“Well, what?” I know exactly what she wants to know, but that doesn’t mean I want to tell her.
“What happened outside?”
“What do you think happened?”
“Obviously not a reunion.”
Turning to look at her, I still don’t give her anything. “We don’t need to talk about this. We apparently aren’t as discreet as we think we are.”
She laughs. “Then text me.”
“You’re crazy. I don’t have that much time.”
Brooke glares at me, but leaves it alone. Not for long, unfortunately. “At least tell me if you think things between you two will get resolved.”
“I’m going to tell you what I told her.” She perks up. “I don’t want to deal with it today.”
She slaps my shoulder. “I thought you were going to tell me something better than that.”
I laugh. “I know.”
~
“I hear you and your lady friend broke up.”
I roll my eyes. “You need to stop talking to Brooke, Jax. And why are you calling her a ‘lady friend’?”
“Because I can. I’m hurt that you didn’t tell me this yourself.”
“Well, get over it.” I pause, a thought hitting me for the first time. “How often do you talk to Brooke?”
“Every time Reed calls me, pretty much. She fills me in, tells me stuff I don’t really want to hear half the time.” He laughs. “She just likes to gossip. That’s how I know everything about you. Are you going to this birthday party I keep hearing about?”
“Reed and I are about to go shopping for a birthday present.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” he points out.
I sigh. “I don’t know yet. What are you planning for your and Avery’s anniversary? That’s coming up, right?”
Jax is quiet for a heartbeat too long. “I’m not sure yet.” Now, he sighs. “We’ve been having issues. I don’t really know what’s going on, but something isn’t right with us anymore.”
“Is that why she didn’t come up to the cabin?”
“I don’t know why she didn’t come. She said she couldn’t make it. Look, I don’t want to get into it, and you’re about
to go shopping.”
I pull into Brooke’s driveway, wondering if I should give this up as easily as he appears to want me to. “Yeah, I just got to Brooke’s, so I gotta go. If you change your mind about talking, call me.”
He doesn’t say anything, only hangs up. As Reed and I drive to the store, I start wondering what I’m going to do. The party is less than a week away now. I could go. There’s nothing in my schedule to stop me, though I may be a little late. The damn woman from that clothing line is insisting that I meet with her and on that day. She’s a convincing girl, I’ll give her that, because I have no idea how I agreed to it.
Reed seriously considers everything we pass, going back and forth with whether or not Sadie may like it. After an hour, he still hasn’t picked anything out. Right now, he has two different Hello Kitty products in his hands. He looks up at me seriously.
“Which one do you think she’ll love? Not like,” he clarifies. “She’s my best friend, remember? I want to give her something she’ll love. I kind of think this one.” He lifts up his left hand. “But she might love this one too.”
“Why don’t we get both? I’ll give her one and you can give her one.”
“Does this mean you’re coming? You told you Sadie you weren’t sure.”