Page 108 of Limbo

Before my boyfriend breaks, I sigh. “Are you freaking out?” When he doesn’t answer, I come clean. “Pete’s grandparents offered me a job at the bar, working during the week with weekends off.” I grab another box off the floor, surprised at how heavy it is. “I planned on telling you last night, but for some reason, I never had the chance.”

A lot of emotions cross his face. “Screw you, Henders.”

He steps forward, a grin forming, but stops when Trey cusses upstairs. His feet pound the stairs on his way down, and he pushes Jordan out of his way. He rips the box away from me and throws it on the ground before he grabs my face. I’ve never seen him so spooked, and it scares the hell out of me.

“Fucking Christ, Cal, tell me you’re not pregnant.”

At first, I have no idea what he’s talking about, and then I remember the joke he made that neither Jordan nor I acknowledged. I laugh and roll my eyes. “With twins, Uncle Trey!”

The relief flooding over him makes me laugh even harder. From behind him, Jordan catches my eye and smiles. Between the two of them, maybe summer in Sutterville won’t be the worst thing.

I was wrong.

A summer in Sutterville is the worst thing. Mostly because I miss Jordan. Even though we text and video chat when we can, it’s not the same, and not being around him for an entire week makes me moody. Oddly, the regulars tip better when I’m rude, so at least that’s a win.

While I’m doing little more than sleeping and tending bar, he’s devoting almost all of his time to studying for the LSATs in June. Thanks to the rivalry with Dustin, Jordan’s determined to take it and beat his brother’s scores, even if he doesn’t end up attending law school. Which is a remote possibility now that, in a surprise turn of events, his parents agreed to discuss alternatives. The way it sounds, his father set up the dinner for next Saturday with his mother less than enthused about the entire affair. Either way, it’s an opening he plans on taking, and any spare time goes to figuring out what he wants to do after graduation.

By the time Pete walks in Friday afternoon, I groan in relief. “Finally.”

“I’m an hour early,” he says, picking up an empty mug as he passes. “Having Jordan withdrawals?”

“Not for much longer.” I untie my apron and shove it under the counter on my way to the door.

“Tell him hi from me.” He grins when I spin around, my eyebrows pulled together. “Seriously, tell him. I like screwing with the guy.”

“You realize how messed up our relationship is, right?”

He gives me a half-interested shrug and walks through the curtain. “See you Monday, Cal.”

After I shower off the bar smell, I throw my bag in the car. As long as the trip normally takes, this one lasts so much longer. Even when I get there, I can’t go to the house to see Jordan. He doesn’t focus when I’m there, and Benji has banished me until he finishes his practice test. So, instead, I park in front of the house Felicia and Jess are renting for the summer. Given the number of cars, their small housewarming party appears to have grown from a few people to a few dozen.

A beaming redhead meets me when I walk in the door. “You’re here!”

Felicia hugs me before she latches on to my hand and drags me through the house for the fastest and chattiest tour I’ve ever been on. She doesn’t even slow down long enough for me to give Jess more than a quick smile on our way upstairs to see the bedrooms. We end back in the living room where we started, and she flits off to play hostess.

“I warned you to never come back here,” a voice says from behind me.

“What can I say? I like to live dangerously.” I turn around, and Cam smiles. “I thought you and Sawyer were off on a road trip all summer?”

“We leave in the morning. I’m actually on my way out. I just stopped by for a few minutes before I pick her up from work and we finish packing.” She pinches my cheek. “You and your dirty boy have a good summer, yeah?”

“And you and your woman enjoy yours.” I pick the drink out of her hand as she walks away.

It’s mostly empty, so I finish it and toss it in one of the many trash cans around the room. Clearly, a Felicia idea.

When I turn around, a guy enthusiastically waves on his way over. “Hey, Callie,” he says, giving me a quick and awkward hug. “How have you been?”

“Great,” I say, not a clue who he is. “And you?”

He chats with me like we’re old buddies, filling me in on what’s new in his life. Then he brings up another party he was supposed to go to tonight, and I realize he’s Felicia’s cousin, whose name I still can’t remember.

About half an hour in, I’m nodding along when whatever Cousin’s saying stops registering. My insides go fuzzy because Benji walks in the front door with Jordan right behind him. His hair recently tugged on, blue T-shirt with the design faded.

God, I missed him more than I’d thought possible.

Jess stops him a few steps in to talk, but his eyes meet mine across the living room. I suddenly feel like I can’t breathe again until he touches me. We start for each other at the same time. Our gazes stay locked, so thankfully, no couches or end tables separate us, or we would walk straight into them. I jump into his arms and grasp hold of his face to kiss him. The house might as well clear out and the music stop playing because nothing else exists right now. Just him and me and six days to make up for.

“Hey,” I say, hating that my lips aren’t still on his.

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