“You were right.” The screen door snaps shut behind me, and I walk across the porch. “You do take terrible notes.”

“Told you.” I asked Jack if I could look through his notes, making sure I was caught up enough for the new math class. He takes his math notebook, stealing a glance behind me. The windows are open, but Stephanie is busy making dinner in the kitchen, and Doug has yet to come home from work.

“Your notes are terrible, but the sketches in there are amazing.”

Jack looks down, a bit of color coming to his cheeks. I think he forgot they were in there. “I like to draw.”

“You’re good. Those are impressive just for pencil sketches you did during class. They’re really emotional.”

Jack shrugs. “I guess. Did everything go okay?”

“Everything go okay?”

I nod. “I said I had a stomach ache and needed to lay down after school, just in case it gets brought up. What about you? They let you practice?”

“Yeah. I told the coach I felt better. Honestly, I don’t think he really cares as long as I’m there.”

“You are kind of the star of the show.”

“The show?” He smirks. “Have you ever seen a football game?”

I raise an eyebrow, trying to look offended. The smirk is still on Jack’s face, and it’s doing bad things to me. “Oh yeah. I went to a Lakers game last year.”

The smirk turns into a real smile now. “The Lakers. Really?”

I laugh. “Kidding. Well, not about going to the game. But I know they’re a basketball team. But to answer your question, no. I haven’t really watched a full football game. I’ve seen them on TV in passing if that counts.”

“It doesn’t.”

“You have a home game on Friday, right?”

“I do.” Jack comes closer.

“Then I’ll come watch.”

“I’d like that.”

I motion to the porch swing. “Want to sit?”

“Yeah.”

We move to the swing, sitting close together. I tuck my legs up under myself, bent knees resting against Jack’s legs. He pushes off the porch with his feet, gently swinging us. People move along the sidewalk jogging or walking dogs. With the mountains behind us, I feel like we’re in a Hallmark movie.

With Jack next to me, I feel like I might get a happy ending.

“Hey, kids.” Stephanie steps onto the porch. I straighten my legs and sit up, separating myself from Jack. “How are you, Jack?”

“I’m good, thanks,” he replies politely. “How are you?”

“Busy as always, but good as well. How are your parents? We live right next door, but I hardly get a chance to chat.”

Jack shrugs. “They’re good.”

“Dinner will be ready soon,” she tells me.

I don’t meet her eyes. “Okay.”

“It was nice seeing you, Jack.” Stephanie goes back into the house. Jack waits a minute, then slips his arm around me.

“Do things still feel weird?” he asks.

“They’ve graduated from weird and moved onto awkward. She’s trying to help, I’m sure.”

“You don’t sound sure.”

“I just don’t see why they’d care about me.”

“I don’t see why they wouldn’t.” Jack’s brown eyes flash. “You’re one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met.”

“You must not have met many people.”

Jack’s eyes glimmer. “Maybe not.”

He wraps his other arm around me and I look up, lips close to his. My heart skips a beat and my stomach flutters. I want him to kiss me. He brings his head down, pressing his forehead against mine. My fingers go to the scar on his side, right above his hip. I carefully circle it, feeling my pulse increase. He runs his fingers through my hair and then sits back.

“I should go.” He untangles himself from me.

“Right. Thanks again, Jack. For everything.”

* * *

I grab a bag full of cookies and a blanket, then head outside to the treehouse. The sun is setting, and the misty rain from this morning left a chill in the air. Jack’s bedroom light is on, glowing behind closed blinds. I stare at it, hoping to catch him walking by. A minute passes without seeing him, so I settle inside the treehouse, wrapping myself up in the blanket, reading and eating.

Two chapters later, Charlie barks. I swing my legs over the edge and peer down. Jack is outside with the dog, throwing a tennis ball across the yard.

“Hey,” I call, feeling all fluttery inside.

“Hey.” Jack throws the ball one more time, puts Charlie inside, and comes over, hopping the five-foot fence. He pauses, looking at the Kellers’ house, and hurries across the lawn and up the ladder without being seen. The Kellers like Jack—they like his whole family—but I’m not sure how they’d feel about us sitting up here together in the near-dark. My grandma would never have allowed it, and I almost feel guilty for violating her rules.

Almost.

“Are you reading a dirty romance?” He grins, and we move to the other side of the treehouse where we’re out of sight.

“Kind of. It’s a paranormal romance and there are dirty scenes.”

“Really?” Jack wasn’t expecting that.

“Yeah. Have you heard of the show True Blood? It’s the series that it's based on. It’s really good.” I set the Kindle down and pull the blanket over Jack. He’s only wearing a T-shirt and jeans. “Aren’t you freezing without a coat?”

“Not yet. I wasn’t planning on staying outside long. You’re kind of distracting, Nora.”

“Should I be sorry?”

“No.” He turns to me, dark eyes meeting mine. A chill goes down my spine and a mixture of desire and nerves run rampant through me. “You’re shivering.” He slides one arm around me, bringing me to him. The warmth of his body feels so good, but the closeness only makes me tremble more. I move into his embrace, and he pulls the blanket around us both. “Better?”

“Much.”

“I see why you come out here,” he says softly after a few minutes pass. We’ve been sitting in silence, but it’s anything but awkward.

“It’s peaceful. And cozy now that I cleared out all the spiders.”

“Spiders don’t bother me. Growing up hiking in the woods and the mountains made me used to them, I guess. But bees.” He shakes his head. “If I see one, I’m running.”

I laugh and put my palm to his, aligning our fingers. “I don’t mind bugs as long as they’re not on me. Or near me. Or inside.”

“But you don’t mind them,” he teases.

“Nope.”

“So that spider above your head isn’t bothering you?”

“Funny.”

