Trembling(2)

I heard the door to Jason's bedroom slam as Hallam stormed out.



Sheepishly, I pulled the pillow off my head and looked at Jason. "Hey," I said.



"Good morning," said Jason, but he didn't sound at all happy about it.



Jason was probably one of the most beautiful human beings I'd ever seen. He had dusky skin, perfect and unmarred, huge dark eyes, and a shock of dark hair that tended to fall into his eyes. Looking at him, no matter where I was or what I was doing, nearly always took my breath away, made me tremble inside.



"I'm sorry?" I said. I hoped he wasn't going to be too mad.



Jason sighed. He sat down on the edge of the bed, next to me. "What are you sorry about?"



"Sorry I got so drunk," I said.



Jason shook his head. "It's not your fault," he said. He reached for me. Stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. "It's Jude's fault."



"Jude?" I asked. For some reason, Jason did not like Jude very much.



"He got you all messed up and then he just abandoned you," said Jason.



It was true that Jude had disappeared last night. But I wanted Jason to like Jude. Jude was probably my best friend. "We were at a party," I said. "I'm sure he just got . . . distracted."



"Don't defend him," said Jason.



"He's my friend." I had to defend him. If I didn't, Jason would never start liking him. Ever.



Jason rolled his eyes. "I don't know why you spend so much time with that jerk, anyway."



"He's fun!" I said.



"Right," said Jason. He looked down at his hands. "Unlike me, right?"



"Jason!" I rolled over in bed, frustrated. My head pounded angrily at the sudden movement. "There is no reason to compare the two of you. You're Jason. He's Jude. You're both fun, just in different ways."



"I just feel like I never see you anymore. You're always hanging out with him. You're never hanging out with me."



"You sound jealous."



Jason shrugged.



"Jesus, he's gay!" I exclaimed. "He's like a girl."



"Except he's not a girl," said Jason.



"Oh my God," I muttered. I sat up in bed, carefully this time, so as not to upset my throbbing head. I crawled over to Jason. Hugged him from behind. "Don't be jealous of Jude," I murmured, kissing Jason's neck. "You shouldn't be jealous of anyone, ever. No one could ever be to me what you are. You're . . . Jason."



Jason turned his head and his lips met mine. "I know that," he whispered in a husky voice. It always made me swoon. It was the voice meant only for me. He didn't talk to anyone else in that voice.



I caressed his face. Ran my finger over the line of his jaw. He winced.



I leaned forward. "Are you hurt?"



"It's nothing," Jason said, standing up.



I flopped back on the bed. "What did you do?" I demanded. "Did you get in another fight?"



"I . . ." Jason trailed off.



"Jason!"



"I'm sorry," he said. "But you should have heard this guy. He had it coming. That bastard."



"What happened?" I asked.



"I couldn't find you when I got to the party," said Jason. "But I found that jerk, Jude, and he said he put you in a tent. And you were fine." Jason glowered into space.



"A tent?" I had no memory of being in a tent.



"Yeah," said Jason. "That dickwad just dumped you there and ran off."



"At least he put me in a tent," I said. Wow. How drunk had I been? A thought suddenly occurred to me. "Oh God. You didn't beat up Jude, did you?"



Jason shook his head. "No."



"Good," I said. Because if my boyfriend had beaten up my best friend, it probably would have meant I didn't have a best friend anymore. And the thought of Jason punching skinny, prissy Jude was almost too much to handle. He would have destroyed Jude.



"Jude never could have gotten a punch on me," said Jason.



Of course not. I snorted.



"So I found the tent, and this guy was standing outside. I looked inside. You were in there, passed out. And you were only wearing your bikini."



"What?!" I demanded. I had gone to that party clothed, dammit. "Where were my clothes?"



"In the tent," said Jason.



So how did they get off? I didn't ask that question out loud. Concerned, I wiggled my pelvis. It felt . . . fine. "What happened?" I repeated.



Jason didn't look at me. "The guy outside the tent said that he wouldn't say anything if I . . ." Jason trailed off. He whipped his head around and looked straight in my eyes. "He said to save him seconds."