I laughed against his chest and got lost in the sound of his heart beating. “I wasn’t going to say a thing.” But I had been thinking it.

*  *  *

The sound of shouting and arguing invaded my dream, waking me from it. I blinked a few times before piecing together that it was the familiar sound of both my and James’s dads yelling at each other. I’d lost count the number of times they had screamed and threatened one another over the years. I tried to move before realizing that I was tangled with James’s naked body, our legs and arms intertwined. God, he was warm. I’d forgotten for a millisecond that last night even happened, but the sound of my dad’s voice yelling reminded me.

Wait.

Why was my Dad back in the states?

A loud, hard knock on the door, followed by my dad shouting my name, had me violently shaking James awake.

“James! James, you have to hide.” My eyes practically bugged out of my head as I shot out of bed.

“Hide?” he repeated like he wasn’t sure if I was serious or not as he fought back a yawn.

“My dad is here. He can’t see you. I don’t know what he’d do. I’m not playing.” My expression was stone-cold serious, my eyes pleading with him as I pulled my long hair into a ponytail before twisting it into a bun. I reached for my pajamas and quickly got dressed.

“Tell me where to go,” he said, finally understanding the gravity of the situation.

I looked around before pointing toward the closet, and James hopped out of bed and tucked himself in there. I hated that I felt like a teenager who was doing something wrong, but now wasn’t the time for logic.

“Julia!” my dad shouted again.

I yelled back at him to wait a minute. My stomach twisted as I opened the front door, and my dad barged inside.

“What took you so long?”

“I was sleeping. What are you doing home?”

“Where is he?”

Oh my gosh. Does he know James is here? There is no way he could know, I thought, convincing myself as I stood a little taller.

“Where is who?”

“I know you went out with that boy last night.”

“It was just dinner, Dad.”

“How many times have I told you to stay away from him? I’ve warned you. Stay away from that boy, Julia. You will not see him again,” he shouted, his voice filled with so much rage.

I hated how misplaced his anger was. James hadn’t done anything to our family, so why did he have to pay?

“I won’t? This is ridiculous, Dad. We’re both adults,” I attempted to stand up for myself, but my dad leveled me with a look that reminded me how serious this was.