Page 30 of See You Next Tuesday

“Yeah.” She nodded, but looking at him felt too intense, so she rested her head against his chest instead. The music was so loud, so she wasn’t really sure, but she thought his heart was thumping almost as fast as hers.

Leaning against him brought her body closer to his, so his hands circled around her. His fingertips grazed the slippery jersey fabric of her dress at the small of her back, then upward, to where her skin was bare, then moved slowly back down again.

It felt nice—it felt really nice—and Anya thought back to what Simone had said about Gabe being interested in Anya. Anya had thought as much, hadn’t she? Way back when they met in New Hampshire? And he’d sort of confirmed that tonight when he said he’d been trying to impress her, right?

Maybe Simone was right—maybe Anya should have a one-night fling with Gabe Hunt. He was so handsome, and he smelled so good, and from the way his hands were traversing her body, it seemed like he was definitely interested, and they were sharing a bedroom, and she was pretty sure he’d be good in bed, and drunk enough to find out, so why not ask him—

“So you don’t take girls seriously?” she said before she could overthink herself out of it.

“What?” He laughed uncomfortably. “Why are we back on that?”

“I was thinking”—Anya didn’t look up at him, she absolutely could not look up at him—“what if you didn’t take me seriously?”

She felt his voice vibrate through her hair. “But I do.”

“No.” She shook her head against his chest. “I mean, tonight, at the house. We could…if you want. Which I think you do. It seems like you do. And it wouldn’t have to be a big deal or anything. It could just be, the way you usually are, you know? I’m sorry, I’ve never said anything like this in my life, this is definitely the tequila talking. I’m gonna shut up now.”

Anya pressed her forehead against Gabe’s chest, her face totally flushed, her heart absolutely pounding. She wanted him to wrap her in his arms and squeeze her, to rub her shoulders gently, to put his fingers under her chin and tip her face upward and kiss her.

But instead, he took a step back. And suddenly the soft breeze on the beach felt all kinds of chilly.

“Anya…” Gabe sighed. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Oh.” She hugged herself tightly.

The Lauryn Hill song ended, and a salsa song Anya didn’t know came on, pulsing and upbeat. Gabe was still standing there, looking at her, and she’d never felt so pathetic in her life. This was so bad—this was laughably bad. She’d hated this man until like three hours ago, and now he was rejecting her?

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s fine,” Anya cut him off sharply, not wanting to hear the rest. I didn’t mean to lead you on. To give you the wrong impression. To make you think I wanted you, no matter how good you felt when I touched you. She felt tears of humiliation stinging her eyes—she needed to get out of there.

“Gabe, there you are!”

Anya turned and saw a stunning woman with long dark hair. She was older—in her forties, maybe—and spoke with a local accent. She looked unreal in a tight black minidress. She smiled warmly as she stepped toward Gabe and kissed him on the mouth.

“Wow,” Anya blurted. Gabe looked shocked—he opened his mouth but didn’t say anything. The woman looked at him with concern.

“Is everything okay?” she asked. She glanced at Anya, then back at Gabe. “We said we were meeting at ten, yes?”

Anya laughed harshly; she couldn’t help it. She’d had enough of this.

“Excuse me,” Anya said to the woman. “I have to leave.”

She headed back toward the bar, pushing her way through the crowd of people on the dance floor. Behind her, she heard Gabe tell the woman he’d be right back.

“Anya!” he called after her. “Hold up a second!”

But Anya didn’t want to wait; she wanted to go. She made it to the edge of the dance floor and broke free of the throng of sticky bodies when she felt Gabe’s fingers close around her wrist. She jerked her arm away.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Sorry!” He put his hands up. “Anya, I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Anya spat. “For making me think you wanted to slot me into your rotation, or for forgetting you already had another woman on deck for tonight?”

Gabe looked ashamed.

“I did forget,” he said urgently. “I met Valeria earlier this week, and I totally forgot we said we might meet up tonight. She never even confirmed.”