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“And you Jesse,” Raina said with an innocent smile, “have these ideas that are like when you try to kick someone, but end up punching the air with your foot.”
Jesse stared at her for a minute, a look of surprise on his face, before he burst out laughing. “See, that’s what I’m talking about.”
Hopefully he wasn’t mad at her for making a comment like that. His laughter seemed like a good sign, though. When another couple of seconds passed without him getting upset, Raina relaxed a little. It was so easy to fall back into their usual rhythm, teasing and laughing all the time. But she still didn’t know why Jesse had given her the cold shoulder for the past few weeks. There were so many unanswered questions surrounding Jesse Ashcroft, and Raina had no answers.
“You know those Instagram posts about the cinnamon rolls and killing someone?” Jesse asked once he stopped laughing. “You know, looks like a cinnamon roll, is a cinnamon roll, looks like they could kill you, could kill you? See, you definitely look like a cinnamon roll, and 99% of the time are a cinnamon roll. But every once in a while you make a comment that puts you in the ‘could kill’ category, and it surprises everyone.”
“Thank you?”
“It’s a compliment.”
“Thank you,” Raina repeated, a little more firmly this time. “I will endeavor to, uh, keep trying to kill you then.”
They fell into a comfortable silence then, abandoning their attempt to work. Raina leaned against the window and closed her eyes, but trying to sleep was fruitless. She peeked through her eyelids every few minutes, once catching Jesse inserting AirPods and another spotting him as he texted someone. She was about to drift off when an exclamation had her eyes popping open.
“I’ve got it!” Jesse’s voice was quiet, but his excitement was very much present. “I know what we should do for our project.”
His excitement was contagious, and Raina couldn’t help but smile. “What is it?” she asked, bending down to grab her backpack, which was on the floor between them. She took a sip from her water bottle before replacing it in the side pocket.
“Jello. But just because I want to watch people try to make a ‘potion’ but then realize all they’re making is Jello. I want to see their faces.”
Raina laughed. “That would be funny, but we don’t have a way to heat water in the classroom and Jello needs to harden. There might be a solution to that, though. I know the science labs have burners.”
Jesse’s answering grin was downright feral.
* * *
“Ican’t believe we made it out of there alive,” Nicole grumbled, shaking out her arms and legs as Lauren drove away. “I had to pretend to be asleep for two fucking hours. If she played one more country song, I would have screamed.”
Jesse laughed, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. Nicole may have claimed to be pretending, but Jesse knew her tells. She’d actually been asleep for at least half the ride. To his left, a pale-faced Raina stared up at the house in front of them.
Taking a step closer to her, Jesse nudged her shoulder with his. “Hey. It’s going to be okay. ”
Raina shrugged, looking down at her shoes. “You haven’t met my parents.”
“She’s right,” Nicole added unhelpfully. “I’ve been on a call with her mother. You don’t argue with Sarah Cohen.”
Jesse shot his best friend a warning look. Nicole turned away and at least pretended not to be listening to their every word. “It doesn’t matter how this dinner goes, okay? I know you want to please them, and I understand that, but if it doesn’t go well, don’t blame yourself.”
“I’m not going to blame myself.”
“Yes, you will, Raina Middle Name Cohen.” He paused for a second. “Whatisyour middle name?”
“Avigail. ”
“I know you, Raina Avigail Cohen,” Jesse said firmly. “I know you’re amazing and incredible and one of a kind, and even if this dinner goes terribly wrong, I can’t judge your parents by it, because they did something completely right, and that was raising you. And that was a very run-on sentence, so I hope you get what I mean.”
Raina smiled shyly, and Jesse had to resist reaching out to wipe the tear streaking down her cheek. He tucked his thumb inside his loose fist to contain the impulse.
“Thank you,” Raina whispered. “That’s sweet of you.”
Jesse tossed his head dramatically, trying to ignore the red flush he could feel spreading over his cheeks. “I am notsweet,” he practically spat the last word. “How dare you call me that, that, impugnment!”
Raina laughed. “Impugnment?”
“Zara’s not here to harp on me for using words she doesn’t understand.” Jesse grinned before shaking his head. “Sweet,” he muttered in disgust. “Ugh.”
* * *
