Page 82 of Rebel Summer

I went on like I hadn’t heard him. “And ten more times? That’s a lot of community service.”

He was shaking his head at me while I spouted nonsense. Almost like he knew exactly what I was trying to do. But we needed a distraction. Dax Miller wasn’t supposed to be sweet. I had planned on him giving me a hard time. I had planned on him being sarcastic. A closed book? Certainly. And he was all of those things. But charming? Sweet? A tamed rebel with a soft side?

I had to tread carefully or else I would be done for.

“So go talk to him if you need to. But don’t take his crap. And don’t let him make you feel guilty for taking up space in this world.”

I tore my eyes from his and glanced to where my dad stood impatiently watching from the window. He tapped his watch.

I turned back to Dax. “I’ve got to go.”

He still clung to my apron. He glanced toward my dad and then back to me.

“If you need to do something to stick it to your dad...I’m available.”

A thrill rose gently up my spine at the ideas that grew from his suggestion. “Available? How?”

He shrugged. “I mean, if the idea of us being together is the worst thing for him…” he trailed off before looking at me. “Use your imagination.” A reckless grin carved slowly across his face.

The smile, the wild look in his eyes, the untamed hair…High School Dax was back. I sucked in a breath, glancing around the cafe. We were past the lunch rush with only a few lingering tourists remaining. Nobody I knew.

Not that it mattered.

I wasn’t doing…anything his eyes were strongly suggesting we do.

My hands found my hips. “I’m trying to keep the peace, not make things worse.”

He shook his head. “Until you show your dad he can’t control you, he’ll never leave you alone.”

The truth of his statement hit me with a sudden force, though I tried my best to deny it.

Folding my arms, I said, “So you’re offering yourself up for this experiment. How noble.”

He leaned back in his booth, temptation and vice oozing from his lips. “Use me however you want. You and your mind are in complete control.”

If I were being honest, my mind did wander for a split fraction of a moment. It was tiny. Microscopic. I took great comfort in the fact that nobody could have blamed me. He was leaning back in his seat in a white t-shirt with his arms resting on the table. Wild dark hair, curled slightly at the edges, fell in disordered array atop his head. His tattoos played peekaboo with me and suddenly I was somewhere else being pressed against a wall, bracketed by those arms.

He leaned forward, an amused smile touching his lips. “From the look on your face, your mind is kind of dirty.”

I pushed against his shoulder, blushing hotly, effectively snapping out of wherever I had been.

“I think I’ll be fine,” I stated, stepping back from him as he let go of my apron.

“Suit yourself. The offer still stands.”

I left him to his mediocre coffee while I slipped out the door to find my dad.

The sweltering Florida heat felt like walking into an oven. I wiped a bead of sweat off my brow as I picked my way toward where the senator was standing. When he saw me coming, he led me past another building on the more quiet side of the town square and slipped into an alleyway. I stopped a few feet away and squared my shoulders.

“Hi,” I said.

He ran a hand through his hair but didn’t make me wait long. “Ivy, I wanted to talk about the other night. Since you won’t answer my phone calls, this was my only option. I was concerned when I went to find you and you weren’t where you told me you’d be. When I discovered you were actually living next to—” He broke off, a tense chuckle seething out of his mouth. “As your father, who has warned you repeatedly against him, I was understandably upset. And you can’t blame me.”

My jaw clenched. “His name is Dax.”

He smiled tightly. “I thought you’d be interested to know that the Foresters will not be donating money toward my campaign.”

“If you were any kind of a father, you wouldn’t want their money.” I pinched my lips together, knowing I should walk away, but I forced myself to hold his gaze.

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