Heart As Cold As Ice | 18+ | ✓

10: alondra

Margot shivers in her coat, "It's so fucking cold here." She moans and I have to agree with her.

"It's seventy eight in Texas today." I looked this morning to torture myself when I saw the temperature for Minnesota today.

"I say we pack our shit up and go there."

"Right now?"

Margot grins, "Of course. I've got a car, let's run away."

"What about Hudson?" I ask and guilt flashes across her face.

"I promise I won't ditch you again for him. Hoes before bros."

I smile reassuringly at her. Sure, I was pissed when it initially happened. But now it feels like forever ago. "It's okay. I get it. I mean lord knows how many times I ditched you and Pritchett when Grady and I were together."

"Al, that was different and you know it. What I did was shitty. Full permission to hit me if I try to do that again." Margot says and I force a short laugh out. It was different and it also wasn't.

"Got it."

"So how's the tindering going with Jack?" She asks and I stuff my hands in my pockets. I'm not even going to ask how she knows about it. Pritchett and her big mouth. Hopefully it doesn't get back to Jack.

"Ruby and I narrowed it down to few potential dates yesterday. I haven't quite gotten around to telling him about it, but the girls seem nice enough. At the best he gets a girlfriend out of it, at the worst, it's just a date."

Margot giggles, "It's kinda weird that you're doing this. Are you sure he even wants a girlfriend?"

"Meh, I guess I'll find out when I tell him."

"Hows the tutoring going?"

"We're waiting to hear back on how he did on his test. Jack's nervous but I'm sure he did good; he just has high expectations for himself." I really hope he did good. I don't want to see the defeat on his face again if he scores poorly.

The wind picks up and I try to shrink further into my winter coat I've already had to break out. It's October and forty-six degrees. Freezing.

Margot shivers and groans, "I'm glad you decided to help him. He seems like a nice guy."

I smile as I remember how he let me crash in his bed the other night. Being the gentleman he is, he slept on the couch so no one would get any ideas that we're something we're not.

"Jack's pretty great."

"Do you think you could see him as more than a friend?" She asks and I shake my head.

"I know he's not Grady, it's just...being friends with him is one thing. That's a boundary I don't think I could ever cross with Jack." I admit, sighing softly. Maybe if everything hadn't gone down the way it did, I'd consider it.

Margot falls silent and we continue walking towards the library. There's a loud whoop behind us and I turn in surprise to see Jack running at a full sprint towards us. Speak of the devil. What the hell is he doing?

Jack has a huge smile on his face and stops right before me, his arms going around me tightly as he spins me, backpack and all.

I'm laughing when he sets me down and he is panting slightly. "I got my grade back."

"And?" I question, assuming that it's good news based on his mood.

"I got a fucking eighty-one!"

The smile on his face is brilliant and contagious. "Jack that's great. I knew you could do it."

And then I'm being spun again. I hold on tightly to him so I don't fall straight down. "It's not great, it's a miracle."