Page 13 of Jordan’s Breakthrough (Unexpected Love #3)

I look around, wanting to take in the moment.

Declan and Seth are laughing at something, Ian is giving Quinn a seductive smirk as Quinn licks grease off his own finger, Hunter and Korie are refilling their glasses from a pitcher of soda, and Piper is slowly stretching her piece of pizza out to see how far the cheese will go—which is another reason we love coming here.

Their unique blend of cheese makes the pizzas extra stringy.

It’s fun to see who can stretch it the farthest.

“Seth, look!” Declan says, noticing Piper.

Seth guffaws and begins clapping for her. “Yeah, Piper! Keep going!”

She kicks the wooden chair back as she stands, still holding the piece of pizza in her mouth. The cheese gets longer and longer until it finally breaks.

“Damn. That was almost the entire length of your arm!” Korie says, unnaturally blue eyes wide with excitement.

Piper pushes the tray of cheese pizza toward Quinn. “You should try.”

Quinn hesitantly reaches for a piece of cheese pizza and bites into it, but it breaks apart before he even starts stretching it. On his second bite, he manages to get a few inches.

Holden tries next, leaning over his plate, like he doesn’t want to get his shirt dirty. It stretches nearly a foot before the cheese breaks.

Korie bursts out laughing. “My turn.”

Korie’s piece makes it slightly further than Quinn and Holden’s, but not much.

Declan tips his chin at me, grinning proudly. “Come on, Jord. You have to try. You’re our reigning champion.”

Everyone snaps their attention to me, making me want to crawl into a hole.

Holden smirks. “I need to see this.”

I reach for a piece of the nearest pepperoni and sausage pizza. “The trick is to go slow.”

I pull the crust back nice and slow. The cheese stretches and stretches, and the entire group holds their breath. When it gets to be nearly two feet long, Declan and Piper start chanting, “Jor-dan! Jor-dan! Jor-dan!”

It catches the attention of nearby tables, and I nearly choke on a laugh as heads turn.

Kicking my chair back, I keep going, and going, until I can’t even reach anymore. Holden grabs the crust and continues to stretch it, eyes getting wider and wider until the cheese finally sags and breaks. I catch it before it falls to the ground.

Everyone whoops, clapping loudly.

“Damn, man! I think you just beat your own record!” Declan says.

“Oh, he definitely did!” Piper says, turning her phone around to show everyone a picture. “Look at that!”

I stuff the gooey cheese into my mouth, then reach for a napkin. “Don’t think you’re getting out of this, Dec.”

“Oh, I know!”

One by one, we finish the competition. No one gets anywhere close to my length, though. They never do.

I have to admit, it’s a fun evening. Exhausting, because of the extra effort it takes to socialize, but fun.

Finally, with the table cleared, we file out of the restaurant. Holden lingers behind, chewing his lip as we walk toward the crosswalk. He shoves a hand into his pocket before clearing his throat.

“So, would you, maybe, want to come back here sometime?”

I turn to him, confused.

He stops walking, cheeks turning pink. “You know. Have a cheese contest of our own?”

My mind had been so caught up in the fun evening that I nearly miss the fact that Holden just asked me on a date.

“Oh! I’m… Well, I’m seeing someone,” I say quickly. Declan and Piper both turn to look at us.

His attention darts to Piper. She must have given him a nudge. Dammit. “Oh. Okay, then.”

As he hurries off, Piper slows her pace.

She folds her arms over her chest as she waits for me to explain.

I try to tell her with my eyes that I don’t want to talk about it, but as soon as we cross the road and the rest of the group are out of earshot, she turns to me.

“Are you really seeing someone or did you just reject the poor guy out of spite?”

She sounds frustrated.

I don’t want to lie to her, but I don’t know how to explain this either. “I think I might be, yeah.”

Her expression is unreadable. “Uh-huh.”

“What’s that mean?”

She shrugs. “You expect me to believe that?”

I roll my eyes. “I’m serious, Piper. I really might be.”

She studies me, then her eyes get huge. “Oh. Well, shit. That explains why you’ve been so forgetful then.”

I don’t reply. That has nothing to do with Miles and more to do with my fucking head being impossible.

“Guy or girl?”

I grit my teeth. “Can we not do this?”

“Oh, come on. Please? Just tell me if it’s someone I know.”

“No.”

“No, you won’t tell me, or no I don’t know them?”

I don’t reply.

Piper raises her brows, still pushing. She never gives up.

“I don’t want to talk about him yet.”

“Ooh! So it’s a him!”

I sigh. “Dammit, Piper. Please, just let it be for now.”

She sighs. “Fine. But, just so you know, I think it’s a good thing.” When I peer down at her, something in her expression shifts. Her features turn softer and more genuine. She drops her voice. “I saw you smile tonight, Jord. So whatever or whoever is doing that? Keep doing it.”

She gives me a quick side hug before walking away.

I stare after her, my chest radiating an unfamiliar warmth. A moment later, my phone buzzes, and I pull it out expecting a text from Miles. Instead, it’s Piper. She’d texted our group the picture from tonight, with me holding the cheese pizza. Under it is the caption: The king still reigns!

My breath catches. She’s right. I really am smiling. All the way to my eyes.

I mean, yeah, they were all cheering me on and having fun, but I'd felt… something in that moment. Not quite happiness, but definitely something. My heart was lighter than it had been in a while.

I let that sink in, then stare down at the anchor tattoo on my wrist. That’s an anchor moment, for sure. This whole afternoon.

I have to honor these moments when they come, because they can be as fleeting as a jar of glitter scattered in the wind. Piper was right to point it out. I needed to see it.

I download the image and send it to Miles.

Me: THE KING REIGNS. If you ever come to San Diego, I’m taking you to Chaven’s. They have the best pizza, and it’s always a contest to see who can stretch theirs the longest. (Spoiler alert: No one has usurped my throne in four years.)

I chuckle before dropping my phone in the cup holder. It’s nice having someone to share these moments with now. Really nice.

If only we could share it in person.