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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Fall break comes faster than any of us expect, but sure enough, three weeks later here we are all packing our bags into Andees Subaru to prepare for the drive to Denver. She and Tristan had just shared an overly tearful goodbye in which I had eventually interjected to remind them they would be seeing each other next week. She had then chastised me by reminding me I wasn't having to do without like she was. But I wouldn't quite compare what Ryder and I were doing with the full steam ahead, loved-up relationship that she was in.
In the three weeks between when I invited Ryder to stay with me and my family instead of wallowing in Boulder by himself, he and I had spent a good amount of time together. He'd taken me out twice more since then, the first time was to dinner at Bar Taco that ended with us drunk off our asses at Press Play, dancing together in a way that was probably inappropriate to anyone around us who might have been sober enough to care.
The second time, he'd invited me over when the rest of his roommates were out of the apartment, and he tried to cook us dinner. It was a genuine attempt that I really appreciated, but among all the things I'd been learning about him, one thing I discovered that night was he couldn't really cook—no matter how hard he tried.
That night we ended up order Flower Pepper through HungryBuffs, and we watched our favorite Harry Potter movie in the living room. Though eventually we ended up moving things upstairs, so no one walked in on a startling surprise.
In that time, I'd come to realize that Ryder might be the breath of fresh air that I'd needed for too long now. Even when I'd been in the worst of my relationship with Miles.
Whatever it was that we were building between us felt different than what I'd had with Miles. It wasn't too complicated or heavy or overwhelmed by either of our problems. We didn't cling to one another either, even though we were spending more time together, we still went days without talking or hanging out—something I think every person in a stable relationship of any kind needs every now and again.
As we pull up outside their house to pick up Justin and Ryder though, I do find myself excited to see him again. We hadn't talked since doing homework together Sunday night, but granted he was slammed with training, and I'd been dragging myself through the last of the assignments my professors had handed out before we all left for break. Now that it's Tuesday, and everyone is finally free to relax for a few days, there's a certain ease in the air.
"Bitches," Justin emerges from their front door, designer handbag and suitcase in tow as he steps out into the dim lighting. We were originally supposed to leave a little earlier today, but as per usual, we were late. "It's turkey time."
"Please don't ever say that again." I reply, shaking my head as I walk up to the front door, taking his backpack and helping him carry it to the car.
"I'm so excited to eat pie that even your sass can't ruin my holiday cheer today." He quips, shoving his bags into the trunk of Andee's car unceremoniously.
