by C. Morgan
Funky music played softly over the speakers and the smells coming from the kitchen were fresh and divine. Instead of chandeliers or bright overhead lights, there were multicolored rope lights, oil candles, and lanterns.
“It’s amazing how this place makes you feel like you really are on an island,” I said, absolutely blown away as I sat there, in New England but struggling to believe I wasn’t on Mykonos.
Daxton smiled that soft, genuine smile of his. “It’s not quite Hawaii, but I figured an island was an island. Maybe we should plan a trip to Greece sometime, too. I’m sure Dad will let us use the plane and—”
I held up my hand, my chin dropping as I stared at him in total disbelief. “Stop while you’re ahead, Breyer. Now you’re just making it all sound like it’s too good to be true.”
He raised both hands in surrender, slumping back in his chair as he chuckled. “You’re right. You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m just excited. I know you’ve always wanted to travel and I haven’t gotten to travel much without my parents, so I figured it would be a win-win.”
“It would be, but let’s take it one step at a time.” I glanced down at the menu again. “What are you going to get? I’ve never even heard about most of these dishes. Maybe we should start with an education on Greek cuisine before we talk about visiting the actual country.”
“We could get a bit of everything,” he suggested, not even picking up his own menu. “I’ve eaten here with my dad. The food’s great, and if we get several plates of appetizers, you’d get to try more dishes.”
“That would cost a fortune,” I protested, squinting in an attempt to make at least one dish seem familiar. “I’ll just have…”
He waited for me to finish the sentence but when nothing came out, he signaled the waiter over. “It doesn’t matter what it costs, Haddie. You know money’s never meant a lot to me.”
Our waiter arrived before I could argue, and Daxton ordered one of what seemed like everything they had on the menu. When the waiter left us alone again, Dax grinned at me. “We’ll share it all. I think you’re going to love it. Have you eaten a lot of Greek food before?”
“Nope.” I’d actually never had it before, but I didn’t add that little detail. “I’m excited to try it, though. I can’t imagine you ate a lot of it in Hawaii and I know there are no places like this back home.”
He shot me a sheepish grin. “My mom’s a huge fan. If there’s a good Greek restaurant in any vicinity, she’ll sniff it out. My parents went there on their honeymoon.”
“Wow. I think mine went camping.”
Daxton let out a soft laugh, but it wasn’t derisive. If anything, it sounded almost fond. “If I remember correctly, your mom loves camping. Mine… not so much.”
“True.”
The waiter brought our drinks, then disappeared again. I sat back with my soda in my hands, unable to believe that I was actually, really here. Out to dinner with Daxton Breyer.
How the heck did this happen? Things had been surprisingly easy between us so far though, so I decided to just go with it.
“So, tell me about Hawaii,” I said. “In my mind, it’s like this whole other world.”
I didn’t tell him how much I’d wondered about it since he’d gone to live there. After I found out where he’d moved to, I’d read up about it but it still didn’t seem like a real place to me. From what I’d seen, it looked like paradise there.
“It is a whole other world,” he said with a faraway look entering his eyes. “It took me some time to adapt. Once I did, it was pretty great. You’ll love our house there. Every room has a view of either the ocean or the mountains. The pool is huge, and it’s sunny almost every day. It’s even hot while it’s raining.”
“That sounds idyllic,” I mused, trying to imagine how it must’ve been to live in a place like that. “Will you move back there once you graduate?”
He shrugged. “Maybe. I’m still planning on joining my dad’s firm, but I don’t just want to walk in and claim his office. I want to work my way up. Learn how things really operate on different levels. I can only do that if I’m at HQ, though. It’ll be difficult to do it remotely at first.”
“It’s cool that you want to do it that way when you could just move right in at the top.” It didn’t surprise me much, though.
For as oblivious as he could be to money, Dax had always been hard working. He’d want to earn his place, not just have it handed to him on a silver platter. I’d thought that might’ve changed, but it seemed like I’d been wrong.
“What about you?” he asked. “Still aiming to become a lawyer?”
“No.” I forced a smile. “I’m keeping my options open for now. I haven’t chosen a focus area yet but when I do, it won’t be law.”
He frowned, his head dropping slightly to one side as his gaze bored into mine. “Why not? You always said you wanted to practice law because you wanted to help people. What’s changed?”
“Nothing’s really changed.” I raised my shoulders, letting them drop slowly as I tried to find a way to explain it to him. “I just can’t commit to being in school for that long. I got a full ride scholarship, but me not being at home is still costing my parents.”
“How?” He kept his gaze locked on mine.
I fidgeted with my fingers, taking a long sip of my soda before shrugging again. “When I’m at home, I can help with the rent or the groceries, but being all the way out here…” I let the sentence hang for a second, then averted my eyes before finishing it. “It’s just a bit too indulgent. Whatever I end up choosing has to be something that I can finish in the four years I have here.”
“Sure, but isn’t it worth it to take the extra years now so you can follow your dreams while also still being able to help again in the future?”
