Page 26 of Dangerous Curves

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Jaxx’s hand caresses my cheek. “Hey there, pretty girl, where’d you go?”

“Just remembering that first time we talked to one another.”

He smiles down at me. “At JamesTown after one of our performances.” I nod my head. “You disappeared on me after that.”

“Well, you were occupied with all those pretty girls.” I shrug and turn around to stare at the mosaic.

“I was occupied by you, not them. You disappeared for over a year after that. I didn’t see you again until Kynlee got back into town.” Jaxx gives me a questioning look. “I was always curious what happened.”

“I just learned to avoid and become one with the crowd. I skipped my graduation walk to go see Kynlee graduate and help her pack so she could move back to Los Angeles,” I explain. I knew if I saw him it would just remind me of the things I would never have.

Jaxx wraps his arms around my abdomen and pulls my back against his chest. “I hate that you felt that way, but I’m glad I finally got to see you even if it was over a year later.”

“Me, too,” I tell him. “So, what’s next?”

My stomach growls and his follows. “Food apparently,” he tells me, with a chuckle.

Twenty-Four

Jaxx

We make our way to one of the many eating options and orders. Kenndrix just orders a salad. It makes me scowl which she laughs at. “You’re going to cause that handsome face of yours to wrinkle.”

“I’ve always hated when girls just order salads. Trust me, we know that you guys have to eat something more than a salad to survive and call me crazy, but I like my women to eat,” I tell her with a wink.

Kenndrix pushes me away while laughing. I love her laugh. “Easy, Romeo. I do eat other stuff, but I’ve also worked really hard to lose this weight so I do watch what I eat.”

Our order number is called out before I can reply. I gather our order while she grabs our drinks and we make our way to one of the many benches and have a seat. I turn towards her. “I noticed you lost weight. Why?”

She sighs and stares out across the park. “It was my biggest issue. I know that no one around me saw it as an issue, but I always felt less worthy because of it. I let the number on a scale define me. Should I have let that happen? Hell no, but I did. After you left, I got kind of dark for a bit. Then I realized I was the reason you walked away. I didn’t give you much choice in the matter. I was constantly fighting against you, pushing you away, telling you I wasn’t good enough for you. The whole time you were always telling me the opposite, but I didn’t hear it because those voices in my head were winning out over everything else. So, one day I woke up, looked in the mirror and saw myself, I mean really saw myself. I didn’t like it, Jaxx. I got in my car and went to a gym, and started a membership. It was hard because it was like nothing I had ever done before, but after a couple of weeks of trying different exercises and what not I found stuff I actually enjoyed doing. Then I cleaned out the kitchen. I traded my ice cream and sweets for veggies and fruit, especially frozen grapes.” I must give her a strange look because she laughs and tells me, “Don’t knock it until you try it. After that, I traded my soda for unsweet tea and diet soda. I still splurge obviously, you’ve witnessed that, but it’s not as often as it once was. When I go out to eat, I try to eat something healthier and lighter unless it’s pizza or a burger.”

“Or bacon,” I tease her.

She rolls her eyes. “That’s a given. Anyways, once I started to lose some of the weight I realized I started to see myself differently, better in a lot of ways. That was great motivation. I knew I’d never be the Hollywood type thin, but I’m happier now. My anxiety still gets the best of me sometimes, that’s a daily struggle, but for the most part I’ve been much better.”

I lean over and press a kiss to her cheek. “I’m really proud of you. That couldn’t have been easy to do. Change is always difficult, but I’m glad you can see what I always saw.”

Kenndrix laughs. “I wouldn’t say that much. You still seem to see me on a pedestal that I’m pretty sure I don’t deserve.”

“I beg to differ.” I shake my head. She is better in so many ways and I’m so happy for that but she still doesn’t fully see how amazing she is. She smiles at me as she stirs the dressing into her salad. She’s gone quiet and I know she’s thinking. “What are you thinking?”

“Well, a lot of things.”

That much I know is true. “Okay, give me the top one right now.”

“What about your movie premiere?” she asks.

I’d be lying if I said this hadn’t crossed my mind. Tonight, I’m expected to be on the red carpet, but I hate to give up any of the time I have with her. It’s so limited as is. I sigh. “Well, I never really wanted to go.”

“But you agreed to go, they’re expecting you,” she reminds me.

I pinch the bridge of my nose while I take my time chewing the bite of sandwich. “I know, but I’d rather be with you.”

Her cheeks turn pink and she looks over at me from under her lashes. “What if I went with you?”

That question shocks me but also gives me so much hope. It’s what I’ve always wanted, ever since that first red carpet. “Would you do that?”

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