If it wasn’t for the kittens, I wouldn’t be going ho right now. I’d do anything to keep myself busy so I wasn’t thinking about Taylor and all the things he might be doing with her.
I’m so stupid. How did I let myself fall back into the sa hole? He was being nice today, and I swear we had a few monts of sothing sweet. I’d make today more in my head than it was. Clearly the dinner invite had to be a friend thing. Taylor isn’t the type of guy to cheat, but what the hell was that kiss then?
I’m sure he would rather there not be tension between the two families, and our bickering has gone on for far too long. I don’t know how to break it, but maybe he’s trying to fix it. God, now I’m more confused than ever.
I pop into the small coffee shop around the corner from our apartnt and order a hot chocolate and a slice of banana nut bread. Now when Briar asks if I had dinner, I can tell her I did because cake definitely counts. Especially after today.
Unable to control myself, I pull out my phone and see if maybe Taylor sent a ssage. My breath catches when I see one from him.
Taylor: Sorry
“Whatever,” I huff under my breath. One word? He’s too busy with her to say more, I suppose.
“Jasmine.” Soone calls my na, and I think it’s my order, but then I spot Professor Rookwood headed toward . I smile because he was one of my favorites. Most of the teaching staff at the university was female, but Professor Rookwood is way ahead of the curve when it cos to things like crypto currency.
“Hey, Professor.”
“Call Alex. I’m not your teacher anymore.”
“All right, Alex,” I say. “Feels weird.”
“Old habits die hard,” he jokes, and I can’t help but think how true that is. “How are things? I heard about you getting a job at Gondal Assist.”
“Really?”
“Rendall might have called .” He smirks, and that makes sense.
“Before or after I got the job?”
“Both.”
“Thank you. You must have said good things about .”
“I only told him the truth.” He shrugs.
“Still, that ans a lot. How’s the book going?” I ask, and he lets out a long breath. “Sorry I asked.”
“It’s fine. I’m going in circles with it.” Alex helped the governnt unmask the TWC scandal. The telecommunications company made 4.2 billion fraudulent entries to inflate revenue through fake unallocated revenue accounts—all in a sche to make the company appear to be doing better than it truly was.
“You’ll get it. I’m sure it’s hard to sit down and write it all out. It was a crazy story.” We’re used to going through crap, not creating it. People like us essentially pull things apart and break them down. “When it doesn’t add up...” I tease.
“You go back to the start.” He finishes the line he often said in class when we’d hit a wall on sothing.
“Jasmine,” the barista calls.
“I’m up.” I point toward the counter.
“Maybe I could get your number and bounce so things off you.”
“I know nothing about writing. I might make it worse.”
“To be honest, I’m trying to get your number, Jasmine.”
“Oh,” I say, shocked. “But...”
“I’m not your teacher anymore,” he says, and he’s right. He is, however, a decade older than . It’s on the tip of my tongue to say no, but then the blonde in the elevator pops into my head.
“Okay.”
He pulls out his phone, and I rattle off my number. My phone vibrates a second later with his text.
“I’ll be in touch.” He smiles before heading over to place his own order.
The whole way back to my apartnt, I wonder if I did the wrong thing. Alex is cute, and we’re interested in a lot of the sa things, but it feels off for so reason.
“Pizza!” Briar announces as she bursts into our apartnt an hour later. “I knew if you ate, it was only a pastry or cake.” She’s not wrong.
“Pizza sounds good.” Briar places the box down on the counter, and I get up from the couch, grabbing so napkins while she gives the kittens kisses.
“So?”
“So what?”
“Why do you even try that?” my sister tosses back at , and I take a giant bite of the cheesy pizza. I don’t know why I do it either.
“This is good. Is it from the place around the block we keep saying we’re going to try?”
“Yes, now tell whatever it is that’s happening here. You were good when I left after lunch.”
“Taylor was with that blonde again,” I tell her since I might as well get it out there, but I decide not to ntion the kiss.
“The one from the bar on Friday?” We hadn’t talked about her, but clearly we both took note. I tell her what happened and then ntion Alex. “Professor Rookwood!” Her whole face lights up.
“You know him?” Our university wasn’t giant, but there were a lot of teachers, and Professor Rookwood’s classes weren’t ones Briar would be anywhere near.
“We went to an all-girls university that had maybe four males on staff. All the girls talked about Professor Rookwood. Or should I say Alex?” She wiggles her eyebrows.
“Whatever,” I laugh. “I think I might avoid going out if and when he asks.”
“Why?”
“There isn’t a spark.” I shrug.
“Maybe because you’re not open to seeing them. It’s only a date, Jasmine. Just do coffee or happy hour; you don’t have to do a whole dinner. Test it out and see what you think.”
“I don’t want to lead him on or waste his ti,” I say, and Briar rolls her eyes at . “Hey, I don’t see you out there dating.”
“I have three babies to take care of.” She dramatically motions to the kittens that are rolling across the kitchen floor and playing together.
“I’ll think about it.”
“How about you text for a bit? That’s not wasting ti. It might get flirty, and you might like it. Besides, you said you’ll be working late all week. You don’t have ti for a date, and you can tell him that when he asks.”
That’s not the worst idea. It might nudge in a direction away from my romantic feelings with Taylor. My phone vibrates on the table next to the couch, and Briar leaps for it before I get a chance. Then the stupid facial recognition unlocks it for her.
“Oh, he said the red velvet loaf from the coffee shop is amazing.”
“Do not respond to him.” The phone goes off again.
“Oh, he’s sexting you now.”
“What!” I try to grab the phone from her. “He is not.” There is no way, and Briar cackles before finally handing the phone over.
“It’s a link to an article about crypto projects.” Damn, there are already three that have launched this year. We’re barely into February.
“See, you’re into it. Account sexting.”
“You’re a dork.”
“I’m the dork? Sure.” She goes to take a bite of pizza, and so of the cheese slides off and lands on her sweater.
I fight the snort that threatens to co out. If anything, my sister can always make smile. No matter how shitty my day has been.
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