Page 13 of Septembers

New Best Friend

“Would I be a terrible person if I never called him?”

“Yes.” Jordan popped a corn chip into her mouth and crunched down hard to accentuate her point. She was in yoga pants and a giant hoodie, with her hair piled on top of her head. “You have to at least call him to let him know you’re not going to call him.”

“That’s a paradox.”

Her shoulders bounced with a shrug. “So is dating.”

Theo had shown up at her dorm with all the snack food groups: salty, sweet, chocolate—which was different from sweet because of science—fizzy, and nostalgic. Because she was a resident advisor, Jordan got a room to herself, which was a lot pinker and contained more stuffed animals than Theo had expected. Two guitars leaned against stands, plus a banjo and an honest-to-god lute. Theo commented on her love for strings, and she made a joke about underwear.

They were soulmates.

“You hooked up with him, right?”

“Um, rounding second base?” He was hazy on the base-system.

Matt had been aggressively flirty the entire evening, which was fun at first, but got old fast. That didn’t mean Theo turned him down when he invited him back to his place, though, so they ended up fooling around until Theo got bored and went home.

“Then you have to call him. Ghosting is evil.”

It was past six, and they still hadn’t pressed play on the movie. Theo had launched into his annoying date story and Jordan had told him about her secret crush that was obviously her friend Becks, whom she found an excuse to talk about every other sentence. They’d begun the afternoon on her small couch, then eventually sunk to the floor with the snacks in a pile in front of them, like they were siblings sorting out their candy after Halloween.

Theo’s tongue hurt from the salt, but he still put a chip in his mouth and savoured the burn. “I hate rejecting people. I usually just wait until the universe takes care of it.”

A clump fell from her mass of hair as she whipped her head to give him side-eye. “I really hope that doesn’t mean you have a basement full of bodies.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not full.” The truth was, he’d disappointed plenty of romantic interests enough for them to get fed up and leave before Theo had to face the confrontation of a break-up, but he wasn’t about to confess to his potential new best friend about his trail of frustrated, damaged hearts.

She handed him his phone with a stern stare. “Call him.”

“Now? It’s Sunday. You don’t reject people on the day of rest.”

She tapped the screen, revealing a slew of texts from Matt. They both gasped and read.

Superior Male Specimen

Hey

I had a great time last night.

You’re a legend.

But I don’t really see this going any further.

I don’t think we want the same things.

I hope I didn’t lead you on.

I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.

Good luck in your studies.

“Good luck in your studies!” Jordan doubled over, slapping the floor. She repeated it three times, her voice getting higher and higher in pitch.

Theo’s stomach hurt from laughing and perhaps too much junk food. “I’m a legend? What does that mean?”

“Do things always work themselves out like this?” She sat up and grabbed his arm. “What kind of witch magic do you have?”