Me: WHY?
Jaxon: LOL. TRUST ME.
I snorted. Trust him? Yeah, right.
Jaxon: NOW GET OUTSIDE!
Sighing, I gathered my backpack, flung it over my shoulder, and then walked outside. A flashy red sports car idled near the curb, and Jaxon stood near the open passenger’s door. He was dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved polo shirt, and sunglasses. The breath rushed from my lungs when I realized he looked even more like Trent than he had before.
“C’mon. Get in.” He grinned and nodded toward the car.
I stayed exactly where I was. “Why?”
He laughed. “Because we’re going on a field trip.”
I stared at him. Was he serious? But the excitement in his expression told me he was very serious. I chewed nervously on the inside of my cheek. Larissa expected me to stay at the bookstore. She’d be livid if she found out I took off. Not to mention, I suspected she made Declan hang around and wait for me. If he was lurking right now, he’d see me leave, and he would not hesitate to rat me out.
Jaxon sighed. “Come on. I promise to have you back in time for you to get home.”
“A field trip? Seriously?”
“Yup. Figured we could both stand to get out of that stuffy bookstore for a little while. We deserve a break, don’t we?” He once again nodded at the open car door. “So? Are you coming or not?”
This was probably a terrible idea, but he was right. I really couldn’t stand to spend another afternoon cooped up in that bookstore, especially when I planned to interrogate him until he told me the truth about what was going on. That was probably a conversation better had in private. Without another thought, I climbed into his car. He shut the door, then slid in behind the steering wheel.
“Where are we going?” I asked as I hooked my seat belt.
“It’s a surprise.”
He sped away from the curb so fast, I was pushed back against my seat. Great—he was a lunatic driver. I knew this was a mistake.
“Yeah, well, I hate surprises,” I said.
The déjà vu hit hard and fast—nothing more than a flash, a brief second of having that conversation before. I shook my head, refusing to let whatever was happening to me ruin whatever Jaxon had planned.
“Are you going to tell me why we’re going on a field trip?” I asked.
“They were always my favorite part of school, so I figured they’d be my favorite part of tutoring, too.” He shrugged. “Besides, I need some fresh air.”
“Were?” I asked, brow raised. “Aren’t you still in school?”
“No,” he said. He didn’t say anything further after that, and half an hour later, he pulled into an empty parking lot. I glanced at him. He got out, and I followed, both curious and cautious. And then a lighthouse came into view.
“Can we go inside?” I asked. I’d never been in a lighthouse before.
“Yup.”
I smiled. We walked the short distance to the lighthouse.
The ocean stretched in front of me, the sounds of waves crashing against the shore filling our silence. Seagulls swooped in and out of the sky with shrill squawks before settling in clusters on the ground.
Jaxon held open the lighthouse door, and I stepped inside. There were two small couches with a rickety table between them. In the center was a narrow, spiral staircase that led straight to the top, and I didn’t hesitate to climb the steps. Jaxon was right behind me.
When I got to the top, my breath caught. “Wow,” I whispered. “This view is incredible.”
“I knew you’d like it here.” He stopped beside me for a moment, then said, “Wait until you see this.” He opened a small door and motioned for me to go first.
When I stepped through the doorway, I was in a smaller round room with yet another door that led to a balcony.
“This is a rotunda,” Jaxon said, moving around me to swing open the door. “And directly above our heads is the lantern room.”
I turned to him and grinned. “Look at you… studying and stuff.”
He flung his head back and laughed. “Let’s not make that a habit.” He ushered me outside.
I leaned against the balcony and gazed at the ocean. From here, I could see endless water, dotted here and there with small islands. Boats and yachts were nothing more than tiny specks. The enormity of what lay spread in front of me was overwhelming, yet it was peaceful, too.
“So, what’s the newest drama?” Jaxon rested his arms on the balcony and stared straight ahead.
“We’re not doing this today,” I said with a hard shake of my head. “You owe me an explanation.”
“I know.” He momentarily hung his head. “But humor me for a minute, okay? What’s new with you and Trent?”
“Not much.” I sighed. Maybe if I played along, he’d finally tell me what was going on. Besides, who better to gather information from about Trent than his very own brother?
“When the whole volleyball thing happened, he made sure I was all right, and then he tried to kiss me,” I said.
Jaxon shifted his body so he was facing me. His expression was unreadable. “Did you let him?”
I shook my head. “No. I mean, I wanted to, but we were at Simon’s house and—”
“Simon’s already called dibs on you,” he finished for me.
“Yeah, something like that, I guess.”
Though, if his recent text canceling our plans on Saturday was any indication, he no longer wanted dibs. I wanted to feel bad about that, but the only emotion I could muster was relief.
I was silent for a moment longer, debating how much I should tell Jaxon. He was a great listener, and his advice wasn’t terrible. But… something about talking to him about other guys was weird, especially when one of those guys was his brother.
“Anyway, at school yesterday, he asked me to hang out this weekend,” I said, opting to leave out all the
