so good, but then I had a text from Hollywood Gossip, and I guess I accidentally replied to that one.” I take a breath.
Drew shakes his head, not looking at me. “How much did you get?”
I stare back at him.
“For the picture, I mean. Was it worth it?”
“I didn’t get anything!” I shout.
“You knew,” he says, holding out his phone. “You knew how much this stuff bothered me, and you did this. Was this all some ridiculous long con for you, some way to get yourself on this website?”
“No! I don’t care about Hollywood Gossip!” I shout, tears springing to my eyes. “You’re my Tom Hanks.”
He holds up a hand. “Okay, spare me the Tom Hanks bullshit, please. I don’t particularly care what Tom Hanks would do in this situation, because he’s an actor who plays fictional characters, and I’m a real person. And now everyone’s going to see a picture of me sleeping next to details about my dick.”
Oh, God. I forgot I included that thing about him being circumcised.
“I’m sorry,” I say, trying hard not to cry. “It was an accident. Please believe me.”
Drew won’t look at me, and I just want him to look into my eyes and know that I’m telling the truth. Just look at me, I will him with my mind.
He does, but then he shakes his head. “I need some time, Annie.”
The way he says my name normally makes my entire body feel like a lit-up string of Christmas lights, but right now, with his voice so disappointed and defeated, it just hurts.
He turns and walks out the door, closing it behind him. I think about running after him, but I don’t want to look desperate and anyway, I’m pretty sure no one’s shoveled the sidewalks.
Instead, I start to cry.
Chapter Twenty
It’s not like I would’ve cried onto Uncle Don’s shoulder if he were here, but at least then I wouldn’t be all by myself. Even though I know Chloe’s studying, I text her and she comes over immediately, wearing leggings and her own Pizza Slut T-shirt.
“I’m sorry for interrupting you,” I say through sobs. “But I messed everything up.”
“Babe!” Chloe says, pulling me into a hug. “Don’t apologize. Remember that time I needed to pass a test and you helped me make flash cards about the core functions of marketing until two A.M.?”
She pulls back and appraises my face, squinting. “You are actually covered in snot, you know.”
“Ugh.” I lift my sleeve and wipe my nose.
“Wow.” She winces. “We’ve reached a new low. Sit down and I’ll find you a box of tissues while you tell me everything.”
I run through the story for her—the kiss, the wine, the sex, the fight. I show her the picture, and she gasps.
“God, he looks amazing,” she says. “Even asleep and with his mouth open. What’s his chest hair situation like?”
“What?”
“I’m trying to get a good mental picture of what he looks like naked.”
“Chloe! This is quite possibly my soul mate who now hates me, and all you care about is what he looks like naked?”
She rolls her eyes. “Annie. He doesn’t hate you. You pulled a reverse ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ and he loved it. If he’s anywhere near as nice as you’ve made him sound, he’ll come to his senses and march right back here and apologize to you.”
I sniffle. “You think?”
“Yes!” Chloe smiles. “Now this. This is the Big Misunderstanding, after which he’ll make some sort of Grand Gesture to apologize, and then you guys will have your Climactic Kiss as the cover of a ’90s song plays and the camera pans out.”
“Whoa.” I blow my nose. “You really have watched a lot of rom-coms with me.”
She shrugs. “You never want to watch my preferred genre, TV shows about murder. Speaking of which, do you want to watch a rom-com right now?”
I think about it for a second. On one hand, I’ve just been brutally abandoned by a kind and funny man. On the other hand, Sleepless in Seattle always makes things better.
“Yes,” I say. “But I want to watch it on VHS.”
Chloe narrows her eyes. “Um, okay?”
Typically I stream rom-coms, or rely on DVDs for those rare movies I can’t find on any streaming service. But when I was little, Mom and I used to watch them on VHS, and she kept all her favorites on the shelf by the TV. They’ve long since been put away in the attic to make room for Uncle Don’s Lord of the Rings collector’s edition DVDs