“I’m not joking. It’s dangling from a web two inches above us.”

“Kill it!” I squeal and duck forward, burying myself deeper in Jack’s arms. He laughs and falls back, bringing me with him. His hands slip from my arms to my back, and I hook a leg over his. “Was there really a spider?”

“No.” He pulls the blanket over us. “But if I knew this is what scaring you with spiders gets me, I would have done it sooner.”

I’m glad for the fading light. He can’t see the blush his words brought to my cheeks. I close my eyes, breathing him in. I don’t know how long we lay there, but the next time I look outside the treehouse, it’s dark. Stars dot the sky and the mountains stretch to the clouds, big and black and blending into the clouds.

Jack trails his fingers up and down my arm, relaxing me further. The air around us is cold, but the heat from Jack’s body keeps me warm. In any other setting, laying on the wood floor of this treehouse would be uncomfortable. But right now, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

“Are you cold?”

I tip my head up to look into his eyes. “If it wasn’t for you, I would be. What about you? You’re the one without a jacket.”

“I’m fine. Guess I’m hot enough for the both of us.” He wiggles his eyebrows and laughs.

“I like hearing you laugh.”

“I like laughing.”

“Am I wrong to think you haven’t laughed much lately?”

He stiffens. “No.”

“I’m glad I can make you smile.” I lick my lips, mind going to everything else I can make him do. Heart in my throat, I slide my hand over his stomach, feeling every ridge of muscle. I find his scar and move my face closer to his. Jack’s lips part and the moonlight reflects the desperation in his eyes.

“Nora,” he groans, fingers digging into my skin. “We shouldn’t.”

“Why?”

“You’re sixteen. The same age as my sister.”

“I’m older than her by almost a year.”

“You’re still sixteen.”

“Only for a few more weeks. You want to, don’t you?”

He turns his head, unable to tell me no. Shakily, I slide my hand down so that my fingers push past the waist of his jeans. I’ve been kissed more than once, but I’ve never gone further than that. Becca was experienced and told me all about it.

Still, the thought of getting naked with Jack scares me as much as it exhilarates me. I want to make him feel. I want to make him happy.

“I want to,” I whisper, feeling the spark bust into a wildfire.

“Stop,” he growls and sits up. “Not now. Not here.”

He doesn’t have to explain it for me to understand. Things won’t end with a kiss. I take my hand from his side and interlock our fingers again. I move up and lean against the wall, looking through the cut-out window at the stars.

He tightens the grip on my hand. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Keep going like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

“Because there has to be. I’m scared of the dark, and the only way to get back to the light is to keep going. Even when the light is fading, and things seem impossible. You just keep going.”

“Don’t you ever want to give up?”

I’m nothing but honest. I don’t need to hold up a front around Jack. “Yes. Especially lately. But what good would that do? My grandma used to tell me ‘you can’t lose if you’re trying’, and I never really got it before. I guess it’s kinda like losing a battle but not the war, and the only person you’re truly at war with is yourself.”

“I never thought of it that way.”

“Mimi had a unique way of looking at the world. She was tough. The strongest person I’ve ever known. My grandpa died like a year and a half before my mom. She lost her husband and then her daughter so close together. And then had to take in a six-year-old.”

“You’re tough too.”

“So are you.”

Jack shakes his head. “No. I’m not.”

“What you did was so brave.”

“Being brave and being tough are different. The toughness comes after you did that brave thing. And I…I’ve given up.” He trains his eyes on mine, airing his vulnerabilities. “I didn’t see the point in trying to find the light again.”

“Do you see the point now?”

“I see you.” Jack’s brow furrows, jaw tensing. He’s fighting against his emotions, and I want him to lose. I want him to give in to me, even though I shouldn’t.

I can’t help it.

“You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met before.” His words come out slowly as if he doesn’t want to admit it but can’t help the truth from slipping from his lips.

“Neither are you.”

He lets go of my hand and cups my cheek. “Fuck it,” he mutters to himself and tips his head down. He’s going to kiss me. My heart leaps out of my chest and the warmth spreads through me. I part my lips, moving to him. He wraps his other arm around me, hand landing on the small of my back. With a gentle push, he brings me to him.

And then we kiss.

The heat inside me explodes, going off all around me like brightly-colored fireworks. The stars swirl and time stops. Jack kisses me harder than anyone ever has before, and if we weren’t sitting down already, my knees would have weakened and given out.

“Nora!” Stephanie shouts from inside the house. Jack and I freeze. “Nora, it’s time to come in.”

I pull away from Jack, heart racing.

“Ohh-okay,” I sputter, out of breath. I inhale, finding my voice. “I’ll be right in!”

“She doesn’t know I’m up here.” Jack gives me a devilish grin. “No one can see us.”

“Not back here.” I bite my lip and turn back to Jack. We kiss again, and this time he pulls me forward. I get on his lap, straddling him. His hands go under my shirt, and the roughness of his palms against my soft flesh makes me shiver.

He makes me feel things I’ve never felt before.

The back porch light turns on, spilling into the tree house. “Nora?” Stephanie calls again. Jack and I break apart once more, and I push him down. “Is everything all right?”

“Yeah. Just trying to finish this chapter.”

“Finish it inside, honey. It’s late.”

“Okay. I’ll be right in.” I let out a breath and put my lips to Jack’s once more. It’s a quick kiss, and not enough to satisfy either of us. “I should go in before she comes out.”

“Yeah. I’ll hang back. Give you a minute to get her distracted. Then I’ll leave.”

“I wish I could come back out.”

“Me too.”

I gather my things and climb down the ladder and steal a glance back at the treehouse. I can’t see Jack, but I know he’s there. Suddenly, the dim light at the end of my tunnel bursts into a supernova.