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She put her hands on his chest. “Jay, come on.”

He closed his eyes and groaned again. “Baby, this is literally all I’ve been thinking about since the last time I saw you.”

“You’ve only been thinking about having sex with me?”

“No, well, not exactly,” he admitted, brushing a hand through his hair. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you. Being with you. Kissing you.”

She’d wanted this for so long, to have all of Jay’s attention on her. But deep in her heart, she didn’t want it to be like this.

So she thought of a diversion.

“Shit, it’s late,” she said. “I’m going to miss kickoff.”

Jay frowned. “You’re seriously going to the game?

It was a Haverport tradition. The varsity and JV football teams always played each other on Thanksgiving, and the winning team enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast on the 50-yard line, courtesy of the coaches. Varsity was clearly going to win this year, and despite their fight, she had yet to miss one of Ty’s games.

“Yes,” she said. “Plus, all the Scoopers said they were going. You can see them.”

“But what has he done for you, baby? This seems like a one-sided friendship to me.”

The memory of a dark, humid night flashed before her eyes. An arm around her waist, lifting her into a car. A chilled water bottle thrust at her chest. A Jeep speeding down Main Street.

It wasn’t one-sided. She knew that.

She just smiled. “Come with me.”

He sighed. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Chapter Thirteen

Even if it was a picture-perfect fall day for a football game—crisp air, bright blue sky, golden leaves floating in the wind—Rory couldn’t shake her nerves as she approached the stands with Jay. He held her hand tightly on their climb up the metal bleachers, shuffling through the crowd to find their friends.

“IS THAT WHO I THINK IT IS?!” Blake screamed.

Jay let go of Rory and held up his hands. “Blakey boy!”

Blake sprinted down the steps toward her and Jay, hauling him into a fierce hug that threw off his balance. The two of them were chattering away as she followed them up to where Blake had been sitting with Zach, Melanie, and Calvin. Melanie caught her eye briefly, her eyebrows raised, before Jay forced her into a hug.

“Missed you, newbie,” Jay said to her. He glanced up at Calvin and nodded. “Army boy.”

Calvin nodded back, not flinching at the nickname.

Her eyes roamed the group, searching for the missing Scooper. “Where’s Jess?”

“Working,” Calvin answered. “She got called in at the last minute.”

“Why does everyone work on Thanksgiving,” she mumbled.

“Yeah, yearbook editor, why were you working?” Jay teased her, curling an arm around her waist.

She could feel the tension in the group as soon as he did it. Jay just smiled at her before glancing at the rest of them, his chest puffed up, looking mighty proud of himself.

“Did—did I miss something?” Blake asked, his eyes wide like saucers.

Jay kept smiling at them. “Seems my baby has been keeping secrets.”

“Baby?!” Blake sputtered. He turned to Melanie, who was tucking a wavy strand of hair behind her ear. “You knew, didn’t you?”