Page 46 of The Dixon Rule

“I don’t know. Society.” He groans again. “Anyway, I need to take a break from all that. I knew exactly what would happen if I went home with Beck and Lily tonight. Like, she’s a rocket.”

“Stunning,” I agree.

“And she flat-out said she was interested in both of us. If I left with them, the three of us would’ve wound up in bed together and…I don’t want to go there anymore.”

“But you just said you enjoy it.”

“It can’t become a habit.” His tone remains firm. “I want a girlfriend at some point. If I’m with someone, I can’t exactly be like, hey, can my best friend fuck you?”

“Good point. If my boyfriend said that to me, it’d be a huge turnoff.”

“See?”

“I get where you’re coming from, I really do. And while I don’t know if you need to stop the threeways entirely, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to take a pause. Sprinkle some one-on-one sex in between them.”

He looks relieved by my agreement. “That’s what I’m thinking. Beck’s leaving tomorrow night and he’ll be gone for a month. That’ll be a nice breather. Maybe I’ll meet someone in Boston when I’m working—” He yawns abruptly. “Fuck, I just got stupid tired all of a sudden.”

The yawn is contagious. “Me too.” I slide away from him and lift the corner of the duvet. “Stay on your side of the bed or you’ll lose sleepover privileges forever.”

“I won’t even breathe in your direction,” he promises.

I hop up to turn off the lights, then crawl into bed and make myself cozy under the duvet. Will stays true to his word, settling on the opposite side and falling asleep instantly. I lie there for a while, a part of me wishing I’d told him we could cuddle. Platonically, of course. I miss snuggling under the covers with a man. For all his faults, Percy was a solid cuddler.

Oddly enough, not only do I fall asleep thinking about Percy, but I also wake up hearing his voice.

It isn’t until the wispy cobwebs of sleep disperse that I realize I’m not dreaming it. Someone is knocking on my front door, and that is absolutely Percy’s voice saying, “Diana, are you home?”

I shoot into a sitting position, rubbing my eyes. The alarm clock tells me it’s nine o’clock. Not obscenely early by any means, but it’s Sunday morning and he’s here unannounced.

What in the actual fuck?

“Diana?” Percy again, his voice muffled from the hall.

Another knock.

I glance at Will, who’s beginning to stir.

Shit.

“What is it?” he mumbles sleepily.

I climb out of bed and comb my fingers through my sleep-mussed hair, tucking it behind my ears. “Don’t say a word,” I warn. “I need to go deal with this.”

CHAPTER TEN

DIANA

Takes one to know one

I CAREFULLY OPEN THE FRONT DOOR, MAKING SURE IT REMAINS PARTIALLY closed so Percy understands I’m not inviting him inside. I greet him with a question rather than a hello.

“What are you doing here?”

But the answer is in his hands. The brown bag he’s holding bears the Della’s Diner logo, and the splotch of grease on the bottom tells me the breakfast sandwiches I like are in there.

It’s a sweet gesture, but I didn’t ask for it, and I don’t particularly want it.

“I brought you breakfast,” my ex says with a strained smile.

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