Jared brushed the hair away from my face and kissed the exposed patch of skin on my cheek.

I blinked to focus, and Jared’s blurry form came into view.

“It’s six thirty, sweetheart. You have an eight o’clock class.”

I sat up, immediately grabbing Jared’s arm. “Whoa.”

“Dizzy?” he asked.

“As if you didn’t know.”

He smiled, leaving my side to grab a stack of folded clothes and place them on the end of the bed. “Claire brought some more of your things.”

With my eyes half-closed, I stood up and stretched, and then inched up the hem of my shirt to change.

“Er…Nina?” Jared said, grabbing my hands. “I’ve always thought you were the most beautiful in the morning. Seeing you standing here in my t-shirt is nearly driving me mad. Would you please stop trying to send me over the edge?”

I grimaced at his infuriating insistence on putting off the inevitable. I’d always been the one to procrastinate when dealing with the intimacy issue. Now that I’d felt strong enough about someone to want to press the boundaries, he insisted on dragging his feet.

Sensing my aggravation, he kissed my nose and jogged down the stairs, allowing me the privacy to change.

“I’ll drive you to school, if that’s okay,” Jared said after breakfast.

“That would be great. Thank you.”

The roads were slick with ice, and the trees and grass were frozen in time under the inch-thick frost. Jared effortlessly navigated the Escalade to Brown’s campus, keeping my hand in his until we pulled into the parking lot.

“I’ll meet you here, then?”

“Er…yeah?” I said, caught off guard.

“I thought it would be best if you stayed with me for a few days,” he shrugged, “until your hand heals. You’ll need a fresh dressing every night.”

I pressed my lips together, trying not to let myself get too excited. I didn’t want to tip him off.

“Or not…I can call you later,” he backpedaled.

I slid my arms around his middle. “I would love for you to pick me up.”

Jared’s eyes relaxed. “I will be right here, one-thirty.”

Initially, the excitement of staying with Jared propelled me through the first half-hour of class, but as the hour wore on I had a hard time concentrating. Doubt seeped into my every thought, and I found myself watching the clock, anxiously counting down the minutes.

He had left me on a day much like this one, including the perfect morning of smiles and kisses goodbye. Victory suddenly seemed too easy, and I felt sick with worry that he had appeased me long enough to disappear again.