Page 25 of Who Let The Wolves Out?

He offers me half the orange.

I take it.

“So, what now?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” I say, curling my hands around the fruit. “But I don’t feel like running anymore.”

He bumps my shoulder with his.

“Good,” he says. “I like it when you stay.”

Jason doesn’t say anything else. He just peels the rest of the orange with deliberate, lazy care, like he’s letting me have the space to breathe. Like heknowsI’m still untangling pieces of myself.

It’s quiet. The air’s thick with pine and humidity and... something else. That charged silence that hums between two people who’ve been dancing around something for days.

I eat the orange slice slowly. The citrus is sharp, sweet. It zings through my chest like a spark.

Jason glances sideways at me, eyes darker than usual. His knee brushes mine—intentional, this time.

“You okay?” he asks again, voice low.

“I think so.”

He shifts closer. “You’re tough, you know that?”

I smile, a little. “I’m tired of being tough.”

He reaches up and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers linger just a second too long.

My breath hitches.

We’re close now—really close.

His hand drops slowly, but his eyes stay on mine. “If I kissed you right now,” he says, voice barely above a whisper, “would you stop me?”

I open my mouth. Close it. My heart is thudding so loud I can hear it in my teeth.

“I don’t know,” I whisper.

He leans in just slightly—just enough that I can feel the warmth of his breath. “Then maybe I shouldn’t.”

I blink. “Why?”

“Because I want it to be when you know.”

He stands, slow and sure.

“Night, Barbie,” he says, with a grin that doesn’t quite hide how serious his eyes are.

And then he’s gone.

Leaving me breathless.

And maybe... just a little ready to know.

CHAPTER 10

JASON

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