And now a few words from Jane. Thanks for reading!

After his first two weeks in New York with Jane, Bing had decided a few things. First, he was way luckier than he deserved. Second, whatever part of his happiness wasn't due to luck, it had definitely come about since he'd decided to stop running away from unpleasant things. Telling Jane he wanted to come to New York too was an enormous risk. If she'd said no – well, she did, actually. And before she changed her mind, it was awful. It would have ended everything. But he was ready to take that risk and respect her wishes, whatever they might be. He was done being a coward.

Even so, he was pretty of scared when Jane turned to him and said, "I'm ready to tell you what happened at your party."

He looked at her nervously. They had just put the last batch of cookies in the oven, and he was looking forward to a quiet evening of watching television together. Instead, he swallowed his fear and gently wiped the flour from her cheeks. "Okay. Should we sit?"

"That's a good idea." Hand in hand, they went to the sofa and settled down. It was a ratty, ancient piece of furniture with the stuffing coming out of the cushions, but surprisingly comfortable, even when it was coated with fur from Jane's roommate's cat. Good thing Bing wasn't allergic.

Jane smoothed out her skirt and cleared her throat. He realized she was as nervous as he was. Which made her all the braver. "I don't think Caroline's plans were quite as elaborate as Lizzie assumed. She just encouraged me to socialize with your college friends. I was disappointed that I wasn't with you instead, but I didn't want to complain or seem – ungracious, I guess. After a while, some of the guys started getting pretty drunk. I felt uncomfortable, but again – I didn't want to complain." She sighed. "Eventually, it was clear that one of them had trouble respecting boundaries when he had too much to drink."

Bing frowned, wondering if he could guess which one of his college buddies she was referring to. Better not to interrupt her story; this was hard enough for her.

Eventually, though, he needed to know who the jerk was and not invite him to any more of his parties.

"So…I tried to smile and laugh politely and just keep a safe distance from him. I stuck close to Caroline, figuring he wouldn't do anything really inappropriate if she was there. She has – more of a forceful presence."

Bing nodded, still frowning.

"And it seemed to work. He would put his hand on my shoulder or my knee sometimes, but I would just pull back without making it into a big issue." She shook her head. "I don't blame myself, even if I was wrong to be passive about it. Girls are supposed to be nice. That's what we're taught. Be lady-like. Don't make a big fuss over things. And since my sisters were more – unconventional in that regard," she smiled fondly, "I felt that much more pressure to be nice."

He squeezed her hand, loving her goodness while still seeing the problems it caused her.

"After a bit I excused myself to use the restroom. When I came out, he was waiting in the hallway. It was a more narrow space; I couldn't really escape without just running, which seemed very rude." She shuddered, closing her eyes. "He kissed me. I was shocked, embarrassed. At first I just kind of went stiff and still, like my muscles had forgotten how to work. I wanted to cry, but I held it in. Instead I did what I always do when I'm embarrassed. I smiled and laughed. I think I whispered something like, 'Please don't do that again. I'm seeing Bing. Your friend. You know that.' But he just grinned and stumbled back down the hallway. I can only imagine how it must have looked to someone from a distance. To Darcy."

She took a deep breath and went on, "I guess Caroline must have realized what was about to happen, and used it as an opportunity to show Darcy that I wasn't taking my relationship with you seriously. Maybe she genuinely believed that. Maybe she thought that if I were really devoted to you, I would have been more assertive about pushing other guys away."

"And maybe you're giving her too much credit," Bing said darkly. "Look, Jane, she's my sister and I love her, but she knew what was really going on. She thought you weren't good for me – for entirely different reasons – and she thought those reasons justified doing anything necessary to get me away from you. I can see the good motives she had underneath it all, but I wouldn't blame you if you don't want anything to do with her."

"No," Jane said simply. "I don't like holding grudges. It hurts me more than it hurts anyone else."

He looked at her, his heart swelling. A swelling heart. It was just an expression, and medically impossible, but he really felt as if his chest might burst from the warm feelings Jane inspired. "I'm so sorry that happened to you," he said softly. "It must have been awful."

"It was," she said, "but it's taught me a lot. I didn't tell anyone about it because I didn't want to bother anybody. I didn't want to ruin your party." She let out a mirthless laugh. "It seems ironic now, doesn't it? But I told myself, Oh, it was just a little unpleasantness, no big deal; he'd had too much to drink, that's all, and these things happen. Don't want anyone to think that I'm overreacting. Now I know better." She turned red. "I'm sorry. I'm starting to feel like I'm preaching or bragging or something."

"Don't apologize," Bing said, waving his hand with a grin. "Brag away."

"Okay," she said with a giggle. "So. I know the difference between being nice and being a victim. I can be kind to others while quietly, calmly asserting that I expect them to be kind to me in return. That I have needs and boundaries, and there's nothing selfish about wanting those needs and boundaries to be respected."

"You're amazing," Bing said. "I just –" He shrugged, grinning. "I don't even have words for it. That's such a huge thing."

"Well, I think you know what I'm talking about," Jane said, returning the smile. "The difference between being good to people and not having a backbone."

"Yeah. Definitely." He put his arm around her. "And now look at the two of use. Making our way in the big city, with plenty of backbone to spare."

A buzz sounded from the kitchen. "Oh! The cookies are ready," Jane said.

He grinned. "Perfect timing." And they shared a kiss before getting up to go to the kitchen together.