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“I’ll miss you this weekend,” she said. I was parked down the street from her house, and we’d been sitting there for nearly forty minutes just talking, our hands twined together. The engine was off, and we had only the streetlights’ illumination. “I’m glad you’re getting time with Vincent though. I think he gets really lonely without you.”
“He hates being alone,” I said. “I think if he didn’t have all of us, he’d probably be living in some hippy commune somewhere. Meditating with crystals. Drinking ayahuasca.”
She laughed at that. I adored how easy her laughter was, how it seemed to take over her whole body.
“Well, I’ll still miss you at the car show,” she said. “You haven’t taken me drifting yet.”
I’d showed off a little bit when driving her around. But I had yet to actually have her in the car while I was drifting, and I was excited to give her that experience. There was nothing else quite like it.
“Listen, Jess...” I began slowly, uncertain of exactly what to say. We hadn’t mentioned Dante’s warning to her, or Stephan’s warning either. None of us wanted to scare her. But she needed to know the reality of what was going on. “I want to talk to you about the show this weekend. It’s just that...there are going to be a lot of people there, and there’s a chance that —”
“Someone will cause trouble,” she said, finishing for me. She squeezed my hand. “Jason, I know something is up. You guys don’t want to freak me out, I get it. But I don’t get scared very easily. People are still fucking with you — withus, and I’m prepared to deal with that.”
It was a relief to hear her say that, but she didn’t only need knowledge. She neededactualpreparation.
“This is for you,” I said, opening my glovebox and pulling out a bag from inside. She withdrew the palm-sized cylinder from within it, handling it carefully.
“Pepper spray?” she said. I quickly repositioned her hands, ensuring she didn’t accidentally aim the thing at me.
“Keep it on you at all times,” I said. When her eyebrows drew down into a heavy frown, I added, “Please. It’s just a precaution.”
She pulled out her keys, attaching the paper spray to her lanyard. But her frown remained, and she said, “Did something happen? Something you’re not telling me?”
“Reagan is still causing trouble,” I said. “When we got back, we found out that he'd been trespassing on the property. We just need to be careful, all of us. If you’re by yourself, I’d feel better if you carried protection.”
She tucked her keys back into her purse. “I’ll make sure I keep it with me. And I’ll be careful.”
I leaned across the seats, cupping her face with my hand. I loved the small, shy smile she gave me when I got close. “Good girl,” I said. “That’s all I needed to hear.” She leaned into my kiss, sighing softly. Her lips tasted like the sour candies she’d been eating at the theater, and the unexpected sweetness made me smile against her mouth.
“Good night, Jess,” I said, barely parting from her to whisper the words. “I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too.” She kissed my mouth again, then left a quick kiss on the tip of my nose. “But I’m excited to hearin detailabout your weekend with Vincent in Dante’s fancy apartment.”
“Damn, girl. Insatiable, aren’t you?” She nodded immediately, and I laughed. “I’ll text you later. Stay out of trouble.”
“I can’t promise that,” she said sweetly, twiddling her fingers at me as she stepped out of the car. I watched her until she was inside. Then, just for safe measure, I drove around the nearby streets, on the lookout for Reagan’s old red Chevy.
Thankfully, I found no signs of him.
