Page 114 of The Otherworld

“Yeah. Most people have one,” Jack says. “Some people have two. Or three.”

“I still can’t believe how many people live in one place!”

“This is a really small town, Orca. Like, everyone knows each other.”

“Really? Wait, how is that possible?”

Before Jack can answer this question, a middle-aged woman with deep brown skin stops beside our table and says, “Good morning, Jack. Who’s this pretty young lady?” She’s wearing an apron and a little pin over her heart that says Celine.

Jack grins and gestures across the table to me. “This is Orca. She’s new here.”

I give a smile and a tiny wave. “Good to meet you.”

“Honey, you look too sweet to be hanging around with this wild boy.” Celine ruffles Jack’s hair, which makes him laugh, his ears flushing red.

“Oh, he’s not so bad,” I say with an indulgent smile.

Celine nods slowly. “Mm-hmm. You say that now. But just be warned… this one’s a heartbreaker.”

Jack looks up at Celine with the most innocent smile, batting his eyelashes. “I haven’t broken your heart, have I, Celine?”

She rolls her eyes and gives him a playful shove. “Oh, stop it. Coffee?”

“Coffee would be great. Thank you.”

Celine continues down the row of tables while Jack shakes his head, looking like a little boy whose mother just embarrassed him.

“So…” I smirk, leaning forward on my elbows. “You’ve broken hearts, have you, Jack Stevenson?”

He blushes, tipping his head back. “No.”

I twitch an eyebrow, waiting for the truth.

“Well, maybe a few.”

“Ah. And who were they?”

Jack shrugs, making a face like he just swallowed something unpleasant. “Just some girls I’ve gone out with.”

“Gone out with?”

“Like… dated.”

“Is dating like flirting?”

“The two usually go hand in hand, yeah.”

“So you’ve dated a lot of girls,” I surmise, leaning back in the booth.

“I guess,” Jack admits. “Not more than the average guy my age—”

“What about Adam?”

Jack tilts his head, thinking about it. “Adam’s weird. Like, he’s the guy who has to have a million of these ‘just a friend’ dates before he works himself up to ask the girl on a real date… and by then, he’s decided she’s not really ‘the one’ or whatever. He takes everything too seriously. Doesn’t know how to have fun.”

“And you do?”

He gives me a smirk. “I invented fun.”

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