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“Should we go get some breakfast?” Axel asked. “I’m starving.” He reached for my doorknob.

“I swear to God, Axel,” I said. “If you walk out of this room I will murder you. I’m already grounded.”

He laughed and dropped his hand. “And how many times do I have to tell you...your dad won’t care.”

My eyes grew round. He’d basically just blabbed that he said that all the time. Since he was in my room all the time, threatening that exact thing. Had Jacob noticed? I really wanted to tell Jacob myself.

But Jacob just yawned again. He was still waking up. “What time is it?” Jacob asked.

I reached over him and grabbed my phone off the nightstand. But I couldn’t unlock it.

Axel handed me my glasses.

Asshole. I slid them on. “It’s 10 o’clock.” I was a little surprised my parents hadn’t tried to come check on me last night. But I guess they were as mad at me as I was at them. I tossed my glasses back on my nightstand.

“I should go talk to your dad.” Jacob slid off the bed and started to get dressed. He pulled on his tuxedo pants.

“You can’t talk to my dad wearing the same thing you were in last night,” I said.

“I’ll just tell him I was at an after party.”

I wasn’t sure that was a good idea. But Jacob seemed so calm about it, that I couldn’t help but trust him.

He pulled on his jacket and then grabbed his phone. “Well today is going to be fun. I have ten missed calls from Coach.”

I groaned. “Jacob, you’re probably going to be grounded too.”

“No one’s going to be grounded. I’ve got this.” He sat down and pulled on his shoes. “I’ll call Coach back and then come up to talk to your dad.” He picked up Axel’s varsity jacket and tossed it at him.

Axel caught it with one hand.

And then Jacob walked over to me. He leaned down and kissed my cheek. “I’ll come to the front door in ten minutes. Meet me there?”

I nodded. “I feel like we need some sort of plan here though.”

“It’s going to be fine.” Jacob turned to Axel. “Why aren’t you getting dressed? Where are your shoes?”

“I’ll leave in a minute,” Axel said. “I need to talk to Scarlett about our coding project.”

I resisted rolling my eyes.

Jacob ignored him and opened my closet. He pulled out my fuzzy flannel pajamas and handed them to me. “You don’t want to be wearing that jacket when we talk to your father.”

“Good plan.” And my dad loved these pajamas.

Jacob kissed my cheek again. “It’s going to be fine,” he whispered.

“I hope you’re right.”

He opened the trapdoor. “Ten minutes,” he said. But he was staring at Axel instead of me. And then he walked down the steps.

Axel kicked the trapdoor closed and whistled as he walked over to my desk. He draped his varsity jacket on the back of my chair again.

“I think Jacob wants you to take that back.”

“Do you want me to take it back?”

I pressed my lips together. “Yes.”