Page 3 of The No Try Zone
“How would I know?” she asks.
“You knoweverything,” Elodie explains. “Except how to plan a honeymoon, but that’s my job.”
Allyson winks at her. “Thanks, boo.”
“Maybe he’s coming back,” Kari says thoughtfully. “Is there a note?”
There’s no note. I’ve looked. But I need a minute to myself, so I tell them, “I don’t know. Hang on.”
I drop the phone on the table and calmly walk into the bedroom, fling myself onto the middle of the mattress, and scream into the pillow. Then I scream again.
With that handled, I roll off the mattress and pull every single thing off the bed: pillows, comforter, flat sheet, fitted sheet. Then I take the cases off the pillows. Maybe there reallyisa note somewhere and I just need to look a little harder.
I’m lying to myself, I know this, but I need to look. I have to.
Nothing.
I go back to the sitting room and pick up the phone. “There’s no note. There’s nothing.” Then I drop the next part. “He’s not in my contacts. I didn’t call him or text him, and he didn’t call or text.”
“Do you have a picture?” Allyson asks.
I knew someone would ask, and it’s beyond appropriate that the private investigator would be the one to do it. Biting my lower lip, I give a quick shake of my head. “Just a blurry one of my head and his chin. And another one of his thick dick.” I mumble that last part.
Kari’s eyes pop. “Whatdid you just say?”
Allyson cackles. “She doesn’t have a picture of his face, but she’s got one of his dick! That’s a hell of a set of priorities.”
She’s…not wrong. And to be clear: this would be hilarious if it weren’t happening to me. I let out another whine and wipe a hand down my face. “What am I going to do?”
“Can you pretend it never happened?” Elodie asks.
“No!” Allyson exclaims.
“Eh, maybe?” Kari muses, her public relations brain whirring.
I consider it. “I like this idea. Sort of. Maybe.Ugh, I don’t know.” Wait.Allyson. I’ve had the silver bullet here the whole time! “Allyson, can’t you hack into some security systems and figure all this out?”
“Hell no, child.”
My shoulders droop.
She continues. “I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve, and I may or may not be able to do something like that – but if Icould, and I’m not saying I can, but if I could, it wouldn’t be for this.”
“But –” I start, hoping to change her mind.
Allyson holds up a finger. “No. Don’t ask me. Things gotta get a lot more desperate before I even consider leveraging my resources like that.”
“You’re such a badass,” Elodie tells Allyson, a hint of hero-worship in her voice.
Allyson shrugs. “I know.”
They’re not wrong. If I ever launch my own company, I’ll do whatever I can to hire Allyson.
“Sam, how much do you remember about last night?” Elodie asks.
I sigh deeply. “Not enough.” I don’t bother telling them the parts Idoremember, bits and pieces that have dropped into my conscious like little drops of hell. His smile, mischievous and tender all at the same time. The way I felt with my hand in his, safe and taken care of as we bobbled against each other in the pedicab. The overwhelming sense ofrightnessthat somehow clings to the spotty memories of last night, all of which are just out of reach.
I need my headache to clear. I need fresh air. Ineedto remember what the hell happened.
