Page 3 of Perfect Storm

Jenna comes over to kiss my cheek, ruffling my hair. “And you’re my asshole,” she wrinkles her nose. “That sounded super weird and kinda gross.”

I put an arm around her waist and pull her in between my legs, chuckling at her rambling. She comes easily and wraps her arms around my neck. “Can’t promise anything.”

“Then you won’t get to have this ass.” She taps my nose and pulls out of my arms before I can get a grip on her.

“What?” I watch her pick up her purse. “You’ll withhold sex from me if I’m not nice to my sister’s date?”

“Boyfriend. And yes.”

“Bullshit, you’ll come begging before I do.”

“Never,” she says, but she bites her lip. Her eyes do a slow sweep of my bare chest. I grin when she looks back into my eyes and she sticks her tongue out. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“I’ll be waiting, naked, in bed.”

“Hah,” she says. “Get more acquainted with your hand.” She breezes out of the door.

“Bullshit,” I mumble, picking up the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher.

I make another coffee and am still grumbling when my cell rings. When I see its Jenna, my heart stops. She won’t callme so quickly after leaving if there isn’t something up. “Hey, everything alright?”

“Yes.” I can almost hear the eye roll. “I just picked up the mail. We have a card from Jordan.”

I tip my head back, the relief sweeping through me. I’m gonna lose my shit by the time this baby comes. Fucking Jordan. He lives across the hall from us. Why the hell has he left us a card in our mail?

“What’s it say?”

“It’s a… hold on.” I hear rustling and a sharp intake of breath. “I’ll be right back.”

“What is it?” But she’s hung up.

I go into the hall and knock on Jordan’s door. There’s no answer. Come to think of it, he comes over to annoy us on a nightly basis. We didn’t see him last night. I go back to the apartment and grab a t-shirt and some jeans. I’m zipping them up when Jenna comes into the bedroom. She has a strange frown on her face.

“Let me see.” I take the card and open it. Jenna leans back against the bureau as I scan the card, then look up at Jenna. “Is he serious?”

“It’s Jordan,” Jenna shrugs. “I can’t do it,” she holds out her hand. “We’re not all part time rock stars. I already confirmed with Keira we’ll go to White Plains this weekend.”

I head to the kitchen, reading the card again, Jenna trails behind. Despite her words, she’s not rushing out to work. I grab my phone and call my best friend.

“Did you get a weird letter off Jordan?” Archer asks, without a greeting, like he was about to call me too.

“Yeah, just reading it now. You got the same thing?”

“Yeah. What the fuck is he playing at now?”

Chapter 2

Adrestia

Grabbing my satchel and phone, I head out of the office, locking the door behind me. My head is still throbbing. I shouldn’t have met Apollo for acoupleof drinks last night. My best friend does not know how to go out without drinking his weight in shots. And I have no willpower.

At least I’d finished marking up the work for today’s class. I spend most of my time reminding students of their deadlines, it is wrong for me to be too hungover to finish mine.

The university is bustling, students arriving for classes, or meeting friends. I need a coffee. Usually, my two early morning Friday classes are a good thing. I get to leave early and start the weekend, but today, I curse it. And Apollo.

I arrive to a handful of students already in the class, a few girls and one guy. I nod to them but don’t say anything, leaving them to continue their chat. The lone guy is on his phone.

Class doesn’t actually start for another five minutes. They will have got their grades beforehand. The majority of them will be happy, a couple won’t care that their grade isn’t what I expect.

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