Infinite Cashback System

Chapter 198: 198 | It Should Be Illegal to Be This Cute [GT BONUS]

Her face brightened immediately.

Kumiko’s emotional range was truly something to behold. The girl experienced feelings at maximum volume with no middle settings available.

"Come in, come in!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him inside. "Chloe-chan ordered so much food. There’s pad thai and green curry and spring rolls and those little dumplings that I like and also mango sticky rice for dessert because I asked nicely."

Chloe stood in the kitchen area, leaning against the counter with a glass of wine in her hand. She wore an oversized sweater that definitely belonged to Jordan originally and shorts that barely qualified as clothing.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey yourself."

Jordan crossed the room and kissed her. Chloe’s free hand came up to rest against his jaw, her fingers cool from the wine glass. She tasted like alcohol and something sweet.

"Mmmm," she hummed against his lips. "You smell good."

"So I’ve been told."

When they separated, Kumiko was watching them with an expression of pure contentment, her hands clasped under her chin and her eyes slightly misty.

"You two are so cute," she breathed. "Like, unreasonably cute. It should be illegal to be that cute."

"You’re in this relationship too," Jordan reminded her.

"I know! But watching you kiss Chloe-chan is different from being kissed myself. Both are good. Both make my heart do the thing."

"The thing?"

Kumiko pressed her palm against her chest. "You know. The thing. Where it beats really fast and I feel like I might die but in a good way? That thing."

Jordan looked at Chloe.

Chloe shrugged. "She’s been like this since she got here. I think she’s still processing the aquarium date."

"It was a really good date!" Kumiko insisted. "There were jellyfish! And tacos! And kissing! All the best things in life!"

The doorbell rang.

Chloe set down her wine glass. "That’s the food. Kumi, can you get plates?"

"Yes, ma’am!"

Kumiko bounced toward the kitchen while Chloe went to answer the door. Jordan stood in the middle of the apartment and tried to process the surreal normalcy of the moment.

Two girlfriends.

Thai food.

Tuesday evening.

This was his life now.

The thought made him want to laugh.

Chloe returned with several bags of takeout containers, the smell of spices and coconut filling the apartment. Kumiko had set three places at the small dining table, complete with napkins folded into tiny triangles because apparently that was something she did.

They sat down together.

Jordan ended up between them, Chloe on his left and Kumiko on his right. The table was small enough that their knees touched underneath.

"So," Chloe said, serving herself pad thai, "tell me about your day. And don’t skip the part where Cameron Mitchell tried to start something in the bathroom."

Jordan’s chopsticks paused halfway to his mouth.

"How did you know about that?"

"Kyle texted me."

"Kyle wasn’t there."

"Kyle heard from someone who was in the bathroom at the same time. Campus gossip network. It’s very efficient."

Jordan sighed. "Nothing happened. We exchanged words. I walked away."

"The old Jordan would have either cried or thrown a punch."

"I know."

Chloe reached over and squeezed his hand. "I’m proud of you."

"For not hitting someone?"

"For knowing when not to." She returned to her food. "Cameron Mitchell is a waste of space, but he’s not worth getting expelled over. You made the smart choice."

Kumiko had stopped eating, her chopsticks frozen above her curry. "Who’s Cameron Mitchell? Why did he try to start something? Should I be worried? Do I need to fight someone? I don’t know how to fight but I could try."

"Nobody needs to fight anyone," Jordan said. "He’s just some guy from my past. It doesn’t matter."

"It matters if he’s bothering you!"

"He’s not bothering me. He’s just existing. Obnoxiously."

Kumiko didn’t look convinced, but she returned to her food.

Dinner continued.

They talked about classes, about the Nova Network, about Kumiko’s upcoming streaming schedule. Chloe explained the logistics of building a content calendar while Kumiko nodded along and occasionally interjected with comments that were either brilliantly insightful or completely random depending on the moment.

Jordan mostly listened.

He watched the way Chloe’s expression softened when she looked at Kumiko. He watched the way Kumiko leaned toward him unconsciously, her shoulder brushing his arm. He watched the two of them interact, these women who had somehow decided that he was worth sharing.

It didn’t make sense.

He didn’t deserve this.

But he was starting to believe that maybe deserving wasn’t the point.

After dinner, they migrated to the couch.

Chloe put on a movie. Something with explosions and a plot that didn’t require close attention.

Kumiko curled up against Jordan’s right side, her head resting on his shoulder and her legs tucked beneath her. Chloe claimed his left side, her body warm and familiar against his arm.

Two women.

One couch.

The kind of situation that teenage Jordan would have sold his soul for.

Adult Jordan just felt... content.

Peaceful, even.

Twenty minutes into the movie, Kumiko’s hand crept across Jordan’s stomach and found Chloe’s hand on his other side. Their fingers intertwined across his lap.

Jordan looked down at the sight of his two girlfriends holding hands across his body.

"Is this okay?" Kumiko asked quietly, not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Yeah," Chloe said. "It’s okay."

Jordan didn’t say anything.

He didn’t need to.

The movie played. The explosions exploded. The heroes did hero things.

Jordan barely noticed any of it.

He was too busy memorizing the moment. The weight of them against his sides. The warmth of their bodies. The sound of their breathing.

This was real.

All of it.

Somehow, impossibly, this was his actual life.

The movie ended around ten.

Kumiko was half-asleep against Jordan’s shoulder, making small sounds every time she drifted off and jerked herself awake.

"Kumi," Chloe said gently. "You should go home."

"Don’t wanna."

"We have class tomorrow."

"Don’t care."

Chloe looked at Jordan.

Jordan looked at Kumiko.

"You need sleep," he said.

"I need you." Kumiko’s voice was muzzy with exhaustion. "Can’t I just stay? Just for tonight?"