Page 11 of The Game

“Nope.” I pop the p. A tendril of hair sticks to my lip gloss as I shake my head, and I blow out a breath to clear it away. “Don’t you dare try to set me up.”

Her hands fly up in protest. “I wasn’t going to set you up, but I think you should start shopping around. That asshole you were with last year wasn’t worthy of the ground you walk on.”

“I know. That’s why I’ve got no plans for dating this year. I’m far too busy to waste my time on another useless college guy.”

Her lips pull down at the corners. She may be sporting a more business-like look than usual in fitted black pin-striped pants and a crisp white blouse, but she’s still rocking some glorious crimson lipstick. “Hey. They’re not all useless.”

“I’m sorry. Aspen is a keeper, but he’s the exception that proves the rule. It can’t be statistically possible for there to be more than a handful of guys of his caliber at Lakeview. Trust me. I know.”

My eye roll morphs into a grimace when I think of the edgy nervousness that’s been consuming me since Darryl tracked me down the other day. I will not let him ruin this year for me. He’s taken up way too much of my precious time here at college.

She heaves another box of books off a towering shelf with a grunt.

“Careful, you’ll throw your back out. Need some help?”

The box lands on the floor with a dusty thud. “Nope. I’m good. I think you should read this.” A bright blue paperback lands in my lap.

“What?” I pick up the book, studying the cartoon characters on the front, wondering how this particular book is going to change my life. Because with Jordan there’s always a reason. Every book has a life lesson in it. Even if I never needed to think about what it would be like if some guy accidentally opened my box of vibrators when he was helping me move. Don’t be ashamed. Embrace your pleasure. I’m pretty sure that was the life lesson from that one, according to her.

“You need to learn to trust again and find the right guy. Not just any old guy. You’ve been burned before, and you’re not willing to open your heart, right?”

I shake my head, knowing she’s never going to listen to my protests. I may as well read the book and get some fictional man action even though I have zero intention of getting any real man action this year. Plus, it’s probably got some top shelf smut in it. Jordan is the queen of smut. Book recommendations from her guarantee a good time.

“Ok, Jordan. I’ll read it.”

Her topknot bobs, eyes closing as she tips her coffee cup up to take a long sip.

“You must miss him.”

She looks at me over the white paper cup. “Yeah, I do. But don’t underestimate the power of some primo sextiming.”

“Sextiming?”

“FaceTiming, only naked. You know.”

I reach for another book to pack up, avoiding eye contact. “What? No. I really don’t know.”

“You are missing out. The other day he told me to sit on the bathroom counter and...”

“No, no, no. I’m good. Love you, but that’s a hard limit for me. I do not need to know what you and Aspen are getting up to on your phones.” If anything is going to cause me permanent emotional damage, that would be it.

“Sorry.” The smirk on her lips says otherwise. “I miss him. I’m getting close to nailing down a home for Top Shelf, the Chicago edition. Things have been going so well with the online store. I’ve started putting plans together for decor and get this. You are the very first to hear this. Other than Aspen, of course. And Mom, because I need to keep her in the loop until I can buy her out. But this store is going to be dedicated exclusively to romance books. Top Shelf Romance. There’s going to be a cozy little corner with a red couch and a selfie wall. I’ve got these stunning glass shelves on order. It’s going to be amazing. And of course, I’ll need to move down there to get it going, so I’ll finally be able to move in with Aspen on a full-time basis.”

I wrap my arms around in her in a hug. “I’m so happy for you. You are absolutely killing it, and I lovethat for you.”

“Thanks, bestie. How about you? You said you had some information on small business grants you wanted to go over. Hand ’em over.”

There’s a stack of neatly packed books surrounding me, and I realize I’ve reached the end of the shipping labels she handed me when I got here. Time soars when you’re with awesome women.

“Hey, Sadie.” I smile and nod at the girl behind the counter when I grab my backpack.

She gives me the briefest of glances over the top of the book she’s devouring. “Hey, Jazz.” And back she goes. Perfect job for a bookworm. The store has its busy moments, but the bulk of the sales now are coming from online, which Jordan is mostly handling, so it leaves plenty of time for reading.

Laptop, pencil case, mouse, granola bar. I’m digging around the mysterious innards of my bag until my fingers touch the folder with all the business grant pamphlets.

The red file folder holds all the goods, and Jordan snatches them up right away to inhale the words.

“Oh, this one looks good. New graduates.” She scans the paper. “Business degree, business plan. Have you made one of those yet? If not, I can help.”

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