Chapter 37: In Every Sense

Holding hands, we find ourselves sitting beside each other on the edge of the cliff.

As always, whenever we come to Neptune, silence engulfs the surroundings. It's peaceful and brings both of us clarity. The vibe is serene; I've yet to find another place like this.

"I still love this place," I tell Jay, staring down at the dark water below us. "I love it even more after you proposed to me here."

He smiles at the memory. "That was easily the best decision I ever made."

Saying yes was easily the best decision that I ever made, other than forcing him to be my friend.

"It's just a pity you took so long," I tease, nudging him with my shoulder.

"I always knew it would be you for me," he reveals, certain of himself. "No one else ever held my interest. I think I was afraid back then. I was scared by how much I felt for you."

"When did you know?" I ask him. I've never asked before so I might as well now.

"When did I know that I loved you?" he questions, seeking clarity.

"Yeah," I confirm. "I'm curious."

"You first," he orders.

"I don't know if I've ever told you this before, but I knew when you were in that horrible crash because of Xave. I thought you were dead and my heart kind of stopped. It's still the most terrifying experience I've ever had..." I trail off, "other than thinking you were dead when the plane went down...oh, and the terrorist attack."

He furrows his eyebrows, something only occurring to him now. "I've nearly died a few times now, huh?"

"You were also shot," I remind him plainly.

And nearly beaten to death by a gang.

"Jeez," he whistles under his breath. "I need to be more careful. No wonder you're so paranoid over me."

"I have every right to be. You don't get to leave me early."

He looks down at me and chuckles lightly. "I can't predict the future but if you were as reckless as me, I'd be paranoid all the time too. For your sake, I'll try and be safer," he says sincerely.

"That's all I ask. Thank you."

"For me, it's more complex," he begins answering my question. "I think, since meeting you as a kid and then seeing you around in high school, I was always right on the verge of being in love with you without even realizing. I can't pinpoint an exact moment. There were many times where I just felt that I loved you without labeling it in my head."

"Such as?" I press.

He stifles a grin at my eagerness but obliges me anyway. "Like when I took you to racing grounds and you were worried about me, or when you walked into pole in front of me, or when I brought you here and we had a real conversation for the first time, or our first date, or when you were ready to walk away from me so I told you that you were the best thing to ever happen to me, or all the times that you defended me against Mase without even knowing me. There are so many more scenarios where I just knew but didn't want to admit it to myself."

"I want an exact moment."

He sighs heavily. "I guess it only really hit me when I lost you. Watching you get on the plane and disappear from my life, I think that's when I really knew that I was in love with you." 

"Why didn't you come after me straight away?" I hesitantly ask him.

We've been over this a thousand times, but still...

"Because if I had, I'd have given up everything for you, and I wasn't ready for that. I wasn't ready for my life to change so drastically," he shrugs it off like it's no big deal. "It was an immature love back then but still the start of a very real love."

I finally have an answer to one of my many questions that I'll always have for him. He's my enigma. It's frustrating but I love my enigma.

"When did your mature love start then?" I fire another question his way.

He laughs. "That's one way of putting it."

I frown, not playing. "Answer."

When he doesn't, I start to pull my hand away from him.

"Okay, okay," he gives in, tugging my hand back to his and interlocking our fingers again. "Probably when I got back and you told me that you nearly died. From there on out, I knew that I didn't want to spend another day of my life without you in it. And that brings us to where we are now."

I hum in content, giddy. "I love your love for me."

He grins. "So do I."

I hold his gaze before cracking a joke. "Even after forcing you into this painful conversation, you still love me?"

"In every sense of the word."

"Would you still love me if I pushed you off of this cliff?" I prod in a mischievous manner.

"You'd have to be fast enough," he replies, a smirk lining his lips.

I pretend to shove him, but he doesn't even flinch. I try a few more fake shoves, but he remains composed, anticipating my moves.

"So, now that you're done doing whatever that was..." he drawls, making conversation. "Indonesia, huh?"

"Yeah," I reply enthusiastically. "It's going to be fun. Will you be able to come?"

He nods. "I think for a few days but definitely not the entire time. Depending on my schedule, I'll either have to leave early or arrive late."

Fed up with waiting, I react:

"Sneak attack!" I shout, attempting to really force him off the cliff this time 'round.

In a blink of an eye, I find myself pinned underneath him.

"You're gonna have to be way faster than that," he taunts, hovering above me. "You're going up against the reflexes of a racing driver, and yelling 'sneak attack' at the top of your voice doesn't help your case."

