Would that change if we had sex?My mind immediately went there. She could have sex with people and feel nothing. I wasn’tsure I was wired that way. Was giving into this chemistry worth losing my best friend?
“It’s nice having Preston as a best friend. Not sure what I’d do without him. This guy has saved me more times than I can count. The other night, he saved me from the worst date ever…”
She told the story, and both my parents looked at me with concern. I knew those expressions, and I avoided them and chose to play with my leftover salad. It didn’t have enough croutons, so I didn’t eat it, but it was better than answering their obvious question.Do you love Jordan?
Yes. I did. Of course I did, but no I couldn’t do shit about it. I yawned just as Jordan placed her hand on my forearm. “We should head back, yeah? You seem tired.”
“Yeah. I am.” I was also full, confused, and exhausted from worrying about a verbal war breaking out.
“Honey, you two head back to the hotel. Your father and I can stay here and finish the bottle.” My mom stared at my dad, this time without fury. “We have stuff we could talk about.”
“Yeah, we do,” my dad said softly. His tone was weird. Strange. Gross, even.
“Oh-kay, yeah, we’re leaving.” Jordan tugged me up and handed me my jacket. “Thank you both so much for dinner.”
“You’re welcome. Get back safely.”
Jordan called an Uber, and we headed downstairs, not saying a word. When we got to the foyer, she burst out laughing. “My god, your parents are gonna hate fuck.”
“Gah!” I covered my ears with my hands, blanching. “Jordan, no.”
“They totally are. The wine helped.” She snickered but stopped when she saw my face. “Sorry, sorry, sorry. I’ll stop.”
“Please. Yes, shut it.”
She pressed her lips together, the humor still on her face as I glared at her. She sobered up, a more serious look taking overwhen she grabbed my hands. “What would make you feel better tonight? Seriously, whatever you want, I’ll do.”
Oh, I know what I want.
Clearing my throat, I kept my inside thoughtsinside.“A distraction. I just want a distraction.”
“Well that, Charming, is my middle name.” She wiggled her eyebrows at me, and a twinkle formed in her eye. She had no idea she already was a disruption for me. “You name the place, and I’ll figure out a game. Hotel room or bar?”
“Bar,” I croaked out. I still wasn’t ready to answer the friends with bennies question, and us being alone in the room would cloud my judgement.
“Bar it is, my guy. Follow me.”
9
JORDAN
Itexted Logan to see what her and Quentin were doing, but she hadn’t responded. She knew I tagged on with the dinner, but a part of me hoped they were out too. It was clear Preston did not want to head back to the hotel room with me, and I tried not to let that sting my ego.
I’d never once offered up what I did with him to anyone else. I’d never do that. I hooked up temporarily and then said goodbye. A fling without feelings was the closest thing to a relationship I had ever tried. And he avoided it.
It was fine. It didn’t matter that Preston was fucking hot and had a beautiful cock. Others were out there. Plus, that part of me needed to get over herself. Preston was my best friend going through a shit time with his parents’ divorce and losing a game. He needed my friendship, not my weird hangup because he wasn’t rushing back to the hotel room. I knew this role well. I’d push his buttons, get him out of his funk, and make him laugh.
“Okay, big guy, are we line dancing or playing darts?”
“Fuck, neither.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, his shoulders tensing as we walked along the sidewalk. The wind blasted us, the chill spreading from my neck to my toes. My scarf andhat barely did anything to keep me warm. “I’m being an idiot. Let’s head to the hotel.”
“I told you, a-anything you want.”
“You’re freezing.” He slung his arm over my shoulder and tucked me against him. “I’m in my head. All over the place.”
“What if… we buy a bottle of Fireball and played Aggressive Drunk Uno?” It was a silly game we made up freshmen year, where every draw four you did a shot, and if you did a back-to-back, you did double. “You need to distract yourself and get out of your brain. If we’re safe in the hotel room, you won’t get into any trouble.”
“You’re the trouble, Jordan.”
