Paper Hearts

by Ali Novak

  “Nobody wants to watch Casino Royale, Oliver,” Xander said, throwing one of the couch pillows at him. “Thanks to you, we’ve seen it a million times.”

  “Actually, I wouldn’t mind,” Boomer replied. “There’s an Aston Martin DBS in that film.”

  Oliver beamed. “You like James Bond?”

  “He likes cars,” Asha answered with a snort. And, as if that was reason enough to drink, she held out her cup to JJ, who still had the bottle in hand. He obliged, pouring a shot worth of vodka and sliding it over to her. Without hesitation, Asha threw back the booze in one go.

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” JJ said, rubbing his hands together. “So whose turn is it?”

  “I’ll go,” Alec offered. “Who’s most likely to be abducted by aliens?”

  “Come on!” Xander grumbled when everyone except me and Asha voted for him. We both pointed at Boomer. “It’s like you guys are trying to get me drunk. I’m not putting up with this anymore. It’s time for a change of entertainment.”

  Chapter 15

  “Why does your team get to be the cops?”

  “Because,” JJ said. “I’m more manly and overall better looking than you, Xander. Besides, you keep an inhaler in your back pocket.”

  “I have asthma, not paraplegia,” Xander complained. “And what does that have to do with anything?”

  Everyone was gathered outside on the back patio of Safe House, and a few feet away from us, JJ and Xander were arguing. The rain had stopped, but the air still had a heavy wetness to it, and every time I took a breath, I felt like my lungs had been hooked up to a humidifier. Not wanting my curls to frizz, I twisted my hair up into a bun.

  “Maybe you should decide by seniority,” Boomer suggested. He was standing between the two boys, arms crossed over his chest like a referee. All he needed was a whistle.

  “In that case, I still win,” JJ announced.

  Xander threw up his hands. “No way is that fair! You picked first so you could have Oliver on your team. I should at least get to decide whether we’re the good guys or the bad guys.”

  “Is it just me,” I whispered, leaning in so only Asha could hear me. “Or do they act like a bunch of little kids?”

  I wasn’t merely referring to the Heartbreakers’ inability to make decisions without squabbling, but their choice of entertainment. Back in the basement, after deciding that Most Likely had run its course, Oliver suggested we play Cops and Robbers.

  Outside.

  At night.

  In the creepy forest that I wasn’t entirely convinced was devoid of vampires and other nightmarish creatures.

  I’d never heard of the game, and when Oliver detailed the rules, it sounded like a giant game of team tag. Something kids did for fun at recess, not a group of almost adults. Both Oliver and JJ were horrified I’d never played before, claiming I’d missed out on some childhood rite of passage. Maybe it was because I didn’t have memories of hanging with the neighbor kids to reminisce over, but the game sounded dreadful to me. There was nothing fun about running. Nothing.

  Despite this, tag was preferable to starting another drinking game, so I’d grudgingly agreed.

  “Maturity isn’t their strong suit,” Stella said, answering my question.

  Asha and I turned at the sound of her voice. I hadn’t realized anyone else was listening, but there she was, standing a few feet away from us, eyes gleaming with amusement.

  “I think that’s why people like them,” Asha said, unabashed that we’d been caught talking about our hosts. “They’re real, you know? Just four guys who like to goof off and have fun.”

  “Yeah,” Stella agreed. “It’s part of their charm.”

  “Are you talking about us?” Alec asked, stepping up behind her.

  Stella jumped at his sudden appearance and pressed a hand against her chest. “Jesus! I hate it when you do that.” The grin on Alec’s face confirmed he knew this, but that he enjoyed scaring the crap out of her more.

  “Okay, okay!” JJ exclaimed, putting his hands up in defeat. “My team will be the robbers. I make a more ruggedly handsome villain anyway.”

  “Good, let’s start,” Stella said. She made a show of covering her eyes and announced, “Robbers have until the count of sixty to get out of here, starting now. One, two, three…”

  Oliver and JJ both darted into the night, and that was my cue to leave as well.

