Page 76 of Triple Play
“Someone needs to. You threw a party and then vanished.”
“I came back. Kicked everyone out. Cleaned up. You were there.” He plates a pancake, adds more batter to the pan. “What’s got you so grumpy this morning?”
Everything. The fact that Elise has gotten under my skin when I don’t want her to be. The fact that she’s apparently working her way through my entire team. The fact that Carol’s stupid contract exists and we’re all violating it in increasingly creative ways.
“No one in this house has any boundaries anymore,” I mutter, pacing to the window and back.
“Boundaries?” Jordie laughs. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about roommate agreements. I’m talking about Carol flipping her shit if she knew what was happening under this roof.”
“Which is what, exactly?” Jordie’s voice is careful now, that smile fading slightly.
I’m saved from answering by footsteps on the stairs. Wyatt, looking more rested than I’ve seen him in months, maybe years. His eyes are clear. His shoulders aren’t carrying their usual tension.
He nods at us. “Morning.”
“Morning,” Jordie says brightly. “Pancakes?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
There’s something different about Wyatt. Something lighter. Like someone lifted a weight off him while he slept. Or he just has post-nut clarity.
Elise appears next, now dressed in leggings and a hoodie, hair pulled back, that glow still evident even though she’s clearly trying to look normal.
She smells like Wyatt’s soap. I can tell from here.
My jaw clenches so hard my teeth hurt.
“Coffee?” Jordie offers her a mug like this is all totally fine and normal.
“Please.” She takes it, wraps both hands around it like she needs something to hold onto.
Wyatt’s eyes track her across the kitchen. Something passes between them—silent communication I’m not privy to. Then he touches her hand. Brief. Gentle.
“Thank you,” he says quietly. “For last night.”
The words punch me in the gut even though I have no right to be affected by them.
“Anytime,” she tells him, and the softness in her voice makes me want to break something.
Jordie’s watching this with something that looks suspiciously like approval. He moves behind Elise, drops a kiss on top of her head, pulls her into a side hug that’s way too familiar.
“Did you take care of the big guy last night?” His tone is affectionate. Intimate. Like they’re…
Like they’re together.
But she was with Wyatt. All night.
And Jordie doesn’t seem bothered by that fact.
The fuck?
What kind of fucked up situation is this?
Jordie’s plating pancakes like this is all totally normal. “Elise is good people. Always showing up when someone needs her.”
The implication hangs in the air. She showed up for Wyatt. Did she show up for Jordie too? Is that what we’re calling it now?
