“Okay, okay. I believe you.”
Milo wouldn’t have.
Sara pressed a kiss into Hanna’s cheek. “We should get our beauty sleep!”
“You’re going to have to cut me out of these Spanx,” Hanna muttered.
They giggled, embracing for one more moment before Hanna headed upstairs and shimmied out of her dress, kicking it off as she began the torturous endeavor of peeling her shapewear away from her body.
She had just flopped back onto the bed and was scrolling through photos from the party when a text came through, sending a lightning bolt straight between her ribs.
ALWAYS ANSWER
Hey
HANNA
Hi
ALWAYS ANSWER
You at Matty’s?
HANNA
Yeah
Milo typed for a minute before stopping, the bubble slipping into the ether. She waited for another minute, desperate for any piece of him he’d offer.
No offering came.
She regretted passing out in her makeup, but not nearly as much as she regretted not hydrating before bed.
Tolerating a three-hour drive with Matty and Logan was hard on a good day, but hungover? No. No way.
She pulled on the flannel that didn’t belong to her and twisted her hair back into a bun to be dealt with later before skipping across the street and ducking into the diner.
She’d missed the acidic smell of lemon scones and burnt Folger’s. If she’d been paying less attention to her reflection in the window and more to the man sitting in their favorite booth, she would have had a chance to catch her breath before locking eyes with Milo.
“Fuck me,” she muttered.
The night before, she’d been perfectly coiffed. In the cold light of morning, she looked like she’d lost a fight with her mascara wand.
Milo held up his hand in a sheepish wave, and she considered bolting, but New Hanna was better than that.
Or so she told herself as she slid into the booth across from him.
“I was wondering where that shirt went.”
A coffee mug hit the table beside her as one of their favorite servers smiled. She poured Hanna’s mug to the top before refilling his.
Hanna watched the steam curl into ghosts between them.
“I don’t think you were even this hungover in Vegas,” he finally said.
“Yeah well, I built up a tolerance when I was hanging out with you. I haven’t had much to drink in the last three months and clearly, I’m out of shape.”
Milo nodded. “You went clean on me?”
