Ariana considered this. The boy had a point. If he weren’t there to distract her, she’d probably be having an acute panic attack.
“How long have we been in here, anyway?” she asked. “An hour? Three hours? When are they going to let us out already?”
“Ana, we’ve only been in here about fifteen minutes,” Jasper said, sounding amused.
“What? That’s not possible,” Ariana whispered.
“I’ve been counting the seconds since they closed the coffin,” Jasper replied matter-of-factly. “We’re at exactly nine hundred and four.”
Ariana scoffed. “You have not.”
“Yes. I have.”
>
“That is so not possible,” Ariana replied. Jasper said nothing. His breath was minty fresh on her face. “You can do that?” she asked finally.
“I can do lots of things.”
She felt him shift, his cheek pressing against hers as he leaned forward. For a brief moment she was sure he was trying to kiss her. Unbidden, her skin sizzled and her face burned. But then she felt his fingers on her hip.
“Wait,” she said slowly, realizing what this meant. “You got your hands free.”
“Ta-da,” Jasper said, tapping her hip with his fingers.
“How did you do that?” she asked.
“Not important.” Jasper shook his head slightly and his nose brushed hers. Ariana’s heart seized, and she suddenly felt light-headed.
I am not attracted to Jasper, she told herself. It’s just all this . . . touching. And lack of air.
“Here. Let me get yours,” Jasper said, making a move.
“Wait,” Ariana said. “Won’t they be mad if we’re untied when they let us out of here?”
“I think they’ll be impressed with our ingenuity,” Jasper replied. “Here.”
He bent his right elbow, then straightened his arm out so that it rested in the open space between her neck and the bottom of the coffin. Then he slid it down under her shoulder, so that it was pinned beneath her. His arm continued to travel down, while Ariana twisted and adjusted, doing her best to lift her weight off of it and help him along, until his hand found hers behind her back. At that moment, her weight tipped her forward over his forearm, and suddenly her whole body was pressed against his. Her face buried itself in the spot between his shoulder and his neck. If she pursed her lips, she could have kissed his skin.
“Almost there,” Jasper whispered, his voice husky.
His left arm was around her now, pulling her, impossibly, even closer to him. His body was wiry and strong. Stronger than she would have thought just by looking at him. As he struggled to blindly untie the cord that bound her hands, his breath was hot and labored on the back of her neck.
“How’s it going?” she said, because she felt she had to say something.
“I think I’ve . . . yes. I’ve got it,” Jasper whispered.
She felt a jerk and the cord slipped free.
“Thanks,” she breathed.
“Any time.”
Jasper leaned backward, and the space between them suddenly felt like a chasm. With some effort, Ariana brought her hands in front of her. She folded them at chest level and Jasper did the same. Now the two pledges were curled, knees touching, hands touching, foreheads touching, perfect mirror images.
“So,” he said, his breath warm and comforting against her face, “what do we do now?”
“I don’t know,” she said quietly. “What do you want to do?”