He waves off my apology and moves away from the fridge, a cold beer in hand. “Figured something must have happened when I couldn’t reach you. You went on do-not-disturb mode?”

I nod and drop onto the couch. “Yeah. Everyone except my mom.”

“This is serious, then.”

I frown at him, unsure what he’s referring to. “This?”

“This thing with Solange.”

“That’s not what this is about.”

Max slips me a dubious glance and folds himself into the armchair facing the couch. “Dude, you didn’t show up for basketball. You put your phone on do-not-disturb. You left your door unlocked while you slept. Your hair looks like it’s being held up by static electricity. You have the beginnings of a five o’clock shadow. There’s stale popcorn on the coffee table.” He turns to the movie on pause on my TV screen. “And you’re watching When Harry Met Sally. You’re not only watching a rom-com, but you’re also acting as if you’re starring in one. This has I’m-in-my-feelings-about-Solange written all over it. Am I right?”

I can’t argue with the facts. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Max holds up his hands. “I’m not here to tell you I told you so.”

“Good.”

“I’m here to sing it instead.” And true to his word, he singsongs the damn words like a four-year-old. “I told you so. I told you so. La-la-la-la-la. I told you so.”

I can’t help laughing. I know my best friend. He’s only acting like a fool because he wants me to get out of this funk. And I should. But it isn’t easy. I can’t just snap my fingers and erase everything I experienced with Solange. Plus, I’m terrified. I don’t even have the security of my job to fall back on. “Yeah, you did warn me, and I had my own reservations. Instead of listening to my instincts, I convinced myself we made sense together. I was kidding myself.”

“Let me ask you this,” Max says. “Would you prefer that the last several weeks had never even happened?”

I don’t need to think about it. The answer is no. Undoubtedly, unreservedly, unequivocally hell no. I shake my head. “I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat if I could. Except the getting-fired part.”

“It was a rhetorical question. Just hoping to clear your head a bit. And let me ask you something else: When you learned you’d been fired, who’s the first person you told?”

I blow out a breath. “Solange.” Max wants to ascribe some significance to that fact, but there’s a reasonable explanation. “She wanted to help me get a promotion. I thought it was only fair that I tell her it didn’t pan out.”