Chapter 13 Alondra
Alondra
“You signed me up for a dating app?” Jack asks from his end of the kitchen counter where we’re studying, while Coop makes dinner. Coop’s head turns in our direction, his eyes wide.
My mouth opens, but I can’t make any words come out. Oh, shit. Is he mad? I can’t tell.
“Al?”
“I plead the fifth,” I squeak, grabbing my phone to run to the bathroom on the first floor, getting enough of a head start on Jack, he doesn’t catch me before I shut the door. I twist the lock, hugging my phone to my chest as the handle rattles.
“Alondra!”
I cover my mouth to hide my laugh, calling Ellie.
She made a beeline for their hot tub out back after we got here, claiming they don’t use it enough, and it’s going to waste.
Dylan was quick to follow her out there after flipping off Jack who asked him if he had something better to do than perv on Coop’s sister.
He’s lucky Coop hadn’t come downstairs yet to start making dinner, but I sure got a kick out of it.
“Did you change your mind about coming out here with me? The water feels amazing, and I brought an extra suit for you,” she says, and a laugh slips out when the door handle jiggles again.
“Al, unlock the door,” Jack says, and I shake my head, even though he can’t see me.
“He knows.”
“Oh fuck,” she swears, gasping. “Is Jack mad?”
I hear Dylan in the background ask what Jack would be mad about, and I sit on the closed toilet lid.
“Unsure. I ran to the bathroom before I could find out,” I say, and Jack knocks on the door. “Jack, are you mad?” I ask, trying not to laugh.
“What do you think?” he asks, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Oops, Macy was right.
“I’m coming to rescue you,” Ellie says, but I’m not quite sure how she’s going to do that when Jack has probably already figured out that she did it with me.
“Is Ellie in on this with you?” he asks through the door, and I lower my voice.
“Save yourself, he knows you’re involved,” I say, looking around for any escape saving me from having to open the door for him.
“I bet you could fit through the window?” she suggests, and I look at the window barely big enough for me to squeeze through. Actually, I doubt I could make it. My hips are deceiving with how low set they are, and I’m not getting stuck halfway out a window.
“I’m not climbing out the window to avoid Jack!”
Jack knocks again on the door. “You know I can hear you, right? You don’t have to hide in the bathroom, or climb out the fucking window.”
I sigh, glancing skeptically at the door. I know I have to face him eventually, but how long can I actually stay in here? Maybe Coop would be willing to pass me a plate of whatever he’s making downstairs for dinner. “Gotta go, Ellie.”
“It’s been nice living with you,” she says before hanging up, and you’d think we were saying goodbye for the last time.
“Open the door, Al.”
“Why should I?” I counter, but I still flip the lock on the door, slowly cracking it open to reveal Jack standing on the other side with his arms crossed over his chest. He’s not quite scowling, but there is zero chance of his dimple winking at me right now.
“I’m not mad,” Jack says, and I laugh because the expression on his face says he is.
“I don’t believe you.”
He snorts, and I feel like a little kid who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. “Why would I be mad at you for making me an online dating profile you didn’t tell me about?” he says, and despite everything, the alarms that Bradley always set off in my head are silent.
“Jack, you sound kind of mad,” I say, and he grumbles something under his breath.
“Why?”
I roll my eyes because we had a whole ass conversation about this. “Why else do you think? I told you I was going to find you a girlfriend.”
“I told you I didn’t want one,” Jack retorts, and I shake my head.
“Actually, you said ‘Sure, whatever you want,’ so technically, you didn’t say no,” I say, mimicking his deeper voice.
He frowns, and it’s so damn tempting to tell him it takes more effort to frown than to smile. “I don’t sound like that, and I was being sarcastic because I didn’t think you were serious.”
“You shouldn’t be such a cynic about love,” I suggest, and he drags a hand over his face.
“Dating apps are not where you find love. They’re where people go to find fuck buddies, which is exactly why I got a text from some chick who wanted to know why I didn’t reply to her message,” he says, and I have to admit, this is a scenario I hadn’t considered.
I open the door the rest of the way, fully prepared to argue my case.
“Not everyone on dating apps is there to find a fuck buddy. Maybe they have social anxiety, or they’re intimidated by your fan club.
We picked out some really nice girls, and I think that if you give them a chance, you’ll learn I’m right.
” I tilt my head, trying to read his body language. “How mad are you?”
Jack sighs, but I think I’m starting to win him over on the idea.
“I’m not mad, but I wish you asked first,” he says, shaking his head. “So how many girls am I talking to?”
