Page 62 of This Is Love
Speaking of our girl, I have a feeling she’ll be chomping at the bit to get in some extra practice before then. And she’ll definitely be faced with stress in the form of showing up to her classes and holding her head high. Hopefully, people will take it at face value. Dancer forgot to eat. Faints in class. And we’ll have to help her work on making healthy choices as much as we possibly can.
The scary part, though, is that she’s the one who is ultimately in control. We can assist. We can remind. But it’s up to her to make the changes that will help her in the long run.
Now, what the hell she’s going to do about Hazel, I really have no idea. A disturbed sigh blows from between my lips. If I know Rya at all, avoidance will be the word of the day. And that means she’s probably staying in Jaxon’s room for the time being. Hopefully, that won’t be an issue, but at this point, it’d be less problematic to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission. Rya could request a new roommate, but who knows how that would go. The other thing that’s been at the back of my mind is there’s gotta be some rule Jaxon is breaking by being involved with his residents. But fuck it. Hopefully, it doesn’t blow up in our faces.
Approaching the dorm, I slow, sure I must be seeing things. There’s a woman standing with her back to me, staring alternately up at the building, then down at her phone. I frown, squinting because she looks like— “Mom?”
The woman whirls around on her heel. Sure enough. My mother is here on campus. On a Thursday morning. Alone. I cock my head to the side, asking her what she’s doing without words. She wrings her gloved hands in front of her as she gives me a cautious smile. “Logan, I’m so glad you’re here. I triedtexting, but you didn’t answer. I didn’t know how to get into the building or I would have gone upstairs to find you.”
I chuckle anxiously. That would have been bad. I would assume Levi would know better than to point her to Jaxon’s room—because let’s face it, that cheeky bastard watches everything like a hawk. There’s no doubt he knows where I’ve been spending my nights. I traverse the space between us in a few quick steps, then awkwardly fold her in my embrace with the coffee and bag of breakfast food still in my hands before stepping back to study her. What in the ever-loving fuck is going on here? She’s got this fake smile plastered on her face and is fidgeting where she stands.
“Mom, what are you doing here?”
She shoves her hands into the pockets of her warm wool coat, and shrugs. “I need to talk to you for a few minutes. And Jaxon, too, if you know where he is this morning.”
“I tell you what, let’s get out of the cold. We can use one of the lounges to talk.” I gesture to the coffee and sack of food. “I actually brought this stuff back for Jaxon and Rya. I’ll take it upstairs and bring him back down with me.”
She nods, her eyes slowly moving from my face to the food items and back. Her brow furrows. “Yeah, that works.”
If she was going to say something else, she decides against it, following as I lead her inside and point out the study lounge. Before going, I hand her one of the coffees. “I got four. They were running some buy-three-get-one-free deal. Be right back.”
Upstairs, I stride quickly to the end of the long hallway Jaxon’s room is on and lightly rap my knuckles on the door. It pops open only a moment later to Rya’s bright face. She’s all smiles, and that does my heart a world of fucking good, considering where we were at with her yesterday evening. “I’m glad you’re back. I have to leave for class soon.”
My lips pull into a straight line as we enter the room. I set everything on the desk, plucking one of the cups of coffee free. Jaxon joins us from the bathroom a moment later. Rya has just noticed my sour expression, but before she can say a word, Jaxon asks, “The fuck’s wrong?”
Rya’s head whips around, her eyes pinging over me. “Logan?”
I release an uneasy groan. “I’m not sure. But my mom is downstairs waiting for us.”
There’s a heavy beat of silence before Jaxon questions, “Me?”
Nodding, I take a sip of the coffee. “I don’t know what’s going on, but she wants to talk to us.”
He wets his lips, a deep line forming on his forehead as his brows pull together. “Uh. Okay. Sure, I guess.”
Rya’s gaze bounces between us, finally landing on me. “You’ll let me know if you need me?”
“We always need you.” I press a kiss to Rya’s lips and gently stroke her cheek. “There’s a sandwich in there for you. Bacon, egg, and cheese. Flaky biscuit. Eat up. You need energy to get through classes and rehearsal today.”
She sighs, but nods, tucking her head under my chin and leaning against my chest. “Why am I worried?”
Jaxon steps in behind her, sweeping her hair off her shoulder and planting a kiss on the slope of exposed skin. “We’ll go see what’s up. You have plenty else on your mind. Let’s not add to it until we know what’s going on.”
“You’re right.” She takes a deep breath, her cautious eyes flicking to each of us in turn. She bites her lip for a second. “Thanks for taking such good care of me.”
I narrow my eyes on her as I watch her move to inspect the food. “Are you feeling okay after…”
Her eyes dart to mine as she pulls out one of the sandwiches and unwraps it, inhaling the scent of it as it wafts into the room. “You mean…?”
I grimace, shifting my gaze to Jaxon, whose teeth clench together. “I think he’s worried about your pussy.” Then clearing his throat, he murmurs, “I kinda am, too. You’re okay?”
Her eyes grow wide. “I’m fine. A little sore. Would I want to do that every time? Probably not. But it was hot. And I wanted it.” She’s about to take a bite of her sandwich when she pauses. “Is that weird?”
I shake my head, hand lifting to stop her from asking anything else. “I just wanted to make sure you’re good.”
Her teeth scrape over her lower lip as her gaze settles first on me, then shifts to Jaxon. “I won’t break. But thanks for being concerned about my lady parts.” She gestures to the door. “You’d better go see what your mom wants before she comes up here looking for you guys.” She gives us a comically scared face.
Jaxon runs a hand through his hair. “She speaks the truth. Let’s get the fuck down there.”
