Drake ran his hand up and down my back in a comforting gesture and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Mom’s excited about her annual open house. I may not be around much. Depends on what plans Alexa has. Wouldn’t want to spend our first holiday apart.”

Sasha’s jaw dropped at his words. Our expressions of shock probably mirrored each other since Drake and I hadn’t talked about plans for the holiday breaks yet. Thanksgiving was just around the corner, and it was my favorite day of the year. We usually had dinner with Aubrey’s family, and I spent the night before at her house so I could help her mom start cooking early in the morning. Turkey with all the trimmings, the Macy’s parade on TV, and football filled my memories of Thanksgiving each year.

Jumping on the chance to drive Sasha crazy, I leaned up to kiss Drake and whispered to him, “Childhood friends? You are so going to pay for this later.” I turned my head and raised my voice so she could hear me. “I’d hate to be apart too, sweetie,” I cooed.

“But, Drake, your mom would be crushed if you didn’t come home for the holidays,” Sasha protested.

Drake moved behind me and wrapped both arms around me, resting his chin on the top of my head. “Didn’t say I wasn’t going to be there. Just that my plans depend on what Alexa wants to do.”

I chuckled in response and pulled his arms even tighter around my body. “That shouldn’t be such a surprise, Sasha. Isn’t that what good boyfriends do? And Drake really is the best.”

Her nose scrunched up in distaste as she heaved a big sigh. “Whatever,” she huffed as she stomped away.

Drake turned me so that we were now facing each other. “Damn, you’re so fucking hot when you’re jealous.”

I slapped his arm. “Jealous! What the hell, Drake? She practically stalks you around campus, and the first time I saw you, you were having an argument with her. I figured she was an ex-girlfriend and couldn’t figure out why you let her hang around so much.”

He rubbed his arm where I hit him, acting like it had actually hurt and pouting down at me. “You should’ve just asked me about her, babe.”

“Argh! You are so frustrating! What was I supposed to say? ‘Drake, you know that blond chick that likes to trail after you all the time and flirt? Did you just fuck her or was she your girlfriend before me?’ No, wait. That wouldn’t even have been specific enough ‘cause there are just so many damn blondes on campus that flirt with you all the time.”

Clearly not fearing the laser-beam glare I was now sending his way, Drake started to chuckle deeply. “Alexa, I’d only been on campus a few days before I noticed you. Couldn’t get you out of my head, and there wasn’t enough time for me to have a girlfriend and dump her for you.”

I stomped my foot in frustration, not sure exactly why I was getting so angry. The Sasha mystery had been solved, and I didn’t have to think about them in bed together anymore which had been driving me a little crazy with how much we bumped into her all the time. This had been building up inside all this time.

“You could have just shared with me that you knew her because your parents are friends, Drake.”

“Baby, you could have asked me if it was bothering you. I figured you knew you don’t have anything to worry about with Sasha. She’s just a pest that I put up with ‘cause our moms are friends. It didn’t even cross my mind that I had anything to explain about her. Thought it was pretty clear that I’m not into her with how I act around her.”

Arms crossed, I started to tap my foot. “I didn’t think you liked her now, Drake. But it wasn’t clear to me why you tolerated her so much. Now I get it, okay?”

He pulled my arms away from my body and wrapped them around his instead. “You gotta talk to me if something’s bothering you. I’m not a mind reader. Didn’t realize she got to you that much. I’ll make sure she backs off from now on.”

I snuggled into him, relieved that he understood why I was so upset. “You’re right. I should have asked you about her before. I just didn’t know what to say, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to hear the answer.”

“You’ve got nothing to fear with me, Alexa. If this is going to work, you have to talk to me when something bothers you this much. No keeping shit inside like this anymore, got it?”

I nodded my head. “I’ll try.”

“Hate to tell you this, but you’re late for class now.”

“Crap. How late?” I asked as I jumped away from him.