Page 63 of Summer Ever After
I siton a stool at Tala’s kitchen counter with Capri behind me, curling my hair. I’m talking fast, likereallyfast, as I tell a story. I’m scared if there’s a pause in the conversation, Capri will say something about the questionable position she caught me and Walker in.
The look of defeat on her face when she saw us together broke me.
I’ve seen that same look in her eyes one other time in my life, and I swore to myself I’d never repeat it. And then,Wham!I repeat it. What is wrong with me?
But we’re not going to dwell on past mistakes. I’m pushing forward, telling my story with no breaks.
“I told you on the phone yesterday that I was going to start looking outside of Sunset Harbor for men to date—use a dating app. I meant it. I signed up for Swipe Right and put in a five-mile radius, and guess who the first guy was that popped up?” I don’t even give Capri time to answer. I just blurt it out. “Dustin Pearce. He’s on my Sunset Harbor list because he’s always on the island, even though he lives on the mainland. But when I saw his name on the dating app, I just thought maybe it was a sign. Like we were meant to fall in love.”
“I can totally see that.” Capri grabs another strand of hair, twisting it around the barrel of the curling iron.
The back door opens and shuts in the other room, and my heart goes wild, thrashing ridiculously inside my chest. My visceral reaction to Walker is made worse now that I know exactly how it feels to have his arms—fine, it was just one arm—wrapped tightly around me.
“What about the tropes you crossed off?” Capri asks. “The ones you said were beneath you or crossed the lines of what you’re willing to do?”
Right now, I wish Capri would lean more toward her quieter side—just silently curl my hair so I don’t have to talk about any of this in front of Walker. Maybe I’ll get lucky, and he won’t come into the kitchen.
“Jane?” Capri dips her head toward me, checking to see if I’m still alive.
“Uh, sorry.” Thinking about Walker is a hazard to my conversational skills. “Yeah, I crossed off a lot of tropes already that I don’t want to do anymore.”Or that are ruined because your brother did them to me.
“Which ones don’t you want to do?”
“The whole‘good girl’thing felt…” My words trail as Walker casually strolls into the kitchen like he doesn’t have a care in the world. How lovely for him.
“Felt what?” Capri presses, curling the next piece.
I’m just going to ignore Walker like I would any annoying older brother.
“I don’t know. I felt like the ‘good girl’trope was weird. Like it gave offFifty Shades of Greyvibes.”
“What’s the ‘good girl’ trope?” Walker picks up an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter and takes a bite.
“No.” I slice my arm out. “We arenotdiscussing this with him.”
I’m a pendulum, fluctuating back and forth from being irritated with Walker to falling for him. When I get too far on one side, I swing back to the other. Currently, he’s annoying the heck out of me.
He leans back against the counter, facing us. “Why can’t you discuss it with me? Maybe you need a guy’s perspective.”
“I don’t blame Jane for not wanting you involved.”
His palms lift in innocence as he looks at his sister. “I’m not involved. I’m just curious what the ‘good girl’ trope is.”
Capri sighs, relenting to his question. “The ‘good girl’ romance trope is when there’s an innocent female main character and a morally gray, alpha, possessive male character, and he calls her a good girl when she obeys him. Or he says things like, ‘such a good girl,’ or nicknames her ‘his good girl.’”
Walker’s head rears back. “Dude, that sounds kinky and messed up.”
I give him a pointed look. “You can’t saykinkywith kids around.”
“You’re the one who said you readFifty Shades of Grey.”
“Do I look like the type of girl who readsFifty Shades of Grey?”
His amused smile appears. “Jane, you don’t have to be a closet smut reader.”
“I’m not. Grandma Deedee read it and told me all about it. I was merely saying that book had ‘good girl’ vibes written all over it.”
“I don’t believe you.”
