Jared walked with me to the Escalade and held the door open as I climbed inside. By his expression I knew he was aware of the dull pain in my head.

“You’re not going to stand us up again, are you?” she scolded.

“No! No, I’ll meet you there around nine.”

“Good. See you then.” Kim said, disconnecting the line.

I put my cell phone back in my pocket and took Jared’s hand. “I’m sorry,” I groaned. “I think I unwittingly double booked myself.”

My head began to throb. It was difficult skipping back and forth between the two lives I was leading. I was the typical college student when I was with Kim, Ryan and Beth, and when I was with Jared, my life turned into this fantastical dream world with angels and demons and secret safety deposit boxes.

We parked in front of the loft, and Jared sighed. Claire’s Lotus was sparkling beside the curb.

“It doesn’t look like we’d have much time alone, anyway.”

Claire was lounging on the couch in stilettos boots and a leather jacket, flipping through channels on the flat screen. “Ryan’s taking a nap. That guy sleeps like a hibernating bear,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Every branch of the military wants me on a special ops team, and God sticks me with the most boring Taleh in the history of mankind.”

I smiled at her observation, and Jared led me upstairs by the hand.

“Ryan is going to the pub tonight?” Jared called back to his sister.

“Yep,” Claire said. “I’ll see you there.”

“You’re keeping Claire company tonight?” I asked, collapsing onto his bed.

“I think I’ll hang back tonight, let you spend time with your friends,” he said, lying on the mattress beside me.

“You don’t want to come?”

Jared brushed his thumb across my sullen lip. “I always want to be where you are.”

I smiled. “Because you have to.”

“You know that’s not true,” he said, trying his best to seem annoyed.

I leaned over to kiss his cheek. “How do you expect me to have fun when you’re right outside and I’m hoping that any minute you’ll just break down and come in?”

Jared grinned. “How can I say no to that?”

“You’ll come, then?” I asked, raising my eyebrows expectantly.

“If that’s what you want,” Jared shrugged. He tried to seem casual, but beyond the cool blue of his eyes was an edge of hopefulness.

“It’s what I’ll always want,” I whispered, touching his cheek with my fingertips.