“They don’t think I’m like those other girls, do they? The patch chasers?”
“What? No, no, no, no, no, no,” I rushed out. “Not at all. My mom was really excited when she heard we ran into each other. Everyone else too. As for what Waylen wants… they support us either way.
Because they know you aren’t trying to wiggle your way to getting my patch.”
Thorn chewed on her bottom lip and my eyes zeroed in on the action. Her lipstick makes her lips look even more plump. More kissable. And right now, I’d sell my left nut to kiss her again. To have her kiss me again.
“Okay, fine, l-lets go have dinner then,” she said, stuttering as she smoothed down her dress.
“Hey Thorn,” I said when she went to take a step forward. She turned and looked at me and I smirked at her. “You look beautiful, by the way.” My words were honest, and I hoped she could tell how genuine I was. If her blush told me anything, it was that I hit my mark.
Maybe tonight wouldn’t be so bad.
Jinx’s P.O.V.
“Come on, everyone’s in the kitchen,” I said as I grabbed her hand.
“Wait,” she rushed out, and I stopped to turn and face her. “A-are you… I mean… This isn’t too much?” she asked, gesturing to herself.
“You dressed up to have dinner with me and my family,” I replied. “Of course it’s not too much.”
“You know what I mean,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Do I look too dressed up? Like I’m trying too hard?”
“What? No,” I replied, frowning. “You look amazing, Lily-pad. As a matter of fact, you look so good that I’d never in a million years let you have dinner with my brothers dressed like that.”
“Oh my god, I look like a hooker?” She practically screeched, and my eyes went wide with horror.
“No! No, that’s not at all what I meant!” I said as I took a step closer to her.
Deidra took a step back, unaware of the little kid’s boot right behind her foot. She tripped, losing her balance. As she started to fall backward, my body reacted. I reached out, wrapping her in my arms. My feet tangled in my panic and I knew I was going down too. I turned to maneuver us so that she’d fall on top of me. Somehow, during that, I hit the couch and Thorn and I went tumbling over it.
Thankfully, we were behind the couch already, so when we fell over it we landed on the cushions.
Well, I did anyway. And Thorn landed right on top of me with a small grunt. Her palms and arms were resting on my chest and her legs were between mine. I looked down as she tried to blow her hair out of her face to no avail. I couldn’t help the chuckle that tumbled out of me as I pushed her hair away from her face for her. It turned into full-blown laughter when I saw her scowling at me.
“Why do you have to be such a jinx,” she muttered, pushing off of me, but I tightened my hold on her, refusing to let her go.
“You seem to bring out the worst in me Thorn,” I said teasingly.
“Well, I’d like to keep my distance, but unfortunately, you have the world’s coolest son, so I can’t,” she replied with all the sass in the world.
“He loves you,” I commented.
“He has good taste,” she said, making me laugh again. “Come on, Jinx, what are you doing?” She asked when she tried to get off me again and I still wouldn’t let her. “I get that we accidentally ended up like this, but isn’t your family waiting for us?”
Fu.ck, let them wait.
“Jinx,” she huffed out, really starting to squirm. If this keeps going on, I’m going to get a fucking boner. One I won’t be able to talk down with Thorn right next to me and looking the way she does.
“You’re right,” I said as I let her go.
Thorn scrambled to get off on me. I sat up as she smoothed down her dress and her hair. I stood up, watching her fret over her appearance, like she isn’t the most beautiful woman on the planet.
“How do I look?” She asked me nervously.
“Like an angel wrapped in sin,” I mumbled. My words were honest, but Thorn just gave me a flat look like she thought I was fu.cking with her. I guess it was better that way. She was about to reject me hard and while looking that hot. Tragic.
I grabbed her hand again and led us to the kitchen. Everyone was at the table, and Mom just put the last of the food in the middle. They all looked up when we entered. I felt Deidra hesitate and move closer to me. It made me smile wider as I practically dragged her to the table.
“Hey guys, this is Deidra,” I told them.
“Hi, sweetheart, happy you could join us,” Mom said to her.
“Thanks for having me,” she replied politely.
“Thorn, you know my parents, but I don’t know if you’ve ever met my sister, Birdie,” I said as I gestured to my sister.
“We’ve seen each other around town,” Birdie replied as I pulled out a chair for Deidra without even realizing it.
“You met Adam and the boys earlier today too, so I guess you know everyone,” I said as I sat down next to her.
“Nice to see you all again,” she said, giving them all a polite but nervous smile.
Everyone started asking her questions. Waylen was fighting for her attention. Food was being passed around. It was chaotic like it always is. I think Deidra was a little overwhelmed, but she handled it all like a fu.cking champ.
Somewhere along the way, my hand found her knee under the table. Her bare knee. She was a little cold and I was warm. I felt goosebumps rise across her skin. I gave her knee a gentle squeeze and her eyes found mine. I smiled at her, and her body relaxed some before she gave me a small smile back. Then she looked away, Waylen calling her name.
Fu.ck, she better reject me if she knows what’s good for her.
Dinner was going better than I ever expected. Everyone got along great. Waylen even left Deidra alone to go play with the kids in the living room. Deidra helped Mom and Birdie clean up while Dad pulled out some pie for dessert. We all sat at the table, talking, laughing, having our pie, and just… being in the moment.
And it felt fu.cking perfect. It felt right. It felt… natural. Like Deidra was always part of the family. Like she was always meant to be here. I tried not to let it get to me, but fu.ck it was hard.
Things started to wind down, and it was getting late. Late enough that the boys needed to go to bed. I was surprised that Deidra was still here. Even more surprised that she didn’t excuse herself to go home when I told Waylen to go get his pajamas on.
“What about Dra’s answer?” Waylen asked like she wasn’t in the doorway listening.
“I need to talk to your dad first, Waylen,” she told him. “He’ll have an answer for you in the morning.”
Thankfully, he was fine with that. After he was tucked in and the door was shut, I looked at Deidra. An awkwardness settled between us, neither of us sure how to start.
“Is there somewhere we can talk in private?” She finally asked, a blush settling on her cheeks.
“Uhm, we can talk in my room,” I replied before walking down the hall.
Fu.ck, we could have kicked everyone to their own rooms and taken the living room. Why’d I invite her back to my room? I’m just asking for something to happen. Like Thorn to kick me in the nuts for even suggesting we fake a relationship.
Too late now.
We got to my room and I went right in. Deidra walked in behind me and shut the door. Having her in my space, even though it’s only temporarily mine, sent a jolt of excitement through me. I squashed it down though and leaned against the short dresser on the other side of the room. I watched her, expecting her to look around, but she just stared at me.
“I-I have concerns,” she stuttered.
I raised a brow at her, gesturing for her to continue.
“I don’t want this to negatively impact Waylen,” she said. “I don’t want him to get his hopes up, thinking this is real.”
“I’m worried about that too,” I admitted. “We’ve all talked to him. I think he might be hopeful about something coming from it, but he understands that we go back to normal when we get home.”
“Are you sure?” She pressed.
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