“Hands on hips, Jade snickered. "I'm invincible. Go ahead and give it your best shot.""I wonder how invincible you'd be if I shoved an M-80 up your ass?”

“As I walked away, I heard Kale tell Fin to stop staring at my ass or he was going to punish him. I couldn’t help but smile.”

“I'm never going to get used to that," he said, smiling. "Used to what?""The way I feel like I'm going to explode every time you come close. The way my head fills up with just you when you do that.”

“So what'd we miss?" Jade pulled a chair from the next table and wedged it between Kale and Dax. "We were just about to vote you off the island," I said, stirring my coffee."You've got my vote," Kiernan said enthusiastically, glaring at Jade.”

“I backed us up against the wall. “How I feel? You want to know?” I ran my hands over his face and tangled them into his messy hair. “This is unlike anything else. I’ve bungeed off buildings, I’ve skateboarded off roofs. I’ve even gone train surfing. Nothing comes close to the high I feel when I’m with you. You’ve been through horrible things, and yet you’re one of the kindest, truest people I’ve ever met. At first I thought it was because you weresafe. I could feel something for you because you couldn’t hurt me. Not the way Alex did. But it’s more than that. It’s you. Who you are. The way you are. Everything from your smile to the way you always say exactly what’s on your mind. Your soul, Kale.”

“Ohmygod," Jade whispered, panicked. She grabbed my arm and yanked, almost knocking me off balance. "Something moved in those bushes."I shoved her off, pointed to the ground, and smiled. From under the bush, long ears attached to a tiny brown speckles head peeked out. "Yeah. That bunny is a Denazen suit in disguise. Where do you suppose he's hiding his gun? Or maybe he doesn't need one. Maybe he's a martial arts master trained in the art of kickassery.”

“That was your past. I am your future.”