Page 22 of Fine, Dork

Jaxon

I slipped out of bed before the sun was up, careful not to wake Kinley. I would go for a run on the beach and clear my head. I had to, or I would fuck Kinley, and she wouldn’t stop me. She’d let me break my own heart because she didn’t know that this was so much more to me. She didn’t know I loved her.

I grabbed my running shoes out of my bag and glanced back over at Kinley. She looked so damn sexy, curled up on her side, hips tilted at the perfect angle for me to take her from behind. Stop. I headed down the stairs with soft footsteps. No one else was up, so I didn’t have to deal with any more of their bullshit teasing.

The balmy tropical air washed over me, and a light breeze lifted my hair. It also stirred up the smell of Kinley’s apple lotion that lingered on my skin. Fuck. I loved that smell. Fuck. I was stupid.

My feet pounded against the pavement as I began to run. They sank into the sand when I reached the beach. My calves were burning within five minutes, and it was a painful reminder that I wasn’t one of Kinley’s ripped jock assholes.

I tried to force her from my mind, but there was no point. She was always there, wasn’t she?

When I got back to the beach house after my run, everyone was still sleeping. I needed to shower, so I slipped back into Kinley’s room and headed for the ensuite bathroom. I forced myself not to look at her sleeping form.

I turned on the water, slipped out of my clothes, and climbed in. The warm water ran down my head and shoulders, rinsing away all the sweat and sand from my run. If only it were that easy to rinse K out of my head.

A few minutes later, I heard the bathroom door open, and the sink turn on. Did I forget to lock the door? Kinley snapped open the shower curtain a few moments later with her bright pink toothbrush dangling between her lips. She pulled the toothbrush from her mouth and winked at me. “Morning, J.” Her eyes traveled up and down my body, and she bit her lip. “Nice view.”

My heart was pounding in my throat, and I couldn’t speak. This was all so easy for Kinley, but I was fucking dying. She was teasing and staring at my naked ass like it was nothing.

Kinley laughed. “Jaxon, what’s wrong?” She leaned against the wall and continued to brush her teeth, keeping the shower curtain open. She held up a finger and walked back to the sink to spit out her toothpaste.

“J, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” I whipped the curtain shut.

“Jaxon.” She whipped it back open. “You were up at an ungodly hour, and now you’re being super quiet! You have your sad face on, and to top it off, you don’t want me to look at your sexy ass.” Kinley put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow.

I reached out and closed the shower curtain again. Kinley wasn’t wearing a bra, and her t-shirt wasn’t as opaque as she thought it was. I was getting a boner.

“Jaxon fucking Wood. Talk to me. Has it ever gone well for us when we don’t talk?”

“K! Nothing’s wrong!”

“Is it Savannah? Your parents?”

“No and no.”

Kinley yanked the curtain open again. “Is it me?”

“God, Kinley!” I covered my dick with both hands. “I just want to take a shower.”

Kinley laughed out loud. “Are you happy to see me, baby?”

I cracked a smile. “Get the fuck out of here!”

Kinley licked her lips. “I don’t want to.”

I reached for my shampoo with one hand, still trying to hide my raging boner with the other.

“Oh, shit. You kinda like me, don’t you?” Kinley was staring right at my half-hidden dick.

You have no idea, K. “Please leave.”

Kinley sighed. “Fine. I mean, I can take care of that hard-on for you, but if you’d rather do it yourself, that’s your call.” She pulled the curtain shut and left the bathroom.

What would have happened if I’d just said it? If I’d said, “Yeah, Kinley, I’m in love with you.” Would the world have imploded? Would our friendship be destroyed?

I’d had a few chances over the years to tell Kinley how I felt, but I always backed down. It made me feel like shit to keep it hidden. Why couldn’t I be a man and say it?

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