But I don’t care.
He doesn’t have the same control over twenty-two-year-old me that he did over eighteen-year-old me. Well, maybe a little since I live under his roof, but though I have no interest in rekindling things with Jordan, he did me not one but two solids tonight—I won’t let my dad say anything to him. Hopefully, he won’t even see him since the windows of the SUV are tinted.
“So, uh, are you still in college?” he asks me as we wind through the city.
“Yeah.” It feels weird giving him these kinds of details.
What difference does it make? We’re never going to see each other again, so what’s the point? Small talk, I guess.
“Accounting,” I continue because the silence feels weird.
“Accounting?” There’s so much disbelief in his voice, I want to snap at him, but he’s doing me a favor taking me home.
“It’s reliable,” I say defensively. “I’ll get a good job after graduation. Make decent money, with benefits.”
“What about…fashion design?” he asks quietly.
Another sigh.
“It’s a lot more difficult to get a job in a field like that,” is all I say. That much, at least, is true. I won’t mention my parents’ disapproval. My father’s warnings that he won’t finance a degree for something frivolous. And since the legal and medical fields don’t appeal to me at all, this was the best compromise.
“Your dad made you change majors,” he says, as if he knows anything about my life.
“He didn’t make me do anything,” I respond, biting back another snippy reply. What’s the point? He’s right even though he doesn’t need to know that. “It’s a smart, forward-thinking decision.”
“And you’re going to school here in Lauderdale.”
“It was cheaper to stay in state, and I got almost a full ride,” I respond.
“Gotcha.” He doesn’t say anything else and it’s probably better that way.
Within a few minutes, he’s pulling up to the house.
The same house where he picked me up dozens of times while we were dating during my senior year of high school. His rookie season on the Lauderdale Knights. It should have been the time of our lives. Instead, I wound up skipping senior prom and not long after he got sent to the team’s minor league affiliate in Atlanta.
Not great memories for either of us.
“Thank you for the ride,” I say politely, reaching for the door. “I appreciate you saving my ass tonight.”
“You’re welcome.” His deep-set blue eyes find mine in the dimly lit vehicle. “Take care, Victoria.”
“Bye, Jordan.”
I’ve just stepped onto the driveway when the front door opens and Charlie comes running out. He shouldn’t be up this late but he hasn’t been sleeping well lately, and I’m the only one he wants when he’s wound up.
“You’re home!” He jumps right into my arms, and I spin him around.
“You should be in bed,” I say gently.
He giggles, burying his face in my shoulder. “Grammy doesn’t read the stories right.”
Bedtime stories tend to be my time with him.
“Well, let’s go take care of that right now.” I carry him back to the house and force myself not to turn around as Jordan pulls out of the driveway.
Chapter 3
Jordan