I pout and turn my head away, sulking. "Racing drivers are the worst."

He grins, and I feel his lips on my jaw for a split second, soft like butterfly wings, before he hops up to his feet. He offers me his hand. "I'll tell you what, let's make this interesting and jump on the count of three."

I take his hand and allow him to help me up. "Challenge accepted."

There's no point in us being here if we're not going to jump. Jumping off cliffs is a necessity to us. It's kind of our thing.

We both walk a short distance away from the edge and start taking off our shoes.

"I can't believe I dressed up for this," I complain although I don't really care – it was mostly for me anyway. I prefer these weird, adventurous dates to classy, fancy ones.

"Sorry," he apologizes in earnest, scratching the back of his neck. "Next time, it's Monte Carlo, I swear."

"I'm only joking. I don't care where you take me as long as I get to spend some quality time with you," I say truthfully, meaning it.

He smiles my way. "That's cute."

He starts removing his shirt as well, showcasing his rock-hard and droolworthy abs.

"And that's hot," I retort in response, fanning myself.

I'll never get sick of seeing him shirtless. He's not big and overly muscular; he's always been more on the lean side. He's defined, detailed. He's ripped and cut, and it's taken a lot of work for him to achieve those distinct lines of separation. 

"The water's probably going to be cold," he replies, rethinking his life choices.

"On three," I say before he can change his mind. "Here we go! Three! Two—"

"I thought you said on three?" he questions, confused.

"One!" I yell over him.

We both take off sprinting but I purposely fall back. To my surprise, he also stops just before the edge and turns around to look at me. There's a devilish glimmer in his eyes as another smirk takes over his face. "You didn't think that would actually work on me, right?"

I hate how well he knows me...

I offer him a sheepish smile. "In hindsight, no."

I start taking a few steps back when he starts approaching me in the way a lion would a lamb.

"The deal was that we'd both jump," he emphasizes the word.

Realizing where his head is at, I spin around to run but his arms lock around me before I can get away. I squirm, trying to escape, as he picks me up bridal style.

"Stop!" I laugh desperately when he starts walking us back to the edge of the cliff. "I don't want to ruin my look!" I whine, trying any excuse on him.

He scoffs. "Please. Nothing can ruin your look."

"My phone!" I lie.

He shifts me in his arms so that he can trace my body with one hand, basically feeling me up. "You're such a liar," he replies, readjusting his hold on me.

"My laptop!" I lie again.

"Sorry, 'Queels, but this is happening," he tells me before taking a single step off the cliff in the most nonchalant way.

I close my eyes and hold onto him tightly, accepting my fate.

My heart plummets as we drop through the air together. The adrenaline kicks in when we hit the icy water. My body immediately goes into shock; I can't feel a thing.

"It's freezing!" I splutter, letting go of him to try and swim to the banks of the lake. However, I find that my arms and legs are rebelling against me -- they have the worst timing. "Hypothermia! Sinking! Drown! Drowning! Panic!" I panic.

For some reason, he's laughing at me.

He swims over to me and wraps my arms around his neck, holding me firmly against him. "As always, Klutz, I got you."

"How are you not cold?" I shiver against him. I wrap my legs around his waist, clinging to him like a koala bear. "Take away the cold!" I demand, seeking out his warmth.

In answer, he cranes his head and starts kissing me. With swift gradation of intensity and his insistent mouth, I find myself kissing him back. Completely forgetting where we are, I go along with whatever he wants for a moment or two.

Before he can part my lips, I snap out of it and shove his bare chest.

He totally distracted me, and I totally let him. I also totally enjoyed it...

"Stop seducing me! I'm still cold!" I complain for the sake of complaining.

With his blue eyes shimmering in the dark, he grins down at me in amusement. "I couldn't help myself. You have really soft lips, and I'm not ashamed to say that I'm kind of addicted."

Swept away by his words, I press myself closer to his body, grab his face, and place my lips back on his. Without resisting, he meets me in a deep kiss.

I feel a tremor course through me. Goosebumps prickle my skin.

I'm still cold!

I push him away again. "Stop!"

He bites his bottom lip and frowns. "What now?"

My eyes betray me, and I glance at his lips, already tempted. "Why are you so irresistible?" I ask aloud, but more to myself than to him. I come out of it and shake my head. "No. No. Nope, Aqueela. Now's not the time."

"What's happening?" he asks, a blank expression on his face.

Despite my own protests, I nudge my nose against his and lean up to peck his lips, quickly transforming it into a real kiss. "Mm. You taste good, fresh and spearminty, but no," I state, reluctantly pulling away.

