Page 23 of Spin the Damn Bottle

It turns out, we can order room service through an app developed just for Glass. They have a dining room on the ground floor, but they don't have to eat there unless they want to.

"How much are you guys paying to board here?" I muse.

I wince, imagining Uncle Lucius getting the bill.

"Nothing—well, no more than any other student. Glass is a family perk."

"Of course it is. No one gets better deals than wealthy folks who don't need them."

"Hey, less with the hate on wealthy folk, doll." Jason kisses my temple. "You're one of them."

"Hardly."

"You're heir to half of your uncle's fortune,” he reminds me. “That's a fair chunk of change."

I wrinkle my nose.

Jason first dropped that bombshell a few days before the fire, and I did mention it to Uncle Lucius while I was at the hospital. He was rather unconcerned. "Who else would I give it to? Lucas doesn't need all of it, and you know I love you. We're family."

It seemed rather straightforward when said that way, but I'm still on the fence about the whole thing. I don't know how clean his business is. What if I get in trouble by association? What if the extended "family" on the Astrella side starts paying attention to me?

"Besides, you could have a little Alden in there right now, and he's worth billions."

I swat his arm. I seriously need to get on the pill. "Stop being silly. I'mnotgoing to get pregnant."

Hopefully. Gosh, why the fuck didn’t I tell him to put his fucking condom on?

I lost all of my braincells the moment I saw him shirtless, that’s why.

"Haven't heard that for a while."

His tone is a little strange, so I glance up at Jason, and find him staring at my ceiling. "Hm?"

"Stop being silly. When I was growing up, Alex kept telling me that. He was the serious one, the overachiever. I made jokes and didn't take anything too seriously."

I almost tease him, asking what happened for him to become what he is now, but thankfully, I catch myself before I do.

I know what happened. His twin was murdered. I saw the aftermath firsthand.

"Jokes," I repeat. "You know jokes?"

I can’t picture it.

"I used to," he says, though he sounds unsure, as though that past, that part of himself, is unfamiliar. “They don't appeal to me anymore.”

“You don’t say.” I’m entirely unsurprised. He laughs, sometimes, but it's typically directed at someone. "What's the best thing about Switzerland?"

"Fondue," he replies, and he's probably right.It's rather hard to beat melted cheese.

"You're not supposed to give a real answer. You're supposed to ask ‘what?’.”

"What?" he parrots obediently.

"I don't know, but the flag is a big plus." I don't know many jokes, and this one is particularly lame, but it's the first that came to mind. "Never trust atoms. They make up everything."

In my opinion, that one was superior, but Jason says, "I will literally pay you to stop."

I giggle, racking my brain for something else. "Why does a mermaid wear seashells? Because she outgrew her B-shells!"