Jace didn’t even blink. “Science project.”
The cop blinked in response. “What kind of science project?”
“The…uh…effects of extreme temperature on, uh, body recovery.”
I groaned. “I fell in the river.”
Jace nodded like that helped. “Totally part of the experiment.”
The cop’s flashlight lingered on me for a long, uncomfortable moment. “And you’re telling me this experiment doesn’t violate about twelve state laws?”
“Depends on the state,” Jace said helpfully.
“Fucking hell,” I muttered again, wanting to bury my face in my hands but knowing the last thing the officer needed was an eyeful of my dick.
It could be intimidating to some people…even in its frozen state.
The officer exhaled, clearly regretting every career choice that brought him to this moment. “You two smell like a frat party mated with a sewer.” He leaned closer, squinting at Jace through the open window. “Wait a second…Aren’t you two boys on the football team?”
My stomach dropped.
Jace froze, then flashed the kind of grin that usually preceded disaster. “No, sir. We, uh, just get mistaken for them a lot. It’s the jawlines.”
The cop gave him a long, flat look. “Right. And what’s your name, son?”
“Uh…John. John Soto.”
I turned my head so fast my neck cracked.John Soto?
The name alone made my brain short-circuit. John Soto was a hockey player on the LA Cobras, one of Parker’s brother’s old teammates. Walker had spent an entire summer calling him “the human mole rat” because he hated him so much.
Jace reached into the glove box, pulled out a wallet, and handed over an ID like this was completely normal. The officer took it, shined his flashlight on it, and frowned.
I watched in terror as he examined it—tilting it toward the light, flipping it over, running his thumb across the corner like he was personally trying to ruin our lives. My pulse thudded in my ears, the silence stretching so long I started calculating escape routes, all of which ended with me sprinting naked down Neyland Drive.
After what felt like an eternity, the cop looked back up at Jace, then at me—dripping, shivering, and praying. “You sure this isn’t some frat hazing thing?”
“Not in a frat,” Jace said cheerfully. “We’re not frat material.”
The cop sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. “Fine. Get him home before one of you catches hypothermia…or worse, ends up on…what’s it called…TockTock again.”
“Yes, sir,” Jace said, dead serious. “We’ll stay off all clock apps.”
The cop blinked once, clearly too tired to care. He handed back the ID and trudged off toward his cruiser, muttering something aboutkids and their internet dances.
The lights faded, and silence filled the Jeep.
I turned to him slowly. “You gave him a fake ID?”
He shrugged. “Worked, didn’t it?”
“Where the hell did you even get that?”
“Jagger,” he said casually, putting the Jeep in gear. “And if you’re questioning authenticity, I’ll have you know that man’s fake IDs could get into heaven.”
I blinked at him. “You’re unbelievable.”
He grinned. “And yet…undefeated.”