  “Come on, let’s go,” Asha said, ushering me down the stone steps.

  Glancing back over my shoulder, I stared longingly at the warm light cast around the patio and the four people who stood there. We’d been divided into two teams: JJ, Oliver, Asha, and myself versus Xander, Alec, Boomer, and Stella. I felt bad when JJ picked me second after Oliver, claiming I “looked like a runner,” since my athletic skills were dismal at best.

  “Keep up, ladies,” Oliver called from somewhere ahead of us.

  And from behind “…eight, nine, ten…”

  I hurried after Asha as she sped across the slick grass, not wanting to lose her. The backyard floodlight only illuminated a small part of the expansive lawn, and the farther we got from the house, the thicker the darkness around us grew. Finally we hit the tree line, and according to Oliver, there was a fence about twenty yards in that served as our boundary for the game. He and JJ were crouched at the base of a huge ash tree, talking game logistics.

  “I think it’s strategically best if we stick to the trees,” JJ was saying.

  We went over and joined them.

  “We should also split up,” Oliver said. “Make it harder for them to find us.”

  Jeez. They were taking themselves way too seriously.

  “Are you fast?” JJ asked us.

  “Asha is,” I said, proudly jabbing a finger in her direction. “Me? Not so much.”

  “Dang,” Oliver said. “Maybe you can find somewhere to hide.”

  “Yeah, sure,” I said, even though the last, absolute last thing I wanted to do was wait around by myself in the dark for someone—or something—to find me. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms.

  “Are you cold?” JJ asked.

  Whoa. Was that actual concern I detected in his voice?

  “I’ll be fine,” I said, ignoring the goose bumps climbing my bare arms. “I’m just not a big fan of running. Or creepy, dark forests.”

  “Here, take this.”

  He unzipped his hoodie and yanked it off. When he held it out to me, my brain took a good second to process what was happening. JJ was actually being amicable instead of cracking some smart-ass joke.

  “Um, thanks,” I said and tugged it on. It was way too big for me, and the sleeves hung well past my fingertips, but it was soft on the inside and smelled of citrus from his cologne. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said with a shrug.

  I half expected him to make a pervy joke about how obvious it was that I was freezing, or maybe something about him not needing an extra layer because he was hot-blooded, but he turned back to Oliver, his attention already refocused on the game at hand.

  “So, Felicity,” Oliver said. “Are you by any chance good at climbing trees?”

  • • •

  “You’re kidding, right?” I looked up at the gnarled oak that towered over us. Oliver followed my gaze but didn’t seem concerned about the branches twisting in the wind. Which was probably because he wasn’t the one who would be risking his life. No, he was offering up mine instead. “You can’t actually expect me to climb this thing.”

  “I was kind of hoping you would,” he said. “I’m not big on losing.”

  This was getting ridiculous. If I’d known Alec’s friends would get this competitive over a game of tag, I’d have stayed in the basement drinking vodka and watching James Bond.

  “Yeah, well, I�
��m not big on broken bones.”

  “Come on,” he said. “It’s not that high. I’ll give you a boost.” And there was that Oliver Perry smile again—one part charm, one part magic, and a whole lot of confidence.

  But it wasn’t going to work. Not on me.

  I crossed my arms. “Not going to happen.”

  Oliver’s eyebrows dipped together, and he ran a finger over his lip. “What if I can get JJ to stop with the redhead jokes?”

  “Can you guarantee that?”

  The grin returned. “Most definitely. You wouldn’t believe half the dirt I have on him.”

  “Fine,” I agreed. “But no more comments about Boomer’s height. Or making fun of me and Alec.” My checks turned pink when I added the last condition, but I knew it was too dark for Oliver to see the color on my face.

  “Are you negotiating?”

  I started to smile, amused that my rebuff had caught him off guard, but then I looked up at the tree and the feeling quickly faded. I gritted my teeth. “Sure am.”

