((Author's Note: If you were already caught up to the end of Chapter 10 before today (November 15th) then you've already read this chapter.
I decided to split what I had for Chapter 10 into two to keep my words/chapter more consistent. But never fear, an all new chapter will be ready for you soon! ❤️))

Marlowe

Jonah turns his body to mirror the way I'm sitting. He leans one of his solid shoulders against the trunk of the maple tree and gives me a little smile. "Oh, jumping right into the nitty gritty and personal, I see."

I roll my eyes at his joke and copy the way he's leaning into the tree. "Do you have a better question to start with?"

He shakes his head with a grin, causing me to laugh.

"I didn't think so." I snap my fingers twice as if I need to get his attention. "So then? Answer me."

He grins again, then asks, "What do you think it is?"

"Hmm..." I think about it for a moment, then excitedly point my finger at him. "Yellow! You know, like the Batman logo."

Jonah laughs loudly, and his grin grows. "Yes," he agrees as he nods, "You got it."

I smile proudly at him and clap my hands together. "Okay, you guess mine now."

"I want to say green?" he guesses incorrectly, "Since you painted yourself green to be Gamora for Fan Expo. Plus, you can't resist my green eyes." He waggles his eyebrows at me, and I find great pleasure in getting to tell him that he's wrong.

"Nope!" I'm not going to admit that he might be on target about his eyes though. "I like red, but darker shades. Like a deep burgundy."

"I could see that. Burgundy is a nice colour. I bet it looks really good on you."

I feel a blush spreading across my cheeks but I attempt to come across as unaffected. "Autumn is just around the corner. You'll see me in lots of burgundy then and get your answer."

"That colour looks nice on you too," he speaks in a low voice with that charming grin of his spread across his face.

I glance down at my outfit. "Black?"

His fingertips lightly brush against my cheekbone, and I bring my eyes back up to his face.

"Pink. Your freckles stand out more when you blush. It's incredibly sweet."

Now my cheeks are on fire.

Jonah chuckles and tucks some of my hair behind my ear. "Ah, there's the red. Don't turn burgundy though, okay? That's a little too close to purple, and I think that's a sign that someone doesn't have enough oxygen or something."

I roll my eyes at him but there's nothing I can do about the smile on my face.

It's so stupid. I've been annoyed by every pickup line and compliment a jock has ever given me, but Jonah McCallum starts talking about the colour of my cheeks and the freckles on my face and I feel like I'm going to melt into a puddle.

"It's your turn to pick the question," I tell him as a way to change the subject.

He thinks for a moment and then asks, "What's your favourite song? Either, of all time or your current favourite."

I don't even have to think about it. "All Too Well by Taylor Swift."

He groans and then chuckles. "I should have known it was going to be Taylor Swift. That's not the one that's all "shake it off, shake it off", is it?"

I laugh at the way he sings the words. "No. That would be Shake It Off, Puck. That's one of her more fun songs."

He laughs too. "I guess that adds up."

"This one is much different," I try to explain in defence of my favourite song, "It has a lot more depth to it, I guess. You should listen to it."

"Alright, if you say so," he agrees sounding uncertain, "but okay, I'll give it a listen. What's it called again?"

"All Too Well," I tell him once he's pulled out his phone to write it down, "The ten minute version."

His eyes whip up to mine. "Ten minutes?"

I laugh at his reaction and nod my head. "Yes. You asked for my favourite. That one's it. It's way better than the original, short version."

"Fine," he agrees a little begrudgingly. "I will listen to Taylor Swift for ten minutes. Don't say I never do anything for you though. I think this is top-notch boyfriend stuff."

I giggle at his dramatics and pat his arm. "Thank you, Jonah. You're just the best. Now tell me what your favourite song is. I'm going to guess it's not Shake It Off?"

He chuckles and shakes his head. "No, definitely not. Write it down in your phone. I want you to listen to my favourite too."

I take out my phone and pull up my notes app. "Okay, I'm ready. What's my homework?"

"My favourite is always changing but at this moment, it's Knights of Shame by Awolnation. And that's knights with a K."

I type in the title and nod my head. "Got it. I'll listen over the weekend and let you know what I think on Monday."

He grins and something about it looks a little devious. "Great. I'll do the same."

We continue having turns coming up with questions for the better part of an hour. We cover everything from favourite holidays—we both agree on Christmas; the best vacations we've been on—I haven't been on many but I love camping with Uncle Jack and Aunt Alice while Jonah can't decide between a Ski Resort vacation he went on or the time he went to Jamaica.

We talk about pets we've owned... or wanted to own. It turns out that neither of us has had anything but a goldfish because my mom is allergic and Jonah's parents always told him they were too busy to own a pet.

Each question leads to answers full of stories and memories, and each answer leads to more questions.

Eventually, my eyes are growing heavy, and I stifle a yawn while I tell Jonah about the time I took a kitten home and tried to hide it in my room.

"My mom was complaining about being itchy and having watery eyes for two days before she went into my room with a pile of folded laundry and almost ate shit, literally, when the kitten jumped out at her and caused her to trip over the litter box I had set up."

Jonah just about keels over with laughter. "No way! My dad would have killed me. Was she pissed?"

"Yes," I laugh, "but not for the reason you would think."

