Jourdan Mathews has a secret, and she knows she needs to take this one to the grave.
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Her life was never complicated: a college student with a close family, good friends, and a plan for her future as a doctor. Had that night had never happened...
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Tristan isn't usually a nervous guy, but the dude sitting in front of me right now might as well be shitting himself. His hands are knotted in his hair, elbows resting on his knees as he hunches over in the kitchen chair across from me, one leg bouncing erratically.
"You've got to chill out man." Lars mutters, mostly distracted while he wolfs down a stack of pancakes that even I don't think I could finish. Being on CU's hockey team, he's in his bulking season, a difficult feat for a guy who eats constantly and remains pretty lean. I often forget he's a year younger than us, especially because he's my height and covered in muscle from a training schedule that rivaled my own.
Our goals are different though. He needs to be wide, and built, basically a machine on the ice. I need to stay trim, strong but light on my feet. So though I might normally be grabbing a couple pancakes for myself, when hungover I prefer to start my day with one, long cup of coffee until my stomach is more stable in the afternoon. That's right about when Five Guys comes in. Something I had no doubt he'd join in on.
"I. Like. Her." Tristan emphasizes each word, sitting up and staring at both of us with wide eyes.
"Yeah, we know buddy." I nod and he lets out a sigh of defeat and annoyance. Tristan's undying love for Andee Parker was something pretty much everyone in our friend group knew about, everyone except for Andee that is. She's one of the most oblivious people I've ever met, oblivious enough to also be really into Tristan but too scared to make a move.
"I just, we're friends right? I mean, we're all friends and I don't wanna make things weird." He starts. "But I – I gotta say something or I'm going to lose it."
"You said you made out last night?" I question, trying to remember everything he'd rambled to me about at 4 am while both she and Jourdan were passed out in our beds.
"Yeah, and it was really fuckin' hot." He grins. "It was good, okay, for her too . . . but uh, she was just so drunk we didn't really mention it this morning."
"People are never friendly when they're hungover," Lars generalizes. "You should text her later."
"Really?" Tristan hesitates and both of us nod.
"Ask her out," I say again. "Seriously, you don't know when this chance is gonna come again. You guys flirt all the time and now that you finally made contact you need to keep the momentum going."
"He's right dude." Lars agrees with me.
"I just don't want there to be the normal pressure of a first date, it makes things uncomfortable," Tristan continues to grumble, and I roll my eyes. "Maybe I'll say something the next time we're out."
"No, I've got it, double date." Lars cheers. "You, Andee, Ryder and . . . what about, Jourdan?"
"She is going to say no." I answer immediately. Not that I don't want to go on a date with Jourdan Mathews, in some ways I've literally been waiting to since freshmen year of college, but I've been waiting because she is the one woman I cannot charm.
