Page 98 of Dear Pink

“It’s not like that.” But what is it like? Did I do or say something offensive?

“So, you didn’t break her heart?” Gina asks. Her voice sounds concerned, so I turn to hug her.

“No. I think she broke mine.”

This silences them. My sisters stare at me, frowns firmly in place.

“Maybe she’s super busy with the book launch,” Giovanna says.

“What book launch? She’s a copy editor.” I sound a little too much like Ghita, angry. I hate myself for it.

Giovanna’s eyes grow wide. “Holy shit, you didn’t hear her big news? She didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?” Big news and I’m clueless. The omission says it all.

“Hannah pitched her graphic novel this week at an exec meeting. Burton & Baker signed her that morning. Her illustrations blew everyone away. I can’t believe she’s been stuck in the basement.”

“The basement?” I respond, forever clueless.

“It’s where Burton & Baker house the copy editors, on the basement floor. The other employees call those offices the dungeon.”

“Well, that’s super shitty,” Ghita says.

“Yeah, the creatives call them the trolls.”

Gloria frowns. “That’s even worse.”

“Why didn’t she tell me about the book deal?” I plop on the couch and bury my head in the pillows. A huge promotion and no text or phone call? The note must have been a goodbye.

Gloria raps me on the head with her knuckles. “You going to share or what?”

I uncover my head, and twelve eyes stare at me.

“I—”

They won’t let me walk away without giving them the gory details, and unfortunately for me, they always know when I lie.

“Okay, so our date at my place went well after the nail party. Really, really well.” I can’t help but grin, remembering the way we fit together. “We were together the entire night. It—”

Gemma holds up her hand. “Spare us the R-rated details. We have a minor in our midst.”

Ghita scoffs. “Damn, the story was just getting interesting.”

“Hey guys,” Gina says. “I’m sixteen, not twelve.”

“Anyway.” Gemma signals with her hand for me to continue.

“We seemed to be headed in the right direction. The night of your party, she insisted on turning our relationship casual. ‘Let’s slow our roll’ were her exact words.”

No one makes a peep, but they share sideways glances.

“What? Tell me.” The blank expressions on their faces alarm me. Something is seriously wrong.

“She said the word ‘casual’?” Gemma asks in a soft voice.

“Damn, you got a ‘Let’s slow our roll?’” Gloria puts her arm around me. “Oh, Gabe, I’m sorry. That sucks.”

“There will be other fish in the sea.” Gina kisses me on the cheek.

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