Raegan

The door slams, and I jolt awake, my pulse pounding.

I rub my eyes and see Arya plop on the small couch next to me.

“Aw, y’all are so cute,” she says, pushing her heels off her feet.

I look down, noticing an arm around my midsection. I groan as I drop my head back on the pillow Jax and I are sharing.

He shifts behind me, and I wonder if he knows Arya just walked in the house.

His leg swings over mine, and he pulls me closer, placing a kiss on the back of my neck.

“I knew you guys wanted to do it in the living room,” Arya says, smoothing her long brown hair.

Jax’s body stiffens behind me before he relaxes, apparently not caring she’s here.

“Morning,” he grumbles before he buries his face in my hair.

“How was your night?” I ask Arya.

I move to sit up, but Jax holds me in place.

“Don’t get up,” he whispers, hauling me closer.

Understanding dawns on me as something hard hits my ass.

I bite my lip, holding back my smile.

“Fabulous—until I walked in Graham’s room.” She stands from the couch, picking up her shoes. “We spent the night cleaning it instead of doing what I really wanted to.”

“You cleaned?” I laugh.

She nods. “There was no way I was going to get down and dirty when his room could have given me a disease just from standing in it.”

Jax belts out a laugh, and it vibrates through me. “I bet he was happy about that.”

She shrugs. “He complained the whole time, but I told him to get over it.”

Yep, I can totally see her pushing him around. She could probably get any guy to do anything she wanted.

“I slept in his bed after I changed the sheets, and he slept on the floor.”

“Arya!” I shriek.

“Hey, it’s not my fault I was exhausted when we were done, and you know I don’t sleep with guys. Maybe, next time, I’ll get as lucky as you.” She winks before she walks off, heading upstairs.

I don’t bother telling her nothing happened because she wouldn’t believe me anyway.

I shift away from Jax and stand up, stretching my arms above my head and craning my neck from side to side. “Let’s not do that again.”

“Do what?” he asks, standing and wrapping his arms around my waist.

“Fall asleep on the couch.” I put my hands on his shoulders. “Bed next time,” I say, arching my back.

“Are you trying to take advantage of me?”

I roll my eyes, shoving him.

He reaches for me, but I run away, and he chases after me, running through the kitchen until I’m backed against the counter. “Can you take advantage of me right now?” He grins.

He cages me in, placing a kiss on my neck, and I sigh, angling my head so he can have better access.

“What are you doin’ to Rae, Jax?” a small voice says.

I quickly push Jax aside and walk toward Sam.

Jax keeps his back to Sam as he turns his head. “Nothing, Munchkin. We were talking about what to make you for breakfast.”

I guide her to the living room, so he can pull himself together. “What do you want to eat?” I ask as I lift her onto the couch.

“Pancakes.” She claps her hands, bouncing up and down on the cushion.

“You know who makes the best pancakes?” She shakes her head. “Arya.”

“I like Aya. She dresses funny.” Sam giggles, her nose scrunching.

“She does,” I agree, placing my hand on Sam’s leg. “She likes to play dress up.” It’s the truth-ish. Arya dresses for all the guys crawling on campus. I’ve never seen her less than perfect in public.

“Can I play?” Sam asks, looking up at me with doe eyes.

“After breakfast, Munchkin,” Jax answers, standing next to me.

Jax, Sam, and I all look at the staircase. It sounds like a baby elephant is trying to run down the stairs, but then I see Stella, Walker, and Arya at the same time. They stop in the living room when they see us staring at them.

I shake my head at them as Sam hops off the couch, running to the two dogs sniffing each other’s butts.

“We took a poll,” Jax says to Arya, “and you’re making breakfast.”

She salutes him. “That’s a no-brainer. If Raegan were in charge, we would be eating cheese slices.”

“I did that once,” I argue.

She raises a brow at me as she heads to the kitchen. “Sure, it happened once, but that’s the same time you ate thirteen slices and then threw up in your parents’ front yard.”

