“Good. Now excuse me, I need to make sure the food is on time.” She walked off, her hips swaying, but her lack of attention grated me.
How fucking dare she ignore me?
“What did you do?” Quentin asked, laughing. “That was rough to watch.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, anger seeping out. “I didn’t do shit.”
Quentin hit me on the back, understanding on his face. “Jordan is an open book of emotions despite her thinking she has a handle on them. She’s pissed at you for something.”
“My brother brought a girl to be my date.”
“Ah, yup. That’ll do it.”
Andrew, our event lead, showed up with a cart of drinks, and we helped him unload into the back of the temporary bar. We had them all stacked as the line opened up. I served around twenty beers before I could have Quentin clarify.
“What do you mean that’ll do it?”
“She’s jealous, you moron.” Quentin popped a cap off three Coronas and set them on coasters. “We’ve all known how you felt for a while. Jordan refuses to see it. You always put her first and now you have a date? Even if it’s not your doing? She’s gonna lose it.”
“I asked her to date me, and she said no,” I said, the familiar rush of angry heat spreading through my body. “This is bullshit.”
“I agree with you.” Quentin smiled as two women tipped him a hundred bucks. “This is fun.”
I barked out a laugh but then Emery walked up, her gaze soft and nervous. “Hey,” I said, “What can I get you? I’m sorry I got roped into this.”
“Do not apologize to me. You’re being way too kind about this.” She held my jacket around her tighter, her lips curving. “Do you want your jacket back?”
“I’m alright.” I flashed her a smile. “Truly, I’m okay.”
She smiled at me, and it just did nothing for me. She was funny, pretty, kind, all of it, but I felt fucking zero attraction. “I’ll take a white wine, please.”
“Coming up.” I poured her a glass and slid it to her, the back of my neck prickling like someone watched me. I knew it was Jordan, but I didn’t give her the satisfaction of looking back. Instead, I flirted. “Let me walk you back to your table. Quentin can handle this for a minute.”
He shook his head, but he smiled. Jordan had always come first for me, but if she expected that to happen forever, then she was mistaken. She couldn’t have me pining after her when she refused to even try.
I placed my hand on Emery’s back and led her to the table with Price and her friend. My brother winked at me, but I ignored him. “I’ll try to sneak away soon.”
She blushed, and I lingered, just for a beat, before leaving the table. I didn’t want to lead her on because I wasn’t an asshole, but knowing Jordan was pissed for no reason… yeah, I liked the idea of her reacting.
She pushed me all the time. She always egged me on, pushed my buttons to rile me up. Now, the tables were flipped, and damn, it was fun. Smirking, I let my fingers graze over her shoulder before heading back to the bar.
Quentin gave me a knowing look. “I’d tell you to be careful playing with fire, but Jordan deserves it.”
“Thank you, my friend.” I smiled as I served more drinks. “I’m having fun now.”
The event wenton without a hitch. They raised more than double the goal, and news stories picked up on the creativity of the event. On a rink? After a snowstorm? Virtual and in-person? Jordan fucking crushed it, and I was so proud of her.
That was Preston-the-friend-speaking.
The other side of me, the one who wanted her for myself, couldn’t wait to face off. It’d be glorious, I had no doubt. Jordan was a spitfire, and the longer she and I went without speaking, the fierier our chat would be.
Everyone left the rink, Price and his dates included, where I gave Emery a hug and a wink, which Jordan saw. Now, I was rolling up the carpets with Quentin and Logan when Jordan came onto the ice. “You guys can stop. The facilities crew said they’d finish for us.”
“We don’t mind!” Logan beamed at her friend. “Jordan, this was amazing. You should be so proud of yourself.”
“You should,” I added, but she wouldn’t look at me. It was interesting seeing mybest friendbe so petty. “There is mediabuzz around the event too. You made a name for yourself, my friend.”
Her eyes blazed as she finally met my eyes. Her blue ones widened before something flashed in them. I winked and went back to my task.
