1
JORDAN
The sayingwhen life gives you lemons, make lemonadealways seemed a little off to me. I once saw a sign that saidwhen life gives you lemons, get some tequila and make it a party!I liked that version and made it my own.When life gives you lemons, throw them back, order a double, and toast to the chaos.
It was easier to give less fucks and go with the flow when people let you down all the time. I wasn’t all mopey or sad about it. Sure, my mom preferred traveling for the holidays instead of visiting me, her only child. She’d send me a gift card for a hundred bucks, and I’d use it on booze and scratch cards as my own personal middle finger. It was why I loved my girl Logan’s family so much. They took me in and parented me like I needed.
Which was why I had to pick and choose when I accepted their invites because I would be devastated if her family realized how annoying I was. “It’s your family celebration. I’m not crashing that, Log.”
“Why are you being so weird? You’re a part of the family, my wonderful, slightly idiotic best friend.” Logan sat on my bed, legs crossed, hair in buns, as she glared at me. We were in my room at our house, music blaring, counting down the days untilChristmas. My best friend’s attempt at a mean look was cute though. She had zero mean bones in her body, and while she tried to be tough, she was a teddy bear.
“Your dad’s parents are coming into town. That hasn’t happened in years. You all deserve to be together for that weekend.” I painted my toenails black, a routine I started in high school and never veered away from. I liked how they looked against my olive skin. I could thank my father for his Greek coloring. At least he gave me something besides abandonment issues. “Plus, I might head up to the Great Lakes tournament to watch Preston play.”
Logan frowned. “How will you get there?”
“He’s letting me drive up.”
“Danithan. I hate that you feel like you can’t come to our house to celebrate. Are you upset about something?”
“No,” I said way too fast at her, accidentally smudging my big toe. I removed the excess with a paper towel and continued. “I love your family, and we’ll head over for Sunday dinner per usual. It’s the Christmas Hart gathering that I will not be attending.”
“Can I change your mind?”
“Nope.” I popped the p and winked at her. “You can support my goal of finding an athlete who holds my attention though.”
She snorted and went back to creating a playlist or documenting something on a spreadsheet. My girl was a nerd through and through, and I loved her for it. It was weird how I had every reason to be jealous of Logan, yet I felt nothing but pure joy and love for her. Her parents were the epitome of warm, supportive teammates. Her sister was the cutest. Quentin was perfect for her, and she’d never been happier.
That girl deserved the world, and I’d continue to make sure she got it. Her family loved me and would do anything for me,but I just refused to abuse the love. “Antonio was a bit of a bust, not gonna lie.”
“You and your dating adventures.” Logan smirked. “I’m sure Preston is enjoying this, by the way.”
“Psh, he doesn’t care.” I bit my tongue. That was a bit of lie. Preston didn’t love my goal of trying to date athletes. He knew almost everyone at Central State and could find reasons why they all sucked. Didn’t he understand that I wasn’t looking for love? I didn’t believe in it. I’d been working on a massive project for my class, and it took a lot of my time. In between that stress, I wanted a fun hookup. “It’s been interesting, that I’ll admit.”
“How hard can it be? Just casually fake date your housemate, start a little friends-with-bennies situation, then fall in love.”
I stuck my tongue out at her. “First off, I love your confidence shining right now. You got a little swagger to you. Here for that. But secondly, you know that shit would only happen to you.”
“Yeah, you’d be more likely to fall in love with a bank robber.”
“Or a skydiver.” I wiggled my brows. “That would be fun. Do you think people bang on the way down?”
“No. Logistically that would be a nightmare.” Logan frowned at her computer. “I’m googling this.”
She gasped at her laptop, and I snorted, just as Quentin leaned against the doorway. “Nice forearms, hotshot.”
He blushed before addressing me. “Jordan the Menace.”
“Thank you, that’s kind of you.” I blew him a kiss as he smiled at Logan. They were the couple that made you believe love was worth it. Their faces changed, and their eyes legit morphed into cartoon hearts. If I didn’t love Logan more than anyone else in my life, I’d hate her for how happy she was.
“Y’all need me to leave the room before you bang?”
“Jesus, Jordan.” Quentin coughed into his fist. “I mean, yeah, see yourself out.”
“Behave.” Logan laughed as she scooted over and patted the bed for Quentin to join her. “Help me convince her to come to our family celebration and not go to the Great Lakes tournament by herself.”
“If we start doing the two on one, then we’ll attack your breakfast-making skills, Log. The French toast was bad yesterday.” I pointed the bottle of nail polish at her, ensuring it was closed tight. We put a deposit down on the house, and I didn’t want to be the reason we didn’t get it back.
“Whoa, hey now. You ate every bite.”
