Page 33 of The Dixon Rule

Being watched, on the other hand…I could get on board with that. But that’s not something I’d ever suggest to a girlfriend. The one time I mentioned this kink to Lynsey, she was so disgusted that I never brought it up again. She accused me of watching too much pornography. Which is laughably not the case because I very rarely use porn to jack off. I prefer the real thing.

Well, not so much these days. Now that random hookups are off the table thanks to the Crystal fiasco, the only way I’m getting laid is if I 1) have a girlfriend or 2) find myself a friends-with-benefits arrangement. Someone I spend an extended amount of time with. Someone to have regular sex with instead of impersonal and hollow one-night stands.

I’m sending a message to the group chat saying I don’t feel like going out tonight when the phone vibrates in my hand. I brighten when I see the notification.

VERONIKA PINLO HAS ADDED YOU TO THE GROUP NEIGHBORS.

Hell yeah. Progress! I may have been spurned by everyone else today, but at least I won over Veronika. And now maybe the rest of them will be wowed by my stellar personality via my hilarious messages and start warming up to me.

No sooner does the optimism take root than another notification pops up.

DIANA DIXON HAS REMOVED YOU FROM THE GROUP NEIGHBORS.

CHAPTER SEVEN

DIANA

Kenji has betrayed me

DAD COMES OVER SATURDAY MORNING TO FIX MY SHOWER. I OFFER TO help him, but he waves me off and says he works better alone, so I cook up some omelets for us while I wait. He lumbers out of the bathroom literally ten minutes after he entered it and announces, “We’re good.”

I stare at him incredulously. “Do you realize I watched hours’ worth of how-to videos to try to fix that stupid thing and you did it in minutes?”

He shrugs. “Just had to adjust the control valve.”

“I hate that after all those online tutorials, I still don’t know what you’re talking about. I feel completely useless right now.”

Dad grins at me. “It’s okay, kiddo. I’ll never ask you to fix my shower temperature, but you’re still the first person I’d want by my side in a fight.”

“Obviously. Thomas would never have your back.”

“Nah, he would. He’d throw down. But then he’d feel guilty and start patching up the enemy’s wounds. You, on the other hand…”

“I’d crush their skulls to dust,” I say solemnly.

“That’s my girl.”

“Here.” I slide a plate toward him. “Let me butter your toast.”

We eat our breakfast side by side at the kitchen counter, chatting about what we’ve been up to lately. Dad is a SWAT team leader on the Boston PD, so his updates are always way more interesting than mine. He tells me about a meth lab his squad raided last week, shaking his head when he gets to the part about finding three little kids at the house, cowering in a closet. I don’t know how he’s able to do this job. Kicking in doors of drug houses. Executing high-risk searches. Dealing with hostage crises. All that adrenaline would put me into cardiac arrest. But Dad thrives on it. He’s honestly the toughest man I know.

“How about you?” he asks. “How’re the dance rehearsals going?”

“Really well! I have high hopes for this year’s competition. I think Kenji and I might be able to crack the top ten.”

“Of course you can. You’re unstoppable.”

“So is everyone else who’s competing,” I grumble. “This will definitely be an uphill battle.”

“You got this.” He leans closer and nudges my shoulder with his. “You’ve never shied away from a challenge your entire life. Never met an obstacle you haven’t been able to overcome.”

My dad is my biggest champion, and that’s pretty damn great.

It’s not until after he leaves me with a hug and a promise to stop by next week that I realize the battle I’m facing is beyond uphill—it’s a vertical line shooting straight up into the heavens.

Kenji calls as I’m getting ready for my shift at the diner and drops the bomb of all bombs.

“What do you mean you can’t do the competition?” I shriek into the phone. “Why not?”

---