Jake closed his eyes, and I swore I could see him counting to ten, like a tangible thing or one of those cartoon blowouts. Of the four of them, Jake was the one who never let me get away with anything. Coop ignored my deflections, Archie would poke at them, and Bubba? Well, he just indulged me like it didn’t bother him in the slightest—part of why I’d gone to his birthday party, even when I’d told myself it was a terrible idea.
