Page 56 of The Backup

Brian doesn’t even look up from his notebook, just grunts some kind of acknowledgment. I chuckle to myself as I slide into the chair behind them, setting my bag down and pulling out a book. Not that I’m actually here to study. I needed an excuse to get out of the frat house, and this seemed like a good enough place to kill some time.

That, and it’s a prime spot to eavesdrop.

Their whispers start almost immediately.

“Why did he say hi to you like that?” Brian’s voice is low but sharp, like he’s genuinely offended.

“What are you talking about?” Jacklyn whispers back, her tone dripping with mock innocence. “He just said hi.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t a normal hi. It was, like, aspecialhi.”

I stifle a laugh, pretending to flip through my book. Brian’s paranoia is too easy to pick up on.

Jacklyn sighs. “Okay, fine. If you must know, we dated for, like, two months freshman year.”

Brian jerks upright, and I catch the way his head snaps toward her out of the corner of my eye. “Youwhat?”

“Relax,” she says, laughing softly. “It was nothing serious. We were basically kids. Why, are you jealous?”

“Absolutely not,” he says, way too quickly to be convincing. “I’m just…curious. And also slightly horrified.”

“Horrified?” she repeats, her voice rising a notch before she catches herself. “What, is Asher some kind of monster now?”

“No, but—ugh, never mind.” There’s a pause, and I can practically hear the gears turning in his head. “You know what? I’m inviting him to game night tomorrow.”

Jacklyn snorts. “Game night? Why?”

“To show I’m not jealous,” Brian says, like it’s the most logical thing in the world. “And to prove there’s absolutely nothing weird about this. Totally normal. Just a bunch of friends hanging out, including yourvery platonicex-boyfriend.”

“Oh, Brian,” she says, laughing under her breath. “You’re so transparent, it’s almost cute.”

“It’s not about me, okay? It’s about setting a tone. A mature, adult tone.”

I glance over my shoulder just in time to catch Brian scribbling something in his notebook, probably a reminder to send me the invite. Jacklyn rolls her eyes, clearly amused but not pushing the subject any further.

As for me? I’m already thinking about tomorrow. Game night, huh? With Sloane there?

The whispers between Jacklyn and Brian continue, growing quieter, but I can still catch snippets. Something about "not being jealous" and "totally normal game night" drifts over. I shake my head, amused, flipping another page in my book for show.

A chair scrapes behind me, and suddenly Brian’s standing there, towering over my table. His expression is somewhere between casual and calculated, like he’s trying too hard to play it cool.

“Knox,” he says, his voice overly loud in the hushed library.

I glance up, one eyebrow raised. “What’s up, Brian?”

He shifts awkwardly, crossing his arms. “Hey, so, uh…Jacklyn and I are hosting a game night tomorrow. You should come.”

Jacklyn groans from behind him. “Brian?—”

He holds up a hand, ignoring her. “It’s just a chill thing. Sloane will be there. A couple of other people. Nothing formal, you know? Totally normal. Like…supernormal.”

I bite back a grin. “Totally normal, huh?”

“Yup,” he says, nodding a little too enthusiastically. “Just friends hanging out. Playing games. Eating snacks. Being…chill.”

Jacklyn rests her head on the table with a dramatic sigh. “Brian, you’re so bad at this.”

“Bad at what?” he asks innocently, glancing back at her.

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