many sundresses. Also, Jane warned me about a dozen times about you. With visual aids and articles she’d printed off from various Internet forums. Did you know you have a subreddit composed entirely of people who feel victimized by you?”
My face went slack, and my arms dropped to my sides. “What?”
Jamie snickered. “I knew you were dangerous. I didn’t care. You were funny and smart, and I liked the fact that you could kick my ass if you wanted to. I’d had sweet little church girls chasing after me my whole life. I wanted someone different. I wanted you.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I’m not an idiot. Well, OK, I’m an idiot who tried to sneak up on you in an enclosed laundry room, but I’m generally better at reading girls. I thought maybe if I backed off a little and let you see that we don’t have to be together every minute of the day, it would help you relax a little bit here. And then you didn’t contact me, and I got worried, but I didn’t want you to know I was worried. And then I followed you, and you were fine, and that made me worry more. Which I don’t think you should judge me for, because that’s basically how you started our relationship.”
“We are ridiculous people,” I told him.
He nodded. “Yes, we are.”
“Can we start this conversation all over again?” I asked.
“Yes, please.”
I cleared my throat and squared my shoulders, before kissing his cheek. “Jamie! What a pleasant surprise, finding you here in my basement under totally normal circumstances.”
“Hi, babe,” Jamie said, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. He stepped back and caught my lips in a longer, sweeter kiss. “Where have you been lately?”
“Here and there. I am very busy and important,” I told him archly.
He smirked. “Of course you are.”
“No, really,” I protested lightly. “After my laundry, I was actually on my way up to see some friends and ask about their plans tonight.”
“On your way up to see some friends?” Jamie asked, peering at the ceiling. “As in, you have friends upstairs on the human floors?”
“Yes, I have several friends on one of the human floors. We’ve been spending a lot of time together lately. They made me watch The Notebook. That will never happen again.”
Jamie beamed at me. “Awesome! I mean, I don’t necessarily like the fact that you have less time to spend with me, but—”
My phone beeped as another message pinged its way into my in-box. Seriously, Ophelia, are you OK? Do you want to talk? —Jane.
I rolled my eyes at Jane’s signature mix of meddling and unhelpful stubbornness.
“Is that your ‘dealing with Jane’ face?” Jamie asked. “Why is Jane texting you?”
“It’s just some silly e-mail. Part of my ‘rehabilitation.’ ”
“Well, I’m sure she has her reasons,” he said. I grumbled, but he kissed my forehead, trying to distract me. “I’ve missed you. We’ve been so busy lately, I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”
“Has it been that long?” I pursed my lips. “I’ve just been so occupied with classes, planning the mixer, and my many, many new friends in the residence hall that I haven’t noticed that you basically disappeared for a week.”
“OK, I deserved that,” he conceded. “But I do hope that these are real friends and not people that you’re recruiting to be your evil minions.”
The corner of my mouth lifted. “They’re very honest and sweet and noncriminal. Not an evil bone in any of them. And yet I still want to spend time around them. It’s so unlike me.”
I omitted any mention of Kenton and his flirtations, because Jamie didn’t need to know about that. For once in my life, I had behaved as I should, and I was going to reap the benefits of discretion.
“Aw, baby, I’m so proud of you,” he purred, locking his lips over mine. This kiss. It was why I risked all that I had to be with him. This feeling of peace and completion and acceptance. Jamie kissed me because he enjoyed kissing me. Not because he was angling for something more or because he was trying to manipulate me but because kissing was enough for him. He cupped my face in his hands.
I plucked at the buttons on his shirt, because that always let him know that kissing wasn’t enough for me at the moment. He grinned against my lips, a pleased noise rumbling through his chest.
Never breaking the seal between our mouths, he slid his hands along