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“I could pick you up before the game,” I offered.
I waited for her to see it as the date it was. Like she should have seen that this was. But she didn’t back down from it or say any of the things I’d expected.
“Okay. That’d be great.”
“Sounds good,” I told her with a wide smile.
I’d won this round. And she didn’t even know we were playing.
But when we finished, I paid for the entire check, and she only protested a little. I’d call it a win.
21
Annie
“You’re spending an awfully long time on your hair and makeup for a Super Bowl party,” Jennifer said.
She leaned against the bathroom door on the thankfully new hardwood floor. All remnants of the terrible flood were now gone.
“I just want to look nice.”
“Because it’s a date?”
“No,” I grumbled.
“But Jordan is picking you up instead of you just going with me?”
“Well…yes,” I admitted.
“Okay. So…it’s a date.”
“It’s not,” I cried, throwing a tube of lipstick at her.
She laughed and darted away. “I’m glad that y’all reconciled. You seem happier despite the crazier hours and stuff. When do you leave for your Seattle interview?”
“Next weekend,” I said with a grin. “I’m so excited.”
Seattle was my dream city. I’d always wanted to visit, and their emergency medicine residency was top of the line. I knew that I’d get only the best if I went there. Unfortunately, it hadn’t fit into my interview schedule until the very last weekend. So, I’d been bouncing off the walls all winter with excitement to go there.
The doorbell rang.
Jennifer winked. “I’ll get it. It’s probably your date.”
“It’s not a date!” I called after her.
It wasn’t. Right?
I fluffed my hair and pursed my freshly painted lips. Okay, so maybe I was going overboard. That line I’d drawn in the sand was still there, but it was blurry…like someone had stepped on it.
After what had happened at the hospital earlier this week, I couldn’t get over how Jordan had taken care of me. Not just going for a run and letting me sleep at his house, but also all the little things that he hadn’t had to do. Like getting me into the shower and calling out of work and insisting on taking me for margaritas. For not judging me for what I’d gone through and not giving me looks of deep pity, which I had never been able to stand. Just…being there.
And now, I didn’t know where we stood. We weren’t simply friends with benefits. Not after last week. But we weren’t dating either.
I was leaving. In a few short months, I was leaving. I couldn’t fall for Jordan Wright in the meantime.
“Annie, Jordan’s here!” Jennifer called.
I straightened my Chiefs jersey, grabbed my purse and jacket, and then headed out to the living room. “Hey!”
He turned his attention to me, and it suddenly felt like I was standing in the sun. His smile was so bright. His eyes on mine, looking me up and down. That gleam in his eyes that said he wouldn’t mind taking me back into my room and undressing me.
“Hey, you ready to go?” he asked, sliding his hands into the pockets of his slacks.
Because, of course, he was wearing slacks. Blue dress pants at that with a white button-up tucked in and sleeves rolled up.
“I should have bought you a jersey.”
He gave me an incredulous look. “Not really my style.”
“Obviously,” I said with a laugh, mock straightening his nonexistent tie. “You’re just missing a tie.”
He swatted me away playfully. “Hey. This is dressed down.”
I rolled my eyes. “Sure it is.” I looked back to Jennifer with a smile. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”
“Oh no!” she said, wide-eyed and emphatic. “I have some edits to finish and feed Cado and Bakey again.”
“Cado and Bakey?” Jordan asked.
“Don’t bother,” I said with a laugh.
“I didn’t think you could have pets.”
“Oh, we don’t have pets,” Jennifer said easily.
“They’re stray cats. She named them Avocado and Bacon. She also feeds them and pretends that she doesn’t like them.”
“I don’t! I’m not even a cat person.”
Jordan looked between us in confusion. “You’re not supposed to feed stray cats.”
“I don’t want them to starve.” Jennifer rolled her eyes. “You know what? Never mind. Have fun at the party. I’ll see you later.”
I suppressed my laugh and waved at my roomie. She was doing her best to not interfere on our “date.” She really wanted us to end up together. And I just wanted her to kick Ashleigh Sinclair out of the picture and take back Julian, but this was Jennifer. So, I didn’t know if that was ever going to happen.
We waved good-bye and headed outside. I was surprised to see Jordan had the truck today and not his Tesla. I raised an eyebrow.
He just shrugged. “It’s growing on me.”
“Texas.”
He agreed, “Texas.”
Jordan had a Top 40 station playing as we drove over to Jensen’s mansion on the south side of town. Despite my nerves, things seemed completely normal with Jordan. Maybe this wasn’t a date after all, and I was overreacting to how we’d been together this week. We were probably going to have to discuss this eventually, but I sure hoped it could last a little longer. I was leaving for Seattle soon and then Match Day and then I’d be gone. We had so little time, which was why I hadn’t wanted to do anything in the first place.