"Oh?"

He's long ago shifted from having his shoulder leaning against the tree to having his arm around me again. He plays with the ends of my hair while he listens to me talk.

"I came home to find her on our couch with the kitten asleep on her chest. She glared at me and said "MJ, how dare you bring something so cute into our home that makes me feel this awful. I will never forgive you for this cruelty. I wanna keep him!""

I laugh at the memory of my mom's dramatics and then cover up another yawn. "Of course, we didn't keep him and my mom did forgive me. But anyway, that's the story of how Aunt Alice and Uncle Jack got their cat, so I guess you can thank me that you finally get to have a pet, even if it's just at your temporary home."

I tip my head back to look up at him and see Jonah's eyes are wide with amusement.

"That's where Percy came from? No way! He is such a cool cat."

I nod with pride. "We taught Mr. Catson to be the coolest cat around before we moved him to his new home."

"Do you think you could get a puppy next?" he muses with laughter in his voice. "I've always wanted a dog."

"Tell you what, I'll think about it. But the origins of Percy happened seven years ago. I don't think Uncle Jack will be as willing to take on my furry..." I drift off while I lift my hand to cover up on another yawn, "...contraband now."

"Furry contraband," he repeats me with amusement, then moves his arm from around my shoulders to moves onto his feet. "Alright, little rebel, it's time for you to go inside. If you yawn one more time we're both going to fall asleep under this tree."

I lean my head back into the maple and close my eyes. "Do I have to? This tree is surprisingly comfortable."

His hands lightly skim my arms, notifying me that he's touching me before he grips my elbows to pull me to my feet.

I allow my body to fall into his and smile when his chest vibrates with his deep laughter. I snuggle my face closer and breathe in the fresh scent of his t-shirt. "I don't want to go inside," I complain softly even though the idea of going to bed sounds pretty great right now. "This is the best party ever."

His arm wraps around my back, and his lips press against my hair. "This is the best party ever, and you are so cute when you're sleepy. Do you think you could pull an all-nighter before coming to school on Monday? I wouldn't mind having a tired MJ around to not give me any sass."

I thump my hand against his chest, and he laughs as he brings a hand up to cover it. He holds it against himself and kisses my head again. "Ah, there's that sass, after all. Oh well, I think I can handle it. I'd probably only end up feeling let down and confused if you stopped sassing me now."

He turns our bodies in the direction of my house and moves his arm down my back to rest against my waist. "I'm glad we had a chance to talk tonight."

"Me too," I agree as he walks me to my door. "Sorry for attacking you at the party when you walked in and for using Natalie as an excuse to do it..."

He chuckles and releases my waist to turn toward me. "I hope you realize now that you don't need an excuse to kiss me."

I nod and shyly take a step closer to him. "So... I could just kiss you right now?"

I expect him to close the space between our lips but instead, he only grins at me and nods. "I'm hoping for it."

I momentarily hesitate, but then Jonah's flirting grin begins to look like a challenge, and I'm never one to turn down a challenge.

I step into his body and put my hands on his shoulders as I move onto my tiptoes. Jonah cooperates enough to lean down for me but leaves it up to me to do the rest.

I'm in control of the entire kiss, the tongue action and everything. When I reluctantly move away, Jonah has this smouldering look in his green eyes and a longing expression on his face that makes me feel like the queen of the world.

There's a charged silence between us before Jonah speaks in an almost growly voice.

"Give me your phone."

His words leave no room for questions, so I hand my phone to him with a curious expression.

He takes his time writing something, and I hear his phone vibrate a moment later. He smiles at me while he gives my phone back. "It's about time you gave me your number, cheer girl. I'll see you Monday, okay?" He presses a quick kiss to my forehead and then backs away toward the sidewalk. "Straight to bed, okay, little rebel?"

I cross my arms over my chest in mock defiance. "Well, now I can't go to bed because you told me to."

He chuckles and pats his pocket where his phone is as he continues walking backwards. "Good. You'll be awake to answer my texts later then."

I can't keep the smile off my face. "Maybe. Good luck playing grand theft auto with drunk Dev's car."

He laughs and swipes a hand through the air. "Ahh, no problem. I'm not worried about it. I'll text you once I've gotten back to Jack's, but no worries if you fall asleep before then."

"Stop walking backwards, weirdo. You're going to trip."

He laughs and blows me a kiss. "Your concern for my well-being is noted, sweetheart. Go inside, and I'll quit having to look at you."

I giggle and shake my head at him. "Goodnight, Jonah."

He's a way down the sidewalk now but still walking backwards. He dramatically cups his hands around his mouth and calls back, "Goodnight, MJ. Sweet dreams."

I roll my eyes as I force myself to turn away and enter my house. What I really want to do is run after him to get another kiss.

I look at my phone to see what Jonah was up to. In my conversations is a text from me to a new number:

Hey hotty. I'm an amazing kisser and know how badly you want my number so I just couldn't wait to give it to you.

While I'm looking at the message, a reply comes in:

Wow, cheer girl. I'm so honoured that you wanted to give me your number so badly and that you gave it to me so willingly. I didn't even have to ask for it three times OR steal your phone. And you're right, you are an amazing kisser. Can't wait to see you again.

I laugh out loud the entire way to my bedroom.