Page 48 of Fine, Dork

“God, you guys are adorable.” Jaxon sipped his wine and pushed up the hem of my dress to draw circles on my bare skin. It sent happy chills down my spine. I caught his eye and smiled. I wasn’t going to screw this up, and I deserved to be happy with my J. I deserved the way he loved me.

26

Kinley

Monday morning, I sat across from Jaxon at the table, sipping my coffee. He was reading articles on his phone—probably Tech Crunch— and eating Cocoa Puffs. God, he was adorable. His dark blonde hair was a little messier than usual, and he had dark circles under his eyes because I kept him up late the night before. I couldn’t help it. Lying next to him in bed made me tingle in all the sexy places.

Jaxon glanced up and caught me staring. “What?” He grinned and set his phone down.

I bit my lip. “Nothing. You’re cute.”

Jaxon frowned. “Cute? I don’t want to be cute.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t eat little kid cereal,” I teased.

Jaxon shrugged and took another bite. “I guess I’m fucking adorable then. I’ll deal with it.”

“Remember when your parents wouldn’t let you have that shit, so every time you came to my house, you ate like five bowls of cereal?”

He laughed and stood to put his bowl in the sink. “I do. Your house was way more fun than mine.”

“My mom bought extra cereal for you, you know. She was a little bit afraid of your mom, but not enough to watch you suffer from the lack of sugary cereal in your life.”

“Your mom is a saint.” J grinned. “And she wasn’t the only one afraid of my mom.”

“Sasha Wood strikes fear into many hearts.” I sipped my coffee. Jaxon’s mom would loathe the fact that we were dating. When would she find out, and what would happen when she did?

“I think she likes it that way. I better head out. Love you.” J leaned down to kiss me.

“You taste like Cocoa Puffs. And I love you, too.” I watched him walk out the front door with his backpack and tried not to think about who he’d be seeing.

J still worked with his gorgeous ex-girlfriend. He never said a word about Savannah, but I knew she was there every day in her tight little pencil skirts with her stupid legs and eyelashes and hair and everything. It ate at me, but I refused to turn into a jealous monster over it again. That was not my finest moment, and if Jaxon could handle my dating history, I could handle his.

All right, Kinley. You’ve got shit to do. Savannah wasn’t going to derail me today. J loved me, and he was loyal and honest. Jaxon’s mom wasn’t going to derail me either. I was a grown-ass woman that didn’t need to worry about her opinion of me. I was bigger than all of this. What J and I had was greater than all of this worry.

I headed into the guest room with my laptop to edit the photos I took for a San Francisco event center yesterday. After editing for three hours, I found myself in the bathroom applying way too much make-up for a Monday. Next, I found myself ordering an Uber to Jaxon’s office.

Surprising your boyfriend with a lunch date wasn’t weird and insecure. It was sweet and fun. My heart pounded when my driver pulled up to the tall glass building. I looked down at my nude stilettos and short pinstriped romper. I was wearing lipstick at 11:30 am on a Monday. Shit. I was about to walk into a building of geniuses dressed like a Bachelorette contestant. Would that embarrass Jaxon? Should I have the driver take me back home?

Fuck it. I was already here. I stepped out of the car and headed into the building, where a bored receptionist greeted me with raised eyebrows.

“Hi, I’m here to see Jaxon Wood. Where can I find him?”

The girl tightened her ponytail and flashed me a professional smile. “His office is on the fourth floor. I can call up and let him know you’re here. Who should I say is visiting?”

“Oh, no, that’s okay. I kind of wanted to surprise him. Thank you, though.” I smiled at the receptionist and headed for the bank of elevators to the left.

When I reached the fourth floor, my heart raced out of control. I should have called first.

“Holy shit.” A man with glasses and a thick, black beard stared at me as I stepped off the elevator. He cleared his throat, pulled out his earbuds, and slid them in his pocket. “Can I help you? Are you a little lost?”

The way his eyes settled on my tits was nothing new to me, but I couldn’t deny the irritation that flashed through me. “I’m here to see Jaxon.”

“No shit. Are you her?”

I frowned. “I’m his girlfriend if that’s what you mean. Where’s his office?”

The guy pointed toward an open doorway to the right and yelled, “Jaxon! Your sexy as hell girlfriend that’s way too fucking hot for you is here!”

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