Page 56 of Fine, Dork

As we followed her to the front of the store, Kinley whispered, “Jaxon, that’s like eight-hundred dollars’ worth of perfume.”

“You’re right. We should grab one more to make it an even thousand.”

Kinley laughed and slid her arm around my waist. “You like it that much, huh?”

“I do.” I draped my arm over her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “Besides, the clerk deserves that commission. We would have been here all day if she didn’t help us.”

“Baby, I could spend the day anywhere with you.”

“I know. It’s because you’re obsessed with me.”

Kinley laughed out loud as we approached the counter to pay. “I am, J. I am.”

30

Jaxon

Today was the day. I’d been planning it for weeks, ever since Kinley left for Paris, and I was fairly certain she had no idea.

We spent the morning hiking in the Muir Woods. Kinley brought her camera and captured every beautiful thing she saw. A couple of times, she laughed and apologized. “I’m sorry. I know I’m the worst person to take hiking! There are so many pretty things!”

I smiled and watched her photograph her own beautiful version of the world. “I don’t mind, K. I like watching you work.”

At the end of the hike, I pulled her into my arms. It was time. I inhaled her new warm scent that we spent hours choosing last weekend and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “K, I need to ask you something.”

“Mmm, what’s that?” She wrapped her arms around my waist.

“Come sit.” I took her hand and led her to a bench overlooking the Golden Gate bridge. Then I pulled a photo album from my backpack and placed it in her lap. I put it together for her while she was in Paris.

Kinley smiled at me and started flipping through the pages. The first page was a picture of us from kindergarten. I was wearing a blue-striped button-down with khaki pants. My clothes were pressed and wrinkle-free, and my light blonde hair was perfectly gelled. Kinley wore a little flowered sundress with dirt on the hem, and her caramel-colored hair was wild and blowing in the breeze. Her pretty brown eyes sparkled, and her smile could light up a room. Beneath the photo, I wrote the caption: K, I’ve always been drawn to your warmth and passion, and from day one, you showed me the unconditional love I was missing in my life.

Kinley looked up at me with a grin. “Shut up, J. This is the cutest damn thing I’ve ever seen! Where did you get this picture?”

I leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Your mom. Keep going.”

Kinley flipped through the next few pages filled with photos of us as kids —birthday parties, Halloween costume parties, elementary school Christmas programs, me helping Kinley with homework, her coaxing me out of my comfort zone. Finally, she reached a photo of her in her senior prom dress. I took her to prom because her boyfriend dumped her three days before. It was nothing like the sexy romantic prom she’d been counting on, but we danced and laughed and stayed up until 3 am talking on her front porch. I captioned this photo, too: You took my breath away in this dress, even though it wasn’t for me. This was one of the nights I fell crazy in love with you and knew I was fucked, because a “dork” like Jaxon Wood couldn’t possibly land a girl like Kinley Summers.

Kinley’s eyes glimmered with tears when she looked up at me again. “I fell in love with you that night, too. That sober sex-free night was the best of my entire high school experience, J.” She smiled and linked her pinky through mine. “And you are a huge fantastic dork, but I love it so damn much. Own it and don’t ever change.”

“Thanks, K. Now keep going.” I smiled and pointed back to the photo album. I needed her to get to the last pages I’d filled. The ring was burning a hole in my pocket.

She turned back to the book and flipped through pictures of us at graduation and the first couple college years. The photos were fewer when she started traveling for work, and the year I dated Savannah, there were none, but then she turned a page and found all the pics from Hawaii. Kinley smiled and ran her fingers over a shirtless picture of me. “Mmm. Look at that sexy man!”

I laughed. “Keep going.”

She turned another page, and there we were at sunset on the beach. I had my arm around her, and she had her head on my shoulder. I captioned this one: And this is when I fell the hardest for you, but this time was different because I had hope that you could be mine this time. I hoped that maybe you were falling, too.

“Oh my god, who took this picture?”

“Lyla. She was watching us like a weirdo because she secretly thinks love is cute. She also told me she’d have to kill me if I ever repeated that to anyone besides you.”

Kinley laughed out loud. “I love that crazy woman.” She flipped through the pages filled with our last seven months together with a big smile. “Aw, J, it’s been a damn good year—the best of my life.”

My heart pounded in my throat when she reached the last page of photos. Shit. My palms were sweating, and my hands were shaking. I was going to drop the damn ring when I pulled it out of my pocket.

Kinley turned the page and read aloud, “Will…” she flipped the next page. “You…” Her voice cracked on the next word. “Marry…” Kinley’s hands shook as she turned the last page. She whispered, “Me?” Her tear-filled eyes shot up to meet mine, brimming over with all of her passionate fire and sweet vulnerability. It was beautiful, and it almost made me freeze.

But I pulled my shit together. I slid off the bench and sank to one knee, pulling the ring from my pocket. “What do you say, K? Will you help me fill the rest of the empty pages in that book with whatever the hell life throws at us? Will you be my best friend forever?”

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