Letterman Jacket

10 / fifty-seven days before

The prospect of having to go to work on a Saturday morning vexed me beyond belief. All I wanted was to go home and hide under the covers—possibly where a couple of movies and ice cream were available.

For more than forty-eight hours now, I'd successfully avoided both basketball co-captains in my attempt to let the steam between my brother and I cool off and to think about what the hell I was supposed to do with Faust. I'd come to no conclusion yet.

When Theo came home, keeping to my room had been easy for the most part. Dinner for the past two nights had been quiet events, and I was thankful and fortunate to have parents who knew not to stick their nose into our business. In the morning, Theo left for school alone. My dad fetched me.

At the other end of the spectrum, Faust had been leaving messages on my phone, and I could sense the worry written on his texts. Sometimes, I'd see him waiting by my locker after class, but facing him without a clue about what to say scared me. He'd go with his head down when the bell rang.

I felt guilty for hiding. I felt guilty for being selfish and for disappearing on Faust without an explanation.

My hands shook as I pushed the cart forward, ducking my head so that my hair covered my face. I resisted the urge to look over my shoulder for the nth time today and continued to work quickly but quietly.

Once I moved over to the most secluded part of the library at the very end where students were restricted, I relaxed, heaving a deep sigh as I leaned up on my tiptoes to reach the top shelf with obvious struggle.

I jumped a bit in surprise, my pulse racing, when an unwelcome touch ghosted over my hand to cover it with his, placing the book rightfully where it belonged.

Dropping my arm quickly like his touch burned, I swallowed the lump in my throat and felt his presence entirely—the press of his chest pressed to my back and the warmth of his breath fanning the nape of my neck.

"Thea," he spoke in a low, husky tone. "Turn around and explain to me why you've been avoiding me since our date."

With my heart pounding against my chest, I took a deep breath and slowly faced him, hazel-brown eyes connecting with calm but angry, blue ones.

Both his arms were raised and were resting against the wall behind me, keeping me trapped in place between him and the bookshelf, our faces dangerously close to each other's. "You—you're not a-allowed in here—"

He broke my cage for a second to close the door that led to this section and locked it, then placed his hands back on either side of my head once again before saying in a flat tone, "I'm sure you can make an exception."

Blinking twice, I stuttered, "I-I haven't been avoiding you, what are you talking about?"

His eyes searched mine as his lips pressed into a tight line. I was expecting him to snap at me to stop playing games because of the obvious anger hidden behind those icy blues, but to my surprise and relief, they softened. "Did I do something wrong?" Faust asked in a quiet voice, eyebrows drawing together in confusion, and my heart dropped at the sound of his awfully dejected tone. "I thought you said I aced it, Thea—"

"You did!" I cut in quickly, not wanting him to believe that I hadn't gone on the first fantastic first date that I'd ever had. "You did. It's just—things have been complicated at home."

The softness in his eyes were gone and was quickly replaced with flaring anger once again, jaw visibly clenching. "Is it Theo?"

My hesitation was all the answer he needed.

"I knew it," he muttered, taking his arms away and turning his back to me, his hands balling into fists

"It's okay," I said quietly, stepping forward in an attempt to reach out to him. The muscles of Faust's back tensed under the thin t-shirt he wore as he breathed heavily, unconvinced. "He didn't do anything—"

"His stupid jealousy pushed you away from me."

"That was my own choice."

"That you made because of him!"

I flinched from the loudness of his tone and the fury behind his tone and words.

He faced me and strode forward, and I moved back a few steps, holding a hand out to him. "No, don't."

"I'm sorry." His voice broke. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

I leaned against the wall for support, and Faust stepped closer to me hesitantly. When I didn't push him away this time, he gently cupped my face into his hands, his thumbs caressing my cheeks. "I'm sorry," he said again.

Shaking my head, I forced a smile onto my face. "I just want to have the freedom to like you without worrying constantly about my brother hating me. Is that too much to ask?"

"He won't hate you—"

"He will. I know it."

"Then he's stupid. The rivalry's between us and us alone. He doesn't get the right to choose who you can and can't see, who you can and can't like."

Encircling his hands around my waist, I allowed myself to wrap my arms around his neck as he pulled me closer. "I don't know what to do anymore."

We stood there in silence for a few moments, enjoying the warmth and comfort of each other's embrace before he pulled back, tipping my chin up to look at him.

"Then we'll keep this a secret," Faust whispered. "Just you and me. No one else."

"He's going to find out—"

"We'll tell him when he's done getting over himself," he answered firmly, taking my hand in his and interlacing our fingers together.

Fast. This was going way too fast. "Faust."

"Thea."

But...I couldn't bring myself to care. The way he looked at me made me tingle from head to toe, and as he reached up to brush the pad of his thumb over my lips, I inhaled sharply, my heartbeat skyrocketing. "I'm yours," he murmured. "If you'll have me, I'm yours."

Faust's eyes dropped down to my mouth, and he dipped his head, angling my head to the side as his lips pressed against mine.

The world fell away once I was enveloped in the warmth of his kiss—slow, soft, and reassuring that he meant what he had said. His hand rested below my ear, caressing my skin as our lips moved together. My fingers ran down his spine, causing him to shiver slightly against my hold, pulling him closer so that there were no spaces between us.

His kiss stole the words I didn't need to say.