“Make a big entrance? ”

“Exactly.”

“I’m on my way, Monroe. And I have vodka.”

I call Aiden and tell him I’m ready to run to town for snacks. I’m just heading out when Jake comes in. He stops dead in his tracks and stares at Annie.

He blinks a few times before he says, “You look fantastic. I mean, you always look pretty, but wow.”

Annie does a cute little pirouette for him. I love how tight fitting yoga pants and a little eye shadow have given her more confidence.

I look at Jake and pout. He rolls his eyes at me. “You look nice too, Monroe. But Annie, here. She should wear those pants every day. They’re like BAM. And her hair looks crazy good.”

Annie gives Jake a huge smile. “Thank you. I hope I have that effect on Ace.”

“Ace will definitely be wondering what the hell he was thinking.”

“Okay, so, you two hang out for a bit. I’m going to get snacks and will be back soon.”

I run out of my dorm and find Aiden standing next to his car with the passenger door already open for me.

“Well, look at you,” he says, looking more at my body than my face.

“You’re supposed to look at my face when you say that,” I tease, planting my lips on his.

He grabs my ass firmly. “Forget the fashion show. You should just walk around and let me watch.”

I smile and laugh at him, loving how sexy he can make me feel with one touch.

Well, two touches, if you count both his hands.

“I’m wearing workout clothes, Aiden. I’m not even dressed up.”

He nuzzles my hair and nibbles on my neck.

“Stop that. It tickles,” I screech.

“You really want me to stop?” he asks, his lips grazing my neck.

“No, but everyone is expecting snacks.”

He kisses me, then says, “Oh, yeah. I sorta forgot about that.”

We get in his car and head off campus. A few seconds later, Aiden has my hand on the stick shift and is roaring through the gears.

“You like to go fast.”

“I’d like to go faster, just to see how fast she can go—without getting a ticket, of course. My dad and I always talk about taking her out on a track. We just haven’t yet.”

My eyes light up, realizing that would probably be the best birthday gift I could give him.

We stock up on junk food and head back to school.

He parks and pulls me onto his lap. “I’m in withdrawal. I haven’t gotten to kiss you nearly enough today.”

I know we need to get the snacks to the party, but it’s hard to think about such frivolity when a godly, powerful tongue is controlling you.

I love his lips. His tongue.

How he bites down on my lower lip sometimes and pulls at it with his teeth.

But he’s not doing that right now.

These kisses are long, hot, deep, full-on tongue kisses.

The kind of kisses that make me want to throw him up against a wall and strip him naked.

Make him model for me.

Do lots of naughty and sexy things.

These kisses make me want to be a very bad girl.

Do the kind of things I’ve only read about in books.

I mean, it’s dark. We’re not parked near a light.

Why not?

Aiden’s ringing phone interrupts my thoughts. He pulls it out of his jacket pocket, looking as annoyed by the sound as I feel.

“Hey, sis,” he says. “Uh, yeah. Sorry. Traffic. We’re headed that way now.”

He puts the phone back in his pocket and touches my lips. “Your lips are definitely my bliss.”

“Oh really?”

“Absolutely. Come on. Annie is about to make her big entrance. We don’t want to miss the fireworks.”

Right before I open the door to the cinema room, Aiden gives me a sexy smirk. “Although, I bet there were more fireworks in my car.”

As I hand Peyton the bags full of junk food, I notice Ace and Chelsea standing in front of the big screen. The TV is turned on but the fashion show doesn’t start for a few more minutes.

All of a sudden, Ace’s eyes get huge. I don’t need to look to know that Annie and Jake just walked in. But when I do turn to look at them, I’m surprised too.

They’re holding hands and laughing.

I start to worry about the vodka.

Oh, please tell me he didn’t get her drunk.

But as I study them more, I realize that both their eyes look focused and clear. And when Annie pulls me into a hug, her breath smells more like Jake’s cinnamon gum than alcohol.

Ohmigawd!

I grab her hand and pull her away from the food table. “Have you and Jake been kissing?”

She blushes and looks up at the ceiling.

“Annie! Why?”

“Why not?”

“Um, I don’t know. Because you’re supposed to be in a mourning period or something, maybe?”

“If I recall, when you were mourning your relationship with Dawson, you got drunk and kissed, like, five guys in the same night.”

“Are you drunk?”

“No, we didn’t drink. We were just talking and he kissed me. Just once. Sort of tentatively. Like, he kissed me, then moved his head back and gave me this grin. So I figured, what the heck? I leaned over and kissed him. Once. Pulled back. Smiled. Then he kissed me again and didn’t stop until Peyton called. I was a little irritated when the phone rang. I was like, Ace who?”

“Ace’s eyes about bugged out of his head when he saw you.”

“You know what? I don’t even care.”

“Good for you. Jake is awesome. I mean, as long as you know he’s not looking for anything serious.”

She nods. “I think I’d prefer it that way.”

“Are you two talking about me?” Jake asks, sneaking up behind us.

I start to say no, but Annie surprises me when she smiles and coos, “Busted. Should we find some seats? It’s about to start.”

“Front row or back?” Jake asks suggestively.

“Definitely back,” she replies, giving him a coy smile.

“When did you become such a flirt?” I whisper to her, as Jake grabs her hand and drags her away.

Once he gets her situated, Jake comes back over to get some drinks and popcorn.

“Jake,” I whisper. “I know we wanted to piss Ace off, but . . .”

He puts his hand on top of my head and messes up my hair. “Don’t worry, Monroe. My kissing her has nothing to do with Ace. She looks smoking hot. I always thought she was cute. She just, she seems more confident now. It’s sexy.”

Aiden, who was talking to Maggie and Logan, grabs a bag of popcorn with one hand and my hand in the other. “Maggie and Logan saved us seats.”

We sit down and watch the show.

The guys are doing a lot of hooting—Dallas, in particular, who is sitting between a couple of the newly-single cheerleaders. Ace is sitting next to Chelsea, but he’s not touching her, and he keeps looking back at Annie and Jake, who are cuddling.

Aiden is eating popcorn, enjoying the show, but he’s not cheering. Instead, one of his fingers is running along the top edge of my yoga pants. Warmth and desire flow from his fingertip to my soul.

I look at him and smile.

“Your eyes look purple tonight,” he whispers. I lean my head on his shoulder, my thoughts taking me to happy far-away places.

“This is it!” Annie says excitedly. “The extended trailer for Abby Johnston’s new movie. I heard it’s really hot.”

I sit up straight, my eyes glued to the screen.

The trailer starts out with Mom sitting at a desk writing To Maddie, With Love in a journal. The music moves as painfully slow as she writes. Mom looks beautiful as a brunette, but a little ragged. The slow music is replaced by a techno beat and images flash quickly across the screen. Maddie cutting her wrists. A hospital. Drugs on a kitchen table. Bottles of alcohol. Then back to her writing again. Same desk. Same stress on her face. Then techno. Faster images. Happy Maddie. Dancing. Kissing a man in a dark alley. A flash of Maddie’s body. Lips. Hips. Sex in the alley. A bed. Nakedness. Sheets. Smiles. The music changes as we watch Maddie writing again. Then more flashes. Drugs. A club. Dancing on a bar. More men. More sex. The flash of money. Then back to Maddie.