Hostile for the Holidays

11. Stella

ELEVEN

STELLA

Jasper Jensen is a lousy kisser.

Sadie takes the permanent marker out of my hand. “Feel better?”

I open the stall door and move toward the sink to wash my hands. My duty is now done in all three stalls of the women’s restroom at The Merry Moose. It’s a public service announcement. All women should be warned.

Jasper Jensen is a lousy kisser, so no one should kiss him…but me.

“No.”

Jasper had warned me. He’d asked if I wanted him to kiss me and I’d naively agreed. I’d been certain it would be a meaningless kiss. Another one to toss on the pile of wasted kisses. Another frog that wouldn’t turn into a prince.

But just like his science fair project our sophomore year when he built a wind-powered cell phone charger out of a clock radio, he’d delivered. I’m certain he’s at home basking in the glory of having implanted an unforgettable kiss that will torture me until the end of my days.

And then he’d told me how amazing he thinks I am. Can you believe this guy? What the fuck is his problem?

“All right, Stellie. Let’s get out of here.” Sadie links her arm in mine then guides me out to her car. After Jasper’s and my explosive kiss, Tom took it upon himself to be Daniel’s wingman tonight. I really hope Daniel finds someone new to project his feelings onto. It would take the pressure off Jasper’s and my fake relationship. Then Jasper and I wouldn’t need to be spending so much time together. And he wouldn’t be required to kiss me under the mistletoe.

Sadie guides me to her car and tucks me into the passenger seat.

I really should put my phone away, but I’m unhinged and horny and just tipsy enough to send Jasper a text.

That kiss wasn’t remarkable but I’m willing to give you a second chance.

He replies right away.

Our rule has always been no do-overs.

I made up that rule, so I’m allowed to change it.

I don’t know, Stella. Changing the rules feels dangerous.

Now I’m annoyed. He used my full name in a text situation. That’s an extra word he had to type out. Not to mention it stounds like he’s scolding me. Also, I hate that I offered to change things between us and he pretty much threw it in my face.

It’s a short drive home from The Merry Moose, but I stew over Jasper’s text the whole way. Once we’re home, I slam the car door and Sadie gives me a disapproving look.

“Chill. It’s a car.”

“Not your car.”

“Sorry. I’m just annoyed with Jasper. It’s like he shouldn’t kiss me like that and then not offer to do it again. It’s rude and it’s just like him to be playing with me.”

“Yeah, your hot, wealthy boyfriend who offered to take you home is a real jerk.”

“Hey, I wanted to stay and hang out with you. Besides, there’s no way I could have left with him after that kiss. It would have meant he won.”

“Won what, Stellie?” she asks.

I open my mouth to answer her question, but I pause when I come up empty. It’s not a debate or a cross-country race, there’s no class honors or student council position to vie for, which makes this situation between Jasper and me feel unsettling. Thirteen-year-old me would have had all the answers, but I don’t know how to navigate the adult version of us.

“I’m not sure,” I half mumble, “but it’s always something with Jasper.”

Sadie’s face breaks into a Cheshire cat smile.

“What?” I ask.

She clears her throat and nods behind me.

I turn to find Jasper standing at the end of our driveway still dressed in the black jeans and holiday sweater I picked out for him earlier. That stupid fucking sweater. I’m going to make him wear one every day to fend off all the other women he could possibly want to kiss. I’m greedy like that. Don’t tell Santa.

Behind me, I hear the front door click shut and glance back to see Sadie has gone inside.

“You didn’t have to lie. You could say the kiss was phenomenal and you wanted to do it again.”

“I didn’t lie,” I insist, but we both know my pants are on fire.

“You said it wasn’t remarkable.” His lips twitch, a confident smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

“I mean what is remarkable anyway?” I tease. “Extraordinary. Amazing. Notable.” I throw up my hands. “They’re just words.”

He turns to leave, hands tucked into his pockets, obnoxiously nonchalant.

He’s going to make me say it.

“Jasper, wait.” I groan like a petulant child because that’s what he brings out in me. “I need to know.”

He stops walking and turns around. A moment later, he’s right in front of me, so close I can feel the warmth from his body and it makes me shiver. Or maybe that’s because flecks of snow have started to fall from the sky and have landed on my face.