He blinks down at me with his long eyelashes, confuzzled. "I don't understand you."

"Enough of this!" I finally summon my inner strength and successfully tear myself away from him.

I'm not getting hypothermia just because Jay's acting like a horndog. He's sidetracking me from our impending sickness tomorrow.

Upon releasing him, I make a break for land. Once I reach the muddy shore and get out of the water, I really feel the cold. My teeth start to chatter. "I'm not going to make it, Jay! I'm on the brink of death!"

He wades out the water after me. "You'll be fine," he insists, grabbing my hand along the way and tugging me back towards the top of the cliff.

"I'm sorry, Jay, but we're not having sex in the middle of the freezing cold lake," I apologize. "At least, not today."

I hear him chuckle. "Okay," he replies. "I don't feel like we were going down that route, but I appreciate the clarity. Also, I look forward to whenever that day is...even if it sounds really unhygienic to me."

Sometimes, I forget that he's a clean freak.

"Your hand feels sticky," I remark randomly. I glance down to see blood dripping onto the ground. "Uh...Jay..." I trail off in concern.

I thought it was just mud...

He follows my gaze and let's go of my hand. He lifts up his own to have a proper look. "I thought I felt something slice into me when we jumped," he says. "I think a piece of wire or something cut me."

"It looks pretty deep," I exclaim as we arrive back at the top. I grab his shirt for him and our shoes before following him over to the car.

This is his second injury tonight, and on the same hand too.

"It's fine. I'll stitch it up," he says, taking out the first-aid kit before sitting on the bonnet of his car.

I watch on in horror as he disinfects his hand, carefully stitching the wound up himself without even wincing. He was studying to be a doctor once upon a time but still...

"I could have done it for you, you know?" I tell him.

"It's not a big deal," he shrugs it off, unfazed, before opening the car door for me. "Get in. I'll put on the heat for us."

"Yay!" I clap and jump in, quickly shutting the door after me. He does the same. I rub my hands together and put them in front of the vent, hoping to warm up. The car is better than outside but I'm still shivering.

"You okay?" he checks in on me, placing his bloodied denim jacket over my shoulders – at least, it's dry.

"You should kiss me again," I suggest playfully. "That did more than the heater."

He frowns. "But I thought you said—"

"Kiss me!" I talk over him.

He holds up his hands in surrender, giving in. "Fine, happily, but like I said, I don't understand you."

Acting before he can, I crawl over to his side and then climb onto his lap, surprising him – it's not often that I initiate affection.

"I'm not complaining, at all, but I am confused," he says into the silence.

I laugh and kiss his nose. I hug his shirtless chest, cuddling into him to feel his calming heartbeat. I hide my face in his neck, feeling completely at ease. "You're way warmer than the stupid heater."

He wraps one arm around my waist, a smile on his face and a light grip on my body. "You're snuggling me? Since when?" When I don't answer him, he sighs in content. "You should do it more often. I kind of like it."

I close my eyes and we sit a few minutes longer in the quiet of the night before my urges, my cravings, kick in.

I lift my head, pulverizing the tranquil moment between us. "Considering we're freezing and everything, I know this is a strange ask, but could we get ice-cream?" I ask – it's never too cold for ice-cream.

He smiles softly against my forehead. "When it's coming out of your mouth, nothing is ever a strange ask."

"Really?" I question, still straddling him.

He nods firmly. "I don't think you can surprise me anymore."

Is he saying that I've become boring? And, dare I say it, predictable?

I raise my eyebrows, unhappy. "Challenge accepted."

Placing his hands on my hips, he arches an eyebrow. "Wha—"

I place both of my hands on his chest and begin kissing him passionately again, making a point. It doesn't take much to get him to shut up and respond.

I allow my hands to roam his chest, from his pecs to his abs, and then lower. His muscles ripple with every action and, whether he realizes it or not, his grip on me tightens ever so slightly. Feeling bold and venturesome, I play with the button of his black jeans, teasing him.

Captivated by my movements, I feel his breath hitch for a second. He groans softly into my mouth before putting his hands over my own, stopping me from going any further. He stops kissing me, seeming pained about it. "What are you doing?" he asks breathlessly.

"You don't want to—"

"I do. You know I do. Obviously, I do," he replies, being completely transparent with me while still trying to catch his breath. "But in my car? That feels trashy. And also, impulsive."

