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Raina had also never been in a relationship before. She had never kissed a boy or, until Jesse, held hands with one. Jesse had been in relationships in the past and was more experienced than her. Would he care that she didn’t know what to do, or that she wasn’t ready to kiss him? Well…Raina knew she wanted to kiss him, but she wasn’t sure if she could mentally and emotionally handle it right now. Even though she didn’t agree with everything her parents did, the ‘no touching’ and ‘no kissing’ rules had been ingrained in her mind for the last sixteen years. It was hard to shake off something so established. Cuddling earlier had been a big step for her, and Raina wasn’t sure she was ready for another step yet. Would Jesse expect more?
Raina still wasn’t asleep when her curtains were wrenched open later that night, Zara’s annoyed face looming above her.
“Jesse has demanded our presence in the boys’ dorm,” Zara announced, her eye roll making it clear what she thought of this “demand”.
The sudden light had Raina rubbing her eyes. “What time is it?”
“It’s only eleven. Or, it’s 11 p.m., a very late time for a random summoning.”
Raina sat up, yanking out her ponytail. She combed through her hair with her fingers as she climbed out of bed, taking a moment to acclimate to the brightness. “Any idea what he wants?”
“Nope. But unless you want to find out in those pajamas, I’d suggest putting on a hoodie.”
Raina glanced down at her t-shirt and shorts. She wasn’t wearing a bra, which was something she definitely wanted if she was meeting up with boys. “I’m going to get dressed again.”
* * *
“Welcome!” Jesse said cheerfully, waving as the group of girls poured into his dorm. He was dressed in a top hat Theo had procured, along with his finest monkey pajama pants. Maybe he was a bit too hyper for the late hour, but that was all thanks to the two boxes of M&Ms he’d just consumed. “Welcome, Nicole, Zara, Gracie, Raina...and Annalisse?”
“Call me Anna,” the girl said.
“Alright, Anna it is. Now everyone, please take a seat on the beds.” Jesse motioned to where he had pushed all three beds together before he rolled a whiteboard out from behind the bathroom door. When everyone was seated, he rapped on the board to get their attention. “Thank you all for coming tonight.”
“You didn’t give us a choice.”
Jesse glared at Zara. “Thank you all for coming tonight,” he repeated forcefully. “Now, I’m sure you’re all wondering why you’ve been gathered here. It’s because I came up with yet another plan to save Raina’s hotel.”
“It’s not technically Raina’s hotel,” Gracie pointed out.
“Details, shmetails.” Jesse waved a hand in the air. “My room, my words.”
“That’s not how it works at all,” Dean said, failing to conceal a snort.
Jesse narrowed his eyes. “Shut the fuck up, Dean. I’m talking.”
“Why don’t you tell everyone the idea, Jesse?” Raina suggested calmly.
Jesse had half a mind to get mad at her too, but the combination of her voice and her saying his name appeased him, and soon Jesse had forgotten why he ever wanted to get mad at her.
“Right. Idea. Nicole, how many followers do you have on TikTok?”
“Thirty-two thousand,” Nicole replied promptly. “Give or take a few hundred.”
“Awesome. The idea is to host a live video on Nicole’s TikTok account, where thousands of people will tune in and donate money to save the hotel.” Jesse smiled triumphantly as he laid out the plan, expecting everyone to tell him how great it was. “Any questions?”
Dean raised his hand, not even waiting for Jesse to call on him before he spoke. “Yeah, why couldn’t we do this in the morning?”
“Because I wanted to do this now,” Jesse replied crossly. “Do you have anything productive to say, Dean?”
“Yes. You’ll need to set up a page where people can donate, something like a GoFundMe. Then, you’ll have to link that to Nicole’s TikTok account. It’ll probably be best to buy a backdrop with the GoFundMe on it, so people can see what they’re donating to.”
Jesse stared at Dean, and he wasn’t the only one. “Um, thank you, Dean. Why...why don’t you be in charge of that?”
“Sounds great, Jesse, Glad I can help.”
“Right. Awesome.” Jesse distractedly made a note on the whiteboard, still a little stunned by how quickly his cousin had put that together. “Nicole, you’re in charge of publicity. Drum up interest on TikTok and all that. Gracie, put together some entertainment so people aren’t bored by us talking all the time. Zara, you’re on refreshments for those who’ll be doing the live. Buy snacks and water; don’t forget the water. I’ve got someone in mind to film, so we don’t have to worry about that. She lives for this stuff. And Theo, what can you do about getting us mics and all the official filming stuff?”
“I can ask my music teacher,” Theo said, pulling out his phone to type something. “I’m sure he can help me borrow some.”
