“I am Supergirl.”

He laughed again and kissed my hair. “That you are.”

“And you know … I think it’s more to do with the fact that girls need to be attracted to more than just a penis to want sex. I get the impression straight men are just attracted to the vagina.”

This only made Lowe laugh harder. “You’d be surprised.” He sighed and after a minute quietly muttered, “Jake’s a fucking moron.”

I decided it was best I didn’t ask him to confirm what he meant by that.

There was so much food inside my stomach, I was impressed I’d managed to fold myself into my mom’s car and drive myself to Jake’s. I’d just spent Thanksgiving dinner with my parents, and my mom had gone overboard, illogically compensating for the fact that my sister wasn’t with us. Well, she was kind of with us. We’d sat my laptop at the end of the table and Andie had Skyped with us from Dublin while we ate. I’d have felt sorry for her watching us scarf down Mom’s delicious turkey dinner and incredible pumpkin pie, but Andie had made her own little Thanksgiving dinner for her and a couple of her fellow Americans. Since she’d inherited Mom’s cooking gene, I could imagine it had been pretty good.

When I told my parents I was going over to see Jake, my mom was the one who protested. “Isn’t it enough that one of my daughters isn’t here for Thanksgiving?” she bemoaned. Surprisingly, it was Dad who came to my rescue.

“Let her go. They haven’t seen each other in twenty-four hours. It must be killing them,” he said, flashing me a teasing smile before returning his eyes to the game. The Eagles were playing the Cardinals, neither of which were my dad’s team, yet still he watched.

Somehow in the last few weeks, Jake had weaseled his way into my dad’s good graces. Whether it was because I was happy or because Jake could charm the pants off anyone, I don’t know. All I did know was that last Sunday, I’d gone into the kitchen to get Jake a soda and when I returned, he and Dad were watching the game and I might as well have been invisible. They made disparaging comments about the Rams and reassured each other that their team (the Chicago Bears) would pull it together. In the end, the Bears whipped the Rams 27-3 and that victory seemed to cement some kind of bond between Dad and Jake. I didn’t care that it took football to do it. I was just glad it was done.

It was freezing outside, so despite the fact that my cheeks were blazing and my whole body was warm with Delia Redford’s cooking, I bundled into my winter coat and scarf and got into Mom’s car. Thankfully, it hadn’t snowed yet this month so I had clear roads to Jake’s. He lived on the other side of town in a newer development built in front of the creek, so he had beautiful views from the rooms at the back of his house. Including his bedroom. I’d been in his bedroom a couple of times, but his mom made us keep the door open while we studied. He still managed to sneak in quick make-out sessions, but the heavy make-out sessions were reserved for the inside of Hendrix. We couldn’t use the truck bed because of the weather, but I’d already begun fantasizing about next summer and the possibilities to be had.

“Charley, so good to see you, sweetie,” Mrs. Caplin greeted me at the door. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

I hugged her tight. “Happy Thanksgiving, Mrs. C.”

She led me into their large sitting room and I met Jake’s eyes as soon as I entered. He smiled at me and lazily got up off the couch, sauntering over to me for a hug.

“Don’t squeeze me too tight. I’m full,” I mumbled against his chest, clutching onto his back.

Jake chuckled and turned me in his arms so he wasn’t blocking me from everyone. I said hi to Lukas and Mr. Caplin, and waited for Jake to introduce me to the older woman who I knew was his nana—he’d told me she was visiting. She was sitting on the arm of Mr. C.’s chair, her long, gray hair pulled back on each side with glittery slides. She wore a long gypsy skirt and a warm, knitted pink sweater.

“Charley, this is Nana. Nana, this is Charley.”

She raised her eyebrows at him. “How many girls you got, boy?”

I tensed against his side and Jake squeezed my arm. “Cut it, Nana.”

“No,” I pulled out from under his arm, crossing mine over my chest. “How many girls you got, Jake?” I tilted my head in question, half teasing, half concerned.

Mrs. C. rubbed my shoulder. “Jake’s nana is just teasing. Amanda Reyes dropped by this morning with a pumpkin pie and was a bit obvious about her crush on Jake. It was sweet. She blushed a lot. Poor thing. She must be the only one in town who doesn’t know my boy is head over heels for you.”

Although her comment made me melt into goo inside, I knew Jake’s mischievous nana was waiting for a reaction. She instantly reminded me of Lukas. Now I knew where he got his cheeky devilishness from. Projecting nonchalance, I nodded and turned back to the room. “Her pie any good?”

Jake’s nana chuckled, her eyes bright on me. “Good answer.”

“If you’re done causing trouble, Charley and I are going to hang out upstairs.”

“You’re not watching the game?” I didn’t want to interrupt him when it was obvious that’s what he’d been doing before my arrival.

“Not my team.” He shook his head, gently pushing me out of the sitting room.

“Keep your door open!” Mrs. C. shouted after us.

I climbed their wide staircase, feeling my remaining energy begin to dissipate under the weight of my food intake. “Are you saying if it had been your team, you wouldn’t have left to have alone time with me?”

“That’s not what I’m saying. There is such a thing as a record button, you know.”

“You’re not like other boys,” I mumbled and then face-planted on his bed. “I ate too much,” I said, my mouth pressed against his pillow. It sounded more like, “M mm mm mmuh.”

I heard his deep chuckle behind me and then the bed depressed as he sat on it. “Let’s get your coat off before you pass out.”

Reluctantly, I sat up and let Jake unwind my scarf and slip off my coat. The whole time I stared at his mouth, my eyes lidded and heavy with food exhaustion. He brushed his mouth over mine and settled us back on the bed so I was lying on my side, my back to his chest, his legs intertwined with mine. Snuggling me closer, Jake wrapped his arm around my waist and clutched my hand. “I missed you today,” he whispered against my shoulder.

I smiled sleepily. “I love you.”

I was out before I even realized I’d said it out loud.

My eyes opened to the dark. Where was I? What had happened? I shot up into a sitting position, willing my eyes to adjust to the light, and then swallowed a shriek at the feel of a warm hand on my lower back.

“Baby, it’s me,” Jake whispered. “You fell asleep.”

It came to me that I was in Jake’s bedroom. I relaxed back against the pillow as his face formed in the dark from the crack of light streaming in from the window above his bed. He put his arm around me and drew me into him.

“What happened?” I whispered against his mouth.

“Mom called your mom to let your parents know you fell asleep here.”

“And they just let you stay with me?” I asked incredulously, keeping my voice low.

Jake laughed softly. “Yeah, right. I’m supposed to be on the couch. I came back up after everyone went to bed.”

I dropped my head, nuzzling my face against his throat. A few weeks ago, I’d gone on a shopping trip with Mom to Chicago and on impulse bought Jake cologne that made my mouth water. He’d worn it every day since and every day since, I found an excuse to bury my head against his neck and inhale him.

Jake held me tighter and I felt him grow hard against my upper thigh. My breath caught and I moved my leg over his hip. He rocked gently against me, shooting delicious tingles through me. I lifted my head and met his eyes two seconds before I kissed him. The kiss turned deep and hot fast, and Jake rolled me beneath him, my inner thighs clutching his hips as he tortured me by rubbing his denim-clad erection against the denim seam between my legs.