Page 99 of Even After Sunset

“Itwillmake Meryl happy. And it will make me happy, too. I don’t know why you have such a hard time with that.”

Jax is never happy when she’s baking. It stresses her out. Baking makes her tense and brings out that crease above the bridge of her nose.

“I’m just saying—it won’t make you happy if you’re just doing it to please someone else.”

She rolls her eyes. “Thanks for the insight. But I’m not exactly going to take advice from you right now.”

So sheispissed at me.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Figure it out, Silas… I’m sure you know exactly what it means.”

“No, actually I don’t.”

Seriously. I really, reallydon’t. Actually, I have a hard time understanding what any of thisconversationmeans.

“It means it’s pretty rich of you to be giving someone else life advice, when you have a full-fledged drinking problem you’re totally in denial of.”

“What the fuck?”

She rolls her eyes.

“Yup. See: there’s the total denial part.”

“I’m not in denial—because there’s nothing to be in denialabout. I haven’t had anything to drink since the other night when I missed my call with—”

“I saw you flirting with Cheryl-Anne this afternoon.”

“Oh, so that’s what this is about, then? You’re jealous because you saw me talking to another girl?”

ThatI can handle. That’s an assumption I can easily explain, because I truly have no feelings for gum-snapping, overly flirty Cheryl-Anne.

Jax folds her arms across her chest.

“Cheryl-Anne works in the beer tent.”

I wait for a second before responding. She’s dropping her sentences like breadcrumbs, luring me down a path that feels like it will lead straight to a trap.

“Talking to Cheryl-Anne doesn’t mean I’ve been drinking,” I finally say.

Deny. Deny. Deny.

She fires right back:

“Having four cans of beer and a bottle of rye in your backpack does, though.”

I jump to my feet.

“You looked through my backpack?”

She rolls her eyes again and makes a huffing sound.

“Like that’s the real concerning issue here.”

“It is to me!” I bark.

“Anything that forces you to confront the fact that you have a drinking problem is an issue for you!”

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