Infinite Cashback System

Chapter 229: 230 | The Seat is Taken

Jordan’s alarm went off at 6:47 AM, which meant Chloe’s alarm went off at 6:47 AM, which meant Jordan woke up with an elbow in his ribs and a mouthful of black hair.

"Mmrph."

Chloe’s arm shot out and slapped the nightstand three times before finding her phone. The alarm died. Jordan lay still, breathing through his nose, waiting for his girlfriend to remember he existed.

"You’re warm," Chloe mumbled into her pillow.

"That’s because I’m alive."

"Stay alive. Stay warm. Don’t move."

"I have Econ at nine."

"Skip it."

"Can’t. Professor Jones takes attendance now because too many people skipped last week."

Chloe groaned and rolled over, pressing her face into Jordan’s chest. Her breath was warm through his shirt and her body was soft against his side. The morning light coming through the factory windows turned her skin golden and made the blue streaks in her hair look almost purple.

Jordan’s phone buzzed on the nightstand. Then again. Then a third time in rapid succession.

"Kumiko," Chloe said without looking.

"Probably."

"Tell her I said good morning."

Jordan reached over Chloe’s shoulder and grabbed his phone. The screen displayed three messages from a contact labeled with a small heart emoji next to the name.

The first message read: Good morning Jordan-kun! I hope you slept well! I slept for exactly six hours and fourteen minutes which is optimal according to the sleep cycle article Brooke sent me!

The second message read: I am currently eating toast with strawberry jam because strawberries remind me of happiness and also because my roommate finished all the grape jelly again.

The third message read: I will see you in Econ 2! I saved you a seat! It is in the third row which is close enough to seem engaged but far enough that Professor Jones cannot see if you check your phone!

Jordan typed a response: Good morning. Chloe says hi. See you in class.

The reply came in four seconds: TELL CHLOE I LOVE HER AND I LOVE YOU AND I LOVE TOAST.

Jordan showed Chloe the screen. She made a sound that might have been a laugh and might have been a groan.

"She’s too much in the morning."

"She’s too much all the time. That’s her entire thing."

"I love her anyway."

"Me too."

Chloe tilted her head up and kissed Jordan’s jaw. Her lips were dry from sleep but the contact still sent a small spark through his nervous system. The Alluring Whisper trait hummed in his throat, wanting to respond, and Jordan clamped down on it before he said something that would make them both late for class.

"Shower," Chloe said. "You smell like me."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"It’s a distracting thing. Kumiko will notice and then she’ll ask questions and then she’ll spiral and then we’ll spend the entire lecture passing notes about whose scent you’re wearing today."

Jordan considered this. Kumiko absolutely would do that.

"Shower," he agreed.

The bathroom in Chloe’s apartment was identical to his own, white tile and chrome fixtures and a shower that took exactly ninety seconds to heat up. Jordan stood under the spray and let the water run over his shoulders, washing away the pleasant ache from yesterday’s boxing session and the lingering warmth of Chloe’s bed.

His body had changed dramatically since the Tune Up trait activated. Where he used to see soft edges and undefined muscle, he now saw definition and structure. His abs formed a visible grid under his skin. His shoulders had broadened. His arms showed the beginning of actual biceps rather than the formless sticks they used to be.

Jordan ran his hand over his stomach and counted the ridges. Still there. Still real. Still his.

The System notification appeared in the corner of his vision like a ghost, gold text floating against the steam.

QUEST PROGRESS: Path to Becoming Adonis

Physical Activity: 0/90 minutes remaining

Hygiene Level 1: COMPLETE

Hygiene Level 2: In progress...

Jordan brushed his teeth in the shower because efficiency mattered and because Chloe’s toothbrush holder only had room for one. He’d started keeping a spare at her place three days ago. The domesticity of it still felt strange, like wearing clothes that fit perfectly but belonged to someone else.

By the time Jordan emerged from the bathroom with a towel around his waist, Chloe had already dressed and was applying makeup at her vanity mirror. She wore a cropped white sweater and high-waisted jeans that made her legs look approximately infinite. Her blue streaks were tied back with a small clip that probably cost more than Jordan’s entire outfit.

"Clothes are on the bed," she said without turning around.

Jordan looked at the bed. A neatly folded stack of fabric sat on the grey sheets. Dark jeans. White button-up. His own clothes, cleaned and pressed.

"When did you do laundry?"

"Yesterday while you were giving rides to parking garage girls."

"You didn’t have to."

"I know."

Jordan dressed while Chloe finished her makeup. The routine felt comfortable in a way that made him slightly nervous. Three weeks ago he’d been crying into takeout containers and watching OnlyFans content in a dark room. Now he had a girlfriend who did his laundry and another girlfriend who saved him seats in lecture halls.

"Ready?"

Chloe checked her phone. "Kumiko says she’s already at Bluffs Hall. She got there twenty minutes early to claim optimal seating."

"Of course she did."

They walked to campus together, hands brushing occasionally but not holding. Public displays of affection remained complicated given their various secrets and the small-town nature of Pacific Crest Academy’s gossip network. Anyone who saw them would assume they were friends, maybe study partners, definitely not whatever they actually were.

Bluffs Hall 150 was a tiered lecture hall with seating for ninety-five students and a professor who read directly from slides with the emotional investment of a man waiting for his pension to vest. Dr. Mikal Jones stood at the podium reviewing his notes as students filtered in, his grey beard and corduroy jacket completing the image of someone who had given up on making economics interesting approximately fifteen years ago.

Jordan spotted Kumiko immediately.

She sat in the third row, exactly where she’d promised, with her pink notebook open and her twin tails freshly tied with ribbons that matched her lavender cardigan. Her face lit up the moment she saw Jordan enter, and she raised one hand in a small wave that somehow contained the energy of a full-body tackle.

The seat next to her was occupied by a bag. Specifically, a very expensive bag. More specifically, a Goyard tote that probably cost more than Jordan’s monthly rent.

Jordan approached the row. "That seat taken?"