"Does it really matter?" I ask before shrugging his denim jacket off of me. "It's getting hot in here, isn't it? I'm not cold anymore."

"Yeah, same, but—"

I kiss the corner of his mouth, feeling the electric charge pass between us. "Don't be a buzzkill," I lecture him.

"I'm not trying to be, I'm just concerned. This isn't like you. I get it, you can still surprise me. I take back what I said. You don't need to—"

I shush him with another kiss, easily coaxing a response from him, while strategically moving my hands to his zipper.

Distracted, his hands fall from mine.

"Aqueela," he breathes out into the kiss, conflicted, "I never thought..." struggling to keep composed, he rips himself away from me before I can persuade him further, "that I'd have to stop you from going too far."

I drop my hands, done with my little game, and lean back on the steering wheel in victory. I've successfully unraveled him. However, unlucky on my part, I press back onto the car horn. When the clamorous sound goes off, echoing around us, I jump in fright.

The tension between us dies when he starts laughing. I smack his chest but join in on the laughter too, seeing the funny side of it.

"What was that, 'Queels?" he asks, still chuckling.

"I don't want to be predictable," I confess, expressing my vulnerability.

"Well, if it helps, you definitely caught me off guard there," he admits. "I don't think you're predictable, I just think that I have a good handle on who you are as a person."

"You said that you'd never fight me if I made a move on you...yet here we are. You just flat-out rejected me," I point out the facts, running my fingers up and down his chest.

He quickly shakes his head, gripping my waist firmly. "I would never reject you in any way, but I know you, and I know you wouldn't be happy with our first time being in a car. Plus, I'm not prepared – I don't even have anything on me; I wasn't expecting you to be a seductress. Realistically, with me travelling, now's not a great time for me to get you pregnant. That would be selfish and stupid of me. One of us has to be responsible here and, I say this with all the love in the world, but we both know that responsibility is not exactly you're forte."

Yeah...it's more his strong suit.

"Nah, you completely turned me down," I joke, guilt-tripping him. In reality, he's one-hundred percent right about all of it and I take zero offense. I wanted to see how far I can push him, and to get my point across: I'm not boring.

"I love you, I love everything about you, I did not turn you down," he insists, exasperated with me. "I've never wanted to be with anyone until we started dating for the first time, and that's a long time ago. So, believe me when I say that I do want you in that way – I really do – but this is not what I pictured," he explains, feeling bad.

"Pictured?" I jump straight aboard that train. "You've imagined us together before?"

He sighs at having dug himself a new hole to find his way out of. "We've been together for a while so yeah...definitely..." he easily admits to it, still somehow managing to keep his cool.

I love his honesty.

I have to smile, flirtatiously running my fingers along his bicep now. "Hopefully the real thing won't disappoint."

"Not possible. You could never disappoint me," he strongly rebukes my words. "Do I have to tell you that I love you again? I feel like I'm doing that way too much. I'm annoying myself."

"Not enough if you ask me," I tease him once more – this is so much fun.

"Can you stop?" he grabs my hands in his. "You're so distracting. I'm trying to focus on what you're saying and..." he scans my face, putting it together, "and you don't really care, do you?"

I shake my head. "Not after you just turned me down for sex," I joke, stifling my grin when I see his expression of frustration deepening.

"I would never turn you down for sex. If I need to prove myself to you, we can continue in our room when we get back, okay?" he retaliates, done with the back and forth arguing.

I shake my head again. "Not good enough."

He doesn't stop me when I trace his abs next.

"You know what, fine, let's go, Aqueela!" he expresses his frustration. "Right here, right now. So what if it's not romantic? So what if it's rushed? So what if you're not on birth control? So what if I get you pregnant? Who cares?"

His eyes sparkle with challenge and I take him up on it. "So what? Who cares?" I repeat after him, getting comfortable. I don't want to be the first to back down.

He kisses me fiercely before I can say or think anything more. He's no longer treating me like glass. I find myself battling to keep up. He's clearly been holding back.

When he moves his hands from my waist to my bare thighs and squeezes lightly, I freeze. When he starts lifting my dress, pushing it up, I have to give in.

"Okay, okay, okay," I cave, breaking the kiss. "You're right. I don't want this like this."

At hearing my words, he instantly releases me and fixes my dress, pulling it back down. "Why do I always have to push boundaries just to get through to you?"

I shrug, still trying to catch my breath. "I'm a complex human."

"No kidding," he replies, hiding his smile. "I look forward to a lifetime of pushing boundaries with you just to get my point across."

I lean my forehead against his. "Same."

