Chapter 46: I’m Starting to See a Pattern

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: I’m Starting to See a Pattern

Work had been busy, but at least it had been productive. Marcus and I had spent most of the morning tracking down an intermittent misfire on a Ford Mustang GT, which turned out to be a failing ignition coil that only acted up once the engine warmed up. We replaced it, ran the engine through another test, and watched the misfire disappear from the diagnostic readings. By the time we finished, the car was running smoothly again, and I was free to leave.

I clocked out at twelve on the dot, grabbed my things, and headed for Camden Hale University.

Approximately thirty-seven minutes later, I pulled into the university parking lot and immediately checked the time on my phone before gathering my things and getting out of the car.

I still had around twenty minutes before my one o’clock class, so I decided to grab a quick bite with the guys before heading over.

Jackson spotted me first as I approached the table. "Hey, bud."

"Hey, Nathan," Sasha greeted me.

Evelyn glanced at the time on her phone before looking back at me. "You’re early."

I pulled out a chair and sat down. "Clocked out at twelve on the dot. Marcus and I finished a pretty cool repair, so I figured I’d head back early."

"What were you working on?" Jackson asked.

"A Ford Mustang GT," I replied.

Jackson’s face lit up. "That’s so cool."

Before I could say anything else, Sasha stood up from her seat. "I’ll go order something for you. What do you want? The usual or something else?"

"Uhm..." I paused, caught off guard by how quickly she’d offered. "The usual is fine."

Sasha nodded. "Okay. Be back in a sec."

I watched Sasha make her way toward the counter. Even after everything that had happened, she was still doing little things for me like it was no big deal. I was grateful, obviously. I just wasn’t sure what to do with the guilt that came with it.

"Anyway," Evelyn said, drawing my attention back to the table, "I heard Nicole spent the night."

I immediately shot Jackson a look.

"She forced me to," he said.

I stared at him. "How does that even make any sense?"

Evelyn smirked.

"She’s scary when she gets mad," Jackson added.

I sighed. "You’re both unbelievable."

"So, what’s the deal?" Evelyn asked, leaning forward. Judging by the look on her face, she was enjoying this far too much already. "Are you dating this Nicole now or what? Jackson said he’d rather die than tell me because of your little ’guy code.’" She made air quotes around the last two words.

I opened my mouth to answer, but she added, "Does she go here? What department?"

I paused.

It wasn’t exactly a freeze, but I wasn’t about to answer that question without thinking about it first.

"Sasha’s coming back," Jackson said quickly.

Evelyn immediately let out a fake laugh. "Oh my God, that movie was sooo funny."

"What movie?" Sasha asked as she arrived at the table and set my food down in front of me.

I glanced at the food, then back at her. "The Hangover."

"Oh." Sasha pulled out her chair. "What part?"

I picked up my fork. "The second one."

Sasha nodded, apparently satisfied with that answer, and pulled her chair closer to the table.

—

The conversation moved on, and we spent the rest of lunch talking about whatever came to mind. At some point, Evelyn started explaining why Jackson was the world’s best boyfriend, which was an impressive claim considering she also spent a good portion of the explanation listing all the ways he annoyed her.

I seconded the annoying part.

Jackson looked at me like I’d betrayed him, while Evelyn seemed perfectly happy with my contribution. She even used it as further evidence that she had to put up with a lot to keep her boyfriend in line.

I wasn’t sure how that made her argument stronger, but she seemed convinced.

By the time I finished eating, the time on my phone read 12:54 PM. I put it away and reached for my bag.

"Time for class," Sasha said, standing up and slinging her backpack over one shoulder.

"Ugh. I wish school didn’t exist," Evelyn complained as she got to her feet.

I smirked at her before standing as well. "Life, am I right?"

Jackson, who had spent the last few minutes scrolling through his phone, suddenly looked up.

"Blake just sent a text." He glanced at his screen again. "Our one o’clock class is canceled. Professor Richards won’t be available, so he’s covering the material in his next class instead."

Evelyn stopped halfway through adjusting her bag.

"Not fair," she whined.

Jackson put his phone away, stood up, and pulled her into a hug. He gently stroked her hair as she leaned against him, still grumbling about having to go to class while we’d just been handed an unexpected break.

Sasha watched them for a moment before making a face. "Yuck. I’m out of here. See you later, Nathan."

I smiled at her. "You too."

She headed off, leaving me with Jackson and Evelyn, who still seemed to be recovering from the injustice of having to attend class, which was, as far as I knew, the entire point of going to school in the first place.

Evelyn eventually pulled away from Jackson and adjusted her backpack on her shoulder.

