And just like that, she's gone from mildly uneasy to full-throttle flight mode. She feels herself shrinking under his harsh tone, pulling in defensively. She can imagine herself extending spikes, like a fucking porcupine. She gets why he's angry. She knows he probably doesn't mean to sound angry. It doesn't matter. This is not what she wanted and she's not in the business of being scolded.

"I'm not Johnny," she snaps. "You can't expect me to run every stupid thing I do by you first. I know it was a mistake, okay, I'm kind of walking around with the mistake hanging off my shoulder. Thanks so much for the fucking hindsight."

She grabs the bottle and drinks straight from it, making herself cough as it burns her throat. "I just wanted you to drink with me, fuck, I don't need another lecture."