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The car doors unlock with a chirp. I sink into the back seat. As Zoe pulls out onto the street, and the theatre fades in the rearview mirror, my phone pulses in my clutch again. I pop it open and look at the screen.

Max

The view from the stage was better. See you tomorrow, Katie?

I stare at the words, chewing on my lip. I could play it cool and wait until morning to reply, but honestly? YOLO was invented for moments like this. I tap out a response before I lose my nerve.

Katie

How’s your morning look?

Max

Open. I’m free until about 10:30.

Katie

Let’s meet at 9.

Max

Brilliant. Just name the place.

Katie

Not sure where you’re staying, but how about the Glass Arboretum?

I include a link for him to click on. It’s an upscale café not too far from Lina’s.

Max

See you there.

I guess I have a date tomorrow after all.

Four

Iwake up to the sound of my dorm-sized fridge rattling like it’s about to achieve liftoff. My phone reads four forty-five a.m.

I pull my pillow over my face and groan into it. So much for sleeping in. I force myself to sit up, biting back a wince as my back protests. Four years ago, my Val-U-Mart pullout was supposed to be a temporary fix. Yet here I am, still sleeping on a medieval torture device disguised as furniture.

I take a deep breath and survey my “apartment.” There’s a stack of three plastic drawers that serves as my dresser; a rolling cart housing my microwave, hot plate, and the mini fridge; and a shower curtain rod is sagging under the weight of my small selection of clothes.

This is the current state of my life. And the reason I can never invite anyone over.

Ever.

Not even Zoe.

I drop back against the pillow, staring at the ceiling. Normally I’d be thinking about training. Today, however, there’s a new variable in the equation—Max.

Which is a problem. In the precarious math of my life, there is zero room for an outlier like him. My focus needs to be Coral Bay, not a cute British guy with a grin that makes me forget my best friend’s name.

There I go again.

This needs to stop.

Seriously.