Page 33 of Breakaway

“I’ll check with Delise.”

He nodded. “I’m number twenty-five. Don’t forget that.”

Remi’s cell phone chimed in her purse. “Damn.” She grabbed her bag and dug around for it. It was Jasmine, sobbing.

“He’s such a jerk!” she cried.

Remi eyed Jase. “Uh…who is, Jasmine?”

“Ethan!”

Remi sighed and leaned back in the booth. “Why? What happened now?”

Sniffling and choking noises came across the line. “I think he’s cheating on me.”

“Oh.” Remi rolled her eyes. There they went again. She’d been waiting for this.

“So I’m moving back home.”

“What!?” Remi sat up straight.

Jase frowned at her from across the table and mouthed, “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head and put her hand to her forehead. “When?”

“Right now. I’m on my way there. Where are you?”

“I’m…out. Having dinner.”

“On a school night?”

Remi rolled her lips in and released them with a pop. “Yep. I’ll be home in a while.”

“Get home quick. Please, Rem.” She sniffled again.

Remi ended the call and dropped her phone into her purse, then met Jase’s eyes. “My little sister. She just had a fight with her boyfriend and is moving back home as we speak.”

“Oh.”

She nodded, and finished her beer. “I’d better go. She sounded pretty upset.”

“Damn.”

She huffed out a laugh. “Yeah. Damn.”

He’d already paid the bill with a platinum credit card and stood to help her with her jacket. “We could go back to my place.”

She looked over her shoulder and up at him. Her insides all warm and melty, she really, really wanted to.

“I’m sorry,” she said, voice catching. “My sister was crying, and seemed really upset.”

He nodded. “I understand. Another time.”

Sure. She’d heard that before. He was looking for fun and she was going home to be the responsible, dependable big sister yet again. She’d never hear from him again. She knew how that worked.

He parked in front of her house in his Jeep Liberty. “Do you want me to come in with you?”

“That’s okay.” She smiled at him. He reached across and took hold of her chin with his fingers, then leaned over and brushed a kiss across her mouth. A soft, melt-your-insides kind of kiss. She blinked at him.

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