"Are you still cold?" he eventually asks.

I laugh. "No, I completely forgot about that."

He scoffs. "Figures."

"At least you got your 'making out like teenagers' bit in," I offer, looking on the positive side of things.

He weighs it up in his head and nods. "True. But please don't put me through this again unless you're serious about following through; it's cruel."

Over it, I focus on the next big thing. "Ice-cream?"

"Fine," he agrees, kissing my collar bone, "but you need to get off my lap, otherwise I'm not going to be able to go in with you."

Processing.

Processing.

Processing.

"Oh." My eyes widen. "Oh."

Feeling him beneath me, I quickly climb off of him, putting him out of his misery.

"I did that to you?" I ask, uncertain.

"Yeah..." he confirms, somewhat sheepish.

"I did that to you," I state in pride, feeling powerful -- only I can undo his composure like this.

"You baited me," he replies, defending himself.

"Still," I argue, unfazed, "I did that to you. I turned you on."

He leans his head against the steering wheel, done with me and my bluntness. "Shut up, Aqueela."

"Power to me! Power to the Lawson!" I cheer for my achievement. "First time."

"It's definitely not the first time, Aqueela," he corrects me, refusing to look at me. "It's just the first time that you know about it."

He's discreet...

I raise an eyebrow. "You're a sneaky one."

Fed up, he opens his door and gets out of the car. "I'm going for a walk."

"Another cold swim?" I guess. "Do you want me to come with?" I ask, enjoying seeing him like this – he's kind of a mess. "I can help steam up the water?"

"No!" he bangs his door shut after him.

I knock on the window, getting his attention before he can disappear from view. "When you're done, I can help you put your shirt back on," I continue to flirt shamelessly with him.

"No, I need space from you! I know this is entertaining for you but I need you to stay far away from me!" he raises his voice, snapping at me.

He's finally lost his cool!

I fall into fits of laughter when I hear a splash at the bottom of the lake a moment later.

*~*~*~**~*~*~*

Dylan is staring at us questioningly while we wait for Simo to hurry up with our orders. "You two are on a date, right?"

"Right," Jay answers him.

He furrows his brows. "So, why are you guys wet?"

"Well," I start, my imagination running wild, "Jay got carried away. We nearly had car—"

"I don't actually want to know," Dyl cuts in, knowing better. "Probably something weird."

Jay nudges me in the side and gives me an 'are you for real' look. I should probably not divulge this story or its details to anyone...maybe Laiken though, just to get him off my back.

"How are you doing, D?" I settle on changing the subject. "Have you found your dream girl yet?"

"No, still waiting," he replies with a warm smile. "I think she got lost or something."

"But you meet girls every day at this place. Why is there no one? Maybe you need to lower your standards," I advise. I don't get it; the man is beautiful. "Settling isn't always a bad thing. I did for Jay," I lie.

Jay takes our ice-creams from Simo before forcefully tugging me out the store after him. "I feel like you should know this by now, but don't listen to her, Dylan! Never settle!" he calls from over his shoulder.

"Come again soon!" Simo chimes after us, happy-go-lucky as always.

Jay gives me a look when we get back into his car.

"What?" I ask innocently, grabbing my ice-cream cone from his hand and immediately attacking it with my mouth – sort of what I did to him earlier.

"Do I really have to ask you not to share our private moments with everyone?" he prods in disbelief. "That's between us," he reminds me.

"But it's natural! It's a normal part of life!" I protest like a child, not seeing anything wrong with it. I don't get embarrassed easily.

"Fine by me, we just won't have those moments anymore," he threatens.

I snort, amused. "I think that will affect you way more than what it will affect me."

He gives me a flat look, unimpressed. "You're not funny."

"It's between us," I reply, obliging him. I know privacy is important to him. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you," he replies, leaning across his seat to wipe ice-cream off the corner of my mouth. "So, I'm leaving early tomorrow morning. You gonna be okay?"

I forgot that it's tomorrow.

My heart drops but I force a smile. "Yeah. Defs."

I genuinely hate when he's away from me. I despise it.

"Don't look at me like that. You're stabbing me in the chest with that look," he says, seeing through my act.

"I can't help it," I apologize. "I'm going to miss you."

"Same, but I'll be back before you know it," he assures me.

"Are you even going to be able to race with that hand?" I gesture to the stitches, worried.

Maybe I'm just looking for reasons for him to stay...

He shrugs. "It's not that bad. Racing is a lot of pressure on the hands but I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Okay," I let it go.

