Page 2 of Fine, Dork

“Oh my god, you would do that for me?” I grinned back at Kinley. “That would actually be kinda hot, watching you two go at each other.”

Kinley burst out laughing. “Whatever, J, that fight would be over so fast. I could take her in a second! She’s all weak and pale because she never leaves her computer cave.”

I grinned and shook my head. Savannah was a data analyst at the same company where I worked as a senior software engineer. “Don’t hate on us computer nerds. We are a needed and valuable part of society.”

Kinley laughed. “Fine, dork.”

And there it was—the reason Kinley friend-zoned me back in high school. I was the dork that wanted to stay in and do advanced calculus homework. Kinley was the hot party girl that every dumb jock wanted to fuck.

We would never work, so I was going to fight like hell to avoid falling in love with her for a fourth time on this trip.

After we took our seats, Kinley turned to open the tram window and leaned her head back on my shoulder with a smile. I glanced down at Kinley and remembered the day we met. The first day of kindergarten was also the first time I fell in love with her.

???

Six Years Old

A little girl with brown pigtails and freckles poked her head into the tube slide where I sat and pretended I wasn’t crying. “Hi!” she said. “Your name starts with J, right? My name starts with K, so we’re going to be best friends, like in the book that Mrs. Carlson read. Remember? J and K climbed the tree together, and then they fell down together, too?”

When I didn’t answer, the girl rolled her big brown eyes and put her hands on her hips. “It’s okay that you’re crying. I cried when my mom left, too. I’ve never been to school before. I didn’t know if anyone would be nice. But you’re nice, and I’m nice.” She climbed into the tube slide with me and put her arm around me. “You wanna be best friends?”

Girls had weird germs. That’s what my big fourth grader brother, Tyson told me. He also told me I was a stupid baby when I asked our mom to walk to school with us. Mom said no, so I walked with Tyson, and he yelled at me for being too slow.

The girl blinked her big brown eyes and waited for me to answer. “Oh,” she said, “You don’t want to be best friends. That’s okay.” She shrugged and looked down at her hands. She was sad now. I didn’t mean to make her sad. She was pretty and nice.

I looked over at her and wiped my tears away. I shrugged. “Sure. We can be best friends.”

The girl smiled and flung her arms around my neck. Then she tugged me from the tube slide. “TAG!” she yelled, “You’re it!”

2

Kinley

Jaxon Wood was my best damn friend in the world, and while I was sad that stupid Savannah broke his heart, I was secretly thrilled. I could have him back, now, couldn’t I? He could be my J again. I could call him at 3 am to discuss all the HBO shows he’d recommended that I finally got around to watching.

He was always right. The shows always blew my damn mind. Right now, I was halfway through Lovecraft Country, and I’d been dying to call him, but Savannah didn’t like it when I called.

Savannah didn’t like it when I stopped by to visit, either. Well, Savannah and her Ph.D. and skinny little size two butt could kiss my AS degree and size eight butt.

“Wow! This place is nice!” Jaxon smiled as he walked through the front door of my parents’ Hawaiian beach house.

“It is, right?” I smiled and looked around at the little three-bedroom beach house that I’d called home for the last few weeks. I didn’t have roots since I traveled so often, and my parents were kind enough to let me crash here until I left for my next job in Peru. A travel agency had hired me to photograph the birthplace of the Amazon river. I was flying out in two weeks for a three-week-long job, and I was ecstatic. I’d never been to the Amazon before, but it was at the top of my bucket list.

Jaxon ran his hand across the tan laminate countertop in the kitchen. He looked stressed. Was it because of Savannah? I’d seriously cut that bitch if she ever hurt him again. “You okay?” I asked, my voice soft.

Jaxon glanced up at me and smiled. “Yeah. I’m good.” His smile was too tight. “Where should I put my stuff?” he asked, holding up his backpack and carry on.

“So, bad news, J. Preston brought his girlfriend, and he doesn’t want you to room with him anymore. Beckett and Lyla are dating now, too. You knew that, right? Did Savannah still let you talk to them?”

Jaxon rolled his eyes at me. “Yes, I knew that Beckett and Lyla were dating.”

“So it was only me that she couldn’t stand?” I folded my arms and rolled my eyes right back at Jaxon.

Jaxon grinned. “Yep. Just you.”

I let out an annoyed sigh. “Why? It’s not like I was trying to steal you!”

Jaxon opened his mouth to say something when Beckett burst through the front door. “DUDE! You came!”

---