Infinite Cashback System

They stared at each other. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead. Water dripped from the faucet behind Chloe.

Finally, Eliza turned.

Walked out.

The door swung shut behind her.

Chloe stood alone in the bathroom.

Her heart was racing. Her hands were shaking. Adrenaline flooded her system like someone had dumped ice water directly into her veins.

She turned back to the mirror.

Looked at herself.

Her face was flushed. Her blue streak had come loose from behind her ear. Her eyes were bright.

She looked like she’d just won a fight.

Or started one.

Chloe exhaled slowly.

Grabbed her bag.

Walked out.

The hallway was still crowded. Students moved between classes. Backpacks bumped shoulders. Conversations overlapped.

Chloe walked through it all like a ghost.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket.

She pulled it out.

Jordan: Just got to the gym. Kyle says hi.

Chloe smiled.

Chloe: Tell him I said hi back.

Jordan: You okay?

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.

Should she tell him about Eliza? About the bathroom confrontation?

No.

Not yet.

He didn’t need that right now.

Chloe: Yeah I’m good. About to head to Stats.

Jordan: Have fun with probability distributions.

Chloe: I’d rather die.

Jordan: Same.

She locked her phone. Slipped it back into her pocket.

The Business Building was across the quad. Chloe walked quickly. Her sneakers made soft sounds against the concrete path.

Students sat on the grass. Some studied. Some ate lunch. A group played frisbee near the fountain.

Chloe barely noticed any of it.

Her mind was still in that bathroom.

Eliza’s face when Chloe said the word boyfriend.

The way she’d gone pale when Chloe brought up the parking lot.

Good.

She should feel bad.

She should feel terrible.

Chloe reached the Business Building. Climbed the stairs. Found the classroom on the second floor.

Room 210.

She walked in.

Professor Nguyen was already setting up. A kind-looking man in his fifties with grey hair and wire-rimmed glasses. He wrote formulas on the whiteboard in neat, careful script.

Chloe picked a seat near the middle. Not front row but not hiding either.

Set her bag down.

Pulled out her laptop.

Students filtered in around her. A girl in a Pacific Crest volleyball hoodie sat to her left. Two guys in business casual sat behind her.

Chloe opened a fresh document. Typed the date.

Her phone buzzed again.

Kumiko: omg did you talk to jordan about streaming

Chloe: yeah he said he’ll watch my first one

Kumiko: THATS SO CUTE

Kumiko: i’m literally screaming

Kumiko: you guys are perfect

Chloe smiled at her screen.

Chloe: we’re not perfect

Kumiko: yes you are

Chloe’s cheeks warmed.

Chloe: you’re embarrassing

Kumiko: YOU LOVE IT

Professor Nguyen cleared his throat.

"Good afternoon everyone," he said. "Let’s talk about standard deviation."

Chloe put her phone away.

Focused on the lecture.

Or tried to.

Her mind kept drifting.

Back to the bathroom.

Back to Eliza’s face.

Back to the way Jordan’s hand had gone still when Eliza walked in.

Chloe’s chest tightened.

She hated that Eliza still had that effect on him. Even after everything. Even after the parking lot and the humiliation and the Christmas Day breakdown.

One look from Eliza and Jordan went somewhere else entirely.

Chloe’s fingers curled into fists on her desk.

Professor Nguyen drew a bell curve on the board. Started explaining variance.

Chloe wrote it all down automatically.

Her handwriting was neat. Organized. Color-coded with different highlighters.

But her brain was elsewhere.

She thought about Jordan in the gym right now. Lifting weights with Kyle. Trying to sweat out whatever Eliza had stirred up.

She thought about the way his voice had gone rough when he said it was awkward.

She thought about the twenty-eight hundred dollar Prada bag.

Chloe’s phone buzzed in her pocket.

She glanced at Professor Nguyen. He was facing the board.

She pulled out her phone under the desk.

Jordan: Working through some stuff. Thanks for earlier.

Chloe’s throat tightened.

Chloe: anytime

Jordan: Seriously. You didn’t have to sit through that.

Chloe: yes I did

Jordan: Why?

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.

Because you’re mine now, she thought. Because I’m not letting anyone hurt you again. Because Eliza had her chance and she fucking blew it.

But she didn’t type any of that.

Chloe: because I wanted to

Jordan: You’re good to me.

Chloe: you deserve good

Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.

Jordan: I don’t know about that.

Chloe’s chest ached.

Chloe: I do

The dots vanished.

Chloe waited.

Nothing.

The lecture dragged.

Professor Nguyen assigned homework. Three problem sets due Monday.

Students started packing up.

Chloe closed her laptop. Slid it into her bag.

Her phone buzzed again.

Jordan: Done at the gym. Meet you at the parking structure?

Chloe: yeah. third level.

Jordan: See you in ten.

Chloe stood. Slung her bag over her shoulder.

Walked out of the classroom.

Down the stairs.

Across the quad.

The sun was lower now. Four-thirty. The light had gone golden.

Chloe’s sneakers made soft sounds against the concrete.

She reached the parking structure. Climbed the ramp to the third level.

Jordan was already there.

Leaning against his white Civic. Hair damp from the gym shower. Grey t-shirt clinging to his chest and shoulders. His gym bag sat at his feet.

He looked up when she approached.

Smiled.

Small but real.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey."

Chloe walked right up to him. Didn’t stop until she was close enough to feel the heat coming off his skin.

Jordan straightened. His hands found her waist automatically.

"You good?" he asked.

"Yeah." Chloe looked up at him. "You?"

"Better now."

She reached up. Touched his face. Her thumb traced his jawline.

"I ran into Eliza," she said.

Jordan’s expression shifted. His eyes sharpened.

"When?"

"After class. In the bathroom."

"What happened?"

"I told her you were my boyfriend."

Jordan went still.

"You did?"

"Yeah."

"What did she say?"

"She asked when we started dating. I said this week. She said you moved fast." Chloe’s hand stayed on his jaw. "I told her you didn’t move fast with her. That she strung you along and cheated on you."

Jordan’s throat worked.

"Chloe—"

"She needed to hear it."

"That wasn’t your fight."

"Yes it was." Chloe’s voice was firm. "You’re mine now. That makes it my fight."

Jordan stared at her.

Something flickered in his eyes. Too many things at once. Surprise. Warmth. Something that looked like disbelief.

"I’m yours?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

Jordan’s hands tightened on her waist.

"What if I’m not worth fighting for?" he asked.

Chloe’s chest hurt.

"Too late," she said. "Already decided you are."

Jordan leaned down. Kissed her.

Soft. Slow. His lips moved against hers like he had all the time in the world.

Chloe’s fingers curled into his shirt.

When they broke apart, Jordan’s forehead rested against hers.

"Thank you," he said.

"For what?"

"For giving a shit."

Chloe smiled.

"Get used to it," she said. "I’m not going anywhere."

Jordan’s laugh was quiet. Rough around the edges.

"Neither am I."

They stood there for a moment. Just breathing.

Then Jordan straightened. Grabbed his gym bag.

"Come on," he said. "Let’s go home."