“Yeah, well, you have me to cuddle with tonight.” I accepted the towel and followed his lead in cleaning up. “Maybe a few of your stuffed friends could hang out on the chair you’re not going to be using.”

“Okay, okay.” Jasper tossed two at the chair in the corner, then I did the same, and then we both collapsed in a fit of laughter because it was like a very silly, very naked pillow fight. I took advantage of having a little more room in the bed to tickle him lightly until he was back on top of me, pinning my hands down.

“You’re mean.” He chuckled and his eyes danced, but my chest tightened.

“No, I’m not. Not anymore. I don’t want to be mean ever again.”

His expression sobered before he brushed a soft kiss over my mouth. “I believe you. Even though I probably shouldn’t. But I want to believe that you’ve changed.”

“I have. I am. Feels like one of those videos where they go from black and white to color to make a point. Like…the old me didn’t even have a clue as to how much he was missing, not really. But now I’ve seen what could be possible, and there’s no way I want to go back to a grayscale life.”

“It’s not going to be easy.”

“Nothing worth having ever is.” I echoed one of Bruno’s favorite sayings as my pulse sped up again. Jasper was right. This wasn’t going to be simple. Or easy. I could still end up screwed. And I still had to deal with all the dumb stuff the old me had done. Wanting to change didn’t mean I was going to be able to leave any of that behind. All I could do was hope my past wouldn’t steal my present before I had a chance to enjoy it. But there was also no way I wasn’t going to take this chance. And if I gambled big enough, maybe my future would actually be worth having.

Chapter Twenty-One

Jasper

“I could get used to you being my alarm clock.” I blinked over my shoulder at Milo. My actual alarm had gone off, too, but Milo’s soft kisses were far more welcome than any chime. We’d fooled around again before sleep, and never had I been so grateful for my attached postage-stamp-sized ancient bathroom. Senior perks and all that. And judging by Milo’s smirk, we’d be needing my pitiful supply of hot water again. Soon.

He dropped another kiss on my bare shoulder. “It’s a hard job, but someone has to do it.”

“Well, something’s hard…” I snuggled into him. We really should have slept in clothes in case of something like a dorm-wide fire drill, but Milo was a freaking furnace and I’d barely needed a blanket. Bliss.