Page 38 of Don't Think

And that thunder? Yeah, that didn’t sound like it was just passing through.

“Should we take this party downstairs?” Nora asks, already half standing.

No.

The answer leaps into my brain before I can even think it through. Not because I’m overwhelmed or anxious—at least not this time. But instead, it’s because I love storms. Always have.

When I was a kid, I’d sit on the back porch for hours, just watching the sky rumble and flash. But then… they just stopped showing up. One soft roll of thunder, maybe a flicker of lightning, and then nothing. Like the sky got distracted and changed its mind.

Then that voice creeps back in, louder than ever.

Don’t prove Trevor right, Allie.

I’mnota boring person. I’m not going to fade into the background again, no matter how much I want to curl up by a window and watch the sky paint a story.

So even though every part of me is begging for that quiet moment with a good storm, I shove the feeling down.

“Sure,” I say, slapping my hands against my knees. “Let’s go.”

Ana looks at me with a smile and nods like I just passed some sort of silent test. Then she hops off the couch and heads for the den.

Goodbye, old, boring Allie.

Hello, courageous, confident Allie.

Chapter Twelve

Jax

When they said we were bringing the party downstairs, I pictured some damp, old cellar with cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, cold cement floors, maybe even rusty pipes leaking in the corner. Basements aren’t really a thing in Cardiff, and if you had one, chances are you were loaded.

What I didn’t expect was to find a huge room with shiny hardwood floors, leather sofas arranged in a big horseshoe, and even a pool table tucked in the corner.

I can already hear Gareth raving that he was right about them being rich.

James flops onto one of the sofas with a grunt, then kicks his feet up onto the coffee table. “We should play a drinking game,” he says.

Gareth knocks James’s legs off the table. “What are we, twelve?”

“Actually,” Ana jumps in, leaning forward and sliding the bottles we brought down closer, “we could play Answer or Drink.”

Allie groans next to me and scrunches her face. “Ugh. I suck at that game. I never know what to ask.”

“No, it’s easy. Watch,” Ana says with a grin, turning in her seat to face James. “What’s your favorite color?”

“Red,” he says with a shrug like it’s the most obvious answer in the world.

“See?” Ana throws her hands up. “Easy.”

“Ooh! I’ve got one!” Allie’s other friend blurts out, suddenly sitting up straighter. She turns to Gareth. “Have you ever had a one-night stand?”

Gareth smirks, totally unbothered. “Of course I have.”

“Jesus Christ, Nora.” Allie groans, dropping her face into her hands like she’s dying from secondhand embarrassment.

Nora! That was it. It felt too weird to ask her name since we’re in their house and all. I’d been silently praying someone would say it out loud and finally, it paid off.

When I look up, everyone’s eyes are on me, and my face instantly heats. Go figure. I can handle a few hundred fans on stage, but stick me in a room with friends? Hard pass on the center of attention ordeal.