Boarding with the Bad Boy [COMPLETE + BONUS published edition]

Jared

Jill doesn't ask any questions when I show up at the brink of tears on her doorstep. Her dad's already upstairs, reading or sleeping, and she shuttles me to the living room, sitting me on the couch before disappearing into the kitchen. After a few moments of clattering, she returns, holding up a pint of Ben and Jerry's Half Baked and two spoons. I groan in appreciation.

"Jill?" I ask as she settles in beside me, pulling a blanket over her knees.

"What's up, Lo?"

"I think you're my soul mate."

Jill looks at me. I keep my eyes trained on hers while I sink my spoon in the creamy perfection of the ice cream.

"Yeah," she says finally. "I probably am. Can't imagine anyone else putting up with your stubborn ass for as long as I have."

"Hey!" I point my spoon at her. "I was complimenting you!"

She crosses her eyes at me. "If that's your new version of a compliment, Sam's rubbing off on you more than I thought."

She's teasing, but a pit forms in my stomach and I set the ice cream on the table, leaning my head back over the arm of the couch.

"What?" Jill asks, tuned into my distress. "What happened now?"

I make a frustrated sound, shaking my head. "Can we not talk about Sam tonight?" My voice is tight and I'm embarrassed by the high probability that I'll burst into tears even if she says yes and drops the whole thing.

Jill grabs the pint of ice cream. "Done," she says. "But you know you can talk to me about it, right? And if he does anything to hurt you, I'll kick his ass from here to Maine."

"Just Maine?"

"Northern Maine," she clarifies. "Caribou." She grins at me, her teeth still around the spoon.

"Give me that," I reach for the pint. "I'm the one in crisis."

"Too true." Jill nudges her shoulder against mine and grabs the remote. "And I know just the thing to snap you out of it."

"Nooooo," I groan, but she's already clicking through her TV history to the Bachelor.

"Yes," Jill demands. "Trust me. We'll watch the Bachelor, I'll tell you about Justin, and in two hours you'll forget you wanted to cry when you came in here."

"Two hours?!"

"Just be quiet." Jill hits Play and catches me up on all the Beccas and Ashleys and who cries nonstop and who seems kind of chill. Once I have a solid Bachelor foundation, we promptly stop paying attention to the show and Jill tells me about Justin. I saw them getting close at the Welcome Party, but I hadn't known that he'd finally texted to ask her out.

"Wait, today?" I ask. "Let me see!"

She hands her phone over with a giggle, and I tap in the passcode and open her texts.

"Ooh la la," I tease, affecting a deep boy voice and reading Justin's texts with a swoon.

"You're ridiculous," Jill tells me, pulling her phone back.

"So you go out on Friday?"

Jill gives me a happy nod. "You'll come over to help me prep?"

"Obviously."

I'm happy for Jill, even if a little flash of jealousy sparks in my stomach. It's stupid to want Sam to ask me out, properly, after all his back-and-forth this past week, but I do.