Page 72 of Fake Dating Daxton Hawk
Keeping quiet, I slide from bed, leaving Jordan peaceful between the sheets, and pull on a pair of long pants before heading out of my bedroom.
“Daxton Hawk speaking,” I say, holding the phone to my ear.
The line crackles and a voice speaks that I haven’t heard in three years. “Oh, Daxton, honey, I’m so glad you answered. I’ve missed you so much.”
My mother.
My chest prickles with anger. Betrayal. I keep my voice low, so as not to wake up Jordan. “Look, if you’re calling about the wedding, I won’t be attending.”
“That’s not why I’m calling. Although, the weddingissomething I want to discuss. Brad and Felicity are getting married this weekend at the vineyard and it would mean so much to everyone if you were there. We haven’t seen you in years—”
I take this conversation outside to the pool area to ensure Jordan doesn’t overhear. “Do not ask me to attend the wedding of my brother and my ex.”
“Daxton…” Her voice wobbles like she’s about to cry. “This might be the last chance we all have together. I didn’t want to tell you this over the phone but… I have cancer. The doctors haven’t given me long.”
ChapterThirty-Five
Jordan
I stir from sleep as soon as the bedroom door clicks shut. The muffled sound of Daxton’s voice travels through the door, of him speaking on the phone to someone, so I give him privacy and roll over in bed.
For the first time since early last night, my viral video returns to mind. Curious over its performance, I open TikTok to check the video’s view count.
My eyes pop open wide the second I see my profile. Holy shit. Eight hundred thousand views overnight. I sit up, holding the bedsheets to my naked body as I stare at the screen in shock. There must be a glitch because how does my dance video have so much traction? My phone is vibrating nonstop with notifications. I can barely keep up with the comments pouring in. I scan through the comments section, finding an overwhelming amount of praise from everyone telling me how amazing my routine on the aerial hoop is. I’m even tagged in multiple videos with the repetitive commentary of people saying, “Isn’t that the girl Daxton Hawk is dating?” It’s not exactly the title I want to be known for. But whatever, I’ll take the label if it means word of my routine spreads.
My heart stops when I see a comment on my video from Dark Artist. She’s one of my favorite burlesque dancers, the one who made me fall in love with burlesque when I was a teenager.An incredible routine. I just watched all your videos and want to help spread the word of how talented you are. I’m sharing this video on all my social media platforms.
My chest feels like it’s about to explode. I’m shaking with excitement. No wonder my video has grown even more viral if Dark Artist is backing me. This is a freaking dream come true.
I lay in bed for the next five minutes, spread eagle and staring up at the ceiling in awe. When it finally sinks in that Dark Artist commented on my video, I work up the courage to reply. I also reply to a bunch of other comments but there are so many that I’ll have to respond to more later.
A few minutes later, I poke my head out of the bedroom to locate Daxton and tell him the news. He catches my attention, out by the pool in the middle of a phone call. The excited part of me contemplates running out to him and shouting about my success, but from the stern look on his face and the way he paces back and forth, I behave myself and give him privacy. He’s clearly in the middle of an important conversation, probably work related, so I head for the shower instead.
I lather my hair in shampoo and wash my body, the whole time singing a random Taylor Swift song at the top of my lungs. Jesus Christ, I’ve turned into Mina, walking around on cloud nine, happy, and with a man I’m crazy about. Give me this level of happiness all the time, please and thank you.
Once I’m dressed for the day and am busy fixing my hair in the bathroom mirror, an incoming call arrives from Mina.
“Hey, what’s up?” I answer.
“Babe, we havesomuch to discuss.” Mina speaks at super speed. Ordinarily, I would assume this means she’s excited about something but there’s an unusual hint of tension in her voice that has me wary. “I don’t even know where to start. We should probably talk about the easy stuff first.”
“There’s hard stuff? Great.” I sigh, leaning against the bathroom counter. “Okay, I’m listening.”
“That burlesque dancer you’re obsessed with—Dark Artist, the one you made me follow on Instagram—I saw she shared your video. Everyone is going crazy over your dance routine and I can see why. You look sexy as fuck. I’m not sure why I didn’t think to share your video too. Zac and I are going to repost it on all of our social media accounts to boost your views. I’m also going to ask Verena and Darius to repost too.”
“Oh my God, seriously?” I don’t know the exact follow count each of them have, but it’s definitely in the tens of millions. I can’t even fathom that many people seeing a video of me. “That would be amazing. Thank you.”
“It’s no problem at all. Okay, next thing. How did last night go with Daxton? Please tell me you have good news.”
I laugh, because of course she is calling about that. “We had sex.”
My right ear becomes temporarily deaf as Mina screams into it. “Yes, babe! How was it?”
I switch the phone to my other ear, grinning at myself in the mirror. “The sex was amazing.”
“Oh, come on. I need more than that.”
“I’ll tell you all the details in person. It’s more exciting that way.”