“What do you need to know, Stella?” Jasper asks.

For once, I swallow my pride and tell him the truth.

“I need to know if it was a fluke. A good kiss in the moment that can’t be replicated. It’s data collection. For science.”

Okay, maybe it’s only part of the truth.

Fine. One-quarter.

But outright telling Jasper that I want his lips on mine for no good reason other than it felt fucking fantastic is not going to happen.

“What are you going to do with the information?” he asks. “This data collection.”

“I don’t know yet. I’ll need at least five to ten business days to process.”

“We don’t have that kind of time, Stella.” His brows pull down and his lips pull into a firm line. He looks so serious, like this is a project he could get on board with if not for the time constraints.

“Fine,” I relent. “I don’t know what I’ll do with the information, but I need a bigger sample size.” I’m getting whiny again, which I hate, because it makes me seem desperate. I am desperate, but again, that’s something Jasper can never know.

He steps closer, one hand slipping through the front of my open coat and wrapping around my back. It feels so good to have his hands on me again.

A moment later, with Jasper guiding me, we’re moving backwards until my back is pressed flush against the brick of the garage wall.

“You want another kiss?” He asks.

I swallow and nod.

Jasper’s face inches closer, but I keep my eyes on him. I need to know what kind of trickery he’s got up his sleeve.

“Close your eyes, Stell.”

I don’t plan to, but the impact of his lips on mine a moment later has my eyelids falling closed.

This kiss is different than the one in the bar, and my brain logs every distinction.

Soft, yet all consuming. Like fire melting new fallen snow. The heat of a roaring fireplace with the gentleness of the fleece blanket you’d curl up next to it in. And all the wicked delight of sneaking the holiday chocolates your mom asked you not to touch.

I wrap my arms around Jasper’s neck, pulling him deeper into me. Desperate to dive beneath the surface of this sweet kiss.

Like the strike of a match, the softness is replaced with urgency.

Our hands claw at each other’s clothes, our pelvises grind against one another. Jasper’s cock is rigid and greedily seeking friction against my stomach.

Now that’s a new development.

Jasper pulls back, his hands still firmly holding my hips but where they had been inviting me toward him a moment ago, now they are pressing me backward against the brick.

We’re both breathing so heavily, among the soft flakes of snow falling, puffs of air from our exhales swirl between us.

“Holy shit. What does this mean?” I ask.

Data collection is complete and all signs point to me being absolutely, one-hundred percent no denying it, attracted to Jasper.

“You need to sleep on it. But you want to know my theory?” he asks.

“Hmm, I guess.”

“I think wrapped up in all that hostility and loathing you have for me, there’s a part of you that likes me.”

“Whoa.” I hold up a hand. “Don’t flatter yourself, Jensen. I think I’m just horny.”

My body shivers, and he rubs his hands up my arms in a warming gesture. But I’m not cold. I’m so fucking warm, I think I might burst into flames.

If I thought the kiss at the bar was going to keep me up all night, now there’s been rubbing and friction. I’ll never sleep again.

“I’ve got a thing to go to tomorrow. Come with me.”

“What kind of thing?” I ask, distracted, my mind wandering to the fact that we’re both staying at our parents’ houses with various other guests and I’m wondering how I’ll manage to make out with my fake boyfriend when there’s zero privacy.

“You’ll like it. I promise.”

I promise.

I don’t think Jasper has ever said those words to me before.

Tonight is a night of firsts.

Kisses and promises.

It’s scary to be seeing this side of Jasper, but if I admit that then I wouldn’t be any good at my ability to adapt to this new game we’re playing.

“Okay.”

He presses one last soft kiss to my lips before he leaves, but I don’t go inside. I watch him walk across the street and onto his porch.

“Go inside, Stella,” he calls.

I cup my hands around my mouth to project my voice. “You first.”

“We’ll do it at the same time.”

“Fine.”

We open our doors and step inside, slowly closing them to make sure the other person is following through with it. When the door is latched, I take a moment to lean against it and collect my thoughts.

Tonight proved one thing, it’s a new competition for Jasper and me. With new tactics and rules. But the objective is the same, to stay vigilant, and never drop my guard.