Page 74 of The Incredible Ordinary

You can work off your debt to society by volunteering for snack duty.

If I must…

“It’s getting really late,”I say. “And you’ve got work tomorrow. Why are you still up?”

Jordan’s soft laugh has an edge of intimacy to it that feels even more intense in the dim light of my bedroom, the night outside my window, when everybody else is already asleep.

“I’ve been trying to go to sleep for the last hour, but you just keep talking,” he says.

“Iamthe chatty one.”

He laughs again, and another wave of warmth rolls through me.

I’m not sure when it happened. When talking on the phone before bed, text exchanges, and hanging out all the time became normal, but it has. Somewhere in there, while I wasn’t paying attention, I settled into this temporary life. Maybe a bit too much, if I really think about it. Maybe if I let myself think too much, I’ll realize I’m uncomfortable with the level of okay I am with life right now, and realistically, I don’t want to be. I don’t want to give out a wrong impression.

I don’t want to accidentally make more promises and then not keep them.

“Go to bed. It’s a school day tomorrow.”

“You just have to end the night on a bummer,” he says with a sigh.

My smile stretches wider and wider. “Night, Jordy.”

There’s a short pause.

“What?” I ask when he still hasn’t said anything.

“Nothing,” he says quickly. “Nothing. I haven’t been called that in a while, is all.”

“Called what?” I ask, confused now.

He hesitates, then says, “Jordy. You called me Jordy.”

“Oh.” I frown. “You don’t like nicknames? It sort of just came out without thinking.”

“No,” he says quickly. “No, it’s all good. I made it weird. What I should’ve said is…” He blows out a breath. “I liked it.”

I grin at the ceiling. He sounds just a bit flustered; not like the Jordan I usually know. I likethat. Just a bit too much.

“Oh, before I forget, if you still want to get Theo a puppy, I’m free whenever to go see them.”

“Yeah? Sure. It’s still on. I better get on it, too. His birthday is almost here.”

I hum in reply.

“Night, Jordy,” I say again.

I listen to him exhale.

“Night,” he says softly.

He doesn’t hang up right away. Neither do I.

When he finally does, I drop the phone on my chest and stare at the ceiling, still smiling like an idiot.

I push myself off the bed to go brush my teeth, and the moment I step out the door, I run into Rory.

I raise my brows at him.