“There’s a bat in my room,” I squeal.
He laughs. “What?”
“There’s a bat in my room,” I repeat irritably. “It’s kind of cute, but still… it’s a bat.”
He’s still laughing. “Well, he can be your new pet. You go back to bed, and think of a name for him.” He slams the door in my face.
Why, I’ll be…
I push the door open. “Be a man already, and come and help me.”
He smiles. “Well, apparently, you didn’t need a man when you went to bed…”
“Well, I need one now!” I scoff. “There’s no way I can fall back asleep with that creature in my room. What if it gets tangled up in my hair in the middle of the night?”
His grin is impish. “That’s an old wives tale, Corrie.”
“I don’t care. I’m not risking it.”
He walks toward me slowly, and comes to a stop about two inches from me — he’s so close, I can smell his familiar Jacob scent; fresh and woodsy. “And what do I get if I help you out?”
I shake my head. Is the man serious? Honestly, all he thinks about is sex. “You get nothing.”
He nears closer. “Ah, c’mon.”
I ponder it for a second. “Hmm… well, you can rub my back for five minutes after. That’s it.”
He laughs. “Well, that seems like a win-win for you.”
I shoot him my most seductive smile. “So?”
“All right… it’s a deal,” he concedes. “Now let’s go see about that bat.”
Honestly, Jacob seems as jumpy as I am as he peeks behind the curtain. He’s not quite as take-charge as I’d imagined him to be. “C’mon, Jacob. It’s just a little thing, and you’re a six foot two man.”
“It’s freaky,” he says as he pulls at the curtain. “It’s actually kind of cute.”
I smile. “Yeah, isn’t it?”
“Let’s give it a name,” he suggests.
I laugh. “Don’t get too attached. He’s not staying.”
“How about Woodstock?” he says. “Like the little birdie in Peanuts.”
“Snoopy’s sidekick?”
“Yeah.”
I roll my eyes. “Sure. Let’s call him Woodstock. Now get him out of here.”
Jacob squeals like a girl when the bat goes fluttering around the room again, seemingly disoriented. I dive under the covers — no way he’s getting at my hair. Abby and Baxter are both yapping, and Jacob is running around on the bed. I’m still hiding under the blankets. “What’s happening?!”
“It’s flying around like a crazy bat is what’s happening,” he scoffs.
“Well, get it out!”
“I’m trying.”
