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I snap my gaze to the source of the noise and…you’ve got to be kidding me.
There’s Jason. And his stupid smile. In the flesh.
Crouching on a tree branch outside my bedroom window.
Immediately, I fly to the window, unlock it, and shove it open. “What the hell are you doing?” I hiss.
“So, it turns out, this is harder when you’re not a teenager,” Jason says. The tree is half-white with snow, and he does look a little unsteady, clutching the thick branch with red, cold-bruised fingers.
“Are you insane?”
He falls to the side a little, and my heart lurches as his grip on the branch wavers. “Whoa!” Then he grins. “Just kidding.”
I nearly shut the window in his face, when he adds, “But really. It is pretty slippery.”
“Get inside. Now.”
Mom voice. I reach out a hand, and he manages to shimmy over the branch. He grips the window frame and pulls himself the rest of the way, ungracefully half falling, half climbing inside. He’s a bull in a china shop, and his tall frame bounces against my dresser, making the whole thing shudder.
“Sorry,” he says and then gets to his feet. He shivers dramatically, shoving his hands under his armpits. “It’s cold out there, did you notice?”
“You’re a child.” I’m spitting mad. “An actual child.”
His eyes flicker over me. “I hope I didn’t…uh. Interrupt anything.”
He’s staring at my hand, which is when I realize…dear God. I’m still holding it.
In my rush to save the Jason-cat from the tree, I completely forgot to put away the vibrator.
I go to shove it in my robe pocket, but my thumb accidentally bumps the button. It jumps to life in my hand, and I swear, my face getting hotter as I have to cycle through every goddamn setting—which two seconds ago I loved and now I loathe—in order to get the thing to stop again.
“Looks like fun,” Jason says, and I hate that he approves of it.
“It’s the middle of the night!” I snap as I finally manage to wrestle the vibrator into my pocket. “In winter! You can’t just…climb into people’s bedrooms! If you’d gotten hurt…”
“Would you have cared?” he asks bluntly.
“Of course I care!”
“You’re not answering my calls. Or texts.”
“You know, some men would take that as a hint…”
Was that too harsh? Some of the boyish mischief dies from his eyes. He sobers up then, giving a nod. “I know. And if you want me to leave you alone after this…I will. I promise.”
My boiling rage lowers to a simmer. When you peel back his reckless and silly antics…it’s clear that he’s just uncomfortable.
“I want to invite you to our New Year’s party.”
“What in the hell would make you think I’d want to go to a party with you?”
“Because there’s something here. I know there is. And I need you to give me another chance. Just one. Please.”
“Oh, go with him, Kenzi!”
I nearly scream. I swivel around to see my mom standing in her own robe, peeking in through my cracked-open bedroom door.
Jason lifts his hand in a half wave. “Hey, Missus P.”
