She felt silly because here she was, thinking about him non-stop and she shouldn’t be having those kind of thoughts aboutTyler. She reached for her cell phone, hoping that maybe a game of Candy Crush would help take her mind off things. As she unlocked it, a better idea came to mind. She decided to text her brother, Max. She needed some advice and she had a feeling he was still awake.
Max was an expert at unrequited affection. He was in love with his best friend, Danny, a woman he had known for six years.Six yearsand he was still trying to figure out if she had feelings for him. If anyone knew how to deal with mixed messages, it was Max.
Jordan:Can’t sleep?
Max:No. Why are you up?
Jordan:Obsessing over some guy. You?
Max:Worried about Danny. How did you know I was awake?
Jordan:Irish twins have the same psychic ability as normal twins.
Max:Or you’re just bored and looking for company at 2 in the morning.
Jordan:Yeah, that too:)
She waited for a few minutes and when he didn’t respond, she tossed her phone on the bed. So much for asking for advice. She thought about sending him another text to resume the conversation but the fact that he was worried about Danny made her reconsider. In early April, Danny’s life had been turned upside down. Tragedy had struck her in the worst possible way and she was still recovering—or at least trying to. There was obviously something more complicated going on that Max was not willing to discuss and she preferred to avoid that emotional mess altogether.
Jordan had discovered a long time ago that she had a severe case of foot-in-mouth syndrome, always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. No matter how bad a situation was, she had the ability to make it worse. It was better to just end the whole conversation there.
She threw herself against the fluffy pillows, her mind immediately flooding with Tyler-thoughts again.
How was she going to face him on Monday?
This was Tyler. Melodramatic, the-world-is-going-to-end, Tyler. He freaked out about everything and this would be no different. All she could do was mentally prepare herself for Monday but preparing to see him again was not an easy task because she had no idea how he felt about the situation. He was so unreadable. The only thing she knew for sure was that he thought she was…tall. That wasn’t a lot to work with. She sighed, pulling the covers up to her neck.
Tyler was going to be Tyler and all she could do was…be Jordan.
*****
The next evening, Jordan sprawled her legs out on a soft, thick blanket and stared up at the sky. Roscoe made himself comfortable at her feet while Gemma and Neil bickered inside about what toppings they should have on their home-made pizza. Neil wastryingto become a vegetarian, but Gemma insisted that he’d had more sausage in his mouth in the last month than most people could stomach in a lifetime.
“There’s no talking to her,” Neil muttered irritably as he stepped out of the kitchen into the backyard.
“She makes a valid argument, though,” Jordan said as he threw himself down on the blanket beside her. “Why do youwant to become a vegetarian anyway? The only vegetable you like is potato.”
“I watched a documentary. It’s not right that these animals die just so we can eat.”
Jordan smiled. Neil was a sensitive soul who was easily influenced by whatever garbage he saw on television. Just a few months ago he had sworn off certain designer clothes because of another documentary he’d watched about the poor factory working conditions of these labels. Bleeding hearts of the world unite.
His resolutions to give up anything never lasted, though, because Neil just so happened to be friends with the two most insensitive females on the planet.
“Cows were meant to be eaten, Neilums,” Gemma said, stepping outside as well, the warm summer breeze blowing through her strawberry-blonde hair. “They can’t even run– well, at least I’ve never seen one run, so they wouldn’t last one day out in the wild. Besides, if we don’t eat them, then they died for nothing. I don’t know about you, but I can’t have that kind of guilt on my conscience.”
She set the hot, freshly-made pizza down on the blanket in front of them and sat down. The pizza was made for carnivores, topped with every kind of meat—beef, chicken and slices of salami.
“I guess you’re right,” he said with a shrug as he reached for a slice.
See? Easily influenced.
Jordan sat up and reached over him to get a slice as well, strings of cheese stretching between her and the plate.
Neil sighed and licked his fingers. “You know you’re getting old when it’s a Friday nightandthe Fourth of July and we’re sitting at home eating pizza.”
“Speak for yourself,” Jordan said. “I can’t think of anything better than chilling with my two besties.”
“I sure can,” Gemma added. “And it involves a very fuckable Mister Tyler Evans. The things I would do to that man.” She moaned, almost losing herself in the fantasy. “Neilums, did Jordan ever tell you that her boss is an absolute hottie?”
