The moment Nina left his room, Max stumbled out of bed to get dressed. He raced into the bathroom, brushed his teeth, washed his face, and tried to track her down before Connie or Shalani woke up. He wanted a chance to talk to her, alone, to tell her that everything from their conversation just moments ago had been a misunderstanding, that he was absolutely interested in being with her and only her, that he was okay with being "friends" until she felt ready to take the next step...

By the time Max made it to the living room, however, Nina was already cuddled up on the couch with Connie and Shalani. They were chortling at TikTok videos on their phones and chatting away happily like prepubescent girls at a sleepover. Max's gaze zoned in on Nina with trepidation.

She appeared to be... fine?

Her wobbly smile from earlier had now transformed into a real smile around her friends.

Max sucked in a hard breath. He wished he could've been the one to put that smile on her face. He felt like the world's biggest jackass for messing with her feelings.

Shalani noticed him first. "Good morning, Max."

She didn't smile when she greeted him. Her friendliness from the day before seemed to have cooled significantly.

Connie straight up glared at him. "Oh. You're up."

Silently, Max cursed.

Did they both know?

Did Nina already tell Shalani and Connie about the stupid shit he said?

He felt so disoriented.

Goddamn it!

They probably hated him now. He had no idea how to ease the awkwardness of the situation.

Nina didn't say a word. She merely acknowledged him with a curt nod and went back to scrolling on her phone. Standing so close to her yet feeling like she was miles away only made him feel worse.

Max plastered a pained smile on his face and tried to worm his way back into Nina and her friends' good graces. "Morning, ladies. So... what's the plan for today?"

"We're going out to brunch in a bit," Connie answered brusquely. "Then... shopping. Maybe get a massage and manicure. We were hoping to make a girls' day out of it if you know what I mean? Hope you understand."

Max's eyebrows rose as his mood sank. "Of course, no problem. You guys enjoy yourselves."

"You're still welcome to come to the party tonight, though," Nina said quietly. "If you want."

"Yeah, for sure," Max jumped on her offer right away. "Count me in!"

Nina, Shalani, and Connie left within the hour for brunch. Max stayed in his room until they were out the door. Then, he wandered around the apartment aimlessly, utterly lost in his thoughts. Anxiety gnawed at him. Guilt weighed on him. He spent all morning and all afternoon moping around, running best-case scenarios and worst-case scenarios through his mind. All he wanted to do was make things right with Nina. Minutes crept by like hours, and the whole day dragged like a whole fucking year.

When Nina and her friends finally returned to the apartment that evening, Max dashed over like an overeager puppy to greet them at the door. "Hey! Welcome back. Did you guys have fun?"

Max had been addressing all three girls, but his gaze was laser-focused on Nina.

"It was fine," clipped Connie.

"We had a lovely time," Shalani answered politely. "What did you get up to today, Max?"

"Not much. Just vegged out. I was kinda out of it."

Connie shot him a curious look. "Oh? How come?"

"I guess I didn't sleep very well last night." Max's blue-green eyes darted down to his feet. Then, he looked over to Nina again. "And I couldn't stop thinking about something stupid I did recently."

Nina gave him a small smile. "Is that so?"

"Uh-huh." His gaze met hers hesitantly. "I wanna make things right. What do you think I should do about it, Nina?"

Her breath caught slightly. "I dunno... but I'll get back to you if I think of something."

"Hey, we better get ready to head out soon," Connie interjected in an annoyed voice. "Or else we're gonna be late to meet up with Carson and Zahara."

"You're probably right," Nina agreed. "Let's get to it, then, girls!"

Shalani and Connie proceeded to drag Nina away to her room. Max sighed and padded back to his room to get ready as well.

About fifty minutes later, the girls were finally ready to go. Nina was donning her sexy blue dress with the sweet little bow for the night, and, more than anything, Max wished he could tell her how pretty she looked. Not as a friend but as a guy who adored her.

Max volunteered to be DD again. The ride over with Nina, Connie, and Shalani wasn't as uncomfortable as their exchange in the living room earlier that morning, mostly because the girls were too busy cracking jokes and messing around with each other, but it was clear they were 100% okay with pretending as though he didn't exist.

Max set his jaw determinedly. He wasn't about to give up on Nina that easily. The night was still young.