  “Okay.” His voice was cheerful, like he was glad I’d challenged him and held my ground. “You got yourself a deal.”

  He took a step closer to the oak, which was either my soon-to-be hiding spot or the place of my last moments on earth, and cupped his hands together, making a cradle for my foot. Since putting him on the spot about the constellation book, I didn’t feel as uncomfortable around Oliver as I had when he showed me to the guest room. His moment of self-consciousness revealed he wasn’t as imposing as I’d made him out to be, but I was about to put myself in his hands—literally—and that made my nerves returned.

  “Felicity?” His hands locked together, and he glanced over at me, expectantly.

  “Sorry.” I sucked in a quick breath and tried to settle my thoughts. I could do this, pretend that the guy boosting me up into a terrifying tree wasn’t the celebrity of my generation and hide in said terrifying tree all by myself.

  All this trouble to win a stupid game.

  I stepped into Oliver’s hands, putting one of my own on his shoulder for support, and then kicked off the ground, driving myself upward to reach for the lowest branch. He helped lift me, and I managed to wrap my fingers around the rough bark and hoist myself up. It took me a few seconds to arrange myself, but then, panting, I settled against the trunk.

  “Hey, guys,” I heard Asha’s voice call from somewhere in the small clearing. She and JJ had spread out to keep watch. “They’re coming. Let’s get out of here.”

  Oliver craned his neck and tried to find me in the dark above. “You good?” he asked.

  I sucked in another breath. “I think so.”

  “Okay, shout if there’s a problem,” he instructed me. “Otherwise, we’ll come back to get you once time’s up.” Then he was gone, disappearing into the charcoal shadows with the skill of a well-trained spy.

  Sitting by myself in the tree wasn’t nearly as scary as I’d first thought it would be. I listened to wind play with the leaves and enjoyed the fresh scents of the night. Unlike in LA, the air here smelled clean. Like pine needles and something sweet, and I couldn’t get enough of it into my lungs.

  At one point, Boomer and Xander ran through the glade together, passing straight under my tree, but I stayed completely still and held my breath, and neither of them spotted me.

  More time passed, so much so that I wondered if I’d been forgotten, left to find my own way down from the oak tower. Somewhere in the foliage nearby, a bird screeched, causing my pulse to spike.

  The woods grew quiet again, but this time, it didn’t feel as inviting as before. I made up my mind to call out for help like Oliver had told me, but then I saw a flash of something white that made me reconsider. I squinted. It was Alec’s platinum hair. He was jogging along the edge of the clearing, scanning the open space, and the path he was on would inevitably lead him right to me.

  As soon as he was close enough, I called his name. “Alec!”

  By giving my position away, I knew my team would lose, but unlike Oliver and JJ, I couldn’t care less about winning Cops and Robbers. Oliver would be mad, considering the deal we made, but our agreement was to get me up the tree. It said nothing of what I could or couldn’t do once I was in it.

  Alec stopped short. “Hello?” He turned his head left and right. “Stella, is that you?”

  “Up here.”

  His head snapped back. “Felicity?”

  “Hi.”

  “What are you doing in a tree?”

  “Ah, hiding?” I offered. Although technically, I wasn’t doing a good job of it.

  He shook his head once, then, after taking a few steps back, he ran forward, leaped up, and hooked his hands around my branch. He hung there for a moment, waiting for his body to stop swinging back and forth, before heaving himself up and throwing a leg over the solid oak limb.

  When he was finally situated across from me, his mouth tugged into a wolflike grin. “Looks like I’ve found myself a little bird.”

  I let out a little laugh. “Far from it. I definitely didn’t fly up here on my own.”

  “Meaning…?”

  “Oliver had to boost me up. And let me tell you…that was no easy feat, not to mention scary. I have no clue how I’m going to get down.”

  “What made you decide it was a good idea to climb up here in the dark?” he asked.

