I was temporarily confused, but when his eyebrows raised mischievously I caught on.

As I led Alex into my room my stomach gave a familiar you-are-breaking-the-rules lurch. My parents didnʼt have Mrs. Matthewsʼ strict No Boys Allowed in the Bedroom EVER rule, itʼs kind of pointless with Jase and Charlie around, but I knew they would consider this a no-no.

“So, this is my room,” I said, kicking a pile of dirty laundry under the bed. “As you can see, Iʼm a clean freak.”

Alex stopped just inside the door to examine a picture that hung on the wall. Dad had snapped it at the lake several summers ago. I was sitting on a picnic table with Angel, a toddler at the time, in my lap. She was waving with one hand and pulling my hair with the other. Talley sat on my right, an ice cream cone dripping down her hand. Jase and Charlie were on my left, giving each other bunny ears. We had spent the day swimming in the muddy water under a hot sun, so we looked a bit grimy, but we were happy. You could almost feel the perfect day vibe coming off the picture.

“How old were you here?”

“It was right before my thirteenth birthday. I think it may have actually been Jaseʼs family celebration.”

He moved on, carefully examining every picture and poster that hung on the wall.

Thankfully, Zac Effron had recently been replaced by a print of Van Goghʼs Cafe Terrace.

When he paused in front of my bookshelf to read titles I felt a familiar warmth return to my face.

“This isnʼt what I was expecting,” he finally admitted.

I grabbed a stack of library books, all urban fantasy titles, and shuffled them off to my desk.

“It looks like youʼve got quite the supernatural fetish,” he said, thumbing through a stack that was out of my reach.

“Itʼs research,” I said. “Even fiction can be full of useful facts. Iʼve learned a lot from these books.” Mostly I had learned I was somewhat addicted to mildly trashy novels that had the ability to make me blush.

“Really?” Alex pulled out a Laurell K Hamilton paperback. “And what exactly did you learn from this one?”

My face was giving off enough heat to melt the polar ice caps. “Nothing.” At least it was nothing I could repeat out loud. I snatched the book out his hands before he could flip through the pages and find out exactly what that nothing was. Alex just chuckled and continued his survey of my stuff.

After making a full lap around the room, he sat on the edge of my unmade bed and plucked something from the tangle of covers. “Hiding a man in your bed? I must say, Iʼm quite shocked, Miss Donovan.”

“Alex, meet Guido. Guido, Alex.” I flopped down next to him. “Guido and I have been falling asleep in each otherʼs arms for years.”

Alex examined the battered old sock monkey. “I can see why. He certainly is handsome.” In truth, Guido has seen better days. Mom, who isnʼt much of a seamstress, has performed various surgeries to stitch up arms, mend holes, and even reattach eyes over the years. He may have been ugly, but I loved him all the same.

“Mom took Jase shopping one day when he was two,” I said. “She and Dad werenʼt married yet, so it had to have been either late summer or early fall. Anyways, they go into the toy store and Jase starts pointing at this sock monkey and saying ʻScoutʼ over and over. Mom tried to explain that his soon-to-be sister was not a monkey, but he threw a major tantrum. She ended up buying the thing just so people wouldnʼt call Child Protection Services.

“He carried it through the mall and all the way home. Anytime Mom tried to take it from him he would tell her, ʻNo, Scout.ʼ That night he brought it with him to the apartment Dad and I were living in. As soon as he came through the door he ran over, handed me Guido, and said, ʻFor you.ʼ” I reached over and patted Guidoʼs head. “Iʼve slept with him practically every night since.”

“That could be the sweetest story Iʼve ever heard. I think I may have a new cavity.” He had been shooting for indifferent and deadpan, but dimples and dry sarcasm donʼt go together all that well.

“Shut up. Like your brother hasnʼt ever done anything sappy to show you that he loves you.”

“Youʼve met my brother, right?”

He had a point. I couldnʼt exactly picture Liam being all warm and cuddly.

“But heʼs a good big brother, isnʼt he?” It was obvious that Alex adored and respected Liam.

Surely he had done something to deserve it. Then again, we were talking about Alex. He would probably find redeeming qualities in Hitler.

“The best.” He said it in a way that left no room for argument. “Heʼs just not big on the Hallmark moments.”

“It must be hard,” I mused out loud, “for the two of you to be on your own without parents.” All the emotion drained from Alexʼs face. “We do fine.” I was at a loss as to where to go from there. It seemed like every time I tried to broach the subject of Alexʼs parents, he shut down. It was impossible to keep the conversation going. I felt completely inept at being alone with him as he sat with his elbows on his knees, scrutinizing Guido, who was still clutched in his hands.

“Youʼre staring at me.”

I dropped my eyes and muttered an embarrassed “sorry”. Warm fingers glided under my chin, lifting my face to his.

“I wasnʼt complaining,” he said. “Guido, however, was getting a little jealous. I thought you should know.”

“Just a little jealous?” It was slowly occurring to me that I was alone with Alex in my bedroom. “I think we can do better than that.” With one hand I tossed Guido onto the bed while the other pulled Alexʼs mouth to mine. I had only a second to be shocked by my sudden forward behavior before his lips parted under mine, pushing away all doubt and fear.

It was the first time we didnʼt have to worry about someone opening the door or a broom handle jabbing me in the side. Our kisses were slower and sweeter. My hands lazily trailed over his face, neck, and arms, marveling at the smoothness of his skin and tautness of his muscles. When he pushed me back against the pillows I froze up in a moment of panic. “Just kissing,” he assured me. His breath was warm and moist on my ear. “Clothes stay on.

Promise.”

And he kept his promise, even after I decided it was a stupid one to make. When it got to the point I thought I might actually burst into flames he rolled over beside me, allowing me to finally catch my breath.

“You remember before? In the kitchen, when Angel asked me if I was in love with you?” His voice was lower, rougher than normal. The sound of it made parts of my body that I didnʼt realize were voice-activated come to life.