The rest of Thanksgiving break didn’t seem realeverything was great. It was like I was in some fictional dreamworld and in the morning, I’d have to go back to my real life. And in a bizarre twist, on Sunday morning, Cromwell handed over the keys to my Jeep.

I lifted my head and stared down at Hayden. My fingers itched to touch him, but he looked so content in sleep I didn’t want to bother him. So I brushed my fingers over my lips instead. They felt swollen and plump. We’d kissed a lot before he carefully tucked me against his chest, a sweater and a sheet separating our flesh.

We’ve been kissing a lot. It seemed like that was all we did. Oh. Well. We didn’t just kiss.

We did other things. Like talk. Touch. Practice with plants. Kiss. Eat. Sleep. Practice with plants some more. Every night he snuck into my room, kind of like the way things had been in the cabin.

Ah, I did miss the cabin.

Hayden shifted, his arm curling around my hips, pulling me closer. I placed my hands on his chest so I didn’t topple right on top of him. Not that I would’ve minded, but we couldn’t go longer than a minute. Which was an improvement over twenty seconds, but who knew if it was Hayden’s gift that had added the additional time?

There was no way to really test it unless I touched someone else.

“Out of the question,” I murmured, placing my cheek against his chest, where his heart beat. I closed my eyes and let out a little sigh.

The only thing we hadn’t done was talk about the accident. And I didn’t want to bring it up. My mind went back to the files in Cromwell’s office. I had no plans to tell Hayden about them. Things were just too perfect right now to ruin them. Well, almost perfect.

If only I could get rid of the nagging thought that when things are this perfect, they usually come to an end in one big, messy ball of flames.

* * *

“What have I learned from Catcher in the Rye?” repeated a student from the front of the class.

Mr. Theo pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes, that is the question.”

The same student leaned back in his seat. “Well, I’ve learned I’m probably going to fail English this semester.”

An eruption of laughter followed. Mr. Theo looked like he was nearing the end of his patience, showing a splinter in his easy manner. He’d looked that way since class had started.

A smile cracked my face even though it felt like someone was pounding an ice pick into my temple. When the bell sounded, I think Mr. Theo and I both breathed a sigh of relief.