The protein bowl place was called FitFuel. It sat three blocks off campus in a strip mall between a yoga studio and a vitamin shop. The parking lot was half full with cars that screamed "I meal prep on Sundays." Teslas. Priuses. A couple of those electric bikes locked to the rack out front.

Jordan followed Kyle through the glass doors. The smell hit him immediately. Fresh fruit. Grilled chicken. That weird earthy scent that came from kale and spinach smoothies.

The menu board covered the entire wall behind the counter. Bowls. Wraps. Smoothies. Everything came with a calorie count listed next to the price like a warning label.

"First time here?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah."

"Get the Warrior Bowl. Quinoa base, grilled chicken, sweet potato, spinach, and this honey sriracha sauce that’s actually good."

Jordan looked at the prices. Fourteen dollars for a bowl. Sixteen if you added extra protein.

His bank account had nineteen hundred dollars in it now. Fourteen dollars was nothing.

"Sounds good. I’ll get that."

They moved up to the counter. The girl working the register wore a green FitFuel shirt and a smile that looked like it came from corporate training videos. Her name tag said Ashley.

"What can I get you guys?"

Kyle ordered first. The Warrior Bowl with extra chicken and a green smoothie that probably tasted like grass clippings.

"And for you?" Ashley looked at Jordan.

"Same bowl. No smoothie."

"Anything to drink?"

"Water’s fine."

Ashley rang them up. Twenty-nine dollars and forty-seven cents total.

Jordan pulled out his card before Kyle could reach for his wallet.

"I got it. Thanks for showing me the workout stuff."

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"Yeah. You can get it next time."

"Alright. Appreciate it."

Jordan tapped his card on the reader. The transaction went through. Ashley handed him a plastic number stand with a big 37 printed on both sides.

"We’ll bring it out when it’s ready. Grab a seat anywhere."

Kyle led them to a booth near the window. The seats were that fake leather material that stuck to your legs when you wore shorts. Jordan slid in across from Kyle and set the number stand in the middle of the table.

A water station sat against the wall. Self-serve cups and a dispenser with lemon slices floating in it.

Kyle got up and filled two cups. He brought them back and slid one across the table.

Jordan drank half of it in one go. His body was screaming for hydration after sweating through an hour and a half of lifting and cardio.

Kyle drank his water slower. He set the cup down and looked at Jordan for a second longer than normal.

"So. I’m sorry about the thing."

Jordan paused mid-drink. "What thing?"

"The breakup. With Eliza."

Jordan set his cup down. The condensation left a ring on the table.

"How’d you know about that?"

Kyle’s face did this apologetic half-grimace. "Eliza’s been posting it on Instagram. Her and Cameron. Kissing on New Year’s. Matching captions about new beginnings and all that garbage."

Jordan’s chest tightened. He’d deleted Instagram two weeks ago specifically so he wouldn’t have to see that. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Cameron’s been posting on Snapchat too," Kyle continued. "Stories of Eliza sleeping in his bed. Captions like ’what a way to wake up to the new year.’ Posted it like ten days ago."

Jordan gripped his water cup. The plastic crinkled under his fingers.

"I didn’t want to bring it up over text," Kyle said quickly. "Felt like one of those things you say in person. But look at you, man! That post-breakup lock in does something to guys. You look completely different."

The tightness in Jordan’s chest spread. Fuck. It still hurt. Knowing Eliza was out there posting Cameron like a trophy while Jordan had been rotting in his apartment crying over her.

"Yeah, well." Jordan’s voice came out rougher than he intended. "It still hurts. I really liked her."

Kyle nodded. Didn’t interrupt.

"But it’s all in the past now. Eliza got left in last year."

"Should’ve listened to me in November," Kyle said. "I told you she was shady."

Jordan laughed. It came out bitter. "Yeah. You did. I was too blind to see it."

Too desperate. Too pathetic. Too convinced that throwing money at her would make her love him back.

Kyle leaned forward. "Fuck Cameron. Fuck Eliza. We’re gonna find some women for us, man. Better ones."

"Yeah?"

"Hell yeah."

Jordan took another drink of water. "You still looking for your amazon princess?"

Kyle’s entire face lit up. "Of course. I love a woman who can kick my ass and has a nice ass."

Jordan choked on his water. He coughed and laughed at the same time while Kyle grinned like an idiot across the table.

"What? I know what I like."

"At least you’re honest about it."

"Life’s too short to pretend you don’t have a type."

Ashley appeared at their table holding two bowls. She set them down carefully and took the number stand.

"Enjoy."

The bowls looked exactly like the menu photos. Quinoa piled at the bottom. Grilled chicken strips on top. Sweet potato chunks. Spinach. The honey sriracha sauce drizzled over everything in a zigzag pattern.

Jordan picked up his fork. The first bite was good. Actually good. The sauce had this sweet heat that worked with the quinoa and chicken.

Kyle was already halfway through his bowl.

"So what’s your type?" Kyle asked between bites.

Jordan thought about it. Eliza had been his type. Blonde. Pretty. Popular. The kind of girl who looked good in photos and knew it.

But Chloe was different. Dark hair with blue streaks. Sharp eyes. The way she’d looked at him in her apartment yesterday without the mask and sunglasses. Smaller than Eliza but more real somehow.

"I don’t know anymore," Jordan said.

"Fair. Post-breakup is a good time to reset your standards anyway."

They ate in silence for a minute. The food was filling in a way that fast food never was. Jordan could feel his body processing the protein and carbs. Actual fuel instead of empty calories.

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

Jordan ignored it.

It buzzed again. Then a third time.

"You gonna check that?" Kyle asked.

Jordan pulled out his phone. Three notifications from the System.

💝 DAILY QUEST PROGRESS 💝

Social Objective: 0/3 beauties contacted

Current progress: You talked to Ashley at the register for 47 seconds. Does not meet minimum 2-minute requirement.

Get back out there.

Jordan locked his phone.

"My mom again?"

"Nah. Just some app notifications."

Kyle nodded and went back to his bowl. "You coming to class today?"

"Yeah. What do you have?"

"Econ 2 at nine. Math 31B at ten. You?"

"Same schedule."

"We can walk over together after this."

Jordan finished his bowl. The honey sriracha sauce had left his lips tingling. He drank the rest of his water and stared out the window at the parking lot.

A girl walked past. Black leggings. Oversized hoodie. Blonde hair in a messy bun.

His phone stayed silent.

Not her.

Another girl appeared. This one had dark hair pulled into a high ponytail. Athletic build. She was talking on her phone and laughing at something the other person said.

Still nothing.

"You good?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah. Just thinking."

"About?"

Chloe’s face when she opened the door yesterday. The way her eyes went wide when she realized who he was. The panic in her voice when she told him not to say her name in the hallway.

Twenty percent chemistry. That’s what the System said. Up from eight percent after one lunch and one conversation in her apartment.

But she’d told him to pretend she didn’t exist.

"Nothing important," Jordan said finally.

Kyle wiped his mouth with a napkin and checked his phone. "We got thirty minutes before class. You wanna head to campus or kill time here?"

"Let’s head over. I need to grab my textbooks from my car anyway."

===

[A/N:]

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