Triggered: Did Better (BOOK II)

.20'

The good things that happen to us are meant to happen, and the bad things that happen are lessons meant to teach us to be better. -Adriana Trigiani.

Belt's Soft Serve

Stevens Point, WI

July 3rd, 2019

A few days after the conversation between the three girls regarding their friendship and the next steps to be taken between the three of them, things seemed to go back to how they had been before the interaction last occurred. Late last night, Ivory asked Jordan on a date to their favorite ice cream place on the other side of the city, which Jordan of course agreed to.

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Pulling into the driveway, Ivory honked the horn and watched Jordan peek out her bedroom window to see the car before the curtain quickly slipped back into place. Once Jordan got in the car, the girls immediately began blasting the playlist they created during their sophomore year, which they continued to add songs to over the years. The mood for the day had already been set, and they could tell this ice cream date would do them some good.

Once they arrived, they stepped inside and picked up their waffle bowls, followed by frozen lemonades to wash them down and two scoops of their favorite blueberry cheesecake ice cream. Despite spending the whole previous week snuggled up together at Ivory's house, they had been craving for some alone time with one another, and now that Jordan was back to herself and in a better place mentally, Ivory was more than eager to make the most of their time together. They would have spent the entire summer together if she had her way, but she was certain that dividing her time between Jordan and Michael would be difficult. It had been a while since the two of them went out together on their little duo dates, and it was true that there were aspects of their friendship that went much beyond the usual platonic boundaries. 

They were each other's platonic soulmates.

"Mhhm. This shit is hitting the spot right now," Jordan dramatically responded to the frozen dessert, grasping the attention of the family that sat at the outdoor table in front of them.

Ivory laughed as she watched Jordan shove the spoon deep into the ice cream before taking a large scoop and adding a piece of the waffle bowl to complete her scoop before taking a big bite.

"Slow down before you choke, babygirl," Ivory said, grabbing a napkin and handing it to Jordan.

"Anyways, I missed you, girl. Whatchu' been up to lately, canoodling with Michael?" Jordan teased making kissy faces at her friend.

"Shut up, stupid. No, I've been in the house chilling with my dad," Ivory said, rolling her eyes at Jordan's childish antics.

"How is Mr. Shawl doing lately? I miss Matthew's old, fine self." Jordan smirked, knowing Ivory hated when people made those types of comments about her father.

However, Matthew Shawl was a handsome, charming man who was widowed and only had one child, which happened to be Ivory Shawl, and no matter how much Ivory tried to deny it, he was a bachelor. However, he kept his personal life and home life separate, knowing that Ivory hadn't fully recovered from the death of her mother, and honestly, he hadn't either.

"Jordy, do not piss me off today, but he's doing alright. I told him about everything that's been happening with Brittny too." Ivory said she was taking a sip of her lemonade.

Jordan shook her head at the idea of Matthew's response to their childish and unnecessary drama with Brittny. "Well, what did he say?"

She knew that one thing Matthew would do was be brutally honest. He was unlike any of the other parents in their friend group; Tracey couldn't care less if the girls were friends or not, whereas the Smiths always wanted the girls to stay together and tended to overlook when situations got out of hand between the girls. But Matthew genuinely cared enough to hear the girls out whenever they approached him with a problem, which is also how he got to be the fourth member of their triad when it came to girl talks and gossip.