Out of Character (True Colors 2)

“Good. But first, we’ve got to get to the professor’s.”

“Darn.” Laughing, I stretched my legs. His car was suspiciously cleaner, and I had a feeling it might have been for my benefit. “Thanks for the ride. I could have done the bus—”

“No, you couldn’t have. It’s freezing.” Jasper spoke exactly like someone who assumed it was his personal responsibility to take care of everyone around him. I’d been watching him these past few weeks, and the boy who’d liked to help his parents with chores had grown into the adult who never said no and was always there with an offer to help whether it was his family or Kellan or me. As much as I liked being in that circle, I also found myself wanting to take care of him too.

“Well, I appreciate it. Maybe there’s something I can do for you?”

“We’ll see.” Jasper’s tone was decidedly flirty, and while I hadn’t meant it as a sexy thing, I wasn’t turning down those ideas either.

“You’re right about freezing.” I tried to adjust his heater, which was only marginally more functional than his stereo. “I’m ready for some sun.”

“Me too. Of course, the sun and I have a love-hate relationship.” Jasper laughed as he stopped for a red light. Saturday night traffic was predictably bad, but I didn’t mind the extra time with him.

“I remember some of your terrible sunburns growing up.”

“Yup. But I’m so ready for warmth.”

“Oh, I can keep you warm.” I was still testing this whole flirting-back thing, but I liked how it made my chest expand, like I needed extra room to contain these light feelings.

“Of that I have no doubt. Thanks to you, I had rather…heated dreams last night.”

“Hey, you’re the one searching out sexy drawings, not me.” I lived for his texts lately, both the ones with and without images. They weren’t quite sexting, but they weren’t all G-rated either. I liked the flirting and also the little snippets of his life, like him mentioning being tired from classes and work.

“We need to keep you properly inspired.” Jasper waggled his eyebrows at me right before turning into a neighborhood of stately older homes near the campus.

“You are. I’m totally inspired.” I shifted in the seat, needing to move away from the flirting if we were almost to our destination. “And in other art news, I finished the drawing for Chase and his dad. Think they’ll be there this week? Wait. Am I invited to cosplay? Didn’t mean to presume.”

“Neptune is always welcome. You too.” Jasper’s voice was far warmer than the air in his car. “And I’ll call tomorrow and find out if he’s been discharged yet. If he has, my mom has an address for them. We sent cookies and some Odyssey cards for Chase at Christmas.”

“Your family is always so nice.” I wanted to be more like that too. Thoughtful. The kind of person who thought before they acted.

“Well, it’s mainly my mom, but thanks.” Jasper frowned as we slowed in front of a house with a packed driveway. “Okay, now to find a parking spot nearby.”

“I don’t mind walking if it means sparing your car more of your stunt parking.”

“Hey now. Remember that crack when I cash in my voucher for learning to drive a stick.”

“We’re going to an empty parking lot.” I braced myself against the seat as Jasper did a parallel parking maneuver that was probably illegal in three states.

“Promises, promises.” He winked at me as he straightened out the car and put it in Park. We were still at an alarming angle, but the heat in his eyes had me right back to thinking about all the things we could get up to at the end of the night. But first I had to be social and hope I didn’t embarrass Jasper in front of his genius gamer friends.

“Do you need me to play this a certain way?” I asked as we got out of the car. “I am well acquainted with the ‘let’s make my ex jealous’ move, thanks to more than one sorority sister needing a last-minute date to a function we both wanted to skip.”

“Neither of them are my ex. Like I said, we’re all friends. It’s just…weirdish now. And is that you offering to be my date or you being scared I might claim that without clearing it with you?”

“Which gets me more practice kissing after this is over?” I gave him my best smile, even as my heart threatened to pound its way out of my chest.

“You surprise me more every day.” Jasper shook his head, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. “And you look like you did right before that roller coaster. So, no, I’m not going to make you hold hands or anything like that, but if you can manage not to freak if someone makes the assumption, I’d count that as progress.”