“A few,” I answer, keeping it vague on purpose. Ellie and I agreed we shouldn’t tell him how every single girl we swiped right on ended up matching with him, because it would inflate his ego to dangerous levels.
“Dinner’s ready,” Coop calls from down the hall, and Jack holds his phone out to me.
“Sign me in on the app so I can figure out what kind of damage control I need to do.”
I download the app and try to remember the password while I follow Jack to the kitchen.
Ellie’s sitting at the counter with her blonde hair piled on her head, and the tie of her teal swimsuit hanging out of the top of her shirt.
Honestly, I think she had the right idea coming over to use their hot tub.
Nate’s getting out plates and silverware when Dylan shuts the back door behind him.
“Hey, Jack,” she says, giving him a hesitant smile, and Jack snorts.
“So, Eleanor, how much of this are you responsible for?” he asks, and I pass the phone to him. It’s tempting to hide in the bathroom again once he starts scrolling.
“Um, I plead the fifth?” Ellie says, and I cough to hide my laugh.
“What did I miss?” Nate asks, the corners of his mouth turning upward.
“The girls signed Jack up for a dating app without him knowing,” Dylan says, and Nate’s smile turns into a grin as he gives us both a thumbs up.
“Is it a good idea for you to live together?” Coop asks, and I carefully take my seat from earlier, packing up our things since I have a feeling we won’t be studying after Jack reads through everything.
“Well, you stuck your dick in my last roommate, and Al’s not cutting out pictures of any of you to use in a scrapbook of your future wedding, so I’d say it’s a good idea,” Ellie says, flashing a sweet smile at her brother.
Coop’s neck flushes a bright crimson, and he doesn’t say anything else.
“Save a horse, date a hockey player instead? Who came up with this shit?” Jack scoffs, and I snicker as Dylan and Coop roar with laughter.
“It would have been better if you had a picture of you riding a horse,” I add, and his mouth parts as he looks at me.
“That’s why you wanted a picture of me with a horse?”
“That’s an option?” Ellie chimes in, and Jack looks back down at the screen.
“This is fucking awesome,” Dylan says, moving to help Coop by getting plates and forks out for everyone.
I’m impressed they’re capable of making actual meals, considering Bradley and his roommates lived off premade dinners.
My stomach rumbles as Coop turns off the burners, and I’ll be happy if it tastes even half as good as it smells.
Between Ellie, Macy, and me, we’re decent at cooking, but I’m excited for any meal I didn’t have to make myself.
“Will you be the yee to my haw? Are you fucking kidding me?” Jack drops the phone on the table, pinching the bridge of his nose, and I do feel a little bad, but not bad enough to take any of it back. Dylan makes a move for the phone, grabbing it before Jack can react.
In my defense, Macy was responsible for that one.
“While the execution is flawless, you didn’t need to sign him up for a dating app. Jack gets harassed more than the rest of us by puck bunnies when we go anywhere other than Twin City,” Nate says, and I roll my eyes.
“You’re proving our point exactly. We were trying to find him someone he could date, not just hook up with,” I say, and Dylan’s smile is wide as he scrolls on the phone.
“This is gold. Schultz, did you see how many matches you have?” he says, shaking his head before reading a few of them out loud.
“If I could rearrange the alphabet, I’d put ‘U’ and ‘I’ together.
If you were words on a page, you’d be fine print.
Do you have a name, or can I call you mine?
I can’t believe any of these worked for you guys,” Dylan says, and maybe we took it a little far with some of the messages, but they did work.
“I think my ears are bleeding.” Jack groans, getting up to grab a plate.
Coop chuckles, his face transformed into a rare smile. “That might be some of the corniest shit I’ve ever heard. What the fuck have you two been up to?”
“Three,” I correct, and Jack shoots me an annoyed look. “Macy was in on it too.”
“Remind me to use you guys as wingwomen in the future,” Nate says, and I stay in my seat, waiting for them to get their dinners first.
“Maybe we could start a matchmaking business,” Ellie ponders out loud, and considering what a success Jack’s profile was, I think it’s something we’d be good at.
“What should we name it?” I ask, going along with it as Jack slides a plate made up with steaming vegetables and chicken on top of white rice in front of me on the counter. “I was going to get a plate after you all sat down?”
“Yeah, well now you don’t have to get up. It’s just a plate of food,” Jack says, grabbing another plate to get back in the makeshift line to get his own, and I’m floored. Why would he make me a plate before making one for himself?