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“Of course he did. Guys can be so selfish sometimes.”

Evie’s shoulders buckled. “Great.”

“Hey, it’s no biggie,” said Sunita. “Show him what you like. You’ll be popping orgasms in no time!”

“Yeah, but he won’t, you know…go down on me.”

“Have you asked him?”

Evie nodded.

“Then tell him no more blowies till he does,” said Sunita. “And get proper protection, too.”

“The pill?”

“Get an IUD fitted. You might forget the pill. And keep using condoms. You do not want an STI. Whatsherface from the Picky caught one and it was gross! All itchy and discharge-y. Totally put me off my rice pudding during break.”

Evie scrunched her face and hefted up her blouse’s neckline. “You’ll go to the free clinic with me?” She tugged her cardigan closed over her top.

“Yep.” Sunita’s eyes dipped, following Evie’s frantic fingers. “Whataya doing?”

“Hiding Stu’s love bite. It’s big and ugly and on my boob.”

They sat quietly for a moment, the boisterous shouts of Sam’s friends and the off-key warbling of several classmates butchering “Shut Up and Let Me Go” echoing around the bay.

Sunita pulled in her knees, bunching the blanket as she moved. “Did last night change anything?”

Evie winced.

Sunita’s face soured. “Bugger.”

“Sun, what do I do?” Evie pleaded. “It’s been a year now and—”

“You still don’t love him.”

Sunita was blunt at the best of times, but her alcohol-soaked honesty felt like permission to unpack everything.

Slouching into herself, Evie’s chin dropped. “I feel awful. He’s been great, you know? Texting every day, picking me up after work…”

“He’s cool about your Crohn’s, too.”

“Pretty much.” Evie’s gaze pinged upward, scraping the citrusy sky. Lucky for her and Stuart, her Crohn’s had been relatively quiet since December. “But our dates are soo boring. They’re always the same: beers in the park before the pub, watching snooker in the pub, then messing around in his car after the pub.”

“And messing around is bad? Eves, he’s crazy for you.”

“I like him, too, but—” She blew out her lips. “I dunno.”

Sunita bumped Evie’s shoulder. “C’mon. Don’t do a Fiona on me.”

“Huh?”

“Be all shy and annoyingly private.”

“I thought I’d fall hard once we’d—I mean, I am attracted to him. I like having a boyfriend…”

“Well, that’s good,” said Sunita, her lazy reply drowned out by a car’s clattering engine on the road behind them. “So what’s the problem?”

A weighty exhale escaped Evie’s mouth. “Maybe I’m expecting too much.”