I scrunch my face. “Ugh, it smelled like old cheese for two weeks.”

Jax places his hands on my shoulders and pushes me to the couch. “You should stay here.”

I plop on the cushion, crossing my arms. He laughs as he follows Arya.

“I was hungry. It’s not like I cooked anything.”

“You’re right; it could have been worse!” Arya shouts from the kitchen.

Joke’s on them. I get to stay out here while they slave over making breakfast.

“And done,” Jax says as he shuts my computer, placing it on the coffee table.

I sit next to him, putting two waters on the table. “There’s no way we’re done with our paper.”

He takes a bottle and opens it, gulping down half of it before he puts it back. “Yep, and two weeks early.”

Stella jumps on my lap, whimpering until I pet her.

“I’m actually impressed.”

“I’m offended, Red.” He slaps his hand over his heart. “You didn’t think I had it in me?”

“Nope,” I say, petting Stella’s head as she places her two front paws on my chest. “I thought you were going to be dead weight.”

He nudges my shoulder. “Wanna know a secret?” He takes Stella from me, and she wiggles in his arms as he holds her on his shoulder. She licks his face, her short tail wagging back and forth. “I have a four-point-oh GPA.”

My mouth falls open. “You do not.”

He nods.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shrugs. “It was more fun this way.”

I shove his shoulder. “Such a guy.”

He laughs as he stands from the couch, heading toward the door.

“What about Sam?” I point up the stairs to where I know she’s fast asleep in my bed.

“She’ll be fine.” He opens the door and steps outside. “Arya’s in her room; come on.”

I rush behind him and close the door after I’m outside.

“Are you going to tell me what your major is now?” I ask, stepping out into the crisp night air. I inhale, loving the smell of burning wood as the wind blows my hair across my face, leaves rustling in the grass.

“When I graduate at the end of the school year, I’ll be going to school to be a veterinarian.”

My jaw unhinges as I stare at him with wide eyes. “You’re not.”

“I am.” He clicks Stella’s leash on before he sets her in the grass, letting her do her business. “You really do just like me for my looks, don’t you?” he jokes.

I roll my eyes at him. “Don’t be a goober.”

“A goober?” His lips tip up.

“Yeah, a goober.” I hug his sweatshirt closer to me.

He chuckles. “It’s like you’re in fifth grade.”

I take a step closer to him “If I were acting like a fifth-grader, I would stick my tongue out at you and chase you around the gymnasium at one of those lame school dances.”

His brows crease. “Is that what you did at school dances?”

I shrug. “Yeah.” I was never invited by a boy to a school dance, so I spent most of the time running around with Arya when she wasn’t pursuing her latest crush.

The smell of mint surrounds me as the wind blows again, the trees swaying. His gray eyes are brilliant tonight, drawing me in as they twinkle like the stars in the sky.

If I had known him in fifth grade, I think I would have spent the whole time chasing him.

With Stella’s leash in one hand and his other outstretched to me, he says, “Dance with me.”

I shake my head. “There’s no music.”

“Who says we need music?”

I take his hand, and he hauls me to his body. I willingly press as close as I can to him.

Our breath floats between us, and I get lost in the guy I thought I wanted nothing to do with. It’s funny how we think we don’t want one thing, but it turns out, it’s exactly what we needed all along.

Jax is the guy I wanted to stay a million miles away from, and I would have missed out on knowing a guy who has made me a better person. That’s what any of us wants—to be the best version of ourselves with someone who brightens each day.

“Thanks for letting Sam and I crash another night,” he whispers.

I smile up at him. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

I reach my hand up, cupping the back of his head, playing with the hair on the nape of his neck. He looks down at me like I’m the rarest of gems in the world.

We dance in my driveway as Stella lies in the grass, her eyes closed.

His nose trails down the side of my face before his lips meet mine, soft and slow.

He kisses me, each sweep of his tongue and nip of his teeth more perfect than the last. I hold him tight as we dance and kiss under the stars.