Infinite Cashback System

Jordan woke up to emptiness and the sound of feminine laughter drifting up from downstairs. The bed felt cold where Chloe should have been, her pillow still holding the impression of her head but no trace of her warmth remaining against the sheets.

Sunlight streamed through the windows at an angle that suggested he’d overslept by hours rather than minutes.

Well shit. So much for being a morning person. That trait better kick in tomorrow or I’m going to have some serious words with whoever programs this magical bullshit.

He yawned and stretched, his body feeling loose and satisfied in ways that brought back vivid memories of the previous night. The blue dress crumpled on the floor near the bathroom door served as physical evidence that their dinner celebration had gotten properly out of hand. Jordan’s face heated as he remembered the way Chloe had taken control, the sultry voice she’d used, the feeling of her moving above him like she owned every inch of his soul.

Focus, McKnight. Save the replay highlights for later when you’re not walking around with morning wood and two girls chatting downstairs.

Another burst of laughter echoed from the living room, accompanied by what sounded like Kumiko’s voice speaking in rapid Japanese. Jordan grabbed his gray sweatpants from the floor and pulled them on, not bothering with underwear or a shirt. The morning air felt cool against his skin as he padded barefoot down the stairs, running a hand through his hair to tame the worst of the bedhead.

The scene that greeted him in Chloe’s living room made him pause halfway down the staircase. Chloe sat cross-legged on the gray sectional wearing an oversized white t-shirt that hung off one shoulder and black boy shorts that left most of her legs exposed.

Her hair was pulled into a messy bun with the blue streak catching the morning light, and she held a steaming mug of coffee like it was the only thing keeping her conscious.

Kumiko knelt on the floor next to the coffee table, surrounded by what looked like the entire contents of a computer store explosion. Cables snaked across the hardwood in organized chaos, and she wore her typical kawaii uniform: a pastel pink crop hoodie, white pleated skirt, and thigh-high socks with little cat faces printed on them.

Her twin-tails bobbed as she gestured enthusiastically at something on her laptop screen.

"The OBS settings matter more than people realize because bitrate needs careful calibration. Set it too high and anyone watching on standard internet will get constant buffering every thirty seconds. Too low and you end up looking like someone filmed you through a potato. The sweet spot requires—"

Kumiko’s technical breakdown stopped dead as her eyes traveled upward and registered Jordan’s shirtless appearance. Her complexion went through a rapid evolution of shades starting with her usual pale tone before transitioning through increasingly deeper variations of pink until landing on a shade of crimson that threatened to outdo her hair ribbons.

"OHAYO GOZAIMASU JORDAN-KUN!"

The greeting exploded from her mouth at roughly double the velocity of normal human conversation. Her pitch climbed multiple octaves into territory usually reserved for dog whistles and helium enthusiasts.

She propelled herself backward across the hardwood on her palms and knees until the base of Chloe’s sectional stopped her retreat, but her stare remained locked on the expanse of Jordan’s chest like it had physically magnetized her retinas.

"Good morning to you too, Kumi." Jordan finished his descent down the stairs while maintaining the kind of casual body language usually reserved for fully clothed encounters. Something about her reaction brought out his mischievous side. "Getting an early start on the technical side of things?"

"Yes! Computer! Very important! Stream setup requires proper configuration and I am here to provide technical assistance for optimal performance metrics and quality assurance protocols and—" The words spilled from Kumiko’s mouth in an unbroken torrent while her eyes kept committing small acts of treason by drifting from his face down to his shoulders before continuing their unauthorized tour to his abdomen and then snapping back to his face like a rubber band stretched too far.

She looked like someone trying very hard to maintain eye contact while their peripheral vision kept staging a rebellion.

Jordan’s lips twitched into the beginning of a smirk. The old Jordan would have immediately apologized for existing in her general vicinity without proper coverage and retreated upstairs to find seventeen layers of clothing.

This Jordan recognized he looked good enough to short-circuit a girl’s entire operating system and felt absolutely zero shame about it.

Tune Up really did earn that Rare rating. I’m causing technical difficulties just by walking down stairs.

Chloe observed this interaction with the expression of someone watching a tennis match, her eyes moving back and forth between Jordan and Kumiko with growing amusement. She took a long sip of coffee and cleared her throat.

"Jordan." Chloe’s voice carried a particular note of warning wrapped in honey, the kind of tone that masqueraded as a polite suggestion while functioning as a direct order. "Maybe you should go to your apartment and get those computer parts you bought." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

She paused just long enough for the silence to become meaningful. "And maybe while you’re there, you could locate a shirt? Something with sleeves? Just a thought."

Look at that. Chloe Kim getting possessive over her half-naked boyfriend standing in her kitchen. I could definitely get used to this whole ’being attractive enough to cause interpersonal tension’ thing. This is what people with functioning bodies experience on a regular basis. Wild.

"Right. Computer parts. Shirts. " Jordan stretched his arms above his head in a movement that could charitably be interpreted as working out a kink in his shoulder from yesterday’s gym session but definitely functioned as something else entirely.

His peripheral vision confirmed that Kumiko’s eyes tracked the movement of muscles she probably hadn’t known existed five minutes ago before her brain caught up with her optic nerves and forced her to study the kitchen backsplash with sudden intense interest.

"Be right back. Don’t start without me."