"Are you going watch me on TV?" he asks me, placing his hand on my leg in an affectionate way.

I shake my head, my heart tingling. "I don't think so. It's just going to make me stress."

He nods, understanding my fear of accidents since my mom. "That's fine. I'd rather you not stress."

"Are you nervous?" I question, wanting his perspective.

"Not really. I'm confident," he affirms.

Isn't he always?

He takes in my downcast expression and tries to cheer me up. "Hey, at least you'll have Grey to annoy."

I automatically and instinctively smile. "That always makes me feel better."

He rubs my back, comforting me, and returns my smile. "I know."

We park outside of our house and I'm still smiling like a crazy person. It's been an awesome date. I love every second of the quality time I get with him. Because of our busy social life, we don't often get to be alone.

"Thank you for tonight, Jay," I tell him, reaching over to hug him, but then accidentally dropping my cone onto his lap. I watch the last bit of ice-cream start to melt into his jeans. I place a hand over my mouth, shocked by how clumsy I am. "That was an acciden—"

"No stress. I know," he says with a smile. "The date had to end on a high note, Klutz," he teases.

Without giving it much thought, I take one of the bandages from the first aid kit and attempt to rub the ice-cream off of his jeans.

He nearly jumps through the roof of the car.

"Aqueela, please," he begs, pushing my hands away from his crotch, "I don't need a repeat of earlier."

Abashed, I realize my mistake and move away from him. "Again, sorry."

"At this point, who knows what you'll do next. You're a loose cannon. Let's just go inside," he suggests, getting out of the car and striding his way to the front door.

I get out and follow after him. "So sweet of you to walk me to the door after our date but nice try, I'm not inviting you in."

He playfully rolls his eyes at me and then opens the door for me. "You're lucky you're cute," he mimics my earlier words.

We're walking in the direction of our side of the house when I spot Max and Landon leaning against the closed door of Grey's bedroom. With their ears pressed against the door, they seem to be listening attentively or trying to listen attentively to something.

I yank Max back by the sleeve of his jacket. Startled, he turns around and raises his hand to hit me. Fortunately, Jay acts quickly and catches him by the wrist.

"Bud?" Jay questions, as lost as me. "What's going on?"

Landon steps away from the door to answer us. "He's convinced that Grey brought home company from wherever the hell he was."

"Lower your voices," Maxy replies, gesturing for us to move away from the door before we get caught.

"Why do you think that?" I ask Max once we're far away enough from Grey's room.

"Well," he starts, "I was sneaking away from Lan to go home, and failing, when I heard talking. I don't know if I saw properly but I'm pretty sure a lady friend followed Grey into his room."

Jay shrugs, not getting the hype. "So? He's single. He can do whatever he wants. Good for him."

I glance Lan's way, interested. "How did you get roped into this?"

It doesn't seem like his thing...

"It's been a while since I last saw Grey with a girl. I'm curious, sue me," he says simply.

"You're human after all," I tease him. "You want the tea too."

"No," he denies it, "but if she's going to become a part of our group, she needs my stamp of approval first."

I laugh at how protective he is over his friends. "Don't ruin his night. Go home, dummy."

Max checks the time on his phone. "Yeah, it's getting late. I should go too. Bell is going to kill me."

"Nah, she won't. She's with the girls," Lan replies calmly. "Sarah told me."

"Gatecrash it?" Max arches a brow at him.

"It's always fun to gatecrash a girls' night," he agrees with a shrug before pulling Max after him by the back of his shirt.

Aww...sweet...they're bonding...I think...

I shake my head and voice my thoughts aloud, "What weirdos."

I follow Jay over to our side of the house, only to find Laiken asleep on the trampoline and Benley asleep in the ball pit. Laiken looks like he's been drooling, and Ben's mouth is wide open for spiders to crawl in.

What bigger weirdos...

They're so much less attractive like this. It really humanizes them.

Jay sighs at the scene before him. Because it's cold, he quickly gets two blankets and covers both of them before tending to an excited Slobber.

Amused, I take a photo of my two little cherubs snuggled up in deep slumber. I put it on the girls' chatgroup – AJ and Susie will eat this right up.

*~*~*

Hey, guys :)

1. Does Jay have 9 lives?

2. When do you think Jay really fell in love?

3. Favourite character from all the characters? Why?

4. Favourite part of this chapter? Why?

5. Should she watch Jay's race?

6. How will Aqueela and Grey get on without Jay?

7. Thoughts on Grey having company?

8. Thoughts on Lan and Max bonding?

~ CJ