Matt suggested, eyeing her with concern etched in his youthful features. Faith sat at the kitchen table, fighting the urge to close her eyes and rest her head upon the smooth, cool surface. She impatiently wiped at the persistent sheen of perspiration across her brow and shivered slightly beneath the three layers of flannel. “Matt, don’t sneak up on me like that,” she chastised gently. “And don’t be ridiculous. You’ve been looking forward to this for two weeks.” “It’s not a big deal,” he shrugged, pinning her with a look way too mature for a fourteen year old. “Neither is this.” Matt crossed his arms over his chest, just like she’d seen Kieran do when she wasn’t being completely honest. She knew then that she must look even worse than she’d thought. “All I’m going to do is have some soup and make it an early night. You’d give up an all-guys weekend at Jace’s cabin for that?” Jace and Matt had become fast friends, and the former had invited Matt up to his family’s cabin for their annual “male retreat”
