Page 81 of And They Were Roommates

My mouth whips back open, but I swallow whatever heated words were coming next. I refuse to prove his point. “You don’t see a problem with this hiding spot you’ve chosen?”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re surrounded byglass.”

“I know, I know. I’m thinking.” Jasper’s gaze lands on a back cabinet that’s as tall as our hips. He goes to open it. The inside is empty except for scattered paperwork at the bottom.

We squish ourselves into the cramped space, Jasper clunking his head in the process. Our legs twist into pretzels, small enough that I can shut us in.

Everything goes dark.

Our synced breaths fill the quiet as we sit shoulder to shoulder. Jasper’s flowery fragrance and the cedar cabinet twinges my nose, and his hand presses up against mine. For once, he’s burning hot. He’s that scared?

Footsteps come from outside. Crunching gravel. Jangling keys on a belt.

My heartbeat pounds so hard that I’m positive Jasper can feel it in my wrist. The guard realized Blaze’s foot wasn’t broken. Or worse. She spotted us.

The booth door slides open with a squeak.

“Where are you?” the security guard mumbles.

I squeeze my eyes shut. We’re caught. Expelled.

Rummaging noises come from the desk, like a junk drawer being opened. The booth door slides open again, and more footsteps wander into the distance.

Furrowing my brow, I shift on my knees to peek out of the cabinet.

Jasper grabs my shoulder. “What are you doing?”

“Making sure she’s gone.” I crawl out and readjust my glasses to check through the glass. Farther down the path is the guard’s backlit figure. She offers a flashlight toward Blaze, who’s leaning against a tree trunk with a limp stance.

That’s all she wanted.

Sighing, I fall back into the cabinet beside Jasper, our shoulders knocking again. He’s pulled his legs into his chest, staring at his knees like he’s becoming more scared by the second. “You’re this nervous about getting caught?” I ask. “She was only grabbing a flashlight. No need to be so tense.”

“That’s not why I’m tense.” Jasper looks right at me, and his soft, unsure tone speeds up my heart rate more. “I know you told me to leave you alone. I’ve been trying to respect that. But I also made it clear that I still want to explain my side of things from camp.”

“Wait, what?”

“Can I? Please?”

“Now?”

“Perchance.”

Panic seeps through me. Even in the dim lighting, I feel too on display as we stare at each other. The last few weeks, no matter how much my logic screamed at me not to, I couldn’t stop thinking about Jasper. But to talk now of all times? “Maybe when we’re not breaking the number one guideline here. We need to toss the letters.” I start to climb back out of the cabinet.

“It was my fault,” Jasper calls. He stays put.

Glaring, I whip my head back around. Guess his question of whether hecouldstart explaining was hypothetical. “Yeah, Jasper, I think that’s been obvious since the start.”

“But I didn’t realize anyone at camp thought we were together. Let alone that you did.”

“You kissed me.”

“Actually, you kissed me. And that threw me off guard.”

My cheeks burn.DidI?

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