Page 13 of Dangerous Curves

He shrugs slightly. “Some things don’t change.”

A sense of familiarity washes over me, but I push it away. We aren’t familiar with one another anymore. “Yeah, but enough of them do.”

I step away and Jaxx looks sad for a moment, almost as if he can feel the same loss that I do at this moment. “They don’t have to,” he finally says.

I scoff. “Everything changes, Jaxx.” His name feels like acid on my tongue. “You can’t stop that. It’s just how life goes unless you’ve found some trick to stop it.” He shakes his head. “I didn’t think so,” I tell him, as I wrap my arms around my midriff. It’s starting to get cold in my wet dress inside of the air conditioned house. I step around Jaxx and head for the bathroom. Jaxx mumbles something, but I can’t make it out. I want to ask, but my right to ask things from Jaxx Scott ended a long time ago.

Twelve

Jaxx

Running into Kenndrix, literally, is the last thing I expected. When Ace had insisted on me coming to the birthday party today, I assumed it was because Kenndrix wasn’t going to be around for some reason. It’d been this unspoken rule we all seemed to live by since the demise of our relationship. If Kenndrix was going to be there, I was always invited, but never showed up. When Ace insisted on my presence, I knew then it was safe for me to be present. Kenndrix had never been at anything when Ace insisted on me being somewhere, so why now?

When I step onto the back porch, I immediately start searching for Ace. I spot him with Pierce and his boyfriend Rocky. I make my way towards them. As I step up to the group of them Pierce takes one look at me and wraps a hand around Rocky’s elbow, “I think they need to talk.” Rocky nods his head and they leave Ace and I alone.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

I glare at him. “Kenndrix is here?”

Ace nods his head, like it’s no big deal. “Yeah. Kynlee invited her. Willow adores her so she wouldn’t miss a birthday.”

“Then why in the hell did you insist on me being here?” My muscles are tense.

“Well, considering that the two of you are working together and have seen each other every day this past week, I was assuming it was okay for the two of you to be at the same damn birthday party together.” Ace glares back at me.

I run a hand through my hair. “Do you know how difficult it is to work with her every day? And now I have to be here with her too!”

“Do you know how much my daughter, the birthday girl, wanted to have her auntie Kenndrix and uncle Jaxx, both, at her party today? She wanted you both here and normally we make some lame excuse because the two of you are both so damn difficult and stubborn. I watch my daughter pout over it for a little bit, but then she gets over it but I did that for the two of you because yes I can imagine how difficult it is for both of you to be around each other. This year I decided it was time to make the two of you face one another. It’s overdue and you know it. I didn’t want my daughter to pout because two of her favorite people couldn’t be here. Willow’s world is already changing with the new baby coming. I wanted to give her this one thing so she would remember that no matter how many siblings she has, she is loved. The two of you need to get it together. You’re better together than you are apart and the sooner you realize that the better,” Ace tells me, as he steps around me and stalks back across the yard.

Kenndrix chooses to reappear on the back deck. Her red dress is still wet but damn if the sight of her doesn’t give every nerve in my body the jump start it needs. Seeing her is like coming up for air after being under the water for too damn long. I hear Willow holler out as she splashes one of the other kids. Ace is right. I know Willow is close to Kenndrix. I would also do anything for that little girl. We’ve been selfish long enough and we are working together now so it makes sense for us to manage a birthday party.

The rest of the afternoon goes smoothly. Kenndrix and I manage to stay out of each other’s way but it doesn’t mean that I haven’t secretly, or maybe not so secretly, been watching her. She’s the flame and I’m a moth. It’s impossible for me not to gravitate towards her in some way. I’ve watched her laugh with Kynlee, help Willow open presents and Ace serve the guests and her pick at the food on her plate, barely taking a bite. Something about that rubs me the wrong way.

A couple of hours later, and most of the guests have left. Willow is passed out on the couch in the living room and Kynlee went to take a nap. I’ve stayed to help Ace clean up. We’re almost done when I look back out to the yard and notice Kenndrix sitting on one of the swings on the swing set out back. The sun gives her a glow. I don’t think about my next move, I just do.

With a plate in my hand I head towards her. She looks up as I approach. “I noticed you didn’t get any cake during the party.”

Her face blushes. “Yeah, I wasn’t really hungry.”

“Did you eat before you came?”

“No.” She shakes her head. I watch as her dances around her and my hand would like nothing more than to run through those soft, silky strands.

I urge the plate into her hands and take a seat on one of the empty swings beside her. “Well, you didn’t really eat during the party…”

“Stalk much?” she asks.

I shrug. “I notice things and I know you.”

Kenndrix sighs. “No you don’t. You knew me, but you don’t know me now.”

“Care to test that theory?” She rolls her eyes, but she doesn’t say no. “Look at the piece of cake on the plate.” She finally acknowledges the plate in her hands, her eyes go wide.

“You remembered,” her voice is barely above a whisper.

I nod. Kenndrix doesn’t like frosting or corner pieces so I purposely got her a middle piece and flipped it upside down so the frosting is on the plate. “I still know you.”

“You knowing I don’t like frosting doesn’t count.” She takes the plastic fork and gets a small piece of cake. I watch as she brings it to her mouth.

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