“It used to be my dream to help everyone. Every stranger who came to me with a problem.” Just talking about it stirred up all those old desires in me, but what I wanted didn’t matter as much as doing what I needed to do did. “All I really want to do now is to focus on helping my family and my little sister.”
His brow furrowed. “Little sister? When did that happen? I thought it was just you and your brother.”
“Oh, it is.” I chuckled, then set my soda down as I clarified. “I’m part of the Big Sister program. I’ve only been here a few weeks, but I’m already missing my little sister so much. I used to see her every week, but now I’ll only get to see her when I go home and that won’t be before winter break. I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to go home for the break yet. We’ll have to see what happens.”
“You can still speak to her though, right?”
I nodded, smiling when I thought about the parting gift I’d gotten her. “Yeah, we still talk all the time. We’ve also agreed to be pen pals while I’m here to keep things interesting instead of just texting or talking on the phone. I even got us some special stationery, but it’s just not the same as seeing her.”
Dax was quiet for a minute, the expression on his handsome face contemplative. “You really love her, huh?”
“I do,” I said honestly. “Being part of the program has definitely changed my life for the better. It also made me realize that I want to pick a major that is tangible and realistic. Something that will set me up for success.”
“Law will set you up for success,” he said, but he seemed less sure about it now than he had a minute ago.
“Sure, but it’ll take me too long to get there,” I said. “I just want to choose something that will make me a good enough living that I’ll be able to support my family. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to cover the rest of their mortgage and be able to set myself up in a little apartment at the same time.”
“Those are admirable goals, but what happened to the Hadley who wanted to shoot for the moon?”
“She grew up,” I said, laughing quietly when I thought back to the idealistic conversations I used to have with him. “She also realized that being a warrior for justice for all wasn�
��t quite realistic for someone in her position. I know my dream now seems small, but it’s what I think about every night before I fall asleep. Law is off the table for me.”
“Okay,” he said finally, but it seemed like something was bothering him all of sudden.
Whatever cloud was hanging over him dissipated when the waiter came by with the first of our appetizers, and he grinned at the spread that was laid out in front of us. “Dig in, Haddie. I really hope you enjoy this as much as I want you to.”
As much as he wants me to? It was an odd thing to say, but I didn’t ask about it. Instead, I picked up my fork and surveyed the various options available to me, flashing Dax a smile in an attempt to lighten the mood.
“I’m looking forward to digging in, but I think you’d better tell me what I’m digging into.”
He grinned, grabbing his own fork as he leaned forward and made eye contact with me across the flickering candle on the tabletop. “I can do that, but while I do, why don’t you tell me more about the Big Sister program? You should’ve seen your face when you were talking about it. It obviously means a lot to you.”
It did, and I didn’t mind if he knew it. Holding out my hand for him to shake, I nearly fainted when his skin touched mine but I ignored the sparks and did my best to keep my voice from sounding all swoony.
“You’ve got yourself a deal. Tell me everything you know about these dishes, and I’ll tell you so much about the program, you’re going to want to enroll in the Big Brother program yourself before the night is out.”
Chapter 15
DAXTON
There was a pronounced chill in the air when we walked out of the restaurant. Hadley shivered, those big eyes of hers swinging up to mine as we headed toward her dorm.
A part of me wanted to sigh and roll my eyes at her dramatics, but the other, more honest part of me had to admit that it wasn’t exactly a hardship to put my arm over her shoulders and pull her closer to me.
She chuckled as she snuggled into my side, her arm snaking around my waist and holding me close as she rested her head against my arm. “Sorry. I probably shouldn’t have worn a sundress in the fall. It was just so nice out earlier that I wasn’t thinking.”
“I happen to be a fan of that dress,” I said, glancing down the valley between her breasts before lifting my gaze back to hers. “I’ll do my best to keep you warm any time you want to wear it.”
Unfortunately for me, that was true. Throughout the night, I’d found myself forgetting why I was mad at her more often than not.
Even now, my mind was spinning with thoughts about how selfless this girl was. Here I was, just twiddling my thumbs and in no rush at all—not feeling any weight on my shoulders of what I owed anyone. At the same time, Hadley had worked like a beast to get in here, but she hadn’t done it for herself or to chase her own dreams. She was here to make the lives of other people better.
After everything she went through to get here, she wanted it to be over as fast as possible. And I was sure that what she’d told me over dinner about how hard she’d worked was just the tip of the iceberg.
On the other hand, I’d always had a tough time wrapping my head around how big her heart was. It was one of the reasons why it had stung so much when she’d chosen to betray me. While I knew more now about why she’d done it, it was still a bitter pill to swallow.
She’d cast me aside like I’d meant nothing, publicly humiliating me, but she was willing to forget all about her own dreams just to help other people she cared about. Sure, they were her family. But I’d thought once that we might become family.
That was how serious I’d been about her back then. How much I’d cared. I hadn’t given a fuck about sowing my wild oats or screwing every girl in sight. All I’d wanted was a real family—with her.
