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“Yeah. If the offer stands.”

“Yeah, but…”

“Then I’m saying yes.”

His mouth opens, then closes. He nods.

“We’ll do it here, right?” I glance over at the king bed.

His eyes go wide. “Here? Now? My sister’s in the house —”

“No, not now,” I say, even though this house is big enough that I doubt Juliet could hear us. “What about tomorrow?”

He clears his throat. “Tomorrow is good.”

“Good. Give me your phone number.”

Jasper takes his phone out, and I put his details into my phone. He takes my phone out of my hand and does the same.

I tuck my phone into our pockets. “Just so you know,” I say, “this doesn’t mean we’re friends, and this doesn’t mean I forgive you. It’s just sex.”

Jasper’s expression shifts, and he’s back to the Jasper I know. Superior and cold and aloof. “I wouldn’t expect anything less,” he says.

16

Jasper: Better Than Me

“I thought you were going on a date,” I say.

“I am.” Juliet remains on the couch, tapping on her phone with her long nails.

“I thought your date was at one,” I say. I check my phone. It’s 1:05.

“It is,” Juliet says. “He’s late. You think I should cancel it?”

I pretend to think. “Nah. Maybe he’s late because he got you flowers or something.”

Juliet snorts. “This isn’t the sixties. No one shows up with flowers for dates these days.”

I wait, but when it’s clear she won’t say anything else, I walk back to my room. Half an hour later, the front door slams close and I creep downstairs to make sure Juliet’s gone.

I check my messages again. I’d texted Kieran this morning.

Jasper: My sister’s out of the house from 1 to 6.

Kieran: Ok. I’ll be there at 2.

Now, I pace around the living room, trying to ignore the knots in my stomach. Kieran’s going to come here. He’s going to touch me. He’s going to kiss me.

I return to my room and inspect it from every angle. I adjust the textbooks on my desk. I straighten the lamps on my bedside tables. This morning, I replaced my sheets and blankets with fresh clean ones, and now I make the bed again, to make sure everything is smooth.

At 1:47, I begin to fidget.

At 1:52, I check my hair in the mirror.

At 1:57, I sit on the staircase and try to relax. It’s fine. I’m just going to have sex with Kieran. It’s fine. We’ve done it twice before. It’s fine.

I still can’t believe he said yes. Yesterday, when he showed up, I could barely look at him in the eye. When I apologised, I expected that we’d just never speak to each other again, if we could help it.