“Oh, so you’ll be locked away at home, huh, Rapunzel?” Tim bit out.

I shrugged. “That’s the assumption.”

“Meaning?” Brody asked.

“Anything can happen. Maybe something will come up, and I’ll decide to go out.”

Jenna dropped her drink on the table, and ice flew across the top. “You’re kidding, right? If he catches you out…” She didn’t finish her thought.

“What?” Brody asked, looking at Jenna. When she didn’t answer, he looked between Jenna and Tim. “He’ll what?”

“He won’t be happy,” Jenna said quietly.

Tim snorted. “Yeah. That’s putting it mildly. Willow, if you leave the house tonight, make sure you’re in disguise and you aren’t anywhere someone from school will see you. Like, you know, another country.”

It was seven o’clock, and I sat on my bed watching a rerun of a stupid sitcom on television while I texted Jenna. My phone chimed that a text had come through. I clicked to read it, expecting it to be from Jenna. My heart started palpitating when the name across the top was Brody’s.

Brody: Hey.

Me: Hey, Ace. What’s up?

Brody: Whatcha doin’?

Me: Texting Jenna. Hold on.

I sent Jenna a quick text, telling her that Brody was texting me and I’d talk to her later. Her last text was a threat that I’d better cough up all the details of what was said between Brody and me. At my promise that I would, she told me to have fun and added a little winky face next to it. I rolled my eyes but giggled, quickly switching back to my conversation with Brody.

Me: Okay. I’m back.

Brody: What’d you do?

Me: Told Jenna I had to go.

Brody: Why?

Me: Um… so I could talk to you.

Brody: Ah.

Huh. Maybe that was too much information. I shouldn’t have said anything. Crap.

Brody: I’m glad. Now I have you all to myself.

Or maybe not. I just got major chill bumps everywhere.

Me: So, what are you doing?

Brody: Thinkin’ about you.

Oh, wow. My chill bumps just got chill bumps and now I have flutters in my chest.

Brody: Were you serious about getting out of the house?

Me: Maybe. Why?

Brody: I have an idea. No disguise needed.

Me: Ok. I’m game.

Brody: You don’t even know what it is.

Me: I trust you.

Brody: Pick you up in 10.

Me: Don’t come to the door.

Brody: ?

Me: My parents are official members of the Jaden fan club.

Brody: Ah. They wouldn’t like you going out with me.

Me: Right.

Brody: I’ll park in front of your neighbor’s.

Me: I’ll be waiting.

I jumped off the bed and grabbed a pair of yoga pants and a long shirt, trying to pull them on at the same time I pulled off my pajamas. Putting on a loose belt, I let it sit on an angle over my hips, just tight enough to make my shirt look like something other than a paper sack hanging from my shoulders. I looked in the mirror and groaned. My hair was flat on one side and a frizzy mess on the other. Quickly pulling it into a knot at the base of my neck, I tried to fix what little makeup I still had on. As I grabbed my purse and phone, I saw headlights shine through my window. I shot off a text to Jenna.

Me: Cover for me. We’re at the mall. Going out for a while.

Jenna: Brody?

Me: Yeah.

Jenna. K. Be Careful.

Me. Love ya.

Jenna: Love ya back.

I hurried to my mom’s bedroom and knocked before sticking my head inside. “Mom?”

“What?” she answered, her voice hoarse. It sounded as if she’d been crying.

“Um, Jenna asked me to go to the mall with her.”

“Have fun.”

“Are you okay? I don’t have to go if you need me here.”

“I’m fine. Go,” she said. “Just remember curfew.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

I hurried out the front door and down the walk. Brody pulled up when he saw me. For once, he didn’t get out of the Jeep to open the door for me—thank God—and he had the interior lighting turned off. He drove away as soon as I was in the Jeep.

“Hey.” He looked at me and smiled.

“Hey back. So, what are we doing?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Okay.” I settled back into the plush leather seats.

“You aren’t going to try to get it out of me? Beg, plead, whine, until I tell you?” he teased.

“Nope. I told you, I trust you. But I’ll beg, plead, and whine if it makes you feel better,” I offered.

“No. Please don’t start whining.” Brody chuckled. How could just a small rumbling in his chest affect me so much?

“Okay. I’ll stay whine free.” I smiled and watched him drive.

“Let me ask you a question. If I was Jaden, and I didn’t tell you where we were going, would you go with me with no questions asked?” Brody coasted to a stop at a red light. He turned to me, his eyes catching mine and holding them.

I bit my lip, trying to decide how best to answer the question. “Honestly, probably not. But that’s because Jaden would most likely take me to some football game, football museum, football hall of fame, or something else football related, in which case, I’d have to fake an illness and skip out on him.”

Brody laughed hard and loud, making me laugh with him. “Well, now I know if I ever ask you out and you tell me you’re sick, that you’re blowing me off.”

“Somehow, I don’t think that would be a problem,” I said, and then immediately wanted to slap my hand over my mouth. Brody just gave me a crooked grin that melted my heart, but he didn’t say anything.

“We’re here.” He pulled into a small driveway surrounded by trees. After he drove a few hundred yards, the trees fell away. We were in the middle of a field surrounded by trees on all sides. Completely secluded.

“Where’s here?”

“It’s my aunt’s property. She plans to build a house here one day. No one will bother us. Wait there.” Brody got out of the Jeep, walked around to my door, and opened it for me.

“Where are we going?”

“The backseat.”

“Huh?”

Brody grinned. “Not for that. Although, I wouldn’t be opposed to it.” I rolled my eyes. “Okay, okay, you’ll see when you get back there. It’s a surprise, remember?”

I sighed and climbed into the backseat. “It’s nice back here. Roomy. Is this yours or your mom’s?”

“It’s mine. Well, actually, it was my aunt’s until she got a new one. Then she sold me this one at an enormous discount,” Brody said as he grabbed a pillow out of the back and slipped it behind me. “There’s no way I could afford a Jeep Grand Cherokee otherwise. I work at her place washing dishes and stuff like that to pay her.”

“That’s nice of her.”

“Yeah, she’s great.” Brody grabbed a bag from the very back of the Jeep before sliding next to me. He took a blanket out of the bag and settled it over us. Next, he brought out a large bowl sealed with a plastic lid, sliding closer to me, until our thighs touched—oh, holy hotness!—and then he balanced the bowl on our thighs.

“Okay, what’s up, Ace?”

He held up a finger for me to wait. Reaching into the bag once more, he pulled out a case. When Brody opened it, it folded back to reveal a video screen. “I hope you haven’t seen this one.” He handed me a DVD before he pulled the lid off the bowl and the smell of buttered popcorn filled the Jeep’s interior. “I brought you Coke since that’s what you order every time I’ve been with you.” He reached in a cooler and gave me a can. “I know how much you hate for people to order for you, but I didn’t know what else you liked.”

I held the Coke by the tips of my fingers and stared at him. My voice stalled in my throat, and my gaze held his for a few beats. I mapped the striations of blues in his eyes before my gaze skimmed over his face, committing every feature, every curve, every line, to memory. I didn’t want to forget how he looked at that moment. The very moment I knew he’d taken all there was of me.