Jensen, 19 years old

THE COLD AIR SLAPPED ME IN THE face the minute I opened the door to exit The 365 Diner, the frigid Minnesota winter in full effect. After situating the paper bag filled with greasy food under my arm, I flipped up the collar of my jacket, wishing I would have remembered my hat.

I was home from my first year of college, visiting my family during the holiday break. I was designated to pick up the to-go order for supper, and I was happy to get out of the house. I forgot how loud and chaotic it was with my large, dysfunctional family.

Living in the cramped quarters of my dorm room wasn't much better, but at least there I was just Jensen. Not someone's son or brother, or the boy in the town that watched you grow up. There was something refreshing and liberating about starting completely over in a new place. I figured by the time I returned home in four years, I'd be a slightly different version of myself.

I walked the short distance to my truck parked at the curb, my steps faltering when I noticed a young woman in the distance walking toward me on the sidewalk. Her form was hidden under a puffy black jacket, but the tight jeans hugged all her delicious curves. My eyes were glued there as the legs in question ate up the space between us.

When she was a few feet away, the familiar voice called my name, causing me to finally look up. The hood of the jacket was pulled up over the woman's head, light brown strands escaping and flying into her face, caught in the wind, so it took me awhile to realize the mystery girl I had been checking out was my best friend.

Before I had a chance to be horrified at my not-so-innocent thoughts directed at my friend, Teddy launched herself into my arms, dislodging the bag of food. It fell to the ground with a soft plop.

It'd been months since we'd seen each other. Probably since the night before we left for college. We'd both been home to visit a few times but never at the same time. This had been the longest time we'd been apart since becoming best friends when we were 8.

I hadn't realized just how acutely I felt the pain of her absence until she was in my arms.

It wasn't that I hadn't been thinking about her while at college. In fact, the opposite was true. I thought about her often.

She had always been the one I shared my day with, in some form or another. While shooting hoops or swinging on the porch swing at my parents' house or via short texts or snagged conversations in the school halls, we'd always fill each other in on our lives. She was my person.

It was hard for Teddy to still be that person with the distance between us. I'd always been more of an in-person guy. Interactions via technology were too awkward and impersonal.

Running into her out of the blue, though, was a punch to the gut. A reminder of what she was to me and how big of a hole there was without her daily presence in my life.

A surge of joy compelled me to hoist her up so her legs wrapped around my waist and I spun her around. Her whoops of laughter felt so familiar, the soundtrack of my childhood. Hearing her, seeing her, feeling her like this felt like home.

It wasn't until that moment that I realized I'd been homesick, but not for my dysfunctional family or even the comfort of my small town. I'd been missing my best friend; I'd been missing Teddy.

Once we were standing stationary on the sidewalk again, I took the opportunity to really look at her. Her smile brightened her face, which seemed somehow different and yet exactly the same.

"Hi, Teddy." She tightened her legs around my waist, and I resisted the urge to move my hands from her thighs to grab her ass. The thoughts from earlier when she was walking toward me smacked me in the head.

When did my best friend get hot?

"Hi," she repeated the greeting before shimmying out of my arms. She retrieved the bag of food and offered it to me. "Sorry about that. I got a little excited. My mom said you were home, but I guess we kept missing each other."

"Yeah, I guess so," I said, unable to peel my eyes from her. Her hood had been knocked down in our excited embrace, her hair wildly blowing around her face. I pushed the hair back, holding it in place behind her ears as my hands framed her face. "I've missed you, Teddy."

"Yeah? Could have fooled me. You barely return my calls or emails. And you hardly ever text me."

"Shit, Teddy. You know I'm bad at that stuff. We should make plans to meet up sometimes. I could visit you at your college and you can come to mine. Unless you have a boyfriend eating up all your time?"

"No boyfriend." She shook her head against my hands, averting her gaze.

The news made me inexplicably happy, and I grinned. "Cool. So that's that. We'll visit each other. Yeah?"

"So I guess you need to get back?" She pointed to the bag tucked under my arm.

"Oh, yeah, probably. I'm sure my family will attack me the minute I come home for taking so long." I shifted the weight on my feet, trying to think of a way to have more time with my friend. I wasn't quite ready to part ways, to say goodbye again so soon. "Hey, what are you doing tonight?"

"Tonight?"

"Yeah, tonight. If you aren't busy, want to come with me somewhere?"

While standing there studying me, she buried her hands in her pockets, her shoulders shoved up to her ears against the cold, bitter temperatures. I stepped into her space, lifting her hood back over her head, stuffing the unruly hair inside. After yanking on the cords to secure the hood tightly on her head, I continued hanging onto the cords, remaining rooted in place with my body close to hers.

"J, you know it's New Year's Eve, right? Don't you have some big plans or something?"

The date escaped me, but I didn't have any set plans anyway. Kelly mentioned a party somewhere, but it sounded like a lot of high school kids were going to be there. Not my scene anymore.

"Nah. Not really. Kelly wants to drag me to some lame high school party, but I'd rather not go. What do you say? Want to see something?" I tugged on the cords playfully.

