by Kelly Oram
“It could be.”
I returned the flat look he’d given me a moment ago. “Okay, even if Sophie weren’t in the picture—which she is—Jordan isn’t interested in me that way, and you know it.”
Colin gave a dismissive snort. “Yeah, but Jordan doesn’t know what’s good for her.” He eyed me skeptically. “And I’m beginning to think you don’t know what’s good for you, either.”
I rolled my eyes. He was starting to sound like my brothers. “Can we just drop it? Jordan and I are not going to happen. I’m happy with Sophie.”
“If you say so,” he muttered. “But Jordan would be a way better girlfriend.”
When I gave him a look, he shrugged. “I’m just saying. She’s here today, and Sophie’s not.”
I hated that he was right almost as much as I hated how disappointed I’d been by Sophie’s absence. Since gaining Jordan’s and Colin’s friendship, I’d gotten a taste of what honest-to-goodness genuine support felt like, and I liked it. More than that, I thrived on it. The more time I spent with people that sincerely believed in me, the more I felt the sting of Sophie’s indifference. It’s not that I needed her to coddle me, but taking twenty minutes away from her homework for something that was so important to me would have been nice.
Colin’s arm fell around my shoulders. “Come on, rock star, let’s go save our woman from the sexy player.”
. . . . .
Colin’s accusation stuck with me the rest of the night. It even dampened some of the fun of Jordan learning that a Band-Aid was more of an obsessed groupie than a rock star. I spent the night waiting for Sophie to call me to see how the audition went. I could have called her at any time, and normally I would have. But now I just wanted to see if she cared enough to check in with me. She never called. I got a text around 11:00 p.m.
Her: Ugh. Paper is finally done. My head hurts. I’m going to bed. Love you.
Me: K. Goodnight. Feel better.
Her: How did your audition go?
By then, I was surprised she’d even asked. It had obviously been an afterthought, and she didn’t care enough about my answer to call and talk to me about it. Suddenly I was glad we were texting so she couldn’t hear the annoyance in my voice.
Me: Good. I got in the showcase, but I have to come up with a new song for it.
Her: You made it?! Congrats. We should go out tomorrow and celebrate.
Me: Sure. If you want. Talk to you later.
Her: Goodnight. Love you.
I didn’t respond. I was too annoyed. I wasn’t feeling much better when I got up the next day so I decided I needed to blow off some steam, and I knew the perfect outlet to vent my frustration.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” Jordan chirped once I finally emerged from my room. “You’re up late this morning.”
“I’ve been awake for a while, just not willing to get out of bed. I didn’t sleep well.”
“Ugh. I know those days. Oh, sorry,” she said when I headed for the coffeepot and found it empty. “We’re out. I drank the last of it an hour ago.”
She laughed when I groaned. “Sorry. You snooze you lose.”
“Is this payback for beating you at Rock Band last night?”
“Maybe.” Jordan winked. “I guess you’ll just have to walk me to work and let me make you a pumpkin spice latte.”
I narrowed my eyes at her, but laughed when she flashed me a big, innocent grin. “Okay. I’m headed that direction anyway.”
Jordan had a way of putting me in a good mood. Heaven forbid I ever get in a fight with her. I’d never be able to hold a grudge. I’d been grumpy all morning, but after two seconds with Jordan, I was smiling and looking forward to my day. Maybe that’s why I decided to answer the phone when Sophie called me a couple of minutes later. She’d texted me three times already this morning and I’d ignored all of her messages, not in the mood to talk to her.
“There you are!” she chirped when I picked up. “I was starting to wonder where you were.”
Like I was all last night? “Yeah, sorry. I slept in. With everyone over last night, time kind of flew by. It was pretty late when they left.”
“Oh.” There was a beat of silence. “You had people over last night? Like a party?”
“Nothing crazy. We were just blowing off steam after the audition.”
“Oh yeah,” Sophie said, as if she’d just remembered. “Congratulations again, by the way. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks.” I headed to the front door, where Jordan was waiting for me, and slid on my coat. “We were all pretty pumped afterward, so everyone came back to our place to celebrate. It was just pizza and ice cream. We started out watching movies and then ended up having a Rock Band tournament. The guys stayed pretty late.”
