Birthday Girl

Pike bails out Cole and brings him and Jordan to his home, which is beautiful without being ostentatious. Cole had meant to throw Jordan a surprise birthday party, but he and his friends began to celebrate before Jordan got home and trashed the apartment that Cole and Jordan share. Neighbors reported Cole, and he was taken in by the police. The landlord has now evicted Cole and Jordan. Pike says that the two can live with him until they find a new place. Jordan reluctantly accepts in exchange for doing chores around the house and making meals.

Jordan learns that Pike had Cole when he was 19, which makes Pike 38, double Jordan’s age. Jordan still finds him attractive in the way she finds “Chris Hemsworth […] cute. And Ryan Gosling […] [and] Jason Momoa” (23). Jordan likes Pike’s house, which has a spacious pool in the backyard. However, she notes that the house contains very few of Pike’s personal things. Soon, Cam, Jordan’s 23-year-old sister, visits her at Pike’s home. Cam is a dancer at The Hook, a strip club. She has a four-year-old son, Killian. Since Jordan and Cam’s mom left, their father has largely been negligent. Cam and Jordan have seen each other through difficult times, but Jordan disapproves of her sister’s profession, as well as Cam’s offer for her to become a stripper at The Hook.

When Cam spots Pike in the driveway, she teases Jordan about her new handsome landlord. Pike comes in, looking stern, and Jordan asks Cam to leave. Pike and Jordan have dinner, with Pike praising the burgers that Jordan made. Jordan learns that Pike works in construction, has never been married, and had Cole with Lindsay Kenmont when he was 19. Jordan notes the chemistry she shares with Pike but also senses that he is holding back from her.

The next morning, Pike is awakened by the sound of heavy rain. He fears that the unexpected rainfall will set back work on his current site. While he figures out his plan of action, he thinks about Jordan. He finds Jordan beautiful and funny but knows that she is only 19 and is Cole’s girlfriend. He gets a call from Lindsay, his ex. She propositions him, as she does on and off. Though Pike feels tempted to go over to Lindsay’s place, he refuses to “be at her beck and call” (45). As the torrent worsens, Dutch, Pike’s old friend and business partner, calls to ask Pike to rush to the site with tarp and sandbags. Pike wants Cole to go with him as an extra pair of hands, but Jordan tells him that Cole is unwell. Jordan volunteers to help out.

At the site, Jordan helps Cole, Dutch, and the others cover the under-construction structures. Pike feels jealous when he sees Jordan joke around with the men. However, he knows that his feelings are inappropriate. Afterward, he and Jordan listen to music in his truck on their way back, and Jordan is overjoyed to see that Pike still uses cassette tapes. Jordan finds Pike’s work interesting, especially since she herself is studying landscape design. Pike is gratified, as Cole has never shown much interest in his work. Pike and Cole were close when Cole was young, but things changed when Cole turned 10. Pike feels that Lindsay poisoned Cole’s mind against him.

Dutch and the others join Pike at his home. Cam drops in to pick up Jordan for her night shift at Grounders. Pike notes that the men are staring open-mouthed at Cam, who is pretty and dressed glamorously. Pike judges Cam for her clothes but is aware that he does not similarly judge Jordan, who, like Cam, is dressed in shorts. Jordan leaves with Cam, bidding Pike and Dutch goodbye. As Pike stares at Jordan, he catches Dutch give him an odd look.