She swatted my hands away and placed her palm on my chest to move me back a step. "What exactly is it you want to show me, Jensen? Should I be scared? Give me some idea of what to expect. Your face is scaring me." She circled a finger in front of my face. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"This is my excited face. Surely, you've seen it before." I grinned at her before scrunching my mouth up into a pout. "Please, Chipmunk. Pretty please."

She jabbed a finger into my chest. "Don't call me that! You know I've always hated that stupid nickname."

"Fine," I laughed because I distinctly remembered just how much she hated that nickname. I jabbed her back with both of my fingers into the sides of her puffy coat. "Theodora, will you please come with me tonight?"

"Not any better, Jensen Anderson!"

"If I promise to never, ever call you those names again, will you agree to come with me tonight? I promise it'll be worth your time. Pretty please?" I bopped my pointer finger on her pink, cold nose. "I know you'll agree. You always do."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You are so irresistible." She rolled her eyes at me. "Fine. I'll go with you tonight. But only if you promise me it's somewhere inside. I'm freezing my tits off."

Involuntarily, my gaze went to her chest, but the damn winter coat covered up far too much. Averting my gaze, I whooped, "I knew it!" I took a few steps back, in a rush to hurry the time along until I could meet up with Teddy again. "OK, let me drop this food off at home and then I'll pick you up. You'll be at your mom's?"

Deciding her nod was answer enough, I continued my backward walk to my truck. "10 minutes. Give me 10 minutes, Teddy. Then meet me at my truck at my dad's. Ok?"

"Oh, you meant like right now? You want to show me something right now?"

"Yeah, why not right now?" I dropped the food bag in the passenger seat before turning back to my friend to confirm our plans. "Teddy, yeah? 10 minutes?"

"Yeah, fine. 10 minutes."

I raced home, dropped the bag of food on the table, and flew up the stairs to the bathroom I shared with my brothers to freshen up a bit. After swiping on some deodorant, I debated brushing my teeth, opting for swishing some overly minty mouthwash instead.

I peered at my reflection in the mirror and ran a hand through the short strands of my hair. I had just gotten it cut a few days ago, preferring to have Mitch at the barbershop here in town do it since he'd been cutting it all my life and I trusted him. When my appearance passed my test, I ducked into my bedroom to swap my old, grungy t-shirt for a gray Henley. Once I was zipped back into my winter coat, I grabbed a black stocking hat off a shelf, stuffed my head in it and flew back down the stairs, pausing only to shout to anyone listening that I'd be back later.

Exactly nine minutes later I was standing in front of my truck. I left it running while I ran inside, the heat on full blast. I didn't want to have to force Teddy to ride in a freezing cold truck.

I shivered while waiting for her; and the moment she stepped out of her mom's house, I checked a fake watch on my wrist. "You're late, Chipmunk."

"One, I'm hardly late. It's been, what maybe 11 or 12 minutes? And, two, you promised to stop calling me that stupid nickname." Once she was under the streetlamp, I noticed she'd also opted for a stocking hat. Hers was a burnt orange color with a brown fluffy ball on top. She looked really fucking cute.

"Late is late, my friend. Now get in. I'm freezing my balls off."

The drive out to my family's farm only took a few minutes; and as we pulled into the drive, Teddy sat up straighter, looking out her window. "Uh, Jensen, why'd you bring me to your farm? It's creepy out here at night. Are you planning on taking me out into the apple orchard and murdering me? Plus, you promised this thing would take place inside. You know, since it's in the middle of freezing fucking winter?"

I put the truck in park and cut the engine. The headlights were the only light in the darkness, and I had to admit, she did have a point. It was kind of creepy here at night. "Would I lie?" I asked my friend.

"Since you continue to call me Chipmunk after promising not to, I'd have to go with yes. Yes, you would lie."

Chuckling, I exited the truck and walked around to her door. When she didn't move to get out, I opened the door, unbuckled her seatbelt, and tugged her out. "I promise you, Teddy, I don't plan on murdering you or doing anything of the sort. Just come on and I'll show you."

I grabbed her hand and led her through the dark to the nearby building my dad used for an office to run the business side of the Anderson Farm. Instead of going into the office, though, I went to a door that opened to an unlit flight of stairs.

"The light is broken," I explained to Teddy, pausing in the doorway. "Sorry, I forgot about that. Here, hold onto me and stay close. Just follow me, I'll lead you. There's a light once we get upstairs." She nodded her response and gripped my hand tighter.

I held our clasped hands behind me like a lead rope as we began climbing the steps. About a third of the way up, I felt her free hand grab the back of my coat, fisting it tightly in her hand. I couldn't deny the fact that a part of me liked Teddy searching me out in her fear, leaning on me for help. I liked the idea of protecting her. It made me want to tuck her into my side and comfort her.

At the top of the stairs, we paused on the small landing in front of a door. Unlocking it, I let us inside and quickly switched on a light. The light fixture was missing a lightbulb and a few of the others were burnt out, leaving only one lightbulb to illuminate the whole space, creating a moody ambiance.

