Page 30 of Jordan’s Breakthrough (Unexpected Love #3)

I need her infrequent head bumps.

Ana has asked me a dozen times about my trip, and I know I owe her an explanation since she covered my shift and took care of Lily, but words just haven’t come yet. Maybe tomorrow.

Dropping my work bag by the door, I kick off my shoes and stand in the entrance for a minute. The air smells a little stale, like dust and old coffee grounds. I should open a window. Unpack. I should do anything besides crawl under the sheets and wish another day away. I’m helping no one by moping.

Sighing, I wander to the kitchen, limbs moving out of habit more than intention. I open the fridge, unsure of what I’m looking for, then blink at the shelves.

That’s when I notice them, and for the first time since I arrived back in Salt Lake City, a bubble of laughter slips up my throat.

“When did I…”

I reach for the container of pasta salad on the top shelf, made of the same colored noodles and full of the same vegetables Piper used for her salad at the barbecue. Next to it, a clear plastic take-out container holds a small stack of ribs. There are even strawberries and whipped cream.

The absurdity of it hits me in the gut, and I resist sinking to my knees, laughing until I cry. Grief and loneliness make us do weird things.

Finally, I pull the strawberries out and grab a knife to remove the stems. The rhythm is soothing, the sweetness calming. Halfway through, I finally feel ready to tell someone about the trip.

Not just anyone— her.

I wipe my hands on a towel and grab my phone, putting the call on speaker phone as soon as it rings.

“Well, well, well,” Sophie answers on the third ring, voice smug and bright. I’m shocked she answered at all, given our opposite shifts. “If it isn’t my favorite vanishing act. Back from the dead?”

“I… What?”

“I called you three times this weekend and you never answered.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

She huffs with humor, like she’s expecting a story. Because she knows me.

“How are you off?” I ask, noticing the time. It must be two in the morning there. I was prepared to leave her a voicemail.

“Hon, I’ve been dying to hear from you. When you don’t call me back I know something is up. So talk! Where’d you go and what happened?”

I smirk. Everyone should have a friend like Sophie. “I went to California to see a friend.”

“Oh.” She genuinely sounds deflated.

“Not the answer you were hoping for?” I tease.

“Well, no. It’s not very exciting. Here I thought you ghosted me for a hot hippie dude named Kale or something.”

I snort. “Close, but no. Jordan has long hair, but he’s not a hippie.”

Sophie gasps. “ Wait. You did ditch me for a guy? Oh my God, Miles!”

And just like that, I’m laughing again, with my whole body. It spills out of me before I can stop it.

The blankets in the background shift like she’s sitting up. “Tell me everything right now or I will book a flight and hunt you down!”

I sit on the bed and pull the duvet up, settling in to tell my best friend everything.

Not in a rush, not like I’m trying to purge it all at once, but like I’m finally ready to say it out loud.

I tell her about the Facebook group, and how I’d popped into Jordan’s inbox like a desperate loser, then the easy conversations in the days after.

The way he listens. How I knew he needed me before he did.

I even tell Sophie about Jordan kissing me in front of everyone when I showed up at the bar.

“There was no hesitation, Soph. He just went for it.”

“Well, of course he did! He couldn’t resist you!” She says it’s like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

My cheeks heat.

“Have you heard of Sunset Cliffs?”

“The National Park? Yeah.”

“He took me there. He introduced me to his friends too. We had a barbecue with them and everything.” I smile again, recalling the way Jordan watched me like I was something worth watching. “His cat even warmed up to me before I left.”

“Wait, Jordan has a cat too? You’re like a match made in heaven.”

Talking about Clematis hurts more than I expect it to. I only held the cat once, yet I miss her like crazy.

Sophie listens and laughs with me, swearing like a sailor a couple of times when her emotions get the best of her. But that’s Sophie for you. She hides nothing.

“Do you hear yourself right now? You sound ridiculously happy. It’s making my teeth ache.”

“I am happy. Or, I was, anyway. I mean, I still am, just… I don’t know. Sad too. It’s weird.”

“It’s not weird,” she says gently. “It’s real. You really care for him.”

I close my eyes, letting her words sink in. It is real. What Jordan and I have is the most real thing I’ve ever experienced. It also happens to be the hardest, with him being so far away.

“I miss him,” I say.

“I know. But you don’t sound like someone who’s lost something, hon. You sound like someone who found something worth missing. That’s special.”

That undoes me a little. In the good way. “Yeah. He’s willing to do long distance too, which… you know how big that is for me.”

She hums in delight. “I do. I like this guy already.”

We talk for another hour, and by the time we hang up, the entire carton of strawberries is gone, but at least the ache in my chest is softer. And at least it wasn’t ice cream.

I rinse the knife, wipe down the counter, and clean up the kitchenette space. When did it get so damn messy? Then, I open the windows. The fresh night air is wonderful and a little salty, coming from the lake. I close my eyes and breathe it in.

Finally, I reach for the bag that has been sitting at the foot of my bed all week. It’s time.

I pause when I see Jordan’s green sweatshirt—the one he’d worn that night at Sunset Cliffs. I hope he’s forgiven me for snatching it, but I just couldn’t resist. I pick it up and inhale, smiling. It smells like him. Earthy and warm and slightly sweet.

I sit on the bed with it, letting my heartache settle over me. Not in a deep, sad way, not like the last few days. But just… there. I miss him.

It’s been a week. Jordan and I have made it a week. It’ll be at least three more before I can visit him, thanks to my stupid schedule. But we’ll get through it. I have to believe that.

Picking up my phone, I send Sophie a picture of Jordan and I together, then I message Jordan.

Me: Miss you. Love you. Adore you. Cherish you. Always. (How’s that for poetry? Amazing, huh?)