Page 76 of Finding Jack
“Nope,” I said. “Ranée is never wrong about this stuff. If she feels a vibe, she’s right. I’m typing, ‘Too bad. Because I happen to know she’d be into it.’ There, I sent it.”
“You really don’t care?” Jack asked.
“I really don’t. I move on, and I’m done. If I wanted to still be with Paul, I’d still be with Paul.”
“But you don’t.”
There was a hint of wheedling about it, almost a question. “You’re flirting. Ground rules, dude. And no, I don’t.”
“Because?”
He was fully aware of the reason why. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of saying it. “Ground. Rules. Oh, I’m going to like this. It’s like pleading the fifth when I don’t want to answer anything.”
“Sorry. Did he text back?”
It came in right as he asked. “It says, ‘I don’t want to be that guy.’” I rolled my eyes and read aloud as I typed back. “You’re not that guy. This is me telling you: neither one of us will think you are.”
“I’m trying to imagine how I’d feel about this if I were him,” Jack said.
“Depends on whether you want to kiss Ranée.”
“I do not.”
“Then I guess we’ll see what—ooh, he texted back. ‘This is inappropriate for us to discuss.’ Well, hot dang!”
“That doesn’t sound good. Why do you sound happy? I thought you wanted him to kiss her.”
“I’m not as invested in this as you’re making me sound, but yeah, my gut says those two are going to be a weirdly good match, so I’m happy because I know Paul well enough to know that means he’s going to kiss Ranée. He’s got an old-school gentleman’s code, so no kissing and telling.”
Jack tucked his hair behind his ears and propped himself on his desk with crossed arms. “So let me get this straight: your revenge on Ranée is convincing your ex to kiss her, which is something they both want to happen?”
“Yeah.”
He grinned. “You’re not very good at revenge.”
“Trust me, there’s going to be a moment when she realizes that I said something to Paul. She will be furious and mortified, and even though I’ll never see that moment, it is completely satisfying just knowing she had it.”
“I don’t really understand women.”
“I’ll be your guide.”
He scrunched his face. “That wouldn’t bother you?”
“That would totally bother me. Never mind. Figure them out yourself.”
“I’m glad it would bother you.”
“GROUND RULES.”
“Oh, yeah. So what else do we talk about now that we’re done setting up your ex with your best friend? You’re weird.”
“You’re weird, hermit. Let’s talk about that. Tell me why you’re a hermit.”
“Because Oregon is nice.”
I felt like one of the pigeons who thought it was out for a nice flight until it suddenly slammed into my office window. He was being flip. He was always flippant. I knew this about him, but I wanted to know the real answer.
He sighed. “Sorry. Okay, why I’m a hermit. It’s a tale of woe, ridiculously tragic and melodramatic.”
