Roommates & Soulmates

Ch183: Jordan's Evergreen

When Maia had suggested ditching both their families and going away for the holidays, Jordan had agreed without a second thought. It had been almost eight months now since Maia graduated from University and ceased all non-essential communication with her parents. Despite Maia's many attempts to change his mind, Jordan hadn't spoken to this family since coming to this school. A romantic weekend road trip to the great outdoors sounded much better than seeing their families. The only problem had been the car part of the equation which had been easily solved with a rental thanks to both of them having generous savings thanks to living with a Lightwood.

The roads had been quite good for mid December. There was minimal ice, and what there was had been covered in gravel to prevent skidding. They spent the drive in light conversation, mixed with audiobooks and music. When they next switched to conversation from listening to music, Maia asked Jordan how his new part time job was going. Jordan had sent out a whole bunch of applications for jobs in his field about five months ago, and he'd finally gotten a reply just about a month ago. The problem was that it had been the one who wanted him to do design work as well. So far he'd been working on the code and leaving the art till later, but he was almost done with the code.

"I really do need to talk to Clary about it when we get back though," Jordan interrupted his own story.

"Excellent use of being friends with an art major," Maia agreed.

Overall the car ride there had been relaxing and enjoyable. Being stuck in a moving vehicle with the love of your life for eight hours wasn't so bad when you thought about it. Maia even seemed to enjoy herself, despite the fact that she wasn't one to sit still for very long.

Their destination was one of those 'rent out your place while you're away' type deals. Jordan was eager to see if the pictures he'd seen online matched reality. When the car finally stopped and Maia got out, she stretched up and over like a cat who had just woken up from a particularly long nap. He watched her move, smiling as he observed her stretch. Somehow, it was oddly relaxing.

"Whatcha starin' at?" Maia grumbled at him.

"Oh, just my beautiful girlfriend," Jordan smiled back at her.

"Stop it," Maia huffed. "I'm trying to un-car my joints."

"That is definitely not a word," Jordan chuckled at her, but she just insisted he look elsewhere.

Instead he turned his gaze to the house that would be their home for the next seven days. Despite it's cabin in the wood feel, the house looked very modern with vinyl siding and a standard peaked roof. The path up to the door was made of loose gravel while the door itself was a deep green colour. Jordan turned his gaze to the left where he could see a frozen lake.

Thanks to the online ad, Jordan knew there were neighbors to either side of the house, but the thick trees blocked their view. Though they'd driven quite a way from home to get here, they weren't that far from civilization and Jordan knew the people who rented out the house to them lived here year round. It being the holidays, Jordan felt safe assuming they were visiting family for Christmas. They were probably paying for their trip with the money they made from renting the place out. Jordan had to admit it was a pretty brilliant idea.

Maia finished stretching and made a run for the door, calling him a slow poke for being behind even though he'd been waiting for her! Luckily Jordan had the key so even though she beat him to the door they stepped through together. This place had a homey feel, despite it's cabin exterior. There were pictures on the wall of a family, and many tiny shoes in the front closet. Apart from that it had been prepared for them. To the left, the kitchen had dishes set out with a note Jordan couldn't read from the entryway. He assumed it gave instructions for the use of the kitchen area during their stay. On the right was a hallway, likely leading to bedrooms and a bathroom. In front of them was the living room with hardwood floors, opening onto a balcony, all with a huge view of the lake. The whole back wall had windows from floor to ceiling so you could sit beside the gas fireplace, and look out over the water. The pictures hadn't done it justice.