"Having to hear that joke was punishment enough for my terrible taste in boys, I'm not going unlaid too," Cassie teased back. And, because it was in range and it was easier to pretend that he didn't look like a more-muscular version of his sixteen-year-old self from the back (ridiculous hair aside), she ducked in to lick the edge of his ear as they passed through the doorway.

"Looking forward to seeing you again," she said quietly while she was still in close. "This nostalgia trip is all well and good, but I miss seeing your these-days face."