Chapter 99 | Thigh-Highs and Thermal Paste

Jordan leaned against his white Civic outside a different apartment complex, checking his phone for the third time in five minutes. The afternoon sun beat down on the parking lot, making the asphalt shimmer.

His screen showed Chloe’s text from earlier.

Can’t do PC shopping today. Singing lessons at 4. Sorry!

She’d sent a sad face emoji after that. Then a blue heart.

Jordan had stared at the message for a solid minute before responding.

Singing lessons.

Of course she took singing lessons.

That voice didn’t just happen naturally.

Though part of it probably did. The raw talent was there. But the control? The way she held notes forever without her voice cracking?

That took training.

Professional training at one hundred twenty dollars every other week.

Jordan’s stomach had twisted when he remembered that detail from the other night.

One hundred twenty dollars.

Chloe paid for lessons she couldn’t really afford because of a promise to her dead father.

And Jordan had fifteen hundred dollars just sitting in his account from a System bonus.

He’d offered to help her.

She’d refused.

Firmly.

No way was she taking his money.

Too much pride.

Too much fear of becoming what Eliza had been.

Jordan respected that.

Hated it.

But respected it.

So instead of moping around his apartment alone, Jordan had texted Kumiko.

Still wanna go get PC parts today? Just me and you. Chloe’s busy.

The response had come back in under thirty seconds.

OMG YES! I’m home already. Come pick me up!

She’d sent her address.

An apartment complex about fifteen minutes from The Cooper Garment Lofts.

Nicer than his building actually.

Newer construction. Better landscaping. A pool visible through the front gate.

Jordan had driven over and now stood waiting.

The front door opened.

Kumiko bounced out.

Jordan’s brain stuttered.

She wore a pastel pink cropped sweater that hugged her curves like a second skin, stopping just above her navel to expose a strip of pale, smooth stomach. The fabric clung to her chest in a way that made Jordan’s eyes want to drift south before he forced them back up. A white tennis skirt sat high on her waist, the pleated hem barely reaching mid-thigh, swishing with each step she took. White thigh-high socks with pink bows at the top squeezed her legs, creating soft indentations in her flesh. Pink platform sneakers added height to her already bouncing walk. Her twin tails swayed behind her, secured with matching pink ribbons that caught the sunlight.

She looked like she’d walked straight out of an anime convention.

Or a very specific genre of video.

Jordan’s mouth went dry.

Kumiko waved enthusiastically as she approached, her chest bouncing with the motion.

"Hi Jordan!"

"Hey."

His voice came out rougher than intended.

Kumiko stopped in front of him, tilting her head with a bright smile.

The movement made her twin tails swing.

Made her skirt lift slightly.

Jordan could see the top edge of her thigh-highs.

The small gap of bare skin between sock and skirt.

He tore his eyes away.

Looked at her face instead.

Safer.

"Thanks for picking me up," Kumiko said. "I could have driven but this is more fun."

"No problem."

Jordan moved to the passenger side.

Opened the door.

Kumiko’s eyes widened slightly.

"Oh. Gentleman."

"Something like that."

She climbed in.

The skirt rode up as she settled into the seat.

Jordan caught a flash of white fabric beneath.

Cotton.

Plain.

He slammed the door shut before his brain could process further.

Walked around to the driver’s side.

Got in.

Started the engine.

His phone sat in the cupholder.

The System interface glowed faintly beneath the lock screen.

Slot 2: Empty.

Jordan’s jaw tightened.

Fuck.

He needed to have that conversation with Chloe eventually.

About registering a second girl.

About who she wanted him to choose.

About how this fake inheritance bullshit actually worked.

The lie sat heavy in his gut.

But not heavy enough to make him confess.

Not yet.

"So," Kumiko said brightly. "Best Buy?"

"Yeah."

Jordan pulled out of the parking lot.

Kumiko immediately launched into a stream of commentary about her day.

"Professor Kim was so boring today. Like actually I almost fell asleep. He just reads off the slides word for word. Why even go to class if he’s just reading? I could read at home. In my pajamas. With snacks."

Jordan nodded.

