To Jessica’s discomfort, Sofia waved back at the same moment Jessica did.
“Oh my gosh,” Sofia said. “I’m so sorry. I thought he was waving at me.”
“It’s okay,” Jessica replied, offering her a thin smile. Then, desperate to change the subject, she asked, “How are things with Jack?”
“Oh…” Sofia trailed off. “Uhh…they’re fine! Good, even.”
Sofia didn’t offer anything else, and Jessica didn’t have anything worthwhile to add other than, “That’s great!”
It sounded like false praise to even her own ears, but Sofia seemed to be lost in her own little bubble, looking everywhere but at Jessica.
After that, their conversation died in an awkward, fiery blaze. As if Sofia too noticed the way the air tensed between them, she drained the rest of her glass and shook it in Jessica’s direction.
“I’m gonna go get a refill.”
“Sounds good,” Jessica said. “See you later.”
“Yeah, sure.” Sofia offered another smile, then she was gone.
As soon as Sofia was out of earshot, the other girls turned to Jessica.
“That was so strange,” one of them said.
“What was?” Jessica asked.
“You…chatting with Sofia like you’re old pals.”
“I mean we’re not like super close or anything,” Jessica said. “But we went on a double date with her and her boyfriend a few weeks ago. That was the first time I’d met her.”
“Wait wait wait,” one of them said, holding up a hand. “Back up. You and Silas went on a double date with her and her boyfriend?”
“I didn’t even know she had a boyfriend,” another quipped.
“Yeah,” Jessica said. “She’s seeing Jack DeLuca.”
“The hockey player?” one asked, cocking her head to the side.
“The very same.”
“This world is so damn small,” another added. “Isn’t your, like, sister-in-law or whatever dating Aiden Fuller?”
“She is…” Jessica honestly had no idea where this conversation was going, but she didn’t like it. Not one bit. And she wasn’t even going to begin to attempt to explain the Daniels-Jean family dynamics. Kenzie wasn’t technically her sister-in-law, but for the sake of this conversation, it was close enough.
“I’ve heard he’s a bit of a fuckboy.”
“Aiden? Absolutely not. I’ve only been around him a few times, but from what I can tell, he’s a great guy, and he’s absolutely obsessed with Kenzie.”
“Well, that’s good,” one of them said.
“Kind of like Sofia is obsessed with Silas…” another added, so quietly that Jessica wasn’t entirely sure she heard her correctly.
“I’m sorry, what?”
The girl in question—her name was Katie—sat up straighter, releasing a heavy sigh accompanied by an eyeroll. “It’s just…we spend a lot of time around this house, and around the boys, and…they talk.”
“About what, exactly?”
“Well, DG wasn’t always their sister sorority or whatever. I know nothing about the Greek system, even after dating Trav for like, a lifetime,” Katie said. “But our freshman and sophomore years, the Lodge boys always did date parties and other combined events with the Kappa Delta girls. Then Sofia became social chair and DG completely pushed KD out of the picture. The timing seems strange.”
