She didn’t even stick around long enough to say goodbye.

Gloria waves her hand in my face. “Earth to Gabe.”

“I don’t know, okay?” I fling open the French doors and storm into the living room. I have to let her go.

Gemma follows close behind me. “Did you break that sweet girl's heart?”

“Men are so stupid,” Ghita says.

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