I grab her hips and pick her up. Her dress rides up and she wraps her legs around me. I press her against the brick wall. She’s positioned in the perfect spot. I rub against her and she gasps. I jerk my hips and she gasps again. I catch the noise with my mouth. I run my fingers down her cheeks, rock my hips against her and catch another cry in my mouth.

“Jessie,” I say against her lips. I kiss the corner of her mouth. “I want you. I’ll always want you.”

She stops moving. Her hands tighten on my shoulders.

I pause. “What is—”

The sprinkle of rain water turns into an ice-cold flood as three 10-gallon buckets of water pour on my head.

I sputter and cough. The shock of cold runs through my system. I manage not to drop Jessie.

“Save it for the wedding night, Lothario!” shouts Petunia.

Freezing cold replaces the drunken warmth of Jessie’s kiss. I clench my jaw to keep my teeth from chattering. I look down at Jessie. Her expression is…enraged?

My chest tightens and worry stampedes through me. “Are you okay?”

“Put. Me. Down.” She shoves at my chest.

I lower her to her feet and steady her on her high heels. She’s soaking wet. The beaded dress clings to her, outlining every curve. Her hair is loose and wet around her face. She shivers and wraps her arms around herself.

The window to the second floor slams shut. Our audience is gone.

“Don’t ever do that again,” she says, voice cold. She shivers again.

I swallow. It hurts to take a breath. I pull off my suit jacket, the outside is wet, but the inside lining is still dry.

“Here,” I say. I put it around her shoulders.

She shakes it off and hands it back. She starts walking.

“I’ll walk you to your car,” I say.

She scowls and I think she’s about to say no, but then she concedes.

“Alright.” She starts toward the library, her heels click on the sidewalk.

“I meant what I said,” I say in a quiet voice.

She shakes her head. “I know you said you’d do anything to keep me from Gavin, but this is low, even for you.”

It takes a moment for her words to sink in. She thinks… “You think I’m trying to seduce you to keep you from Gavin?” Disgust fills my voice.

She sighs. “I don’t know, Will. What else would it be?”

We’ve made it to the library parking lot. The tall streetlamps flood the lot with light. Jessie’s hatchback is the only car in the lot. The quiet of the night settles around us. We stand in the lot and watch each other.

Water drips down her face. I pull the damp pocket square from my pocket and hold it out to her.

“Here.”