pull back, thinking he knows exactly where he stands with the girl he’s dating. He wants to see if you’re clingy, or if you’re going to chase him. When you pull back, too, that’s something he doesn’t expect. It changes the game.”
“Why are you telling me this?” she asked. “Doesn’t that violate some kind of secret guy code?”
“Because you’re my friend, and because I care about you. I want you to be happy.”
The ferris wheel rose up into the air and descended back down to the ground a couple more times before coming to a stop. When they got off the ride, she could see that the park was beginning to shut down.
“What time is it?” she asked.
Jesse checked his watch. “Eleven. They’re going to kick us out soon. Want to head back to the car?”
She nodded. “Yeah, you should probably take me home. I need to get some real sleep tonight since I do still have to work in the morning.”
They began walking back along the pier, and then down the street to where they’d parked Jesse’s car.
Jesse tried to entertain her with a singalong to old Bon Jovi songs during the drive home. Despite how angry she had been with him just weeks ago, Emily was remembering why she’d always had so much fun hanging out with him every time he’d been in town over the last four years.
When he pulled up to her building about half an hour later, he parked the car at the curb and turned off the ignition. She opened her mouth to thank him for a fun night, but saw he was reaching for the door handle.
He exited the car and walked around it to the passenger side. Opening her car door for her, he made a sweeping gesture with his arm. “After you.”
She got out of the car, and he placed his hand on the small of her back. Slowly, they shuffled across the sidewalk to the gate outside of her building. She turned to face him.
“Thanks for tonight.” She looked up at him. “I needed that night out.”
“Anytime,” he answered, smiling, then wrapped his arms around her. “Now give me a hug and promise me you’ll get some sleep.”
“I promise to try,” she said, her voice muffled against his chest.
“Good girl.” He loosened his arms from around her and bent his head down to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Have sweet dreams, okay?” He ruffled her hair, and then turned to walk back to the car.
She let herself inside the gate, not looking back at Jesse while she walked up her driveway and into her building.
Chapter Fourteen
Bzzzzz. Bzzzzz.
Emily pried one of her eyes open and groped around in her darkened bedroom until her fingers wrapped around her phone.
“Hello?” she croaked.
“Did I wake you up?” Jesse sounded wide-awake.
“No, I always sound this sleepy and sexy.” She looked over at her clock and saw it was just after two a.m.
“You do always sound sexy.”
“Fab. Do you mind if I call you back in about five hours when I’ve finished sleeping?”
“I think you’ll want to know about this first.” He sounded serious. Jesse rarely ever sounded serious.
“Is something wrong? Are you okay?”
“That depends on your definition of wrong.”
She rubbed her eyes. “I’d like to go back to sleep some time tonight, if that’s okay with you. Spit it out, please.”
“We’re the top news story right now on Wally Hood Goes Hollywood. And it looks like we’re also trending on Twitter.”
“Um, Jesse? I’ve been a top news story on Wally Hood’s site for a while, and from what friends have told me, I haven’t been doing too badly on Twitter before now, either.”
“Yes, you have been a top news story. You and Cory.”
“I’m not following,” she said.
“I said ‘we.’ As in there are pictures of you and me from earlier tonight plastered all over the Internet.”
“What?” She was definitely awake now. “What pictures? What did we do?”
“Kissed goodnight.”
Unless Emily’s memory was somehow failing her, photos and reports of her and Jesse kissing goodnight seemed pretty impossible.
“That wasn’t a goodnight kiss,” she said, confused. “You gave me an innocent peck on the cheek that lasted for two seconds. “
She heard Jesse exhale loudly on the other end of the line, as though he was preparing to deliver news he knew she wouldn’t want to hear. Her fingers clenched together.
“Still shots don’t really show how long or short a kiss is, and the angle doesn’t make it look good. From the story, you’d think we