Thankfully, we got a new server who was male. He seemed to be very understanding as to why I asked for a new server and even joked about it a little. I made Jinx tip him extra for being so good at turning the situation around. Then we walked out together, the three of us. Waylen was between us, holding each of our hands.
I thought it would be over after that, but it wasn’t. Jinx asked me if I was heading back to the cabin or if I had more shopping to do. I thought if I told them there were more stores around I wanted to visit, that they’d leave me in peace. That was not what happened. The three of us went into every store I wanted, every little shop. Even the extra girly one that I lied about wanting to go into just to see if they would follow me. It was so worth it after seeing the looks on their faces.
The minutes turned into a couple of hours, and somewhere along the way, I stopped trying to break away from them. It ended up being a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Even when we ran into Adam and his two sons, Chance and Drew. It wasn’t awkward like I thought it would be.
Granted, I’ve seen them around town a handful of times, but I didn’t really know them.
Somehow, they talked me into letting them drive me back to the cabin. They had a huge van and another decently sized car they rented to drive here. Jinx drove and Adam let me sit in the passenger seat while he sat in the back with the boys. It was loud and chaotic and… nice. Really nice.
Dale was outside the office cabin when we pulled in. He looked up, his eyes going wide when he saw it was me. I gave him a tight smile, hoping he wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it. I know
Emma enough already to know that she told Dale everything from last night.
“Why’s he staring at you like that?” Jinx asked, pulling my attention to him. He was glaring at Dale, who just raised an amused brow as we slowly drove past him.
“He’s probably wondering if I’m this car of my own free will,” I grumbled, crossing my arms.
Adam snorted as Jinx rolled his eyes.
“All you know how to do is be sassy,” he muttered.
“Is that any way to talk to your fake baby momma?” I replied smugly.
“That mean you’re saying yes?” he asked, throwing me a heart-stopping smile.
“Ugh, god! What is it with your face?” I complained, making him frown. “I have until dinner to decide. Don’t push your luck.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled under his breath.
“You sure your mom isn’t going to mind me coming for dinner?” I asked for the millionth time.
Jinx sighed, but Adam sat up, putting his head right between us.
“Trust me, Claire is going to be thrilled to have you,” he said, giving me a sly smile.
I eyed him up and down, confused about that tone. Jinx pushed him backward before putting the car in park. We were in the little drive of my cabin already. It was time for me to get out, but I didn’t want to. As much as this all… freaks me out, I didn’t want it to end.
“Uhm, thanks for today, I had a nice time,” I said to Jinx, chewing on my bottom lip. His eyes flickered to my mouth before they met mine again. I swear that he could see into my soul.
“Shouldn’t I be the one to thank you?” he asked. “You seem to always be there when my son needs someone.”
“I’m her son now too, Dad,” Waylen said from the back, making me snort at his matter-of-fact tone.
“I’ll see you guys in a couple of hours?” I said as I opened the door.
“Want me to come get you?” he asked.
“Oh, uh, no, that’s okay,” I said as I hopped out. “It’s not a far walk.”
“Yeah, but-“
“Stop trying to be chivalrous,” I said, shooting him a glare. “It’s weird, and I can walk to your cabin that’s right there just fine.”
“But I’m trying to convince you to be my baby momma,” he replied with a smirk. “Shouldn’t I be courting you or some sh.it.”
“Let’s just stick to some sh.it and call it a day,” I said before slamming the door shut. Not before I heard Adam bust out in laughter though.
I didn’t look back as I walked to the cabin. I just got it unlocked when I realized I hadn’t grabbed any of my stuff. I spun around to try to catch them before they left, only to see Jinx already standing behind me with his arms full of my bags. I blinked in surprise, just staring at him.
“I promise not to stay if you let me in to set this sh.it down,” he said, amusement all over his face.
I opened my mouth and shut it again before stepping aside to let him in. Jinx stepped into the cabin and set my bags down. He looked around at the tiny space for a moment. I couldn’t help but think about how huge he looked in here. Finally, those blue-green eyes settled on me. My throat went dry as Jinx stared at me, his eyes flickering to my lips for a moment.
“Give me your phone,” he practically demanded as he held out his hand.
“What?” I blurted like a mo.ron.
“Let me give you my number. Just in case you decide you want me to come get you,” he said.
“Or is this to make sure that I show up?” I grumbled, handing him my phone anyway.
Jinx chuckled, but didn’t reply. I watched him as he tapped away on my phone. I heard the little ding from the phone in his pocket. He must have sent himself a text to make sure he had my number too. For some reason, that made my face flame.
“Here,” he said, handing me my phone back. I took it, our fingers brushing against each other. Jinx lingered for a moment, his eyes boring into me. The moment felt intense and charged. It was getting hotter in here by the second. Then he leaned down until his lips brushed across my My breath caught in my throat. “See you soon, Thorn,” he murmured.
Then he was gone. And I was left there with my heart in my throat. My mind was reeling. Now that I was alone, I had so much to think about. And no idea what to do. I need advise.
If I called Deb she’d tell me to go for it. To take this opportunity by the balls and have the vacation of my life. But I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I need real advice.
And then my phone started to ring. I looked down to see that it was Emma. I was starting to feel thankful for Dale already, because I knew exactly what this call was about.
“Emma-” I’d barely gotten the word out before Emma started spouting off.
“Dale just told me he saw you coming back with that hot biker! What the heck happened girl?
Where you been all day? Were you with him? Did you guys hook up? Oh my god, tell me everything,” she gushed.
So I did. I told her about the entire day. She gasped and hummed when necessary. It felt so nice to talk to someone about it. I thought I was going to have to settle for Deb’s crazy a.ss.
– “I-I don’t know what to do,” I admitted. “I mean, part of me is like – girl, go for it! This could be great, amazing! It’s just a vacation. But the other part of me is like you two know each other! You live in the same town! And what about Waylen? Is this a good idea for him? I mean, he’s just a boy and what if he doesn’t understand that it’s just for the vacation?”
“Okay, okay, first off, breathe,” she replied, and I did. “I think you’re overthinking this.” She told me. “Waylen might be young, but he’s clearly smart enough and aware enough to see what’s going on around him. As long as you guys are very clear with him about what this is, I don’t see a problem. with it. Who knows? Maybe you two really will fall in love.”
“Can we please be serious?” I grumbled, making Emma laugh.
“Look, I’m just saying that I think you should go for it. You two have clear chemistry,” she said. “It’s just for the vacation, so you already have an out. Live in the fantasy for a while though. You deserve it, Deidra.”
I sighed heavily.
“Okay fine,” I folded. “But can you please take a break to come help me pick out something to wear?”
Emma squealed excited, but all I could think was…
I can’t believe I’m really doing this.
Jinx’s P.O.V.
Fu.ck, this was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have let Waylen get away with it. I should have told them both no right away instead of putting Deidra on the spot like that. Part of me feels a little bit bad that I’m pinning the answer solely on her, but most of me just feels fu.cking nervous. Thorn isn’t the type to say yes just to spare my feelings. Hell, she’d tell me to fu.ck right off and just let Waylen be with her for the entirety of our time here. And I’d probably say yes just to keep them both happy.
But I really want her to say yes. I want her to tell me that she’ll pretend. Because it’ll give me the chance to…
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