His gaze flitted through the glass. Jordan was standing by the elevator, both hands in his pockets, scowling at the floor.
“He’s a friend, you say?” Alec said.
I nodded. “Well, more like an acquaintance,” I explained. “I haven’t spoken to him much since college.”
Alec was still staring at Jordan. “Is he working?”
“Apparently, he’s working at an investment bank.” I shrugged. “I don’t know much about his life. He could be living in a ditch for all I know.”
Alec nodded slowly. The way he was looking at Jordan was a little disconcerting. “Uh,” he began, rubbing the back of his neck. “You two…don’t have a history, do you?”
I widened my eyes. “No. Why would you think that?”
“He’s very good looking,” Alec began. “And the way he was looking at you before…it was like…”
“Like what?” I asked.
Alec shook his head. “Nothing. I’m being paranoid.” He let out a self-deprecating laugh. “Good night, Ella.”
“Good night,” I replied.
He leaned forward, kissed me on the lips, and walked away. I watched him head towards his car, then took a deep breath, before returning inside.
Jordan was where I had left him. I stood in front of him, arms crossed. “What are you doing here?” I asked. “You promised not to bother me again.”
His scowl deepened. “I don’t know. I don’t know what I was thinking, okay? I just…” he sighed.
“Just what?” I asked.
“I know I said I’d leave you alone. I meant it. Tonight I was going to go to a party and pick up a girl. Get you off my mind. But then I kept thinking about you and him.” His strange expression disappeared, replaced with intensity. “Have you slept with him yet?”
My cheeks went hot. “Excuse me?” I said.
“Has he fucked you?” Jordan asked. “Probably, right? You were just in your apartment. God-fucking damn it.” He looked actually pissed.
“He hasn’t.” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. “I invited him up, fully intending to have sex with him, but…” I trailed off.
“But?” Jordan asked, his eyes looking more blue than ever.
“I just couldn’t, okay?” I said, exasperated. “You got in my head. Are you fucking happy now? We were on my bed and all I could think about was you. Youasshole.”
Jordan didn’t reply. He just blinked at me, and suddenly I was so furious at him. “Just go,” I said, turning away from him.
But he caught my wrist, stopping me from leaving. His grip was gentle. I knew if I tried, I could easily pull away. But Ididn’t want to. Something about just his hand on my wrist made something light up inside me. His skin touching mine felt…right.
“Can we talk?” he said quietly. “Alone?”
Suddenly, all the anger sapped from my body. I suddenly felt too tired to argue. “Okay,” I said, pressing the elevator button.
We were both silent in the elevator as it went up to my level, but the tension was heavy, like a real physical thing, pressing down on my shoulders. Wordlessly, we entered my apartment, and Jordan sat down on the couch.
“Why do you like him?” he asked.
I sat down beside him. “His name is Alec.”
He ignored that. “Why do you like him?” he repeated.
“Because he’s sweet and responsible and respectful. Because he wants to be with me. He doesn’t just want to sleep with me — he wants an actual relationship.”
