“I’m not stopping. I’m re-evaluating.”
She poked him. “God, no, don’t re-evaluate. Let’s just keep going. My tubes are tied.”
Cary laughed—like that was a little too much. “Uh... no...”
“You could go get condoms,” she said.
“I’m not going anywhere—come here.”
Shiloh moved closer. “I could go.”
He wrapped an arm around her. He kissed her shoulder.
“Maybe my mom has one... ” she said.
“Jesus. No.” He kissed her shoulder again.
Shiloh sat up. “I’ll go to 7-Eleven.”
Cary sat up, too. “At midnight?”
“I just...” Shiloh felt around the bed for her bra. “We’re losing momentum.”
“Do we need momentum?”
“Yes. We can’t just... I’ve already turned into a pumpkin. The horses are field mice. If this is going to happen, I need it to happen quickly—and Ireallywant it to happen.”
Cary touched her side. “Hey. Lie down. I’m still here.”
“But you won’t be tomorrow.” She was looking for her bra. “This is a window.”
“A window?”
“Yes, a break from reality.”
His hand fell away from her. “Lie down, Shiloh.”
“In a few hours, you’re going to sober up—”
“I’m notdrunk.”
“You are. Metaphorically. You’re going to snap out of it. In a fewhours, you’re going to fly home and go on with your life—can’t we just have sex before that happens?”
Cary sat up. He reached for his pants.
“Are you going to 7-Eleven?” she asked.
He huffed. “No. I’m leaving.”
“You can’t leave.”
“I can, actually.” He was standing up, pulling up his dress pants. “I...” He exhaled loudly. “Am not. Doing this. With you.”
Shiloh felt tearful. She felt like she’d been tearful for a while now. “Doingwhat?”
Cary made that huffy noise again, that mean breath of a laugh. “Any of it. This was a mistake. I’m sorry, Shiloh.”
“No—Cary. Please.”
