“Hey!” Grant burped. “Sorry, man. We had to Uber here.”

Sophia bumped into him, trying to take her shoes off. “Too much wine. So much wine.”

Grant caught her, steadying her, and then she helped balance him while he took his shoes off. They were a good team. Perfect for each other.

I could feel Reese looking at me. I could feel his concern. It was in the air. I could almost smell it. And me, nothing. Just nothing.

I was back to that shell I’d always been.

This was a mistake. All of it—opening up. Letting Trent come over in the first place. Going to camp. Being with Reese. I sucked in a shuddering breath…falling for Reese. All of it was a mistake. If it happened again? If Reese ever looked at me and told me he didn’t want me? If his mind started to go? What was I doing?

He was a pro basketball player.

He wouldn’t want to be with me. Not for long.

We were friends. Fuck friends. Screw friends.

It didn’t mean anything.

His going bare? That meant nothing. That was just for heightened pleasure. That’s all. Nothing else.

“How was your night?” Grant asked. “Should I even ask?” He slapped Reese on the shoulder.

Reese was turned toward me. His hand ran through his hair. “Charlie.”

“No.” That word wrenched itself from me. Just no. No to anything more. I couldn’t take any more of anything. “No.”

“I think you should tell your friends.”

“No!”

Grant frowned. “What’s going on? Tell us what?”

“Charlie, she, uh…”

I was off the bed the next second and pushing Reese back. “It’s not for you to say anything.”

“You spilled all of that to me, and you’ve been in lockdown mode since. You don’t think I recognize the signs? My brother’s an alcoholic. That’s why he does all the shit he does. That’s why I enabled him for years, but don’t think I don’t get phone calls from him that break my heart. I do. And I get it—some of it. I get what you went through. But going locked-down right now? Not the answer. You can’t open up, then shut off right afterward. That’s not how you get better—”

“Fuck you!”

I didn’t know why I’d said it. I just wanted him to shut up. I wanted him to stop. He didn’t understand. No one could.

But his words had made a dent. I felt them sinking in, burrowing inside of me.

His brother was an alcoholic? What did that even mean?

“You enabled him?”

“Yeah. Like you enabled Damian.”

I shook my head, bowing until I was almost a ball, just barely standing on my feet. It wasn’t the same. “I didn’t enable—”