"And, you’re gonna ace it. You know you are.” I slide from the bed, feeling a bit lighter than I did when I first lay down. Being in Jordan's arms made all the difference.
"We'll see."
“Is Felicia coming over tonight?” I ask, doing all I can to suppress the eye roll that’s brewing.
“No, um…” He turns to me. “We actually broke up this morning.”
“Seriously? What happened?”
“Come on, you know there was nothing really there to start. I don’t know why I let it go on for so long.”
“Yeah,” I say. Don’t smile, don’t smile. "Okay. I'll tell you what. Tonight, we hang out with everyone, have a little fun, then tomorrow we close ourselves up in here, study our asses off. Then, after I get back from my parents' dinner, we can spend the evening binge-watching Disney."
"Okay, deal—wait, binge-watching what? Hell no. I'm not watching Disney."
"But I'm sad and Disney makes me happy."
"Zee, I'm not watching The Little Mermaid. I don't care how sad you are."
"Come on, don't you love me?" I pout, trying my best to lay it on thick.
"I do," he says, meeting my gaze. "But I'm still not watching the damn Little Mermaid."
I fall back onto the bed as he stands. "Fine."
"I wouldn't watch it when we were kids, and I damn sure ain't watching it now," he says. Walking over to the closet, he grabs a T-shirt and shorts.
"Don't worry, I'll break you one day," I say, grabbing my phone from his bedside table.
"Yeah, good luck."
Jordan keeps his back to me as he begins unbuttoning his shirt and… I should leave. It's not that I haven't seen his body before, or even that it's weird for him to change in front of me. Hell, I lived through the Superman tighty-whitey phase with him. But seeing his body never has the innocent effect on me that I'm sure he assumes it does. I pretend to busy myself with my phone as I watch him peel his shirt off, revealing a back that looks like it was chiseled from stone.
I’m such an idiot. He doesn’t want me the same way, and the constant fight to ignore my feelings just used to be annoying, but damn if it isn’t starting to hurt. He grabs a hanger from the closet and hangs the dress shirt to the far left in an empty space. Then throws the t-shirt and shorts over his shoulder and walk into his adjoining bathroom before shutting the door.
"Be back in a minute."
I groan as I fight the inappropriate visions of what he'd look like sliding his pants from his waist and dropping them to the floor. Goodness. I'm starting to feel dirty and wrong, and just as I begin mentally chastising myself, my phone buzzes in my hand.
Shana: Hey girl. You all right? Where'd you go?
Me: Spending the weekend with Jordan. I'll be back Sunday evening.
Shana: Okay. Great, see you then. And try to have fun. Love you.
My heart warms a little as I think about how amazing my two closest friends are. I couldn't have asked for a better roommate than Shana. And Jordan, well, he's everything.
A few minutes later, Jordan emerges from the bathroom looking completely refreshed. His short brown hair is slightly unruly as if he ran his hand through it a few times, and his green eyes are bright and alert.
"You ready?" he asks. I nod as I slide my phone in my pocket and follow him downstairs.
I hear music coming from the living room but I don't recognize the artist. We round the corner from the stairway and enter to see King walking from the window, ending a call.
“That was Cherry. She’s going to stop by for a minute but she can’t stay long. She’s stuck watching her kid sister for the night.”
“Darn, well that sucks.”
“Yeah, it's been a double-edged sword, staying home for college. For her, at least. She never seems to mind helping out her parents with Kenzie, but it’s like they always choose the worst times to need a sitter.”
“Right. Seems like it’s always when we decide to hang out,” I say, taking a seat on the couch next to Jordan, who’s reaching for a beer. On the table in front of us sit three full cases, along with a small spread of food, two boxes of pizza, pretzels, and a bowl of chips. My stomach growls and I try to remember the last time I ate before grabbing a slice of pizza and a can of beer.
“So,” King says as he sits down on the couch next to us. “How’d that shit go today with professor touchy?”
“Touchy?” Jordan asks.
“Cherry said Satchi gave her the creeps last year when she took his class. Always touching her hand, patting her shoulder… he was too handsy. I wanted to beat his ass but Cherry made me promise not to do anything that would ruin my football scholarship. ‘I’d never forgive myself.’” He says the last part in his best high-pitched Cherry voice. Which makes me laugh because King has a really deep voice.
“Oh, yeah, I think I remember her saying that.” Jordan nods. "It went well. I got the job," he says.
"Hell yeah you did," Roman hollers, walking into the living room while balancing a bowl of popcorn in one hand and a can of beer in the other.
"Nice." King grins. "I told you there was nothing to worry about."
"I guess." Jordan reaches over and grabs his drink.
"Now, what? You work as his assistant then slide into a cushy job at his company after graduation next year?"
“That’s the hope.”
“Damn, I can’t believe we have one more year left. I’m going to miss this place.”
“Where the hell are you going?” Roman asks before he takes a swallow from his can. “Aren’t you staying in Chrome Hills after graduation?”
“Yeah, I am. I meant this apartment. I like it more than my place.”
“That explains why you’re here more than you’re there,” I say, grabbing a handful of pretzels and popping one into my mouth.
King mocks a laugh, then tosses a pretzel at me. I dodge it by cowering behind Jordan, who catches the brunt of the hit.
“Sorry bro, I was trying to get Princess Demon Spawn over there,” King teases. I stick out my tongue at him.
“Seriously though, maybe you guys should room up next year. Aren’t you and Roman moving into the lake house?” I say, looking at Roman, who's cramming pizza into his mouth.
"Yeah, it's a real nice place," Roman mumbles through his mouthful. Jordan told me that Roman plans to take a year off before applying to grad school. His father is a huge asshole though, and Roman didn't want to deal with his bitching the entire time, so he lined up a job in Chrome Hills and is going to stay with him in one of his dad’s rental properties.
“Well, if things go well with Cherry, then hopefully we’ll be moving together into our own place.”
“What do you mean, if things go well?” Jordan asks.
“Oh, that's right! King, you never showed Jordan the ring,” Roman says.
"Ring?" My brows lift as I peer over my shoulder at King. A flash of nervousness flickers in his eyes, which is a huge contrast to his usual sternness.
"What ring?" Jordan asks. An excited smile grows on my face, but the only word that comes to mind when describing the look on Jordan’s is pure shock.