“It was crazy,” Jordan said, loud enough for Sophie to hear over the phone as she playfully looped my scarf around my neck for me. “Your man plays Rock Band like a BOSS.”
I snorted and opened the door for her. “Everyone plays like a boss compared to you.”
“I’d never played before. Next time we’ll play FIFA 16, and I will destroy you all.”
She stuck her tongue out at me as she moved past me into the hallway. I laughed and locked the door behind us, turning my attention back to Sophie. “Anyway, we had a good time. With the exception of Blaze, those guys are pretty cool.”
“Blaze isn’t so bad,” Jordan said.
I rolled my eyes, not surprised that she defended him.
“So you had a party all night, and you never called me?” Sophie asked, drawing my attention back to my phone conversation. The hurt in her voice made me angry.
“You spent all day telling me you were busy. You couldn’t even come to my audition for half an hour. I didn’t think you’d want to be bothered with movies and video games.”
“But Jordan was part of this little impromptu party?”
I ground my teeth, not wanting to start a fight. “Why wouldn’t she be? She was there.”
There was a beat of silence, and then, “Jordan went to your audition?”
I didn’t understand her surprise. “Yeah, she and Colin both came. Then after we got into the showcase, we all just kind of went back home to celebrate. I told you, it was no big deal. It’s not like we had a party and didn’t invite you.”
She sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I guess I’m just really stressed right now, and a little jealous of your relaxed schedule.”
Relaxed? I wanted to laugh. My schedule was hardly relaxed. But that wasn’t worth arguing about, so I let it drop. The elevator doors chimed open, giving me the perfect excuse to end the call. “Listen, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Okay.” Sophie hesitated again. “Nate, is everything okay? You’re acting strange, and last night when I texted you, you said good-bye pretty fast.”
“Everything’s fine. I had company last night. I couldn’t talk. And right now, I just have to go. I’ll call you when I get home this evening, okay?”
She didn’t buy it, but she didn’t argue, either. “Okay.”
I stepped into the elevator that Jordan was now holding for me, and turned my phone off before I slipped it into my pocket. Jordan gave me a curious look. “All good?”
I nodded. I didn’t want to talk about it. I wasn’t even sure exactly why I was so bugged. “I just need some coffee.”
Jordan grinned. “Then it’s a good thing we’re already headed to get you some. I’m going to make you the best pumpkin spice latte you’ve ever had. I promise it’ll cheer you right up.”
She was already cheering me up. “You’re the best roommate in the world. Have I ever mentioned that?”
She laughed. “Maybe once or twice, but it never hurts to hear it again.”
The elevator doors opened, and Jordan dragged me out of the building with a seemingly renewed sense of purpose. “Hurry up, Nate. Coffee awaits!”
“So what have you got going on today?” Jordan asked once we were on our wa
y to the café. She’d set a brisk pace that I assumed had more to do with the recent drop in temperature than the idea of getting to work on time.
“I’m going to see my brothers.” She was shivering a little, so I took off my scarf and wrapped it around her neck. At least since she was headed to work she was wearing shoes instead of just flip-flops. “You know, a hoodie’s not a real coat. You’re going to make yourself sick if you keep pretending this is LA.”
“Okay, Mom.” Jordan rolled her eyes, but she snuggled into my scarf as if the added warmth were the best thing she’d ever felt. “It hasn’t snowed yet. The coat doesn’t come out of the closet until the vile white stuff appears. So your brothers, huh? Did they finally answer your calls last night?”
“No.” After seeing them at my audition, I’d tried to get a hold of them several times throughout the night. I was sent straight to voice mail. “That’s why I’m going over there now. I’m assuming they probably had a late night last night and are sleeping it off. Right now I figure it’s early enough that they’re still in bed, but late enough they won’t kill me if I wake them up.”
“Good thinking. But maybe I should make you three lattes instead of just one.”
We reached the café and I laughed as I opened the door for Jordan. “Right. Nothing says ‘please don’t kill me’ like a pumpkin spice latte.”
