She was, after all, only three at the time. Some other kid had done something evil to Mr. Snuggles, and James had gone beyond merely rescuing him. He also insulted the bully before returning the toy cat to Jenny, thus endearing himself to her forever. Over the years, mutual acquaintances had often asked why they didn't get together. Jenny had to agree that, in addition to their close friendship, she and James had undeniable chemistry. Yet the timing had simply never worked out right; it was rare that both she and James were single at the same time. Plus, while Jenny had often wondered what it would be like to go beyond their normal flirtation, she wasn't sure if she wanted to risk such a longstanding friendship to find out. She walked into James' house, not bothering to knock first, and hollered for him to come downstairs and hear her good news. He came down, and after just a quick glance, said, "You got it; I can tell.” Giving her a quick hug, he added, “Congratulations, kid, you deserve it." She accepted his hug while rolling her eyes at the "kid" comment. He was three months older than her and for some reason, enjoyed teasing her about that. "Let me take you to celebrate," he said, "I just need to hop in the shower, and we'll go get you something fancy." "Ok, can I use your computer? I want to email my mom." He nodded his assent, and she sat down and sent her mother a quick email. She heard the shower start up and decided to play on the internet.
