Page 31 of The Keeper and I

Laci checked her phone and smiled because there was a text from Jordan.

Jordan:Hey, I’ve got an event next weekend. A gala Ethan Knight’s putting together for his new charity. Wanna go?

Laci:Hell yeah

Laci:What’s the dress code?

Jordan: Black tie. So you can be fancy as fuck.

Laci:Physically, I’m in a makeup chair, but spiritually, I’m already shopping.

Jordan:Sounds about right.

Jordan: Good luck on your shoot.

Laci:Good luck at training!

“Oi, it’s lipstick time,” Amy said, drawing Laci’s gaze away from her phone. “Ready to look like a blow-up doll?”

Laci chuckled. “Always.”

Jordan came over for dinner for the fourth time that week. She was cleaning the last bit of green glitter off her eye when the doorbell rang. This time, he brought Chinese food. Her stomach rumbled at the smell of the sesame chicken. The food wasn’t all he had though. In his other hand, he held a tan box with a brown ribbon securing it, not small enough to be jewelry but not large enough to be, say, an air fryer. As he set everything down on the counter, she raised a curious brow.

“What’s that?” she asked, nodding toward the mystery box.

“Something for you,” he said. “Now that you’re my fake girlfriend, you’ll need to come to more matches.”

She picked it up and shook it. “It doesn’t sound like tickets. Unless you’re horrid like Jax and wrap everyone’s gifts up so it takes ages to actually see what they are.”

“No,” he said through a chuckle. “It’s not tickets. I’ll get you those as the matches come. It’s something else.”

“What is it then?”

“Open it up and see.”

She untied the ribbon with vigor, letting it fall away as she pried off the top. Once that was done, she realized it was a garment. She laughed. It was a jersey. Not just any jersey though. It was his jersey, with Frawley printed across the top and his number, 1, on the back.

“You got me a pink one!”

“Well, I thought you’d prefer it to the black.”

“I definitely do!” She held it up to her body. “How’s it look?”

His eyes went soft, and a small smile appeared on his lips. “Good.”

“Would it be unlucky if I put it on now?”

“No, wear it whenever you want.”

Without thinking, she pulled her hoodie over her head, leaving her in joggers and a sports bra. When she tugged the jersey on and straightened it out, she looked at Jordan again. He was frozen. He held a spoonful of rice over a plate but made no move to deposit it. His eyes had missile lock on Laci as his mouth hung open.

“What?” she asked.

“You—” he began, but it came out a couple octaves higher than his usual speaking voice. He paused and cleared his throat. “You could’ve gone to the loo or something.”

“Oh, please. I won’t be banished from my own kitchen in my own house.” Her eyes flicked between the rice and his face. “Are you gonna put that down or…”

With a snap of his wrist, he turned the spoon and let the rice fall onto the plate.