Chapter 16
Jaxon
ARIYO
Where you at man?
Scared of losing already?
I rolled my eyes and turned off the car, quickly typing a reply in the group chat.
JAXON
The only one who's gonna lose is you
Went out to get coffee
Be back in 5
JESSE
Pretty sure we have coffee at the house
JAXON
No cinnamon at the house
BENJI
Since when did you start drinking coffee with cinnamon?
Wait don't tell me you left this early to get coffee for Savannah
JESSE
*laugh emoji * tell me you didn't
Bro seriously?
It's 7 am on a Sunday
BENJI
That's twice you've went out before 12 on a Sunday for her
She really has you whipped into shape there Jax
ARIYO
And where the fuck was this consideration for us?
JAXON
Fuck off
All of you
ARIYO
Get me something
JAXON
How about no?
ARIYO
Come onnnn
I'm hungover here
Where's the consideration?
Where's the love?
JAXON
I'm not the one who told you to get shit faced last night
JESSE
How do you even get that drunk for someone else's birthday celebration?
ARIYO
How do you argue that much on someone else's birthday celebration?
There was no response for a few minutes, so I got out of the car and walked toward the familiar breakfast diner.
Sweet Tree Diner was one of the old-school breakfast spots we always came to whenever we came to Sunset Creek—and it was practically my second home when I used to live out there.
It didn't get many customers those days, which was a shame because the food was damn good.
My phone buzzed again and I glanced down at the screen.
BENJI
If you're wondering, they're chasing each other around like children
Remind me why I'm friends with them again?
ARIYO
Because we're top tier friends
As if you'd be happier with those rich assholes you do business with
BENJI
Well they didn't flood my beach house
ARIYO
It was an accident!
BENJI
Uh huh
Chuckling, I pocketed the phone and opened the door, a familiar ding of the bell sounding inside. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and maple syrup wafted through the small space, and a familiar seventy-year-old woman stood behind the counter.
“My favorite woman,” I greeted, arms wide with a grin on my face.
She waved a wooden spoon at me. “Not been here in months and have the nerve to call favorites. Hmph.”
I grinned, leaning against the counter.
“Come on, Peggy, you know nothing can keep me away from you and those chocolate fudge brownies of yours.”
She gave me an unimpressed look, then her gaze ran me up and down. “You don't eat enough.”
Laughing, I responded, “I'll bring everyone by for some food later on. Promise.”
She waved that spoon at me again. “You better, boy. Now what do you want?”
“Two coffees. One black and anything equivalent to one of those cinnamon lattes.”
“Cinnamon latte?” she said, raising a brow. “I know none of those boys drink fancy coffee like that. Well, Benji might.”
“Before you get nosy, it's a friend,” I clarified.
A friend who I could still taste on my tongue this morning.
A friend who I got down on my knees for last night.
Last night was burned into my mind, and the sight of her spread wide open in front of me was going to be my undoing.
“Friend? Is that what you kids are calling it these days?” She fixed the black coffee quickly then went to work on the other. “I remember when Clarence used to bring me coffee. Clarence!” Peggy suddenly shouted, turning her back to me.
“What, woman?” Clarence, her husband, shouted from some back room.
I grinned at the interaction and brought my coffee to my lips.
“How come you don't bring me coffee anymore?!”
“This is a coffee shop, Peggs. What do you want from me?!”
Peggy finished off the cinnamon latte substitute and pushed it to me across the counter before disappearing into the back.
Chuckling, I paid for the coffees and left to the sound of their argument, the bell jingling at my exit. The sun burned through the clouds, with promise of a warm, sunny day.
Thank fuck for it, too.
The sun would—hopefully—help with this challenge.
Last year was rough. It was pouring, and like the dedicated idiots we are, we went out in the rain and all ended up getting sick.
I tsked at the memory and hopped in the car.
Unsurprisingly, not many cars were on the road this early, so the drive back to the beach house was under five minutes.
The air was cool and quiet by the time I pulled back into the driveway. I grabbed both coffees, slowly sipping mine as I walked up the stairs and into the house. My ears perked up at the sound of the TV, and I saw Nerissa flipping through channels on the couch.
“Well, well,” she said, glancing up. “You're up a little early, pretty boy. Should I check if you have a fever?”
“Morning to you, too.”
“Why are you even up this early? Figured you'd want to sleep in to get some… cuddle time with your faux boo.”
My eyes narrowed at her smirk when she mentioned ‘cuddle time.’ Then I held up the coffee cup.
“Went to get her coffee.”
