“The good kind.”
I unscrew the cap and sniff, because I guess Gideon's not giving out information right now. It's whiskey, so I take a sip.
Ooh, it’s good whiskey. He wasn’t lying. I take one more sip before handing it back and taking a deep breath, tilting my head back to face the sky. Next to me, Gideon also takes a drink.
“Thanks,” I say.
“Is it just mom and dad bothering you?”
“That’s not enough?”
Gideon just chuckles into the dark.
“No,” I say, the whiskey making me a little braver.
“Work?”
“Kind of,” I admit. “There’s a romantic situation.”
Gideon makes a sort of grumbling noise.
“I like someone and I don’t know what to do about it,” I go on. It’s more complicated than that, obviously, but that’s about what I’m willing to admit tomy brother.
“Tricky,” he agrees. “You looking for advice?”
“Not from you.”
He snorts.
“Smart.”
We stand there for a long time, staring out at the dark together. Even with the jacket on I’m pretty cold, and finally, Gideon shifts his arm from around me.
“Well, if you need someone,” he says, and lets the rest of the sentence hang in the air.
I bump his arm with mine.
“Thanks,” I tell him.
CHAPTERFIVE
SADIE
It turnsout I can’t avoid James forever.
More to the point, it turns out I kind of don’t want to, either. I manage it for about two weeks, but then Imisshim, and not even the dirty parts. I miss our goofy flirtations in the hall and all the back-and-forth texting we’d do about Sudoku when I was Lola and he was Max.
Therefore, I figure I have two options: I can quit my job, fake my death, and move to South America, or I can be an adult about this and, like, talk to him.
It takes me two more days before I work up the nerve for the second option.
* * *
When I walkinto his classroom after school, James looks up from whatever he’s grading and goes perfectly still. I sit on a desk, facing him, and clear my throat.
“So,” I start.
He pushes his glasses up, stands, and walks to sit on his desk, facing me.
