Page 66 of What Happened Last Night

“No, but I think it’s because they’re not allowed to. So they’ve invited me on a guys’ trip instead.” I felt my stomach do a queasy turn just thinking about it. “It’s five days, Stone. Five freaking days. They want to golf for the first day, then hike and camp for the rest.”

Stone’s eyes went wide. I had never seen him genuinely shocked before. “Did you say golf?”

“I did. I’ve never played golf in my life.”

“And camping? In a tent?”

I nodded. “In a tent.”

“Cooking over a campfire?”

“Presumably, yes. Oh, and there will be fishing at some point.”

“Fishing? In a boat?”

“In a boat, correct.”

“With worms.”

“I guess so.”

Stone leaned over his knees and put his head in his hands.

“You have to help me,” I pleaded. “I’m desperate.”

Silence. Then a sound emitted from my brother. Deep, raspy, as if it was a sound he didn’t make often. But I recognized it. That sound was unmistakable.

Stone was laughing.

THIRTY

Luna

Will was late. I hadn’t put this particular item into his daily calendar, because I hadn’t thought I needed to. I’d assumed that he didn’t need a reminder to come over to my apartment for a date.

I’d thought wrong.

Will was busier than ever lately, but I wasn’t sure why. There were pieces of his schedule where he was MIA. Some of those times were after hours, but in the past week he’d marked out parts of his work days for something I had no access to. I didn’t know where he was going or who he was talking to. I couldn’t figure out if I was more frustrated about it as his assistant or as his girlfriend.

I was ninety-nine percent certain that his secretiveness didn’t involve a woman. We hadn’t been dating long, but I was already confident that if Will had the inclination to cheat—something that was very unlike him—he’d be bad at it. I’d likely see it written on his face. He certainly wouldn’t put the cheating into our shared calendar like any other appointment.

No, there was something else going on. I didn’t pry, because he was owed a little bit of privacy in his life. I wouldn’t want anyone tracking what I did twenty-four hours a day, either.

But he’d spent his entire afternoon doing something I wasn’t privy to, and now he was late for the date we’d planned. I’d put on my favorite at-home outfit of leggings and a tank top. I’d prepped my favorite meal of baked chicken and pan-roasted veggies, ready to go into the oven. I’d tidied my apartment. And now he was thirty minutes late, and counting.

I was starting to fume. Was this how it was going to be? Was I going to have to schedule all of our dates into his calendar, with several reminders for each? That wasn’t going to fly.

I was hurt, too. I had to admit that to myself. I’d known since the job interview that Will’s overloaded schedule got away from him—it was one of the reasons he hired me—but this still felt personal. Like he’d forgotten about me. Like he didn’t care. What if he stood me up and didn’t show up at all?

That gave me a jolt of panic. What if Will and I had a fight—a big one, a serious one? What did you do when you’d had a big fight with your boyfriend who was also your boss? There was no rulebook for that. My temples throbbed with the beginnings of a headache.

Finally, there was a knock at my door. I had the brief, petty urge to tell him to go away, but then I remembered I wasn’t in kindergarten and opened the door.

Will was in olive green chinos and a tee with a hoodie zipped over it. Even in such a casual outfit, he looked perfect. The hoodie was cut slim to his torso and fit him like a second skin. It was unzipped just low enough for me to see the notch of his clavicle. The pants were tailored to his perfect legs. He was clean shaven, his hair mussed just enough as if he’d run his hands through it. I hated how insanely attracted to him I was in that moment. Just once, couldn’t he be a repulsive slob?

“Hi,” he said. He held out the small cardboard box in his hands. “This is for you.”

“Oh no, you don’t,” I said. “A gift doesn’t make this better, Will.”

---