“Worked on you this morning, didn’t it?” She gave me a cheeky grin and draped my scarf back around my neck. “Just find a table and have a seat. I’ll bring it out to you when it’s ready.”
She trounced off to clock in for her shift before I could argue. I was still chuckling to myself as I sat at one of the small tables in the front window. Almost immediately after I sat down, the seat across from me was filled. I smirked at the woman who’d joined me without an invitation. “Hello, Pearl.”
Pearl’s satisfied grin was hidden behind the mug of tea she was sipping, but amusement sparkled in her eyes. “Good morning, Nathan. It’s good to see you smiling. I take it the new housing situation worked out.”
I’d planned to give her a hard time about her deception, but the laughter in her voice made it impossible. The way she’d withheld Jordan’s sex from Sophie may have been underhanded, but it quite possibly might have been the only way I would have taken the room. After all was said and done, I felt nothing but gratitude toward the woman.
Once I cracked, I couldn’t contain myself. I laughed. “You were right. The apartment is fantastic, and Jordan is the perfect roommate.”
Pearl’s brow rose slightly. “Roommate?”
Strange. “Of course,” I said, confused as to what had her so surprised. “What else would she be?”
Pearl sat back and took a long, slow sip of her tea, studying me with a familiar, calculating intensity. It was like the moment we met all over again. The wheels in her head were turning. My eyes narrowed on the scheming woman. “Pearl…? Why are you giving me that look? The last time you looked at me like that, my whole life turned upside down.”
She huffed as if I’d insulted her. “Or maybe it was upside down before, and I righted it. The smile on your face when you walked in this morning would certainly suggest as much.”
She had a point. Still… “You’re a devious woman, Pearl.”
She gave me a challenging stare. “I get results.”
Another point in her favor. And it was true that I had no complaints about the changes she’d wrought upon my life. “Okay, I give. And I owe you. Thank you for passing along Jordan’s info. You have no idea how much you actually did for me.”
“Actually, I have a feeling it’s you who hasn’t grasped the wholeness of everything I’ve done for you.” That too-knowing playful look filled Pearl’s eyes again, and she smiled. “But you will.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Of course she didn’t give me a straight answer. Her eyes crinkled around the corners as she took another sip of her tea. “No thanks needed. It was my pleasure. Just promise me you’ll take good care of Jordan.”
“Of course.”
Her expression turned stern. “I mean it, Nathan. Jordan’s been a difficult match, and I’ve spent too much time on this one for you to be stupid about it. She needs you.”
Was I supposed to be offended or flattered? I felt a little of both. “Look, I already got the lecture from Colin. Don’t worry; I get it. I’ll look after her. Just call me Hugh Jackman.”
“Hugh Jackman, huh?” Jordan appeared with three pumpkin spice lattes in a drink carrier, wearing an intrigued smile. “So you plan to go X-Men on your brothers, then? Not a bad plan. Call me if you need backup. I’ll gladly be the Jean Grey to your Wolverine.”
I laughed as I handed her a twenty for the coffee. “Actually, I was talking about some movie Colin told me to watch.”
“Ooh, which one? We can have a movie night tonight.”
“Someone Like You? Colin said I was the Hugh Jackman to your Ashley Judd.”
Jordan snorted. “Please. Yeah, they were roommates, but she was emotionally broken and he was this total womanizing playboy. Definitely not us. I think we should stick with X-Men. Wolverine and Jean Grey rule.”
“Whatever you say.” I saluted her and rose to my feet. “You’re the movie boss.”
Jordan grinned, but that smile vanished when Pearl muttered, “Interesting.”
Jordan turned a narrowed gaze on her. “I know that tone, Pearl. Don’t you even start.”
I wouldn’t have asked, but when Jordan tried to kick me out of the café, I became too curious. “What’s so interesting?” I asked Pearl.
Jordan gave me a gentle nudge toward the door, shaking her head. “Don’t encourage her.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Pearl said sweetly, her innocence not fooling a soul, “but weren’t Wolverine and Jean Grey lovers?”
