Page 116 of Holly Jolly July

Hell yes, I’d kill him if he kissed Ellie without her consent. There’s no way I’d let a playboy lying asshole like him near her. As it is, his slimy hands on her body is nearly enough to take my stomach from mild nausea to full-blown regurgitation.

“See you tonight, sweetheart,” Jax says, releasing Ellie from his hold. I duck back down as he walks past my hiding spot.

I release a long, slow exhale, my whole body untensing.Once Ellie is in the clear, she looks around, searching for me. I tentatively peer around for Jax to make sure he’s far enough away. Ellie spots me and comes around to where I’m hiding.

“That was close,” Ellie huffs, gripping my forearms.

“Too close,” I agree. “Are you okay?”

Ellie swallows and nods, though I can tell she is a little shaken by the encounter. “I tried to scare him off by seeming overly interested, you know? Like, give him a taste of his own medicine.”

“Did it work?”

She shakes her head. “No. Backfired completely. He said he wants to come over later to thank me for the eggs by giving me his great big co—”

My phone rings in my hand, startling us both. I lift it so we can both see the caller ID.

Jax.

No. Way.

We share a frown before I answer. “Hello?”

“Hey, you called?”

Shit. I didn’t consider him calling me back.“Uh. Yeah?” I try to come up with a reason on the fly but I’m a shit liar, letting the silence hang between us instead, getting thicker and more uncomfortable as the seconds tick by. Ellie starts flapping her hands and mouthing,Say something!But that only makes my mind blank more.

Finally, Jax sighs. “Mariah?

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad you did. Listen. The last time we were together it was... weird. And it turns out that gift basket was for my neighbour, not me. The girl dropped it off at the wrong door.”

Jax has no trouble lying, but that’s not surprising at all. “Is that so?”

“And my phone got this weird virus that scrambled my contacts. It’s been a bit awkward, to say the least. I wasn’t sure if your contact was really you until now, or I’d have called earlier.”

I’m not sure how much of that is bullshit, but the fact that our prank caused him at least a bit of distress is rewarding.

“I’d like to make it up to you,” he continues. “I have plans later tonight with my mom but I’m free until then.”

Ellie and I glare at each other, enraged by what we’ve both heard. Does he actually think he can lie to me about plans with his mom when he’s really with Ellie, then have me over for sloppy seconds? What world is this guy living in?

It takes every ounce of strength I have not to tell him off right then and there. I manage to force my voice into something resembling neutral when I reply. “I’ll have to get back to you on that. I’m not sure I want to see you again.”

“Then... why did you call?”

Shit. He has me there.“I just, um. I wanted to hear your voice?” I can’t help the upward inflection, cringing at myself.

“That’s so sweet,” he says, not noticing how false I sound. “I missed your voice, too. If now doesn’t work, I can come to you in Vancouver. It’s not every day you reconnect with someone so special.”

Ellie’s mouth falls open in shock.

I grind my teeth. “Yeah, you sure are something. I’ll definitely see you again before I go home. It will be an experience you won’t forget.”

“Looking forward to it already,” he growls.

I hang up without another word.

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