Page 26 of Fine, Dork

Shit. We hadn’t even tried to be quiet last night. We weren’t even thinking. At least I wasn’t. I was lost in Kinley.

I cleared my throat and poured a cup of coffee. “Morning.”

Beckett burst out laughing. “I knew you guys were fucking!” He pointed a finger at my face. “Damn. I wish Kinky was here so I could give her shit! Man! I can’t believe she got you to cave!” He laughed again and took a sip of his coffee. “You know, I don’t blame you. She was probably a great way to get your mind off of—"

“Shut up, asshole.” Lyla smacked Beckett’s arm, with her eyes trained on my face. “Jaxon?” Her voice was surprisingly soft and un-Lyla-like. “Do you love Kinley?”

“Holy shit. I’m not having this conversation with you two. I gotta go pack.” I carried my coffee up the stairs and set it on the bedside table. The empty condom wrapper still sat there, and I smiled at the memory of sliding into Kinley. It was more than sex. She’d said it herself. We were going to have a talk when she got back from Peru, and the way she kissed me goodbye told me it was going to be a good talk.

Preston stood in the doorway a moment later, rubbing his hands together with a stupid grin on his face. “Jaxon, Jaxon, Jaxon. You dog! I didn’t think you had it in you to survive a ride—“

I slammed the door in his face. I was pissed about how our friends reacted to the news that I’d slept with Kinley. Preston was surprised that I could handle Kinley. I didn’t only handle her. I made her feel damn good. And Beckett could go to hell if he kept talking about K like she was a distraction fuck.

I wasn’t a prude, and Kinley wasn’t a slut, and our past sexual experiences had nothing to do with our current relationship.

By the time I finished packing and headed back downstairs, Beckett and Lyla had already left for the airport. I still had an hour before I had to take off, and Preston and Selena weren’t flying out until evening. I found them curled up on the couch, gazing into each other’s eyes. Selena was running her fingers through Preston’s dark beard, and she whispered something that sounded a lot like, “I love you.”

I slipped quietly out the front door, not wanting to intrude on their moment. It was cute that Preston didn’t think his girlfriend owned him— borderline adorable.

I walked down to the beach to kill some time before my flight. It was overcast today, and where the regular person would see depressing weather, Kinley would see something moody, mysterious, and exciting. I wanted to see the whole world through her eyes. It made me feel alive like nothing else did.

I pulled out my phone and saw I missed a text from her. I just boarded and am putting my phone on airplane mode now. Miss you already.

Shit. When would I get to talk to her again? I sent her a text to read when she landed. Miss you too, K, so much. I LIKE you.

Kinley and I had been saying “I love you” since we were kids. Those words held a different meaning now, though. They’d changed overnight and needed to be said in person. Kinley was right, it would be better that way, and I’d already waited a lifetime for our moment. What were three more weeks?

I was about to slide my phone back into my pocket when I got another text, this time from Savannah. Can we talk when you get home? I had nothing to say to Savannah. We were done, and I was over it. I put my phone away without answering my ex-girlfriend and headed back to the beach house.

???

The day after I returned from Hawaii, I got a call from my mom, summoning me to a family dinner. “It’s important, Jaxon. Tyson has news, and you need to be there,” she’d said. So, the next evening, I showed up at my parents’ front door. Their Tuscan-style mini-mansion commanded respect, excellence, and a stomachache.

I would have rather walked into a room full of Kinley’s ex-lovers.

When I stepped into the entryway, my mom greeted me with her usual disapproval. “Jaxon, you look like you got too much sun.” She placed her hands on her hips and looked me up and down, eyes lingering on my t-shirt and jeans. In the Wood family, we dressed up for important family dinners. “And good lord, your hair! What is this look you’re cultivating?”

Tyson joined her in the entryway and laughed. “California surfer dude, maybe? Or Silicon Valley code bro?”

I rolled my eyes and continued down the hallway to the dining room. The massive oak table was set with grandma’s china and crystal glasses. Ah, it was a significant occasion then. Did Tyson finally win that Nobel Prize?

I took a seat at the table and looked up when Tyson’s girlfriend of three years, Chandler, walked into the room, followed by my father. My stomach clenched when I locked eyes with him. We hadn’t spoken since he reclaimed my college fund.

“Jaxon.” He gave me a stiff nod.

“Dad. Chandler.”

“Hello, Jaxon!” Chandler smiled and smoothed her fitted navy-blue dress. Weird. Tyson’s girlfriend never wore dresses. Her dark hair looked different, too. It wasn’t in her usual tight bun. “We’re glad you could make it tonight.” She sank into the chair beside me, and her hazel eyes filled with pity. “I am so sorry about Savannah. We all adored her.”

Chandler reached out to place her hand on my forearm in a show of comfort. That’s when I saw the massive, glittering diamond on her ring finger.

“Wow, that’s—"

“Yeah, we’re getting married,” Tyson said from the doorway.

“Congrats.” I stood and gave my older brother an awkward handshake.

“Thank goodness someone in this family knows how to hold onto a good woman when he has one.” My mother’s comment flew at me like a dart, but I refused to let it stick. The funny thing was, my parents disapproved of Chandler and her “soft sciences” degree for the first two years that she and Tyson dated. It wasn’t until she won an award for groundbreaking research in psychology that they accepted her and welcomed her into the family.

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