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I turn to the fridge and open the door. It’s practically bare, with a few cans of soda, a bottle of orange juice, and a mysterious takeout container.
“What does Cole even eat?” I close the fridge and turn to the cupboards, flinging them open.
“Junk food. Takeout. Coffee, mostly.” She fills the two mugs and takes hers, turning to sit at the window seat. “Is he okay? He hasn’t answered my texts for hours. It’s not like him.”
“I’m not his keeper,” I reply, grabbing my coffee mug and sitting down at the kitchen center island. “Maybe he’s with his other girlfriend.”
For all I know, Cole could have ten girlfriends. Or zero. I only want to get under her skin. Maybe create a little rift between them.
“I think I’d know if he had a girlfriend.” She shakes her head, turning to stare out the window.
I flip open my phone and scroll through food delivery options. Way more limited than what I’m used to downtown, and the options here are mostly junk food, but I’m hungry enough to eat anything right now.
“He’d be a real idiot to let his girlfriend know about his side chick,” I reply, picking a burger joint from the list. “Or am I being too generous and it’syouwho is actually the side chick?”
She startles me with a boisterous laugh. “We’re just friends, idiot. He’s like a brother to me. I don’t care if he has a girlfriend or ten side chicks.”
So she says, but I don’t believe her, not for a second. I saw the way they interacted at the hospital, how close they were, and the constant little touches.
“Right.” I drag out the word and pump it full of sarcasm.
“Whatever, I don’t need you to believe me,” she replies, with an eye roll I can see from across the room.
“Friends with benefits, then? A little distraction during those homework sessions?” she twitches as if I’ve shocked her, and I can see I’ve struck some kind of nerve. She gets to her feet and I can see the fury in her eyes. The fire I saw crackling before, but this one blazing much hotter.
“What the fuck is your problem? Is this some kind of sick fantasy thing with you? There’s nobenefits,as you call them.” She advances on me with each word, jabbing her finger at my face. “He’s my best friend, and he deserves a hell of a lot better than you for a brother.”
I hold my hands in front of me. “Alright, alright. I’m just saying. Maybe I got things wrong.”
I can’t turn this into an all-out war. Mom needs me here, and if I go blowing up Cole’s life while I’m staying at his house, it’ll only add to her stress. So I switch tactics. If she won’t respond to brute force, I’ll try a little charm. There’s more than one way to sow dissent.
She’s still scowling at me. “Yes, you did.”
“Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed anything. It’s just been a rough few days.” I put on my best worn-down look, which honestly isn’t too much of a stretch, this new product launch has been killing me.
She relents, stalking back over to her window seat and throwing herself down on it. For a moment there’s nothing but the sound of FaerieBeast crunching kibble as I make my food selections on the takeout app while Jordan stares out the window at the falling snow.
I’m about to send the order when I think of the coffee in my hand and feel a small twinge of guilt. “I’m getting a burger. Want one?”
She hesitates, and as if on cue her stomach grumbles, breaking the momentary silence. We both laugh in unison at the irony. “I’ll take that as a yes, then,” I continue. “What flavor?”
“Bacon, cheddar, large fries. Oh and a chocolate milkshake if they have it,” she confesses.
I raise my eyebrows. As fit as she is, with a petite but muscled frame, I wonder where she puts it all. “I see what you and Cole have in common,” I say, punching in the order on my phone. “One heart attack, coming up.”
“It’s why I got into medicine, really, to make sure I could save him when his bad habits eventually catch up with him. Unfortunately, they rubbed off on me as well.” She pulls a book from her backpack and sets it on her knees to read. It’s thick, a textbook covered with sticky notes full of tiny illegible handwriting.
When FaerieBeast finishes eating, she trots over to the window seat and makes herself comfortable between Jordan’s legs, settling down with a contented sigh. Again, I notice how at ease she is here, so there’s no doubt she spends a lot of time here. With her stunning looks, intelligence, and spark, there has got to be more thanfriendshipat play here.
I refill my coffee mug and offer to refill hers. She holds her mug up and tilts her head, staring into my eyes. “Is it poisoned?”
“Dammit, now I need to come up with a new plot.” I return the empty pot to the coffee machine and switch it off.
“Oh, don’t bother turning it off, there’ll be more. In fact, you might as well start a new pot now.” She nibbles the end of her pen, her eyes daring me to argue with her command.
“Yes, your grace,” I say, in mock obedience.
“Better.” She goes back to her work, and after preparing the coffee pot for its next batch, I turn without another word and walk upstairs to get my laptop.
