Page 82 of Septembers

“Ohthankgod.” She dropped the suitcase and almost knocked him over with a hug so tight he stopped breathing. “That was excruciating.”

“Of course I’ll support your relationship…”

“You weren’t wrong that I should be careful…”

“And no matter what happens I’ll be here…”

“I was feeling defensive and…”

“I love you so much.”

“I’m scared, but I’m really happy, Theo.”

“I’m…”—he wanted to say, happy for you, but there were more pressing matters—“about to pass out.”

“Oh!” She backed off, and he sucked in a long breath as she laughed at him. “I’m stronger than I look. You’d do well to remember that.”

“Why didn’t you text me back? I apologized thirty-seven times.” That was not an exaggeration.

Jordan grunted, marching into her room and lifting papers on her desk, then picked up her no-longer-buried phone and held it to her chest.

Theo gasped. “You went a whole forty-eight hours without it?”

“I told you. Excruciating.” The gravitas in her voice was like she’d been through war. “Okay, catch me up. What’d I miss?”

“Well, let’s see.” He didn’t necessarily want to catch her up, but he also really, really needed to. “I cheated on Nick with a married man. We broke up, and I’ve never felt more like garbage. Dae said he’ll think about moving in, which makes me worried he doesn’t actually want to. Oh, and Aunt Liana is buying a motorcycle.”

Jordan gaped at him. “I’ve been gone for two days.”

“Yeah, well, the cheating stuff happened before you left.”

Her bottom lip stuck out in an empathetic pout. “I knew there was something else behind your mood.”

“How about you?”

Her smile was infectious, even in his current situation. “The apartment is in the Distillery district, I love it, I wrote a new song, and Becks told her parents about us.”

“That’s huge.”

“I know.” Jordan giggled, then covered her mouth with her hands. “Is it rude to be happy when you’ve screwed up your own relationship?”

“Yes, but I’ll allow it.”

She tackled him with another hug, then tossed the suitcase on the bed. He helped her pack the essentials first (her comfy jeans, fall cardigans, her skin-care regimen, and the box of cookies she kept by her bed) then whatever else would fit.

“I’ll make a few trips for the rest.” She flopped on the bed, and he curled up beside her, their legs resting on top of the suitcase. The blanket still smelled like the vanilla latte she’d spilled during one of their particularly heated dance-offs. “So, Dae is thinking about it?”

He showed her the texts.

weird news

Dae

You already showed me the moles on your stomach shaped like Mickey Mouse.

weirder news

jordans moving out