Cole visits Jordan at the bar and apologizes for being hungover that morning. He promises to make it up to her for not being around much. He and his friends leave for another bar to play pool; Jordan’s ex-boyfriend, Jay McCabe, is among the crowd, leering at her as he exits. Cam shows up too, happy at the generous tip that she received while dancing at a bachelor party. She feels that Jordan should dance at The Hook as well since it pays much more than bartending. However, Jordan reflects inwardly that though “The Hook may offer fast money […] men look at Cam like she is a free meal, and she puts up with a lot of shit” (68). Cam gives Jordan a belated wrapped birthday gift,

Back at Pike’s, Jordan is frustrated that Cole is still out. She opens Cam’s gift, a set of lingerie and an entry coupon to a $300-prize wet T-shirt contest at The Hook. Jordan puts on the lingerie and feels beautiful. She wishes that Cole were around to appreciate her and fantasizes about being watched by an unknown man smoking a cigarette. Later, she calls her father, Chip, to inform him that she is living at the Lawson house temporarily. Her stepmother, Corinne, answers and tells her that they already know. Jordan is struck by Chip and Corinne’s lack of interest in her well-being. They have even forgotten her birthday. Jordan goes downstairs to find that Pike has ordered a pizza for them. She agrees to share the pizza but wants to pay for her half. She notices that Pike has been smoking, which suggests that she was fantasizing about him.

Pike dismisses Jordan’s offer to pay for half the pizza. After dinner, they watch the movie Fight Club on television. Jordan asks Pike about his smoking, and he tells her that he smokes very rarely and that the smell of cigars reminds him of his late grandfather, his favorite person. Inwardly, Pike notices how beautiful the blonde, blue-eyed Jordan is, chiding himself for inappropriate thoughts about his son’s girlfriend. When Jordan asks Pike why he never married, Pike tells her that after Cole was born, the responsibility of a child forced Pike to grow up overnight. In his focusing on Cole and the construction business, Pike overlooked his personal happiness. He does want a life partner now, but only someone with whom he has easy chemistry—the sort that existed between his grandfather and grandmother.

A week passes, and Pike reflects on how he and Jordan have fallen in sync, working around the house. Jordan has been a good housemate, but Cole is never around and neglects all his chores. Pike feels like Cole does not deserve Jordan. Meanwhile, through the window, he notices Jordan mowing the grass in the backyard. He finds her incredibly attractive and then notices his leery neighbor Kyle Cramer staring at Jordan. Pike goes out and asks Jordan not to mow the lawn, as it is Cole’s chore. He chides her for dressing skimpily and attracting Kyle’s attention. Jordan retorts that “nowadays […] we don’t hold a woman responsible for a man’s behavior” (90). Kyle’s lecherousness is his problem, not hers. She goes inside, sarcastically calling Pike “Daddy.”

Jordan has not spoken to Pike since the lawnmowing incident. She still goes over to his site to deliver the lunchbox he has left behind. When Jordan gives Pike his lunchbox, the tension between them dissipates. Pike apologizes for taking out his anger against his neighbor on Jordan. He shows Jordan the work that his firm has been doing—building a large office space for a casino riverboat coming to the area. Jordan likes the fact that Pike’s work generates employment for their town. Pike tells Jordan that once the landscaping work begins, she can drop in whenever she likes to learn the process. Jordan reflects that she loves talking about work with Pike since he is one of the few people who shares her interests.

Back at Pike’s house, Jordan finds Cole home. When Cole begins to have sex with her, she refuses. She feels that Cole uses sex to distract himself from the problems in their relationship. Cole is reluctant to release Jordan but finally does, and he drives away in anger. Jordan is hurt by Cole’s treatment of her but also relieved that he is out of her space. Feeling suddenly overwhelmed by her problems, such as her mounting student loans and negligent parents, Jordan goes for a swim. She decides to sit at the bottom of the pool, an old stress-busting technique where doing something difficult makes her feel in control of her life.

Pike comes home, finds Jordan under the water, panics, and pulls her out. He sits with Jordan, and she tells him about her relationship with Cole. Cole and Jordan met through their mutual friend Nick when all of them were 16. The three soon became best friends. One night, Nick died in a truck overturn. Cole and Jordan stuck to each other in grief and have been together ever since. Pike expresses his grief at Jordan’s loss; he had heard something about Nick’s death but never realized the extent to which it affected Cole.