“Shut up.” But I was grinning. It felt nice, hearing all of this, even though I knew it was smoke going up my ass. “You’re the one who’s going to be back with Tara by the end of the month.”

“No.” He scowled and shook his head. “No way.”

“That’s my prediction. I’m just smart, knowing to get out of the way of your epic love story with her.”

“No, no, no.” He kept shaking his head. “That will never happen. Never again.”

“Never again, Jordan.” Kian’s voice sounded in my head.

He was standing beside Edmund, and he paused, saying those words to me, before he gripped the knife tighter. I knew he was going to do it. I saw it. I felt it. I had a moment to stop him. I could. I knew it. I couldn’t explain how I knew it, but he would stop if I’d utter just one word. I didn’t, and he didn’t. I closed my eyes now, jerking in my chair, as Kian’s arm moved in one smooth motion, slicing Edmund’s throat. It’d happened so quickly, not even in the blink of an eye. It had been faster. Then, it was done. Edmund stood there with a confused look in his eyes. It was like he didn’t realize what had happened. He hadn’t felt it then. One more second, and then he did. I saw the pain fill his eyes. His hands lifted to his throat. He made one gurgling sound, and then he fell to his knees.

He crumbled to the floor after that.

“Yo, earth to Jo. Come in, Jo.”

I shook my head, shoving the memory away. Jake snapped his fingers in front of my face and waved his hand up and down.

“Hello in there.” He gently tapped the side of my head with his knuckles. “Knock, knock.”

I shoved his hand away but grinned slightly. “Who’s there?”

“Uh…” He narrowed his eyes at me in another flirty manner. “Some perv who wants to get in your pants.”

I groaned, getting up to grab a water bottle. “You have a healthy sense of realism, player, and confidence. You know that?”

“Like you said,” A second wink at me, “I’m a realist. I might not be in the front, but I’m right behind whoever the guy is. I’m going to be hot on his heels for as long as you’ll let me.”

“I was just thinking that we were actual friends when we were coming down the hallway.”

“Coming, huh?” A sly smile spread over his face. “I can make you do a different form of coming, if you get my drift?”

“I do, and it’s not going to happen.”

The light banter between us vanished.

Jake leaned forward, his eyebrows bunching together, and an intense expression flitted across his features. “Jokes aside, I think we should make a pact, hold each other accountable about our exes.”

“What do you mean?”

“You said it yourself. We’re both trying to forget someone else. Let’s help each other out.”

I cocked my head to the side. It sounded okay, but I bit down on my lip. Something about it didn’t seem right to me. “I don’t know.”

He winced. “Tara’s like my Achilles’ heel. She’s a smoking habit that won’t go away. I need help to kick my addiction, and it sounds like you need the same thing.”

“Jake…”

“Think about it. Just think about it. No lies. No hiding or avoiding. A hundred percent honesty between us. If we feel like talking to the ex, we call each other instead. We help each other to get the other person out of our heads. There’s a big part of me that doesn’t even want to see her or talk to her. I start remembering the years, the sex…you know how it is.”

I didn’t. Bringing my water bottle up, I pressed it against my head. Maybe the condensation would clear my thoughts because he was starting to make sense to me.

“I don’t know, Jake.”

“Okay.” He shoved back his chair and held his hand up. His little finger was extended to me. “Pinkie swear. If we start dealing with our people, we tell the other. That’s the only way this is going to work. You need help, too. You wouldn’t have come to see me today if you didn’t.”

My gaze jumped to his, and I saw the knowing look there.

He lowered his hand. “It didn’t take a genius to know you were running from some dude today. You never drop by. You never even did that when we were actually dating before. And you don’t skip out on Erica. You’re a good friend. You’re loyal. You never lie either, Jo.”

Oh, boy. He was so wrong.

His hand extended to me again, his little pinkie just waiting to be shook. “Come on. What do you say?”

I had no idea what this was going to entail. “This is the worst idea in the world.” I reached up and wrapped my pinkie around his, and we shook.

His smile grew. “Let’s kick these bitches together.”

I scowled.

Jake and I were hanging out until my phone started going off. I had it on the side table beside me since we were in the living room and grabbed for it, not wanting to think about him. I hesitated before picking it up. Was I ready to get a text from him? My stomach double-knotted and then lurched to the bottom of my throat.

Here goes.

I picked it up and looked at the screen.

Wanker’s name was lighting it up.

I frowned and then answered, “Wanker? What’s up?”

A burst of loud music came from his end as he shouted into the phone, “I need backup!”