Page 52 of Jump on Three

I had to giggle, which felt a lot better than being morose and regretful. “I’ll consider it. How about that?”

“I think that’s as good as I’m gonna get.” She swiped the remote from the couch. “Now, what if we watch Party Girl to cap off our night?”

“As long as you don’t mind me reciting most of the lines.”

She pinned me with an amused stare. “I’d expect nothing less.”

By the time I stumbled sleepily back to my room, it was way past my normal bedtime. Since I was already in my pajamas, all I had to do was brush my teeth and I’d be out. Movement outside drew me to my window.

A black car pulled up to the curb, and in a reverse of normal events, the driver rounded the car, opened the door, and Ivan climbed out. He towered over the driver, dipping low to say something to him, then clapped him on the shoulder.

My stomach twisted as he faced the building. This was when he would look up. He would see me watching him. I pressed my hand to the glass, answering his wave before he offered it.

His gaze didn’t even flicker upward. Without a single glance to my window, he walked inside.

I checked the time. Three a.m.

Where did you go, Ivan Sokolov?

And what were you doing all night?

Chapter Seventeen

Evelyn

My rideshare driver was an older woman named Sal. She told me her mother had named her “Sally Forth,” not after the comic but the phrase.

I had never heard of either, so once I looked them up, I understood Sally Forth was a pretty good name. It meant to embark on an endeavor, leaving a safe place behind…which was sort of what we were doing now.

This plan was ridiculous, but I hadn’t been able to talk myself out of it.

I had to know where Ivan went at night.

“I see a car coming, kiddo.” Sal had a smoker’s voice and talked like she was from a 1940s spy film. It was endearing and made me instantly trust her.

“Okay. Remember, don’t follow too closely. We don’t want them to notice us.”

She saluted me in the rearview mirror. “You’ve got it.”

I was in the back seat of Sal’s lime green Volkswagen Beetle, which was parked near my dorm in perfect viewing position. Hardly inconspicuous, I was banking on the idea of hiding in plain sight.

Fortunately for me, not only did Sal speak like a spy, she had the heart of one too. When I’d informed her of our mission, she’d immediately agreed to team up with me.

This was undoubtedly the most off-the-wall thing I had ever done, but I could not get Ivan’s secret night outings out of my head. I’d tried for the last week to no avail.

It did not help that he had completely withdrawn from our tentative friendship. He no longer sat beside me in the dining hall. In fact, he now sat at Felix’s table most of the time. And on the bus ride to a swim meet, he’d sat by himself, several rows ahead of me.

I should have been glad room three was all mine, but nothing about this felt good. I missed our texts. More than anything, I missed being the focus of Ivan’s attention.

This being the first time I’d rejected a boy and regretted it, I had no clue how to fix the situation.

Following him did not seem like a logical first step, but no one had talked me out of it and Sal was all in.

Of course, Sal was the only one I’d told, but that was not the point.

The point was Ivan was climbing into the black car and hadn’t spotted us.

Sal pulled out behind him, keeping a respectable distance. Soon, we were on a freeway, heading toward LA.