Part of me doesn’t want to say it back. Or say me too or ditto instead. Or something that would be totally out of character for me. But because Jacob has now started calling me again, I take the easy way out. “Love you too.” I give him a weak smile before I end the call without another thought.

“Hi.” I lean forward as soon as his face shows up on the screen and I press a kiss to the camera. “I miss you so much.” I don’t wait for him to ask me why I didn’t answer when he called and texted. “Parker FaceTimed me, it’s why I couldn’t answer your calls or your texts…” I put a hand over my forehead.

He frowns. “You answered him… like that?” he says, referring to my naked, wet body.

“He didn’t see anything. I had the phone angled away from me and then I picked a fight so he wouldn’t ask. I got in here to wait for you.” I can see the relief on his face but he still looks irritated. “Are you mad?”

“No.” He shakes his head. “I trust you, baby.”

“I almost told him. I was angry and I snapped and it was on the verge of coming out and then you called me. In retrospect, I’m glad I didn’t because that’s not the way I wanted to tell him. Here in New York, on the phone and not in person, while he’s in the hospital and his parents are here and you’re there in California.”

He nods. “Why were you angry?”

“Because of how he’s been all day. And then you texted and he asked who it was… I’m not saying he’s not entitled to ask. But I’m here away from every single person in my life in a high intense situation. It could have been my parents or Chloe or my brother and the way he asked made it seem like I was doing something shady. And maybe part of my anger is that he can see through all of this. That he knows me so well and that’s frustrating the hell out of me because he’s not giving me the benefit of the doubt at all even though I don’t fucking deserve it.”

“The more I think about it, I would prefer you told him while I was in the same state. He’s a little too… intense about you?”

I blink at him. “Intense? I think he’s just insecure, JP and I didn’t know that until now. I mean, there were signs but… this is on another level.”