I’m not sure what was more startling: that the old woman had used the word lovers or that she knew Wolverine and Jean Grey had been in a relationship.
“Pearl!” Jordan stomped her foot. Probably because she was too nice to kick an old lady. Or maybe she’d just been warned not to kick customers. “I said don’t go there.” With cheeks as red as a cherry, she grimaced in my direction. “I wasn’t referencing their relationship. Jean Grey is just my favorite X-Men character, and you had already brought up Wolverine.”
“Actually, he didn’t,” Pearl argued. “You brought up Wolverine. And since when do you not relate yourself to the characters?”
“Oh, my gosh. I wasn’t. If anything, we have more of a Wolverine/Rogue kind of relationship, but Rogue’s powers suck, so I’m totally calling Jean Grey.”
I knew what she meant about the Wolverine/Rogue thing, and I agreed it was a much more fitting comparison for us. Their relationship was more just friendship. And actually, I was a lot more like Wolverine than Jordan probably realized. Logan felt responsible for Rogue and watched out for her.
I was tempted to point out that even if they were only friends, Rogue was always a little enamored with Wolverine—at least in the movie—but she looked too embarrassed already. If I’d known Pearl was going to tease her anyway, I wouldn’t have held back.
Pearl grinned at me and winked. “The lady doth protest too much, don’t you think?”
Jordan’s blush deepened, but it may have been from anger, considering the way she glared at the woman. I laughed, which was the wrong move, because Jordan turned her frustration on me. “Sorry.” I held up my free hand in surrender, but I couldn’t wipe the grin from my face. “I think I’m going to go before I get kicked in the shin. Thanks for the lattes, Jean Grey.” I nodded to Pearl. “It was good to see you again.”
“Good luck with your brothers,” Jordan called as I left the café. The aggravation in her voice had me smiling to myself all the way to my old dorm.
. . . . .
It was nearly eleven, but my brothers were still right where I thought they’d be—in bed. I didn’t bother to knock. “Get up, jer
ks. You have half an hour to be ready to go.”
Ignoring the groans and mumbled curses, I switched on the light and opened the blinds. I plopped into my old desk chair and sipped my coffee as they slowly joined the land of the living. “Runt?” Chris groaned.
Tyler managed a glare, but I could tell it hurt his head. “You don’t live here anymore.”
I sipped my latte. It was surprisingly good. “Your point?”
“My point is, go away.”
“Not happening. Get up and get dressed, or I’m going to go straight-up Patrick Swayze in Ghost on you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The movie Ghost. Patrick Swayze’s a ghost, and he needs Whoopie Goldberg’s help because she’s the only one who can hear him. She won’t listen to him, so he sings “I’m Henry the Eighth, I am!” all night long without stopping, until she gives in and helps him.”
“What are you rambling about, you freak?” Tyler grabbed his head and rolled over so that his back was facing me. “When did you become such a psycho?”
“Since I moved in with a film major. Now get up, before I start singing.”
“You utter even one measure and I’ll kill you.”
“You’d have to get up to do that.”
Chris groaned. “Do you guys have to be so loud?” He pulled himself to a sitting position and rubbed the sleep from his face. “What do I smell?”
I held up a cup in his direction and, like a zombie getting a whiff of fresh brains, he shuffled toward me. Once the cup was in his hand, he held it to his nose and breathed in deeply. “This is coffee?”
I nodded. “It’s a pumpkin spice latte.”
He’d had the cup to his lips but pulled it back and stared at it as if it might bite him.
Tyler sat up with a frown. “Did you just say you’re drinking a pumpkin spice latte?”
I sipped my drink again and held out the last cup. “I brought one for you, too. They’re good.”
Tyler snorted. “You girl.”
I laughed. “Nope. I just live with one. These are courtesy of Jordan.”
Chris sniffed his drink again, and the caffeine won out over keeping his man card. When his eyebrows flew up and he nodded in pleasant surprise, Tyler rolled his eyes and sipped his latte. He’d never admit to liking it, but he didn’t set the cup down, either. “What are you doing here?” he asked, accepting that he wouldn’t be going back to bed.
