Page 8 of Fine, Dork

Kinley rolled her eyes. “I want you to be happy. You know that, right? I don’t honestly expect you to stay single and be my best friend forever. I’m fully aware of the fact that we’re not kids anymore. But if you have to marry someone someday, at least pick someone that likes me.”

I laughed out loud and said, “No girl I’ve ever even kind of dated has liked you. You’re too much of a threat.”

Kinley laughed and wrapped her arms around my neck again. “I’m a threat? Why?” Her nose was only a few inches from mine. I could see every freckle and the tiny drops of water that clung to her thick, dark eyelashes.

Because they know I’m in love with you. “Because you’re beautiful and awesome, K.”

Kinley smiled and gazed at my lips again. She wrapped her legs around me in the water. I gripped her hips. For the second time, it felt like we were about to kiss, and I couldn’t breathe.

“Why haven’t we—" Kinley shook her head and pulled away again.

What kind of mind games was she playing? “Why haven’t we what?”

“Why haven’t we gotten one of those famous Hawaiian slushies yet?” She flashed me a grin and started wading back to the shore. “They sell some about a half-mile from the beach house. You down?”

“K, was that really what you were about to say?” I followed her out of the water, trying but failing to keep my eyes off her ass. Her wet bikini bottoms clung to her curves and sat low on her hips. I could feel my cock stiffening, even in the freezing cold ocean. I tore my eyes away from her backside.

Kinley bent and scooped up her dress when she reached the shore. I walked up and gently grabbed her wrist. “Did you hear me? Were you really going to ask about slushies? Nothing else?”

Kinley gazed into my eyes and slowly nodded. “Yeah, J. They put rum in with the flavoring. They’re amazing.” She swallowed and then forced a smile. “Come on!”

5

Kinley

“This is bullshit, dad.” Jaxon gripped his phone with white knuckles and paced while I cooked a pan of scrambled eggs for everyone’s breakfast.

I watched the anger play out on Jaxon’s face and sink into the lines between his eyebrows. The tension crept into his shoulders, and I felt a fierce protectiveness bubble up inside of me. What shitty things was his dad saying to him now? Had Jaxon done something truly terrible, like fail to measure up to his older brother again?

“Fine.” Jaxon’s lips pressed into a thin, tight line, and his eyes flickered like angry blue flames.

Lyla wandered into the kitchen next with her black hair pulled into a messy topknot. She grabbed a fork and started eating eggs straight from the pan. “What’s wrong with Jax?” she asked with her mouth full.

I stole her fork and took my own bite of eggs. “His dad called. I don’t know why yet.”

Lyla made a face. We all knew Jaxon’s dad was an uptight asshole. Once, back in high school, Lyla made the mistake of sitting on a chair’s armrest in their home. He’d yelled at her, “Is this how you treat the furniture at your house? Were you raised by wild animals? Off!” He’d snapped his fingers at her like she was a dog and then gestured for Jaxon to follow him into the hallway, where we could still hear him yelling.

Lyla reclaimed her fork and grabbed a plate from the cupboard, piling it high with eggs. “Thanks for cooking, Kinky. I promised Bec I’d bring him breakfast in bed, so good luck with Jaxon and his dad-hole.”

I flicked Lyla’s ear. “Don’t fucking call me that.”

“Um. Ow.” Lyla shot me a glare and wandered back to the bedroom she shared with Beckett.

Jaxon ended his call and slammed his phone down on the kitchen counter. He ran his hands through his sandy hair and continued his pacing.

“How’s good old Bradley?” I asked with a grin, hoping to diffuse the situation. I poured myself a cup of coffee while I waited for Jaxon to respond.

Jaxon groaned and covered his face with both hands. “My parents invited me to return the money in my college fund because I failed to use it on a Ph.D. within an acceptable amount of time.”

I snorted into my coffee, wishing that Jaxon was joking but knowing he wasn’t. “What’s an acceptable amount of time? Didn’t you finish your Masters only a year ago?”

“Yep.” He gazed out the window above the sink and shook his head. “I don’t care about their money. They can have it. It’s like the principle of it, you know? I’m never fucking going to be enough for them, K.”

“You’re more than enough for me, J.” I set my coffee down and slid my arms around his neck. I stood on my tiptoes to press a soft kiss to his cheek. My heart ached for him.

Jaxon sighed and wrapped his arms around my waist, burying his face in my hair. He inhaled like he loved my scent, and then he released me. “Thanks, K.” He gave me a sad smile.

Jaxon’s parents always hated me. Fine, that’s mildly inaccurate. They started disliking me in second grade when Jaxon was put in the blue reading group for geniuses, and I was placed in the yellow reading group for dumbasses. Sasha and Bradley Wood didn’t start hating me until I convinced Jaxon to skip school with me in seventh grade.

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