I Volunteer | Jack Schlossberg | Friends to lovers

Love and war

By 6 PM that night, Annie still hadn't heard from him. Her anxiety had been at an all-time high all day. She tried to distract herself with books and shows and going for a run, but every thought went right back to him: his hair, his hands, his arms, his back, his... she shook her head and continued cooking.

As she sat down to eat her dinner, she felt her phone buzzing on the table. Her heart sank as she finally saw his name on her screen. "Hey," she said nervously.

"Hey," he said quickly. Before she could respond, he followed with, "Okay you can absolutely say no if you don't want to come, for obvious reasons, but my buddies and I are going out tonight, and Aarav and Jared and the other guys asked if I could invite you, Alex, and Michael."

Annie paused for a second, caught off guard. "Of course, I miss them," she replied. "Why would you think that I might say no?"

"Because... and I know it's not ideal, but Courtney is still here."

Her face instantly heated up. "What the fuck, Jack."

"I know, I know. But I'm doing the best I can. I just wanted to extend the invite, you can take it or leave it. I'll respect whatever you decide to do."

She mumbled an mmmk, then hung up and shot off a text to Alex. Need you here, now.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry...." Alex stuttered, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, WHAT?"

"Which part are you having trouble with?" Annie asked.

"You got into a screaming fight with him?"

"Yes."

"And then you had sex with him?"

"Yes."

"And then he spent the night?"

"Yes."

"And then he sprinted out the door to have breakfast with his girlfriend?"

"Yes."

"And now he wants us to go out with him, his friends, and the girlfriend?"

"Correct. Are we all caught up now?"

"Cut me some slack, this is a LOT to process."

"I know, I just don't know what to do," Annie said with a deep exhale. "On one hand, I really don't want to be around the two of them together." Alex nodded. "But on the other hand, I don't want him to think he has that much power over me." Alex nodded again.

"Here's what we're going to do," Alex stood up and walked over to Annie's closet, then turned to face Annie with a mischievous smile on her face. "We're going to find your shortest skirt and your lowest-cut top."

At 9:30 PM Annie entered the bar with Alex and Michael in tow, wearing a tight black mini skirt, tall red cowgirl boots, and a dark flowy bandeau top that exposed her stomach and shoulders. She looked good, and she knew it.

"Well look what the cat dragged in," Aarav said, standing up and smiling at Annie.

"Hey, you!" she said as she walked over to give him a hug.

As they all made their way around the table saying hello and giving hugs, Alex whispered into Jack's ear. "I just wanted to say, you have her. Don't fuck this up, because if you hurt her I will destroy you. Got it?"

Jack pulled back to look Alex in the eye. He was wearing an expression of fear. "Got it. Because something tells me you're not bluffing."

"Good boy," she said as she patted him on the head and turned to walk away.