Page 261 of Unexpected Ever After

Kollyns opens the door and I’m still standing there laughing but she’s less than happy considering her hands are planted on her hips and her head is cocked to the side. The minute I take in her long T-shirt that barely covers her hips I stop laughing. Kollyns Parker is going to be the death of me—I already know it.

“Aren’t you nosey this morning?” she spouts, but it doesn't even faze me. Thankfully the shirt doesn’t move up too much, or we’d be spending the day in her bed.

“We’re just going to the beach. Put on one of the dresses and a pair of sandals you bought and get out here. We’re wasting daylight.”

No matter how she looks at me, with contempt or as though she wants to jump my bones, I’m hot and hard for her. I take two steps back and walk to the living room so I have some time to cool off before we spend a day under the summer sun.

Chapter 12

Kollyns

FRIENDSHIP FIRST

Teach Kollyns How to Date Day Six

“If we’re going to be friends, can you please call me KJ?” We’ve been sitting here talking while eating the picnic lunch he made for us. I don’t want to be an asshole but the only place people call me Kollyns is at work and I don’t like it.

“I can,” Xan responds. “But why do you want me to call you something that isn’t your name?”

He has a point there, but let’s be real. His friends call him Xan, not Alexander, so he should understand.

“It’s probably the same reason you don’t like being called Alexander,” I begin. Then he holds up a hand stopping me.

“Why do you assume I don’t like to be called Alexander?” he asks me, then turns and looks back toward the water.

“Henley introduced you as Xan and you didn’t correct her, so I thought it was your preference.”

I watch him with his legs bent with his elbows on his knees. He seems enthralled with something that is going on in the water, though I can’t tell if he’s watching the kids playing or something else. Makes me wonder if he wants kids.

“My preference is Alexander unless I know the person well. When my sister was little she couldn’t say Alexander so she called me Xan and it stuck. I was in middle school when she was born, so once she started with it, my parents and friends started calling me Xan also.”

Well, that makes sense. Ironically, my nickname came after Mom was charged with embezzlement. I asked my dad to call me KJ, because I wanted everyone to assume that I was a boy. In our small town the only lawyers we had were men and I thought I had to be a man to be a lawyer So for years, I wouldn’t wear makeup or fix my hair. That is until I met Henley. She’s the opposite of me in every way, though she tries to encourage me to be myself, whoever and whatever that is.

The heat is baking my hair to my back, so I twist it up into a messy bun, then lay back on the blanket, closing my eyes behind my sunglasses. A light breeze blows across my legs and flutters my skirt up. Instead of holding it down I allow whatever is meant to be to happen. My senses are assaulted with the heat of the summer sun, voices from kids and families playing, and my nerves.

When Henley said that Xan was supposed to teach me how to relax and become more confident in who I am outside of work, I’m one hundred percent sure she didn’t anticipate I’d be attracted to the man, though that’s her bad. Not only is he sexy as fuck, he’s also kind, which I never dreamed he would be after the first night in his apartment.

Yeah, I’m a rule follower at work, but outside of those four walls, I only like my rules. The ones that keep people at arm’s length so I can recover from all the peopling I do during the week. Yet, as I lay here pondering how I got to this moment, I realize it’s all Henley. It’s always been Henley. She’s the one friend who doesn’t care about who I am and what I do as long as I’m happy. She also tries to help me be a better me.

Especially my need to have a mate that isn’t related to my job.

Someone who will keep me warm at night.

Comfort me when I’m sad.

Celebrate all good things in life.

Encourage me when I think I can’t make it through.

Kiss me.

Worship me body and soul.

I’ve never been able to picture anyone in that role. Until Alexander Lake.

“How did you and Henley become friends?” Xan asks, breaking into my thoughts, as he turns to his side and props his head up on his hand.

“We met in college. Our parents made us live in the dorm as freshmen and one day I was walking back from the cafeteria to watch my soaps in the common room. She must have heard the television and stopped to watch with me. Afterwards we chatted about how long we’d been watching the show and decided to meet and watch at lunch every day.”

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