what a woman! i.

quarante-deux

Jasper looks away from Keith and takes a peek at Tatum, making sure she was all right. He placed his hand softly on her right shoulder, she grabs his hand and decides to try and calm him down. She knew he was fuming, it was hard to see, but she saw it. 

"So are you two a thing now?"

They look away from each other towards Keith. He was shocked. Agitated. Angry. Upset. Guilty and jealous. Which only made Jasper angrier. Tatum looks at Jasper's side profile, his face was relaxed for the most part, but his eyebrow twitching caught her eye. She grabs his hand, which had slipped her grasp earlier, and starts to trace the creases on his palm.

The two don't answer Keith. They just ignore him, looking at each other. Jasper grabs her hand back and pulls her towards the library. They greet the old Asian librarian and go behind the section of romance novels. Jasper pushes her against the wall, he gives her enough space so that she can leave if she wants. He places his hands on either side of her head. 

"I leave you alone-"

"For twenty minutes blah blah blah. Yeah, I get it," Tatum says, cutting Jasper off. He smirks seductively at her, her cheeks becoming very, very red. She grabs the front collar of his sweater and pulling him closer. "Just kiss me already."

He leans in extremely slow, purposefully torturing her. She rolls her eyes and watches intently, waiting and waiting for him to finally do it. She wasn't going to do it. She wanted to see how long she could go without losing it. He keeps going forward slowly. But, it comes to bite him back in the butt. 

"Mr. Haley? Are you checking anotha bouk? I sugges' Da Call of da Wil'!" the librarian says, walking towards the two. He stops short when he sees their current position. 

"Oh no! Mr. Haley! I 'ought you were smarter than that!" the librarian shouts. Jasper quickly reels back and places a guilty look upon his face.

"Sorry, Mr. Weng. It's a one-time thing," he says, listening as Tatum's heart rate picks up. He places a hand on her waist and pulls her towards him. He wasn't going to let her get off so easy. "This is-"

"TATUM JAY FERNSBY! My 'avorite studen'!" the librarian shouts joyfully. Jasper's jaw drops as Tatum waves at the old man. Tatum hadn't told Jasper about how many times she would spend study hall in the library with Mr. Weng. She was kind of happy she didn't, his reaction was priceless.

Luckily, for Tatum and Jasper, the bell rings and the two sprint out of the library. Hand in hand, running together. Jasper holding onto her backpack and pulling her along. He was technically lightly jogging compared to what he could actually run. He pulls her all the way to her class, stopping when he notices that the hallway was emptying up. They reach the door and Jasper turns to face her.

"A quick one before I leave?" he asks, hoping that she'd comply. Instead, she smiles softly and tilts her head. She gently taps his cold cheek.

"Not a chance."

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Tatum walks through the grocery store, looking for candy canes, hot chocolate, and oysters. Weirdly enough, it was a cultural tradition that they have roast goose, cheese, venison, chestnut, lobster, and oysters. Her dad had already picked up the lobsters, chestnuts, venison, and eight different desserts. She needed eggnog, oysters, and five more desserts.

After finding everything she needed, she grabs some pre-packaged raspberry thumbprint cookies for herself and sets off for the checkout. She pays for everything and is on her way home.

When she gets home, she finds her parents' cars in the garage and her car being left outside. She grabs the groceries and quickly sprints inside. She lets the warm house melt the snow off her body. She is instantly enveloped in a hug from Avery and he starts rambling about his day at school. She shuffles with her nephew into the kitchen to find her family making a big supper. 

"What's all this about?" 

"Well," Mrs. Fernsby says, looking at her husband. The two were very smiley. "We have a surprise at supper."

"Oh damn."

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