Lifting my arms out to the sides, I did a slow spin. "So," I announced once I was facing Teddy again. "You're looking at my new place. Well, it will be my new place once I'm done with college."

Her eyes widened, her confusion written clearly across her face. "What? What do you mean? You're going to live here?" She looked around the openness of the apartment, undoubtedly taking in its depressing state. It definitely needed some work. Ok, a lot of work. But it had plenty of potential.

"Yeah, here," I confirmed. "I know isn't much to look at right now, but I plan on fixing it up here and there whenever I can, especially over the summers. So then the majority of the hard work will be done by the time I graduate and there won't be as much to do when I move in."

"But, J." She paused mid-sentence, studying me. "I don't understand. Will you be working here? At the farm? I thought the plan was...you always made it seem like...I always assumed you'd...never mind. I don't know what I thought."

I unzipped her jacket and pulled her arms from the sleeves. Once it was completely off, I draped it over a stool at the kitchen counter, doing the same with my own coat. I tugged off my hat, ruffling a hand over my messy hair, and tossed it on the counter. Pointing at her head in question, she removed her hat and threw it to me. Her hair stuck out from the static and I couldn't help laughing at the memories it conjured up of Teddy over the years looking just like this, disheveled in her natural glory.

"What are you doing? Why are you laughing?" She tried to sidestep me as I approached her, hands outstretched, but my strides were longer than hers and I captured her upper arms.

"Settle down. I'm just trying to help." I combed my hands over her hair, trying to calm the static electricity, but it only made it worse. "Shit, sorry. That didn't help."

Shoving my hands away, she crossed to the kitchen and ran water over her hands, shaking the excess off before brushing her damp hands through her hair. "Better?"

"As good as it can get, I suppose," I teased her.

She flicked water at me, sticking out her tongue. "I forgot how much of a jerk you are."

"You love me." I winked at her. "So...want a tour?" Before she had a chance to answer, I spun her around with my hands on her shoulders and pushed her from behind through the apartment. "You saw the kitchen," I narrated in her ear. "Now meet the dining room slash living room."

Her eyes took in the wood paneling and grungy gray carpet that was probably a much lighter color once upon a time. "Ignore what you see and pretend it's completely gutted and not nasty. Imagine this as a before video on those HGTV shows you like."

Not giving her much time to inspect the space, I pushed her toward the bedroom next. I flipped on the light as we stepped through the doorway. "Bedroom here and bathroom through there." She walked where my finger pointed and reached blindly into the dark room to turn on the light. She didn't bother to enter the room before switching off the light and turning back to the bedroom.

"You're HGTV-ing it in your mind right now, right? Picturing its potential?" I leaned my body against the wall, waiting for her to finally speak.

"It's nice, J. Really nice."

Her clipped reply surprised me, and I pushed off the wall. "You don't like it?"

"No, I like it. I'm just confused, I guess. You haven't had a full year of college yet and you're already planning what your life will look like in four years." She fidgeted with the hem of her hoodie for a moment before shoving her hands into the front pocket of the sweatshirt.

I scratched my head, trying to decode her words for the hidden meaning. "Um...isn't that the whole point? To go to college, learn shit, and figure out what to do with the rest of your life?"

"Yeah, you're right." She blew out a breath, her cheeks puffing out. "Maybe I'm just surprised since I have no fucking clue what I even want to major in, let alone what I'll be doing after graduation. Ignore me. This is great. And, yes, I can totally see you HGTV-ing the shit out of this place."

"Teddy." I tilted my head, peering at her. "You could always come work here, you know?"

"Here? At the farm?" Her eyebrows were so high, they were practically touching her hairline.

"Fine, whatever, I get it. You don't have to work here. But the offer always stands. Ok?" Not wanting the mood to veer too far down a serious lane, I led her out of the room and back out to the kitchen, where I deposited her in a stool at the counter.

"Now, I think I found some alcohol stashed in here the other day when I was snooping around." I searched through a few cupboards before finally discovering the alcohol hidden in the cupboard above the refrigerator. I held it up to her with a look of triumph. "Want to count down to the new year with me?" I waggled my eyebrows at her.

"Tequila? Is that all that's up there? What about some wine or something fruity? Or, you know, anything not tequila?" She drummed her fingers on the counter, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. When I shake my head, she groans. "J, tequila? Really?"

In response, I pulled out two shot glasses and plunked them on the counter with a bang. "Yep. Tequila."

After rinsing the dust and grime from the glasses, I poured the light gold liquid up to the brim, sliding one over to my friend. "No salt or limes or anything to help with the burn?"

"Teddy," I laughed. "It's not a fucking bar. Just take the shot and shut up already." I nudged it toward her, spilling a bit of the contents.

We held the glasses up as I toasted, "To old friends," and we emptied the liquid into our mouths.

Coughing, Teddy slammed the glass onto the counter. "You fucker. You suck. That's the absolute worst. Never again."

I filled the glasses again. "Yep. Again. Here." I raised my glass, waiting for her to do the same.

Begrudgingly, she lifted the glass up, clinking it against mine. "To old friends. Who might die tonight." Then she tossed the shot back and slammed the glass down, coughing again from the burn.