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about some sweet bullshit thing he’d done for her and tears welled up in my eyes.
    “I’m never going to have that,” I’d said.
    The color drained from her face when she looked over at me as my expression crumpled.
    “I never thought you wanted that,” Danielle whispered.
    Catching a tear on my hand before breathing deeply to squash the rest of my outburst, I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know, Mama. Sometimes I think I tell myself I don’t want any of it because I don’t want to accept that my stupid parents and all their divorce drama screwed me up so royally that I’m actually just terrified of not getting it right. If I avoid it altogether and play it cool like I don’t want the yucky love stuff…then it can’t hurt me the way it hurt them.”
    The words spilled out faster than I had time to even recognize what I was saying. Those were the kinds of thoughts that plagued me from time to time when my mother asked me when I was going to meet someone. Or when I got roped into being a bridesmaid yet again and waited for the moment at the reception when my chest would ache with dread. Cue the Beyonce track, my entire fucking life was a bouquet toss with everyone just standing around waiting for poor little Georgia to be next in line for happiness.
    Danielle had put her hand on my face and smiled weakly. “That doesn’t sound like it’s out of the realm of possibility, G. But you’re thinking too hard about it. Just let your life happen. Maybe you’ll change your mind about relationships someday. But if you don’t, who cares? The worst thing you could do would be to change who you are just to play some part everyone wants to put on you.”
    Words like those reminded me why she was my best friend. Maybe I did think too hard about it sometimes. Maybe other people’s opinions and judgments of my life and the way I lived it were little pinpricks in the back of my mind and deep in my gut telling me to change. Watching Dani and Kyle’s relationship bloom then wither and eventually die had been enough to validate my wish to stay out of the relationship game. And it was only once she’d come here…once she’d met Evan and fallen in love for real that I started to doubt what I really wanted again. Danielle and I didn’t talk about it again. In fact, I hadn’t even allowed the conversation to replay in my mind until this moment.
    Two booming voices jerked me out of my thoughts and I watched as Nate got off the submerged barstool to go high five the friends he’d just been telling me about as they entered the pool. I smiled and shamelessly gave them both a quick onceover.
    “Jerome, Paul, meet Georgia,” Nate said, gesturing to me.
    They both did exactly what I expected and lifted their chins at me with grins almost comically in unison. I waved and picked up my drink, sucking it down quickly despite the fear of a brain-freeze.
    “Shots?” Paul suggested, pointing to Nate.
    “Shots,” Nate and Jerome said at the same time.
    Sweet Jesus, get me out of here.
    The moment I realized I wanted out of their reach, I shivered. That was…out of character to say the very least. My head was spinning too much on its own; I didn’t need to douse it in any more booze. I put my hand on Nate’s forearm as he leaned on the bar, trying to get the bartender’s attention away from a few girls at the far end. He turned to me with a brilliant smile that gave me an unexpected little tremble in my belly. “I’m gonna go back to my room,” I started.
    The three of them instantly booed at me. “No way,” Jerome said, throwing his arm over my shoulder heavily. The second I turned to the side to look up at him, I smelled the alcohol fuming off of him. They must have started a while ago. “One shot,” he pleaded.
    I laughed and ducked out from under his arm. “No, you guys enjoy. I’m gonna see if I can get an appointment at the spa and maybe take a nap.”
    The dramatic sad moans continued as the bartender set up four