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“‘I believe you,’ I said. And I did. So I opened the door and I did the only thing I could think of to make you leave and not come back.”
I looked into Jack’s eyes. “You acted like you didn’t like me.”
Jack nodded. “Didn’t take all those improv classes for nothing.”
“Why didn’t you use the code word?”
Jack gave me a look. “Um. Because I didn’t want my last words to be ‘ladybug’?”
“Seriously, though.”
“Seriously? Why would I have done that?”
“So I’d know something was up.”
“The point was for you not to know.”
“You realize I do this for a living? I was way more qualified than you to handle Wilbur321. There were ten different ways I could have disarmed him.”
“I didn’t think about that.”
“Obviously.”
“I just wanted you not to die. I really, really,” Jack said, stepping closer, “didn’t want you to die.”
I appreciated that. I did. “Thank you.”
“So I acted my heart out.”
“You really got me,” I said.
“Well,” Jack said, “I do this for a living.”
I peered into his eyes. “Just to confirm: You didn’t not like me.”
“I didn’t not like you,” Jack said.
“You liked me,” I said again. “For real. Actively.”
“For real. Actively,” Jack confirmed. “More than anyone else ever in my whole, dumb life.”
I studied him.
“I didn’t care if he shot me,” Jack went on. “The only thing I cared about was tricking you into leaving—and doing it so well that you didn’t come back.”
“Well. You crushed it.”
“But then you came back. Like a dummy.”
“I think you mean like a heroically courageous badass.”
“You weren’t supposed to save me. I was saving you.”
“I guess we saved each other.”
“That’s one way of spinning it.”
“Aren’t you a little bit glad that I saved your life?”
