Page 32 of Limbo

I text back,Why wouldn’t I?

He responds as I’m hauling my books out to the common room, and I bite back a smile, setting up to study. Sure, I could enjoy an entire afternoon of lounging around, but not needing to worry about school over the weekend wins out.

As I settle in on the couch, I check the message.

Challenging woman.

I laugh, his frustration evident even through a text.

You like a challenge, remember?

So I can focus on reading, my phone goes between the couch cushions. A chapter later, though, I reach down to fish it out. A task I never accomplish because someone knocks. Someone almost always being Jordan. My book lands on the table with the rest.

When I answer, everything not right about him from before has corrected. The expression, eyes, hair—all has returned to his former self. Nervous energy slams into my chest as I let myself look at him with the potential of something more, and unless I want to sound like a tween with a crush, I need to pull it together.

“Hey.” I return to the couch, leaving the door open for him. “My other class for the day was canceled.”

He waits in the doorway, unmoved by the time I sit down. A few blinks later, the cloud of confusion from me flipping the script disappears.

“Good,” he says on his way over. “You have plenty of time to explain yourself. I bust my ass for you, and Benji reaps the rewards?” He sits next to me, only an inch between us. “The world is cruel enough without you adding to it.”

I shrug. “He had a compelling argument.”

“What was that?”

“He wasn’t you.”

“Ouch,” he says. “You’re breaking my heart, beautiful.”

There’s that freaking flip. I pile up my books and relax beside him. “So, where were you?”

“Coffee with my brother.”

“Older?” I guess based on a younger-sibling vibe.

“Three years.” He glances down between us, his eyes coming right back to mine. “He’s in law school at UPenn.”

“Same age difference as Connor and me.”

“Dustin’s a complete asshole.”

“You two get along then?” I say dryly.

He chuckles. “Most of the time. Do you and Connor?”

“He’s one of the best parts of my life.”

Jordan taps a finger on his leg. I wonder if he’s always so fidgety, and I’ve never noticed.

“Do you have class this afternoon?” I ask.

His finger stops. “No. Tuesdays, I have class at ten and one right after lunch.”

I drag my leg up on the couch between us, re-situating to face him. “A class at ten?” My knee ends up resting on his leg, but I’m too distracted by what he just said. “If you have a class at ten, why were you at my door this morning, offering to take me to my ten-fifteen class?”

He scrunches up his face—all the answer I need. Unbelievable. The guy would have missed class if I agreed. Not something I want on my conscience.

“Pull up your schedule right now.”

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