"Bye, Nathan. Try not to enjoy your free time too much."

"I’ll do my best."

She gave me a look that suggested she didn’t believe me, then turned and headed off to her next class.

Jackson watched her go before sitting back down and returning to his phone.

For a moment, I considered leaving things as they were. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him. Jackson and I had apparently been telling each other almost everything since we were five, so keeping something like this from him felt a little strange.

Still, I wasn’t sure how he’d react, and I definitely didn’t want Evelyn finding out through him.

I watched him scroll for another few seconds before making up my mind.

"Promise not to tell Evelyn."

Jackson looked up from his phone. "How bad is it?"

"It involves a woman."

He opened his mouth—

"Who’s not Nicole," I added.

Jackson closed his mouth and leaned back in his chair. "Now that, I can keep a secret."

I gave him a look.

"What?" he asked. "You know I can keep a secret."

"You told Evelyn Nicole spent the night at my place."

"That was different."

"How?"

He opened his mouth, thought about it, then glanced down at his phone as though the answer might be in there somewhere. "Evelyn has already seen Nicole once before, and you know how she gets when she’s curious about something."

"Like a cartoon detective with no off switch?"

Jackson winced. "Ouch. But true."

I leaned forward a little, and lowered my voice.

"Okay, so a few days ago, this woman came into the shop to get her car fixed."

Jackson raised an eyebrow. "What car?"

"A BMW X5."

"Neat."

I gave him a look.

"Sorry." He straightened in his chair. "Continue."

"Okay, so she was giving me eyes, but I didn’t read into it because, you know..."

"You’re that kind of guy," Jackson supplied, nodding as though this was an established fact.

"I’m that kind of guy," I agreed.

He gave me a small, knowing smile, and I continued before he could say anything else.

"Anyway, Marcus and I finished fixing her car. I got changed and was about to leave when she stopped me to talk. She’d even gone to my boss to get my name."

Jackson smirked. "Feisty."

I gave him a flat look, but he only shrugged, looking far too pleased with himself.

"I told her I was getting married, so she’d back off."

Jackson let out a small laugh.

I frowned at him.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, pressing his lips together, although the smile was still there. "I’m listening."

I rubbed a hand over my face before continuing.

"Long story short, she came back today looking for me."

Jackson blinked. "Wait. Today today? As in, the shift you just finished?"

"Yes." I leaned back in my chair. "And you won’t believe what she said."

Whatever amusement he’d been struggling to hide disappeared. He put his phone down on the table and faced me properly. "What did she say?"

"She told me she found out I didn’t actually have a fiancée, but that I did have a girlfriend." I paused, still finding the whole thing ridiculous. "Apparently, finding out I’d lied about being engaged and that I rejected her for another woman only made her more interested in me."

Jackson stared at me for a moment before asking, "How old is she?"

"I don’t know. Maybe mid to late twenties."

Jackson’s mouth fell open slightly. "BRO. What the hell is up with you and older women?"

I said nothing, mostly because I had no answer to that.

Jackson shook his head. "What did you even say to her to make her act like this?"

"Nothing. I genuinely said nothing."

He stared at me for another moment before speaking. "Wait. Come to think of it, it’s kind of the same with Professor Collins, except for the psycho vibes."

I made a face. "Psycho vibes?"

"You said this woman barely knows you, and she’s already this into you." He gestured toward me. "Isn’t that basically what happened with Professor Collins, minus the whole showing up at your workplace to hunt you down thing?"

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. I wasn’t sure I wanted to defend that comparison.

Jackson leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtful for once. "But seriously, why did she fall for you that fast? Professor Collins. Have you ever thought about it?"

"I have," I admitted. "Every time, actually."

Jackson’s eyebrows rose. "Have you asked her, then?"

I paused.

"No," I said after a moment.

Jackson grinned. "Okay."

I waited for him to say something else, but he seemed content to leave it there.

For a while, neither of us spoke. He picked up his phone again, and I leaned back in my chair, thinking about his question.

"Dudeee," Jackson suddenly exclaimed.

I looked over at him.

"I’ve got it now." He pointed at me, looking far too pleased with himself. "The woman with X5. She’s like a real-life yandere."

I made a face. "A what?"

"You know, a yandere. Those girls in anime who fall incredibly fast for someone and get all obsessed with—"

"I know what a yandere is, Jackson, and she’s not one." I paused. "I think."

Jackson smirked. "Oh, you’re in trouble."

I ignored him and opened my phone to check the group chats. My eyes landed on Nicole’s name at the top of my chats, and Jackson’s question came back to me.

Yeah. Maybe I should just ask her.