Page 54 of The Incredible Ordinary

“I’m just putting my deduction skills to good use.”

He sends me a small smile and rubs the bridge of his nose, just between the eyebrows.

“I know that. Logically. And Theo’s a good kid. Reasonable. More reasonable than a person usually is at his age. It’s mostly my own insecurities speaking, because all these things that I can’t afford for Theo—she can. He could have all the latest tech gadgets he could ever wish for if I didn’t intervene. Whenever Theo goes to visit, he comes back home with a couple of new suitcases filled with designer clothes and whatever expensive sneakers are currently the coolest ones. She takes him to Paris. I take him camping. And it’s not that I don’t want him to have all these fine things in life and great experiences, but I also don’t want him to haveeverythingbecause then he’ll just end up spoiled. But then every time she wants to buy him the latest MacBook as a birthday present, and I say no, is it because I’m thinking about what’s best for Theo, or am I just being petty because I’m jealous and afraid?”

He's not looking at me anymore. Instead, the frown is back, deeper than before, and he’s staring at the table in front of him with an unseeing gaze, mind somewhere else entirely.

I don’t know what makes me do it, and I don’t even have a good recollection about how it happens exactly, but suddenly I’m reaching out and covering his hand with mine, squeezing it.

“You can’t buy affection away from the parent who actuallyisthere. Believe me. I’ve been in Theo’s shoes.”

He looks down at our linked hands for a long moment, and a bolt of anxiety flashes through me. I’ve made things weird.

But then Jordan smiles at me.

“Thanks.” He blows out a breath. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to unload on you like this.”

“I’ve spent the whole of this friendship unloading on you about my shit. This here is you finally letting me return the favor. And showing me you’re human too.”

He chuckles and rubs his palm over his face. “You have no idea.”

I pull my hand away, even if it isn’t necessarily what I want, but I’m not going to risk making it weird.

I clear my throat. “I thought you and your ex were getting along fine?”

“We are. Mostly. It’s just that she was my best friend, and I knew her so well, but now… She’s changed so much it’s like she’s a completely different person. There’s a small part of me that resents her for not being the Kira I once knew and loved anymore.”

“You miss her,” I surmise.

He considers it for a bit. “Not her.” His fingers pluck at the label of the beer bottle. “I miss what we could’ve been. Which is somehow crazier, because what we could’ve been was always a fantasy I made up in my head. It’s… Most people don’t set out to be single parents. Youmakethat kid with somebody, so in your head, they’re going to stay and it’ll be the three, four, five, six of you. Then life has other plans, and it’s suddenly just you, and there are moments when the absence of that other person isvisceral because it’s hard being on your own. And it’s not even that you want to share the burden when the going gets tough. In a way it’s much harder when there’s something great happening, and you don’t have anybody to share it with.” He’s got that unseeing look in his eyes again for a second before he lifts the beer bottle to his lips and drains it. He puts the bottle down with a thump and gives me a lopsided smile.

“Wow. It’s been a long time since I’ve thought about this so deeply. This has been like a therapy session. Thanks.”

“I wouldn’t thank me before you see how much I bill for an hour.”

He gives a playful groan. “After paying Theo’s tuition for the semester I’m pretty much broke, so maybe we can come up with some kind of alternate arrangement that doesn’t involve money.” Our eyes meet, and he starts to laugh. “That sounds like a line from a porn movie.”

“Nice.” I hold my hand up, and he high-fives it, and I do my best to hide the way those words rake through my brain and leave behind tracks filled with unimaginably dirty thoughts. I’m an overflowing spring of depraved musings.

The beeping of the oven timer snaps me out of it. Jordan gets up and heads back inside.

I stay still, take a few deep breaths, and smother said depraved musings before I follow him.

He slides the pan onto the counter, and I inhale.

“This smells awesome,” I say. “What can I do? Set the table?”

He points to a couple of drawers. “You’ll find everything you need there.”

I pull the drawer open and start taking out plates. I look up toward Jordan. “Four?”

He nods. “Dad’s usually at home, too, but he’s out having drinks with an old college buddy of his.”

I’ve just finished laying the table when I hear the sound of the front door opening, the murmur of voices, and an array of thumps before Theo and Rory come inside.

“Perfect timing,” Jordan says cheerfully. “Settle in, you two.”

We all take our seats, with Rory and Theo on one side of the table and me and Jordan right across from them.