Page 38 of The Incredible Ordinary

After the last finger goes down we both whistle.

Aiden jerks up, flails, and lets out an earsplitting scream.

Rory and I both start to laugh, and when I hold my hand up in front of him, he high-fives me.

Aiden looks around blearily.

“Goddamn dicks,” he mumbles.

“Language,” Rory and I say at the same time.

And Rory laughs. He laughs like a kid. It bursts out suddenly. Bubbles up, bright and unfiltered.

It gives me pause.

In all of the months he’s been living here, I’ve never once heard him laugh like this. Like a kid. With carefree glee.

Aiden rubs his palms over his face and looks around with a frown.

“Shit!” He taps his index finger on the keyboard a few times in quick succession. “Goddamn it.” He blows out a breath. “Fell asleep.” He states the obvious and glances at his smartwatch. “I lost twenty-six minutes. I can still catch up.”

“Or sleep some more,” I suggest.

“I have things to do,” he says.

“Sure. Who cares about all that menial stuff like hygiene and mental health, anyway.”

He glares at me for a bit before his shoulders slump.

“Point taken,” he says.

“That was easy. What’s for dinner?”

“I don’t know. What are you going to make?” he counters.

Rory and I stare at each other for a bit.

“Pizza,” we both say at the same time.

“You two take care of that. I’m gonna go take a shower in the meantime.”

I leave Aiden and Rory arguing about toppings and head to the bathroom.

Later that nightI’m in my bedroom, listening to the apartment settle around me for the night, staring at the ceiling. My phone vibrates on the floor where I dropped it earlier.

I think about ignoring it, but something makes me pick it up.

Something warm moves through my insides when I see Jordan’s name on the screen.

It’s nice to feel nice for a change. It’s been a while.

What can you tell me about dogs?

I laugh out loud. Guess that’s one way to start a conversation.

They have four legs, are furry, and have a tail. And their nose prints are unique, just like fingerprints for humans.

For real? Is there also a dog nose print database? For the dogs with criminal intentions.