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Amy's eyes were misting. "Thanks, Evan. For all the amazing work. You're the best."

"Somebody cue the violins," Dan said.

-The Dead of Night, p. 187

-x-

"So that's the boyfriend," Jake blurted. Immediately, he snapped his mouth shut. Stop it.Lately, his thoughts seemed to flow from his brain, straight to his mouth and out. It was like he had ADHD.

Amy was looking at him now. He cursed again. Now that that thought was out, he was forced to keep talking. "The blond boy with the glasses. Evan Tolliver. Your boyfriend?"

Great, now he couldn't even talk in complete sentences.

Amy snapped the laptop shut. They had just finished the video chat with the group in Attleboro. Sinead Starling was there, as usual, as long with Evan Tolliver. "Yes, he's my boyfriend."

"What about the pretty boy?" Jake said, searching his memory. He was good at memorizing facts and info. Names, on the other hand… "The one who went rogue."

Something flickered in Amy's face and was soon gone. "What about Ian?"

"Is he your ex?"

The green eyes widened. "No. Why would you think that?"

Jake shrugged. "The way he looks at you…" God, what was wrong with him? Now Amy was going to think he stalked her boyfriends or something.

There was an awkward pause. Why were they even having this conversation? Why had he brought up Evan Tolliver? He had never talked about dating with Atticus or even with his father. It was a subject too awkward to be discussed, a subject much more complicated than the origin of life or global warming.

"He—he kissed me once," Amy said. Her voice was so soft that Jake had to lean closer to hear her. "In Korea." She cleared her throat and looked up. "But we never dated."

Their faces were so close. Jake felt himself inch forward…he could see the freckles on her nose now…his heart pounded…just a few millimeters left…

And she jerked back. Her face flushed a rosy pink. Jake waited for the slap—after all, she had just told him she had a boyfriend—but it never came. They stared at each other, hazel meeting green.

What had gotten into him? He blamed it on Amy and her brother. They were making him impulsive. Heedless. There was just something about that girl that made him lose his senses. It made him want to run his fingers through her thick russet-colored hair and—

"Okay, who wants to shower next?" Dan walked into the living room. His eyes darted from Jake to Amy and then narrowed.

Jake pushed himself up from the couch. "I'll go."

As he left, he overheard Dan saying, "Now you're with him? He turned us in to Interpol, remember? I'd rather you pick the Computer over that blockhead!"

Jake closed his eyes and let the water wash over him. His muscles relaxed. The crease in his forehead smoothed.

Now he could think.

His thoughts wandered, as it had for the past few days, to Amy Cahill. He had pondered his feelings for her during yesterday's shower and come to the conclusion that he had a crush on the redhead. He admired her intelligence, her strength (both emotional and physical), and her leadership. He adored her red locks and her bright green eyes.

The question now was what to do about it.

He groaned. He had almost kissed her on the couch. If she hadn't stopped him, he would've kissed her and he wouldn't be feeling as discomfited and frustrated as he did now.

But the fact was that Amy had jerked back. She had a boyfriend.

And so the only other option was to wait. It's just a crush, Jake reminded himself. It'll pass over. But all he could think about were the freckles so evenly spaced on Amy's cheekbones…

He groaned and turned off the shower. God, he was such an idiot.