She put the remote down and arched her brow at me, smiling now. “You went to get her coffee?”
“Don't, Rissa. I already got enough crap from the guys.”
“I'm not, I'm not.” Though her chuckle said otherwise. “Hey, don't look at me like that. I'm not the one who's practically skipping on rainbows and sunshine this morning. Had a good night?”
I rolled my eyes at the knowing glint in her eyes and walked away. “Mind your business, Rissa.”
Her laugh followed me down the hall and I slipped into the quiet of my bedroom. Savannah was still fast asleep, curled slightly on her side and hugging the pillow to her chest. Her lips were parted just enough to make my chest tighten. Even now, she was beautiful.
I didn't know how long I stood there just looking at her—at the rise and fall of her chest, at the messy strands of her hair, at her bare legs barely covered by the sheets. The coffee cup warmed my hand, but somehow, it didn't even come close to the burning between us last night.
Something had shifted between us.
Not just physical—though yeah, that too—but deeper. It was intimate. Dangerous. We crossed a line that neither of us could pretend was there anymore. I went out to get her coffee at seven in the morning, for crying out loud. I'd say we obliterated the line.
Moving to the nightstand, I set the coffee down quietly, then forced myself to step away before I did something stupid like crawl back into bed and wake her up properly.
My eyes dipped to her legs again, and yep, I really needed to get out of here.
I managed to avoid Nerissa in my escape and headed out back.
The sliding door whispered shut behind me, and the salt air hit my lungs like a reset button.
I could see the silhouettes of the guys down by the shoreline, dark shapes against the pale morning sky.
Jesse was stretching, Benji looking out at the waters, and Ari…
well, Ari was hunched over, hands on his knees, clearly questioning his choices from last night.
I smirked to myself as I crossed the sand, rolling my shoulders, trying to shake off the image of Savannah tangled in sheets and soft light. Didn’t work. Not even a little bit.
“Look who finally decided to join civilization,” Benji called out as I approached.
“Somebody had to put you out of your misery,” I teased, dragging a hand through my hair. “Heard you missing me from a mile away.”
“I always knew your hearing would be the first to go.”
I laughed and bent low to flick some sand his way.
Jesse glanced at me, stretching his left arm across his chest. “You look suspiciously pleased with life.”
“I’m always pleased,” I shot back. “Even more now because I know I'm winning this year.”
“I think you have it all wrong, B.” Jesse’s gaze shifted to Benji, smirking. “His memory of how he lost three years in a row proves he'll lose his mind first.”
“All I know is that Ari's coming in last.”
Ari groaned loudly. “If you’re about to be smug, I swear to God—”
I stripped off my shirt, letting it drop to the sand. The breeze cooled my skin, grounding me just enough to focus on the moment instead of the woman still asleep in my bed.
“What happened with Mercedes last night?” Benji looked at Jesse with narrowed eyes.
“I drove her back to the city last night.”
Now, that got my attention.
My head snapped to him. “You drove her back? Why?”
“She thought I wanted to hook up with some waitress.” He tossed his shirt in the sand then ran a hand down his face. “I'm tired of having the same fight, man.”
“You know how I feel about her, bro,” I added with a shrug. “All she does is bitch and moan about other women.”
Jesse shot me an exasperated look but didn't bother to add anything.
Message received.
We stood in silence for a bit before Ari squinted up at me. “Did you bring me something or what?”
“Oh yeah, right here.” I pretended to pat down my pockets then lifted both hands, slowly rotated one fist like a jack-in-the-box, then popped my middle finger up.
They burst out laughing.
“Asshole,” Ari muttered, tossing his shirt at me.
I dodged it easily. “Don't blame me for your hangover, bro. You knew we were doing this today.”
“Yeah, well, I also knew two women wanted to get—”
Benji held up a hand. “I really, really don't want to talk about Ariyo's sex life. I heard plenty of it last night.”
“And this is where I thank you for putting him as far away from my room as possible,” I added, looking to the water.
Jesse shook his head. “Alright, enough foreplay. You boys ready or what?”
Benji scoffed as he kicked off his shorts. “You’re all competing for second place.”
“Keep dreaming,” I said, toeing my own shorts off. Just as I was about to drop them in the sand, my phone buzzed.
SAVANNAH
Thanks for the coffee.
A grin broke out on my face.
JAXON
You're welcome trouble
Though I expect that thank you to be in person
Hugs and kisses encouraged
SAVANNAH
I was trying to be nice and you just had to ruin it
“Lover boy, you coming?” Jesse yelled from the starting point.