I take a sip of my latte. Too hot. I don’t care. I will scald my throat to keep from revealing anything.
“Please tell me it was chapter fourteen,” Jess pleads.
“It wasn’t chapter fourteen. Not even close,” I admit. Then I sigh. “We kissed. That’s it. Are you happy?”
Macy squeals. Loudly. Half the café turns to look.
“Macy!” I hiss.
“Sorry, sorry.” She’s bouncing in her seat. “But oh my god, FINALLY. How was it? Where did it happen? Did you—“
“We didn’t sleep together,” I cut her off.
Jess raises an eyebrow. “But you slept together.”
“That’s different.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.”No.Maybe. Ugh.My face burns. “He stopped it. He said I wasn’t ready.”
“Were you?” Jess asks quietly.
I don’t have an answer for that. Maybe he was right, and I was trying to feel something other than the pain and fear and anger. Maybe he was right to stop.
But I really wanted it.
“He made me coffee this morning,” I say instead. “The way I like it.”
Macy melts. “That’s so sweet.”
“He’s been doing that for five years,” I mutter.
“Exactly,” Jess says, like that proves her point.
“Exactly what?” I ask.
Before she can answer, Carol Brennan approaches our table.
“Sadie,” she says. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
I brace myself. “Of course.”
“I’ve been telling everyone I know to buy your book. My family, my friends in Phoenix. Even my friends on the other side of the country.” She says it quickly, like she’s been rehearsing. “You need to keep fighting. Keep writing.”
My throat tightens. “Carol, I—“
“I’ll be at Tuesday’s town hall meeting. For support.” She touches my shoulder briefly. “Don’t be nervous. Just be prepared. Say what you need to say.”
“I don’t know if I can face—“
“You can. And not everyone on the council agrees with Judith. The mayor certainly doesn’t.” She squeezes my shoulder once. “She’s loud, but she doesn’t speak for all of us.”
Carol walks out of Crust & Crumble before I can respond.
“Well,” Jess says. “That’s something.”
“Mayor Benally isn’t on Judith’s side,” Macy says. “That’s huge, Sadie.”
