Page 3 of Fine, Dork

Lyla followed close behind and deadpanned. “Yay. Jaxon.” She was being a sarcastic asshole. She loved Jaxon as much as we all did. It was impossible to dislike the cute, nerdy sweetheart.

“Jaxon sandwich!” Beckett and Lyla both flung their arms around him.

Jaxon laughed and shoved them off. “What’s up, guys? How’s the sex?”

“Oh, fucking fantastic.” Lyla sank into the teal armchair by the window. Beckett sat on her lap, even though he was twice her size. They were such a weird couple, but also kind of adorable. Lyla was tiny, sarcastic, and fierce, and Beckett was like a big goofy teddy bear. They didn’t match at all on paper, but if you watched them for a minute, they were like relationship goals.

Jaxon laughed and leaned against the kitchen counter. “Beckett is good at sex? You’re kidding.”

“I’m so good at sex.” Beckett leaned back, practically crushing Lyla. “Tell that asshole how many orgasms I gave you last night, baby.”

Lyla groaned under Beckett’s weight and gasped, “Six, bitches!”

“Wow.” Jaxon rubbed his jaw and laughed.

“Yeah, they’re super fun to listen to at night. I’ve started passing out earplugs before bed.” I laughed. “Actually, Preston and Selena are gross and loud, too. I’m the only one that needs the earplugs. But speaking of that, because of all the happy couples, you can either choose the couch or my room.”

“Uh…” Jaxon scratched the back of his neck, and Beckett and Lyla stared back and forth between us. “Like your room with you?”

I raised a single eyebrow. “Yeah, dork.”

Jaxon cleared his throat and mumbled, “I’ll take the couch.”

That shouldn’t have hurt my feelings at all, but it did.

“Ah, you’re worried Kinky Kinley’s going to try something?” Beckett grinned and tossed a bright orange throw pillow at me.

I swatted the pillow away and glared at Beckett. I loathed that nickname with the fire of a thousand suns. I’d earned it in high school when I discovered my affinity for sucking dicks and making football players lose their minds. Yes, I liked sex, but I was so fucking much more than Kinky Kinley.

Jaxon cleared his throat. “The couch looks super comfortable.”

It wasn’t. The couch was as uncomfortable as me at that moment.

Selena burst through the front door next with fury in her eyes. She didn’t stop to say hello, just marched into the back bedroom and slammed the door. Preston hurried in next. “Jax, what’s up, dude?” But he didn’t stop to hear Jaxon’s answer. He walked straight to the closed bedroom door and pounded on it. “Baby! Baby, open the door, please! I was not flirting with her!”

“Oh, shit.” Lyla grinned. “Trouble in paradise with his little princessa!”

I rolled my eyes and looked over at Jaxon. “You see what I’ve been dealing with here?”

Jaxon smiled back at me. “Well, I’m here to save you now, K.” He carried his bags over to the couch and stowed them behind it. I smiled at his careful logic. I would’ve tossed my bags in the middle of the room and collapsed on the couch without a care in the world. But Jaxon took in the cramped space and quickly deduced that his bags would fit perfectly in the area behind the couch and not be in anyone’s way.

“You guys wanna go get dinner downtown tonight?” I asked.

Lyla, Beckett, and Jaxon agreed. Preston was still begging Selena to open the door, so the four of us left Preston to his groveling and headed to my favorite little Hawaiian restaurant. The live music, bright décor, and lit tiki torches created a fantastic ambiance. Not to mention, their Kalua pork was mouth-watering, and I’d be willing to commit homicide for their coconut cake. We got a table out on the patio overlooking the beach and settled into an easy chat between old friends.

Before long, Jaxon was deep in conversation with Beckett, trying to explain something called a quaternion to him. Jaxon was oblivious to the blank expression on Beckett’s face. I burst out laughing and nudged Jaxon with my elbow. I cleared my throat and pushed up my imaginary glasses. I made my voice all deep and said, “According to my calculations…” I couldn’t help teasing him a little when he got this excited about math problems.

Jaxon shot me a dirty look and shook his head. Then he glanced over at Beckett. “I’m boring the hell out of you, aren’t I?”

“No, no way, dude!”

“Yeah, you are,” Lyla said, taking a sip of her mai tai.

“Aw, you’re such a dork, Professor J.” I leaned over and pressed a quick kiss to Jaxon’s cheek. I’d been kissing these cheeks since he had a smooth baby face. Now, Jaxon had a healthy amount of stubble, and it turned me right on. He was looking like a sexy man tonight.

“Professor J?” Jaxon raised an eyebrow at me, then said, “I know you’re trying to insult me, but who’s the one at this table that dated a forty-year-old physics professor?”

Beckett chuckled and then shouted, “Kink-y Kin-ley!”

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