In the years that had followed, with my dad working remotely and Mom being at home more often since she’d left all her friends and hobbies behind, things had gotten better between us. My parents had been around a touch more often, but being around hadn’t made them available. Eventually, I’d learned that there was a big difference between having parents that were present and parents who were available when they were around.
Mine still weren’t really all that available. Hadley’s always had been. I’d made my peace with it, but all that hurt and pain had changed me.
The only way I could cling to my resolve to make her pay as we walked back to her dorm was to keep the pain close to the surface. Keeping it close wasn’t as easy as it should’ve been, though. Whenever she opened her mouth, I could practically feel myself getting sucked in again.
The smart thing to have done would’ve been to adjust my approach. To go back to openly letting her know how much I hated her, but if I did that, my plan was doomed.
Formulating a new plan would be my only option, and I was pretty committed to this one. To having her feel firsthand what abandonment really felt like.
It was going to be a fine line to walk, but I could do it. I just had to keep things friendly and casual without allowing myself to give into the urge to get sucked in.
“Where did you go?” Her soft voice broke into my thoughts.
I frowned when I looked down to find her staring up at me. “What do you mean? I’m right here. I haven’t gone anywhere.”
“Not physically, but your mind just zoomed a million miles away.” Those brown eyes seemed so soft and so open as she kept them on mine. “Care to share with the rest of the class?”
“I doubt you want to know what I was thinking about.” Which was true, except that I deliberately let my gaze slide down to her cleavage again. “I meant what I said about that dress.”
A rosy flush spread over her cheeks, but I didn’t miss the smile that started forming on her lips before she looked away from me. “Oh.”
“Yeah, I was thinking about O’s too.” I winked and held her even closer to my side. “I don’t want you thinking that’s the only reason I asked you out tonight, though. Let’s just back away slowly from that territory.”
She hesitated for a moment, her eyes still firmly fixed on the far side of the street as she stared off into the distance. Then she suddenly looked up at me again. “Why?”
“Why what?” I glanced down, but she was looking at me so intently that I had to tear my gaze away from hers after holding it for only a second.
“Why do we have to back away from that territory?” she asked. “We’ve kissed before. I know we’re trying to work at being friends again, but I’d like to know why kissing can’t be part of that again if that’s what we both want.”
My dick reacted instantly when she mentioned the kissing from before. Those kisses had once fueled all of my teenage fantasies. It’d never gone any further, but I’d wanted it to. Dreamed about what it would feel like if it did.
Getting hard for her definitely hadn’t been a problem then and it wasn’t one now either, but not even I would go that far. “If it’s what we both want once we’re back on track, then we can talk about it. For now, what classes are you taking? Distract me.”
A playful laugh escaped her. “Distract you? Why?”
I couldn’t help the grin that tugged at the corners of my mouth, but I released an exasperated sigh and arched a brow at her. “You know exactly why. Classes, Hadley. What are you taking?”
She stared up at me for another beat but then started telling me about her schedule. I half-listened, but my libido was also very much awake and paying attention to her.
It was a full moon tonight, and the light was bright enough that I could make out every nuance of her animated expression when she spoke about the classes that really interested her and why. I could make out the light in her eyes and the fullness of her lips. Since she’d just brought up the kissing thing, I also couldn’t stop myself from remembering how they felt when they moved with mine.
Fuck. This is going to be a lot harder than I thought. In more ways than one.
“You should take more business class
es,” I said once she was done, forcing my mind to stay on track. “The world is changing. If you really want to be successful, you should look into business or anything tech or digital. That’s where the real money and growth lie now.”
“I’m not sure I have the mind for that,” she said, her voice filled with humor. “It sounds super interesting and I agree that it’s where the future is, but it takes a specific kind of brain to be good at it. I’m just not sure that’s me.”
I chuckled, shaking my head before she’d even finished her sentence. “You and I both know that you’ve got the mind for whatever you apply yourself to. I’m pretty sure you could be great at it if you wanted to be.”
“Possibly,” she said, resting her head against my bicep again. “I’ll think about it. Thanks for the advice.”
We walked in silence for a while. Then she asked me about my classes and how it was going so far. When we reached her dorm, we stopped on the steps outside. She slid out from underneath my arm but came to stand in front of me. We were still so close together that I could feel the heat coming off her, our chests brushing on each inhale.
“Thank you for dinner, Dax,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have you back in my life.”
“Yeah, same.” Go. Go now.
I couldn’t convince my feet to move, though. Even if I knew I should. Instead of moving my feet, my hand followed a command I wasn’t aware my brain had issued and reached for hers to wind our fingers together.
“It doesn’t feel like so much time has passed sometimes, does it?” I asked.
She blinked in surprise at the question but then swallowed as she nodded. “It pretty much feels like we’re picking up right where we left off. Just, you know, before our friendship went to shit.”
“Before what our friendship was turning into went to shit as well.” My heartrate kicked up a notch, every part of me wanting to close the distance between us.
Get the fuck out of here, Dax. Taking her to Hawaii and leaving her there was one thing. It was about payback. Abandonment. Pain.