Chapter 83: 83 | My Girlfriend, My Friend, My Swamp Monster
Jordan sat on his bed with his phone glowing in the darkness of his loft. The screen displayed the System interface with brutal clarity.
QUEST FAILED: KARAOKE GAMBIT
Time Expired: 00:00:00
Reward Forfeited: 15 Quest Tickets + Gold Mystery Box
Penalty: None
Note: User declined to register secondary beauty within time limit. Monogamy remains possible but contradicts stated inheritance requirements.
Jordan stared at the notification. At the forfeited rewards and the passive-aggressive note about monogamy.
His thumb hovered over the dismiss button.
Fifteen tickets. A gold box. Who knew what kind of abilities or items sat inside that reward tier? Maybe something that would’ve made the next few months easier. Maybe something game-breaking.
He pressed dismiss anyway.
The quest vanished from his log. His total tickets remained at four. Not enough for another bronze pull. Not even close to silver.
Worth it.
Because the alternative involved registering Alexis or Kumiko without asking Chloe first. Without giving her input on which girl became girlfriend number two in this increasingly ridiculous arrangement.
If he was gonna lie to her about the inheritance thing, the least he could do was allow her some control. Let her pick. Let her know before he locked some random girl into a permanent slot and called it romance.
The rationalization tasted thin. Bitter.
But Jordan couldn’t bring himself to regret the decision.
His phone buzzed with a text.
Chloe: you coming back down or are you hiding
Jordan smiled at the screen. At the casual accusation with no real bite behind it.
Jordan: coming
He locked his phone and stood. His muscles protested slightly. The full day of gym, classes, karaoke, and driving Kumiko home had left him pleasantly exhausted.
Jordan walked downstairs. His bare feet silent on the cold concrete floor.
Chloe stood in her kitchen wearing a black sports bra and tiny grey shorts that barely covered her ass. Her hair was wet and pulled back from her face with a white headband. Some kind of green clay mask covered her skin from forehead to chin.
She held two steaming mugs of tea.
"Here." She handed him one without preamble. "Drink it."
Jordan accepted the mug. The ceramic warmed his palms immediately. He sniffed the steam. Chamomile and something else he couldn’t name.
"What is it?"
"Herbal tea. I drink it every night after I wash my face." Chloe took a sip from her own mug. The green mask around her mouth cracked slightly with the movement. "Part of my skincare routine."
Jordan stared at her. At the mask. At the sports bra hugging her chest. At the shorts riding low on her hips.
Fuck he had such a sexy girlfriend.
Friend.
Whatever she was.
His brain short-circuited trying to categorize their relationship status while his body responded with enthusiastic certainty.
"You good?" Chloe raised an eyebrow. The mask cracked more.
"Yeah." Jordan cleared his throat. "Just got into Cerave recently actually."
Chloe’s eyes widened. "Wait really?"
"Yeah. Cleanser and moisturizer. Basic stuff." Jordan shrugged. "Figured I should probably stop washing my face with whatever shampoo was closest."
"Oh my god." Chloe laughed. "You were using shampoo on your face?"
"Sometimes."
"Jordan."
"I didn’t know any better."
"You’re a disaster." But she smiled when she said it. Genuine warmth in her expression despite the green mask making her look like Shrek’s hot cousin.
"Guys have it so easy with skincare though." Chloe gestured at her own face. "You get to do two steps and call it a day. I’m out here with ten different products and weekly masks just to maintain baseline."
"It’s not fair." Jordan agreed. He meant it. "You look good though."
"I look like a swamp monster."
"A really hot swamp monster."
Chloe’s cheeks flushed pink beneath the green clay. The contrast was striking. Adorable.
"Shut up." But her voice went soft. "Drink your tea."
Jordan obeyed. The liquid burned going down. Tasted like flowers and honey and something vaguely medicinal.
"Good right?" Chloe watched him over the rim of her mug.
"It’s tea."
"It’s calming tea. Helps you sleep better." She took another sip. "I started drinking it after I launched Calypso. Anxiety was keeping me up until three am most nights."
Jordan’s chest tightened. The reminder of what she did to survive. The reminder that he’d spent two thousand dollars watching her perform for strangers before he ever knew her name.
"Does it work?" he asked instead of acknowledging the weight.
"Most nights." Chloe set her mug on the counter. "Except when boys keep me awake with inheritance revelations."
Jordan winced. "Yeah. About that."
"We’re not talking about that tonight." Chloe’s timer went off somewhere upstairs. A soft beeping from her loft. "Hold on."
She jogged up the stairs. Her ass bounced with each step. The shorts left absolutely nothing to imagination.
Jordan’s fingers tightened on his mug. His body stirred despite the exhaustion as he went to sit on the couch.
Down boy.
Chloe returned thirty seconds later with her face clean and bare. The green mask gone. Her skin glowed pink and fresh from washing.
She looked younger without makeup. Softer. The blue streak in her damp hair caught the low light from the kitchen.
"Better?" She did a small spin. "No more swamp monster?"
"You looked good before." Jordan’s voice came out rougher than intended. "Look good now too."
Chloe’s expression shifted. Something heated flickering behind her dark eyes.
She walked toward him. Slow. Purposeful.
Her bare feet made no sound against the concrete.
When she reached the couch she didn’t sit beside him. She climbed onto his lap instead. Straddled his thighs with her knees pressing into the cushions on either side of his hips.
His hands went to her waist automatically. Steadying her. Steadying himself.
"Hi." Chloe settled her weight fully onto him. Her chest at eye level. Her hands on his shoulders.
"Hi." Jordan’s brain struggled to form coherent thoughts. His tea sat forgotten on the coffee table. "What are you doing?"
"What does it look like?" Chloe rolled her hips. Ground against him through his sweatpants. "I’ve been wanting to do this since I heard you sing."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." She leaned down. Her lips brushed his jaw. "You have no idea what that did to me."
Jordan’s hands slid from her waist to her hips. His fingers dug into bare skin. "Tell me."
"I got wet." Chloe whispered against his throat. Her teeth scraped his pulse point. "Right there in the booth. While everyone clapped and cheered. I just sat there thinking about your voice and your hands and what I wanted you to do to me later."
"Fuck." Jordan’s hips bucked involuntarily. His hardness pressed against her center through two thin layers of fabric.
"Mmm." Chloe made a pleased sound. "Then Kumiko started asking about you. And Alexis got all flustered. And I just had to sit there pretending I didn’t care while my friends talked about how hot you are."
"Were you jealous?"
"Yes." No hesitation. Chloe pulled back to look at him directly. "I hated it. Wanted to tell them you’re mine."
"I am yours."
"Are you?" Her eyes searched his face. "What are we Jordan?"
"I don’t know. But I’m not going anywhere."
