The girl lifts one eyebrow but doesn’t turn to him. “Oh, please,” she says, mostly to herself. “You have a blond mustache.”
Jordan snorts a laugh, and when I turn to Creed, I see Hailey’s comment has burned him. I mean… he does have a pale blond mustache. It’s not a great look.
“Whatever,” Creed says. He turns back to Jordan. “What’s this?” he asks, motioning between me and her. “I didn’t know you two were friends?”
“Of course we are,” she says, like he’s stupid. “Don’t you know who his father is?”
Jordan laughs, but I’ll admit, the answer bothers me. A reminder of who I belong to and not who I am.
In an opposite reaction, Creed’s eyes flash with jealousy, but he tries to play it off. “Sure,” he says. “Still, your boy here doesn’t like us talking badly about the Chasers.”
Your boy?What the fuck? I’m not the one who brought up his mustache.
Jordan shrugs at Creed. “So?” she asks him.
“We were just going to tell him the story,” Creed adds, slapping his friend’s shoulder to get him to join in.
Jordan looks exhausted by Creed, and it makes me like her a bit more. She turns to me humorlessly. “You know the Chasers are town pariahs,” she says simply. “And it’s only getting worse. They were fine once upon a time, but now they’re a bunch of criminals. Some are even murderers. Right, Hailey?” she says, turning to her friend.
“Mm-hmm,” the redhead seconds, still studying her reflection in her phone.
“Oh, sorry, do you know Hailey Babbitt?” Jordan asks me, but continues before I answer. “Anyway, her father owns the Sunset Docks, where my family’s yacht is? Her dad has to deal with Chasers all the time. He doesn’t recommend it,” she adds with a smirk.
Now, other than the issue of competing docks vying for customers, their story seems like complete bullshit. Cape Hope is notoriously safe. Not to mention, my father literallyrunsthe security protocols for the entire resort. And I’ve never heard of any murders.
“Yeah?” I ask them, doubtful. “Who did the Chasers kill?”
Jordan exchanges another look with Hailey, who rolls her eyes and finally lowers her phone, like now it’s time to get serious. Jordan steps closer to me, lowering her voice.
“Listen, Jamie,” she confides. “You just have to trust me on this. You don’t want to get involved with them. They are always looking for a way to take us down. And besides being utter losers, they’re also sirens.Smoking-hot sirens who will pull you underwater with them if you’re not careful.”
“Like how they almost got Matteo,” Creed adds. Jordan and Hailey flash him a cutting glare. I tilt my head, listening a little more intently.
“Don’t you dare,” Jordan tells Creed, jabbing her finger in his direction. “Matteo’s going through a lot right now. He doesn’t need you talking shit.”
“Relax,” Creed says, widening his eyes. “This has nothing to do with his family. You know I’m just talking about him and the Chaser girl.”
My heart beats a little faster. “Which girl?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Jordan interrupts. “It’s over now.” She waves off the entire conversation. “Everyone needs to drop it and just leave Matteo alone.”
Matteo Mancini, I remember. Along with Jordan’s mom, Matteo’s father owns the other half of this resort. I’ve seen him over the years because of my father, same as Jordan, but Matteo and I are not friends. We are polar opposites. So, on principle, we stay out of each other’s way.
Of course, now I’d like to hear more about his involvement with the Chasers. But I’m certainly not going to ask.
Rain continues to batter the windows, coupled with the sound of Hailey snapping her gum. Soon, the tension in the restaurant eases, and Jordan resets her expression. She turns back to me.
“Anyways,” she says, tucking a chunk of her hair behind her ear. Her every movement feels performative. To be fair, she does have the other guys wrapped around her finger; they watch her desperately. I’ll admit, it feels kind of nice to be the center of her attention, even if I’m not interested in her that way.
“You look amazing, Jamie,” she continues, placing her hand on my upper arm. Her skin is ice-cold. “Didn’t I tell you how cute he was?” Jordan asks her friend, who hums approvingly. “Perfect for Cape Hope,” she adds.
I’m not really sure how to respond to that. I just nod.
“Do you want to hang out later tonight?” Jordan asks, gently running her long nails along my arm. “Me and my parents are having dinner in the cabana—they’d love for you to join.”
“Uh, maybe,” I say. “We’ll see how the storm goes. You know, in case the cabana blows away first. Otherwise, I’m sure I’ll see you around the resort.” I don’t mean the last part to sound so dismissive, but Jordan’s expression falters anyway.
“Of course,” she says, surprised. As she pulls back her hand, her pinky nail scrapes my skin, leaving a red line. “Not many places to hide around here,” she adds with a polite smile.
