Filed To Story: The Perfect Spiral Book PDF Free by Ashley Constantine
Knox was sitting at the counter with his mom and Adam. My mom was bustling around the kitchen, preparing breakfast for everyone when they woke up.
Knox was shooting daggers at the sight of me on Ben’s back. I couldn’t help but smirk to myself.
“You two are up early?” Delilah asked, sipping her morning tea and eyeing us curiously.
“Yeah, Ben hauled me out of bed because he noticed the waves were big. We usually surf together.” I explained.
Sliding down from Ben’s back, I greeted Delilah and my mom, planting a kiss on Adam’s head as I passed by. I muttered a morning greeting to Knox, careful not to meet his gaze.
“You should come down more often when you have time, Ben. We love having you here. I’m sure Alex would love seeing you here too,” my mom suggested, to which I nodded enthusiastically while reaching for a strawberry.
“I would love that, Annie. It all depends on the workload. Always love seeing my sweet cheeks,” he teased, pinching my cheeks in a patronizing manner. I swatted his hand away, laughing.
“I might come back at the end of the summer too. This place is great!”
Just then, Sam and Tyson walked into the kitchen, drawn by the delicious aroma of the food being cooked.
“Well, Ben, you’ll be coming down for the wedding, right? I want you at my wedding!” Delilah pleaded, clasping her hands together and giving him her best puppy dog eyes.
“Come on, Hendrix, she’s giving you her puppy dog eyes,” I teased. He held up his hands in surrender. “Fine, I’ll go if I must,” he said, rolling his eyes sarcastically.
“Hendrix? Ben Hendrix? As in the old UCLA running back Ben Hendrix?” Tyson’s sudden question caught everyone off guard, except for Ben, who was smiling down at his hands and nodding casually.
Tyson knows him? “Dude! I envied your side step. This guy was unbelievable! Much better than I was! Why didn’t you go pro?”
Tyson was suddenly intrigued by Ben. I didn’t really know much about this side of Ben. He always kept it quiet.
“Got injured pretty badly in my third year in college. I never recovered from it. I honestly wasn’t pushed to go pro either, but the kid who played my position got a chance and now he’s pro. Edison, Rob Edison,” he explained to Tyson in a casual tone. Tyson and Knox bobbed their heads, recognizing the name.
I could tell he was being honest about it all, especially not wanting to go pro. I knew he didn’t like to talk about it much. I got the feeling it was a pretty bad injury, so I never asked him. He can tell me when he wants to, if he wants to.
“Man, such a shame! Then again, I probably wouldn’t be playing if you went pro!” Tyson laughed, making Adam giggle. I ran over to him, hugging him from behind,
“My boyfriend!” I exclaimed loudly, engulfing him in my arms.
“Alex! … Grandma! Alex was my first kiss! Can I have another one?” he beamed up at me, bending his head back.
“Oh really? Well, your uncle won’t be too happy about that!” She raised a brow over to Knox.
“Don’t worry, buddy, she was mine too! Something we have in common,” he smirked while drinking his water.
“She was your first kiss too?” Delilah asked in disbelief, much like my reaction when he told everyone outside that night.
Knox nodded, looking at me. I felt the heat rise on my cheeks, so I looked away and sauntered back over to the fruit bowl. I hopped up on the counter to face everyone who was staring back at me.
“What?” I asked, studying the pineapple piece in my hand like it was the most interesting thing in the room.
“Was he yours?” My mom asked me.
“How did it go from talking about Ben playing for UCLA to mine and Knox’s first kisses?” There was silence until my mom saw me nodding, making her and Delilah squeal out loud.
It was a high-pitched squeal, one that reminded me of someone strangling a cat, like Kyle’s singing. I mumbled a ‘whatever’ to myself, simultaneously chewing a grape.
I could see him smirking to my right, so I chose to look over at Ben, who was grinning too. Fine, I’ll look over to Adam, who was so focused on the food in front of him
I clapped my hands twice, getting Adam’s attention, and widened my arms out, hopping down off the counter. “Come here to your girlfriend and give her a hug!”
Hearing the chair screech across the tiled floor, I saw Knox making his way over to me with a grin on his face. He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up, squeezing the life out of me. Damn his bear hugs.
“What are you doing?” I mumbled into his bare chest. This guy needs to start wearing a shirt.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m hugging my girlfri-” I couldn’t let him finish. He was messing with me now, and it wasn’t funny.
“I’m not your girlfriend, Knox. Put me down so I can hug my real boyfriend.”
“Not yet,” he whispered lowly in my ear, causing me to shiver a little. Did he mean not yet to putting me down or to being his girlfriend? Let’s go with the first one, more realistic.
“I think you have me mixed up with Lauren, idiot,” I retorted, backing away from him to create some distance. Adam pouted up at him.
“My girlfriend! Not yours, Uncle Knox!” he protested, stomping his small foot and balling his fists, looking up at his towering uncle with a frown.
This kid was too cute. I bent down to him, kissing his cheek, which instantly transformed his frown into a wide smile. I picked him up and placed him on my hip, holding him up.
All the women in the room laughed at Adam making an angry face at Knox. But it was just so cute. Knox challenged him right back with his own angry face. Breaking into a smile, he ruffled Adam’s hair.
Just then, the back door slid open to reveal Hannah in a cream dress with her bikini underneath and her hair tied back. She greeted everyone softly and smiled shyly at Ben, who turned bright red.
Hannah begins to fiddle with the hem of her dress, and I nudge Ben, silently urging him to take her outside and ask her out. He shoots me a wide-eyed look that screams, Shut up! I press my lips together, struggling to suppress a smile.
I mouth, Do it! to him, and he takes a deep breath.
“Hey, Hannah? Can I talk to you real quick outside?” His question makes her snap her eyes up to him. She nods and glances at me.
They open the door and head out back, closing it firmly behind them. Damn! I wanted to eavesdrop. They know me too well, and I hate it.
“That poor boy looks like he’s going to have a heart attack. Did you see his hands? They’re shaking like an earthquake,” my mom jokes, eliciting giggles from the crowd.
“He’s just nervous, Mom. He really likes her. It’s cute, don’t you see the way he looks at her?”
“That I do, sweetie. She’s the only one he sees when she’s around. What a great guy!”
“I know! The best.”
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