"And then at lunch this girl asked if I was single because her friend thought I was cute but like. Her friend was wearing a fedora. A fedora Jordan. In 2025. Who does that?"

"Nobody should do that."

"Exactly! So I said no thank you and she got all offended like I insulted her friend but I was just being honest. Fedoras are not a personality."

Jordan merged onto the main road.

Traffic was light.

They’d be at Best Buy in ten minutes.

"Oh!" Kumiko turned in her seat to face him. "Did you see Alexis posted a picture wearing your shirt?"

Jordan’s hands tightened on the wheel.

"Yeah."

"It got like thirty thousand likes. Everyone’s asking where she got it. She won’t tell them."

"Good."

"Are you mad she kept it?"

"She can keep it."

"Really?"

"It’s a shirt."

Kumiko studied his face for a moment.

Then smiled.

"You’re different from other guys."

"How?"

"Most guys would be freaking out that Alexis Van Der Berg posted them on Instagram. Indirect clout. But you don’t care."

"I don’t."

"Because you have Chloe."

Jordan glanced at her.

Kumiko’s expression was unreadable.

Something soft. Almost sad.

Then she brightened again.

"Which is good! Chloe deserves someone who actually cares. Not like those other guys who just want her for. You know."

Jordan did know.

"Anyway." Kumiko bounced in her seat again. "I made a list of everything we need. CPU, motherboard, RAM, storage, power supply, case, and a graphics card. Oh and thermal paste. Can’t forget thermal paste."

"You really know this stuff."

"I built my first PC when I was fourteen. My dad thought it would be a good learning experience."

"Was it?"

"I cried twice and almost threw the motherboard out the window. But yeah. I learned."

Jordan snorted.

The Best Buy parking lot came into view.

He pulled into a spot near the entrance.

Killed the engine.

Kumiko was already unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Come on come on come on!"

She practically launched herself out of the car.

Jordan followed at a normal human pace.

Locked the doors.

Met Kumiko at the front of the car.

She grabbed his hand.

No warning.

Just slid her fingers between his and started pulling him toward the entrance.

"We’re gonna build you the best PC ever," she said.

Her hand was small.

Warm.

Soft.

Different from Chloe’s.

Jordan’s brain supplied that comparison automatically.

He shoved it down.

They entered Best Buy through the automatic doors.

The blast of air conditioning hit immediately.

Kumiko dragged him past rows of TVs and appliances, heading straight for the back corner where the computer section sprawled across multiple aisles.

She finally released his hand when they reached the processors.

"Okay so." Kumiko pulled out her phone. "For streaming and gaming we want at least a Ryzen 7 or an Intel i7. Preferably the newer generation because better performance and power efficiency."

Jordan looked at the wall of small boxes with incomprehensible numbers.

"Which one?"

"This one." Kumiko pointed. "Ryzen 7 7700X. Eight cores, sixteen threads, really good for multitasking."

"How much?"

"Three hundred."

Jordan whistled.

"It’s worth it trust me. This will last years."

She moved down the aisle.

Jordan followed.

Motherboards next.

Then RAM.

Kumiko explained each component with the enthusiasm of someone who genuinely loved this stuff.

Jordan absorbed about half of it.

The other half went straight through his brain.

But he nodded along anyway.

After twenty minutes they had most of the parts picked out.

CPU. Motherboard. RAM. Storage.

Just needed the power supply, case, and graphics card.

Kumiko stopped in front of a locked display case.

Inside sat several high-end graphics cards.

RTX 4070. RTX 4080. RTX 4090.

The prices made Jordan’s eyes water.

Eight hundred dollars.

Twelve hundred dollars.

Sixteen hundred dollars.

For one component.

"We don’t need the 4090," Kumiko said quickly. "That’s overkill. The 4070 is perfect for streaming and gaming at high settings."

"Eight hundred dollars is perfect?"

"Compared to sixteen hundred? Yes."

Fair point.

"It’s locked though," Jordan said.

"Yeah. We need someone to open it."

Jordan looked around.

Best Buy employees wore blue shirts.

He spotted one three aisles over helping an elderly couple with a printer.

"I’ll go flag someone down."

"Okay! I’ll stay here and double-check my list."