yours.

[55] Miles

We do actually play some soccer -- I get Jasper to participate by rewarding him with a kiss every time he kicks the ball correctly -- but we both eventually get tired, so we climb back into my car to leave the field. But things don't really go as planned, and we don't actually leave the field for a while. Because after we get into our seats, Jasper and I can't stop kissing.

It's like an addiction, kissing him. Once I start, I just can't imagine ever stopping. Which, I guess, means he's like a drug to me -- and that's never good.

Multiple times, one of us tries to draw away, only to be pulled back in by the other. It goes on and on like this, an endless, gratifying cycle, for... I don't even know how long. Long enough for me to start craving dinner.

Dinner.

I finally sit up, leaving him alone above the car's center console. He watches me, pouting, and I glance at the clock on my dashboard. Five-thirty already? I wonder. How long have we...

I look back at Jasper's lips, which are bloodred and glossy from what's starting to seem like hours of this. Oh.

I clear my throat as Jasper leans closer to me, teasing. "Do you... um. Do you want dinner?" I ask, my voice thin from restraint. Jasper nudges his lips against mine. "It'll be my treat," I offer weakly.

"I want you," Jasper mutters, his voice lower and huskier than I've ever heard it. He starts to climb over the console, and I start to panic.

"Jasper, no -- no, Jas--" I brace my hands on his shoulders to halt his progress. "Wait."

Groaning, he settles back into his seat, glaring out of his side window. "Fine."

"Okay." I reach for his hand, hoping he's not upset with me. He gives my hand a reassuring squeeze, and I relax, relieved. "Where do you want to eat?"

* * *

I roll into the parking lot of Jan & Jim's, a local diner my parents used to take my sisters and me. We haven't gone since my dad split.

I tell its story as I pull into a parking spot and put the car in park, but I'm not even sure if Jasper hears me. He's still a little dazed after today, and it's hard to get a solid reading of him.

"There's not usually that many people here," I explain, turning the car off. "Since it's not, you know, an IHOP or a Denny's or something like that, and tourists obviously aren't going to spend their time at a restaurant they've never heard of."

"Mhm." His head bobs.

I unbuckle my seatbelt, waiting for Jasper to do the same. When he doesn't, I reach over and do it for him. "But it's still really good. They've got really good pancakes. You ready?"He blinks at me, and I swing open my door before heading over to his side and helping him out. Once I do, I pull him toward me, dipping my head to whisper in his ear, "We don't have to go in if you don't want to. We can just head home, or go somewhere else--"

"No, I'm fine. It's just..." He trails off, resting his head against my shoulder. "So tired," he mumbles.

"Right, yeah. Of course. Let's just get our food first."

And so we do. We're seated in a small booth in the corner of the diner, and I only consider sitting across from Jasper for a moment before sliding into the seat beside him, trapping him in. He stares around the place, glancing at the old, nonfunctional jukeboxes by the far wall before lifting his gaze to the flower chains hanging from the ceiling.

"This place seems... old," he says finally.

"That's the point. It's supposed to give you a warm, old-timey feeling." It's part of the reason I like the restaurant so much, its antique charm. I gesture to one of the menus on the table. "You wanna find something to order?" He picks up the menu and starts flipping through it idly, looking at the options.