Infinite Cashback System

Chapter 258: 258 | A Name from a Christmas Nightmare

On screen, a whale shark glided through blue water in slow motion while a narrator explained something about migratory patterns. Neither of them were listening.

Chloe shifted position, turning so she could look at his face. The movement brought her closer, her body pressing against his side in ways that the oversized t-shirt did nothing to conceal. Jordan could feel the warmth of her through the thin fabric, the softness of her chest against his arm, the curve of her hip where it met his thigh.

"I trust you." Her voice carried weight that simple words shouldn’t have been able to support. "Whatever you’re not telling me. Whatever conditions the inheritance involves. I trust that you’ll explain when you’re ready."

"Chloe..."

"I’m not asking for answers tonight." She settled back against his shoulder, her hair spilling across his chest. "I’m telling you that the lack of answers doesn’t change anything. Between us."

Jordan’s phone buzzed in his pocket.

The timing felt deliberately cruel, like the universe had been waiting for the exact moment of emotional vulnerability to interrupt. He considered ignoring it. The person texting could wait. This moment with Chloe, this fragile thing they were building from nothing, deserved his full attention.

The phone buzzed again.

And again.

"Someone really wants your attention." Chloe’s voice carried amusement rather than irritation.

Jordan pulled out his phone with the intention of silencing it completely. The screen displayed three notifications from Instagram. Direct messages from an account he recognized immediately.

elizahartwell has sent you a message.

His thumb hovered over the notification. The smart decision was obvious. Put the phone away. Deal with it tomorrow. Maintain the peace of this evening and whatever it might lead to.

The phone buzzed a fourth time.

"Who is it?" Chloe asked without looking up from the television.

"Eliza."

Chloe’s body went still against his side. Not tense, exactly. More like the pause between heartbeats, the moment of recalculation that happened when new information entered an existing equation.

"Your ex-girlfriend Eliza. The one from the hotel parking lot on Christmas."

"The same one we got partnered with in Sociology today. Yeah."

Jordan opened the messages.

The first one was brief. Professional. Almost businesslike.

hey, we should probably figure out when to meet for the project.

The second message followed immediately.

i know things are weird between us. i get it. but we still have to do this assignment and i don’t want to fail because of personal stuff.

The third message was shorter.

when are you free this week?

The fourth message, the one that had just arrived, contained something that made Jordan’s throat tighten slightly.

also... nevermind. let me know about the project.

Chloe had shifted so she could see his screen. Her expression remained neutral, carefully controlled in the way Jordan had learned to recognize as her business mask. The one she wore when she didn’t want anyone to know what she was actually thinking.

"She’s right about one thing," Chloe said finally. "You do need to meet with her. Delgado doesn’t accept late work."

"I know."

"You should respond."

"I know."

"Tonight. Otherwise she’ll keep texting and it’ll become a whole thing."

Jordan looked at Chloe’s face, searching for the real reaction beneath the professional detachment. Her eyes gave nothing away. Her mouth remained set in a neutral line. But her hand, the one that had been tracing patterns on his arm, had gone completely still.

"Are you okay with this?"

"With you completing a mandatory class assignment with your ex-girlfriend who publicly humiliated you three weeks ago?" Chloe’s voice stayed perfectly level. "I don’t have to be okay with it. It’s required. My feelings about the situation are irrelevant to the grade you’ll receive."

"Your feelings are never irrelevant to me."

Something flickered across Chloe’s expression. Too fast to catch, too brief to identify. She turned back toward the television where the whale shark had been replaced by a school of smaller fish doing something the narrator considered noteworthy.

"Answer her," Chloe said. "Set up a time to meet. Get the project done. Don’t let her affect you."

Jordan typed a response with his thumb.

tuesday afternoon works. library study room 3B. 2pm.

He sent it before he could second-guess the choice. The message delivered. Read receipts showed Eliza viewing it almost immediately.

Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.

Her response came through after a long pause.

perfect. see you then.

A second message followed.

thanks for being professional about this. i know i don’t deserve it.

Jordan didn’t respond to that one. He locked his phone and set it face-down on the couch cushion beside him.

Chloe hadn’t moved. Her body remained pressed against his side, her head still resting on his shoulder, but something had shifted in the air between them. Not tension exactly. More like awareness. The acknowledgment that his past existed as a tangible thing, a girl with a name and a phone number and unresolved feelings that kept inserting themselves into his present.

"The documentary is about whale migration," Chloe said after a long silence.

"I noticed."

"They travel thousands of miles every year. Following food sources. Avoiding predators. Finding mates."

"Is there a metaphor here?"

"No." Chloe’s voice carried exhaustion rather than amusement. "I’m just talking about whales because I don’t want to talk about Eliza Hartwell and whether she’s going to cause problems I’ll have to deal with."

Jordan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. She came willingly, her body fitting against his like they’d been designed for this specific configuration.

"She’s not going to cause problems."

"You sound very sure about that."

"I am."

"Because you have a plan?"

"Because she doesn’t matter." Jordan’s voice came out steadier than he expected. "She stopped mattering the moment I decided to stop letting her matter. Everything after that is just cleanup. Assignment deadlines. Professional obligations. Nothing that touches us."

Chloe was quiet for a long time. On screen, the whale shark had returned, swimming through water that looked impossibly blue. The narrator said something about feeding patterns. Neither of them were listening.

"Okay," Chloe said finally.

"Okay?"

"Okay." She pressed closer against his side, her warmth seeping through both their shirts. "I believe you. For now. Don’t make me regret it."