Chapter 1

Lula Rios slid a straw into her cup, her eyes lighting up. "Wow! I only mentioned wanting extra tapioca once, and you actually remembered?"

My boyfriend, Todd Rossi, shrugged. "I remember everything about you."

The private room erupted in immediate teasing.

"Alright, we get it, big brain!"

"Man, I'm so jealous of Harper. With Todd's steel-trap memory, birthdays and anniversaries must be a breeze."

Todd turned to me with a smile. I just sipped my mineral water and kept my eyes down, offering no response.

"Why aren't you drinking the peach spritzer?" He stuck the straw in, took a few sips, and handed it over. "Here, I tried it. Not cold."

The guys across from us made gagging noises like they'd been force-fed PDA. I gripped the cup, staring at the heavy layer of ice floating inside.

Lula leaned over. "I haven't tried that flavor yet. Can I have a taste?"

"Sure," Todd replied without hesitation, plucking the cup out of my hand.

Lula didn't even reach for it. She simply leaned down, wrapped her lips around the straw he was holding, and drank until half the liquid was gone.

"Oops, I drank too much," she chirped, pushing her mostly-finished mango drink toward me. "Here, you can have mine."

I shook my head. "It's fine."

"Come on, I'm totally healthy. No germs, I promise." Her voice was bright as she gave me a playful salute.

Everyone else exchanged glances, their lips twitching as they tried to rein in their laughter. Then the whole room exploded into roaring laughter.

Todd chuckled, shaking his head helplessly, while Lula doubled over.

I had lost count of how many of these gatherings I'd attended, but even now, I had no idea what they were laughing at.

When the laughter finally died down, someone caught my blank expression and quickly looked away.

Todd's face darkened. "Lula already apologized. What else do you want?"

I looked at his furrowed brow, eager to explain that I wasn't angry and that I just didn't get their inside jokes. But before I could speak, he snatched the mango drink, bundled it with the peach spritzer, and dumped both into Lula's arms.

"She doesn't want them. You can take both," he told Lula, before turning back to me with pure annoyance. "It's just a drink, Harper. Don't make my friends uncomfortable. Lula didn't do it on purpose."

"It's all my fault," Lula groaned.

She hugged the two cups and retreated to her seat with her head down. The atmosphere turned awkward.

Someone tried to light it up. "Let's keep playing. Something else this time!"

But Todd had lost interest. He leaned back on the couch, scrolling through his phone.

This was our fourth year together. He remembered that Lula liked double tapioca. He remembered which of his buddies had been pulling all-nighters, but he couldn't remember my allergies.

If I had swallowed that peach spritzer to keep the peace, I wouldn't be ruining the mood. I would be in the emergency room, going into anaphylactic shock.