  “Well, I didn’t do a stellar job of selling Oliver on my running abilities, so he thought it best that I hide instead,” I told him. “Your friend is insanely competitive.”

  “And you actually agreed to that?”

  “Not exactly. Let’s just say we came to an arrangement.”

  Alec looked at me in suspicion. “What kind of arrangement?”

  “Unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to tell,” I said with a grin. In all honesty, I didn’t want to explain the deal to Alec or, more specifically, the final part of it—that the boys had to stop teasing him about me. By asking that of Oliver, I’d practically admitted something was going on between us. Which, after that kiss, I couldn’t deny any longer. But Alec and I had yet to talk about what’d happened, and I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. “How about you help me down and we forget I ever climbed up here?”

  “I will,” he said, “but not until they’re done chasing each other around.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the time. “There are still ten minutes left in the game. Until then, I like you right where you are.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

  Nodding, Alec inched himself forward on the branch. “I figure since you’re stuck up here…” He trailed off, a smile lighting up his lips as he lifted his shoulder in a partial shrug.

  Then he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to mine. The kiss was gentle, his lips like a whisper, and whether that was for safety reasons or because he was trying to control himself, I couldn’t tell. One of his hands stayed on the branch for support, but the other slid into my hair.

  I wanted to move closer, to drape my arms around his neck, but I kept my back pressed firmly against the tree trunk so I wouldn’t fall. It didn’t take long before I lost myself in the kiss—his fingers tangled in my curls, the pounding of my heart, a prickle of stubble as his chin brushed mine—and my hands unwittingly moved up and touched his jaw.

  As my balance shifted, my stomach wobbled, and I pulled away to steady myself again. “This seems highly dangerous,” I said.

  “All right, fine.” Alec made a point of grumbling, but there was a smirk hidden under his fake exasperation. “I suppose I’ll help you down.”

  • • •

  When my feet were firmly planted on the ground, Alec and I decided to lie out in the middle of the clearing. The grass was dewy from the recent rain, and the clouds made it impossible to see the night sky, but I didn’t mind. He had an arm wrapped around m
e, the other folded behind his head, and I was using his shoulder as a pillow. Bugs buzzed in my ear and my yoga pants got damp, but it was nice relaxing together.

  “That isn’t your sweatshirt, is it?” he asked, tugging on the material.

  I shook my head. “I was cold, so JJ loaned his to me.” I paused, surprised by the words about to come out of my mouth. “I’ll admit, your friends aren’t that bad.”

  He laughed, his whole upper body shaking. “They might be obnoxious and immature, but they’re all heart and grow on you quickly.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “Stella’s super nice too.” Since we were already on the subject, I took a deep breath and said, “You and she seem close.”

  I felt Alec shift. “We are. In some ways, we’re very similar, so we’ve always understood each other.”

  Whatever similarities he was talking about were lost on me. Stella seemed more like Oliver, outgoing and not afraid to speak her mind, but I suppose I didn’t know her well enough to understand.

  “You liked her,” I guessed.

  “When we first met?” He sighed. “Maybe a little. But it was Oliver and her from the start, and it never felt…like this.”

  I couldn’t help it—I inhaled sharply. I wasn’t sure why I was so surprised to hear him acknowledge that he felt something between us. Maybe it was because ever since discovering who he was, the idea of us being together—or an us anything—was so unimaginable that I did my best to suppress the thought.

  “What is this?” I asked with bated breath.

  At first, he didn’t answer, and I willed myself not to fidget. “I’m not sure,” he answered honestly. “But I, uh, never finished what I was saying in the library. About Vanessa’s wedding.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Would you maybe…be my plus one?”

  “Me?” I lifted myself slightly, turning my head to look at him. “I mean, you really want me to go with you?” Going to his sister’s wedding was pretty intense first-date material.

  “Yeah.” He pulled me closer, and I could feel the heat of his body bleeding through JJ’s sweatshirt. “I really do.”