The Dixon Rule: Chapter 21

DIANA AND GIGI RETURN FROM THEIR DRESS FITTING AROUND TWO ON Sunday. It’s still a scorcher of a day, and Ryder ends up joining us at the Meadow Hill pool, the four of us claiming a set of loungers and slathering ourselves in sunscreen.

While the girls sunbathe, I kick Ryder’s ass in a race that draws loud cheers from the rowdy teenage boys in the pool with us. Dave and Marnie’s kids are allowed to talk to me now that the neighbors don’t hate me anymore. Veronika, of course, is sprawled in her usual lounge chair, blatantly checking out Ryder and me. It’s a perfect pool day with good friends, sunshine, and beer.

The only problem is, Diana and I keep forgetting we’re supposed to be dating. Around our best friends, we fall naturally back into our old roles. Those roles being Diana hates Shane, and Shane’s only goal in life is to piss her off.

Heaving myself out of the pool, I watch as Diana points something out in the clouds for Gigi. “There. There. Do you see it?”

Gigi slides her sunglasses on to get a better view. “Nope.”

I towel off and settle in the chair next to Diana’s, while Ryder stretches out beside his wife.

“What are we looking at?” I ask curiously.

“That cloud up there is shaped like a magician. He’s wearing a top hat and holding a rabbit in one hand and a huge butcher knife in the other.”

“That’s dark,” I tell her.

“Hey, I didn’t do this. That’s what the clouds are saying today.”

I roll my eyes at her. “You have issues.”

“You didn’t even try to see it,” Diana accuses.

“Why would I? It’s not there.”

“Try.”

“Fine. Where?”

“See that break between the two clouds just left of the sun?”

I suck in a breath. “Holy shit. That rabbit’s about to get his throat sliced.”

Diana’s entire face brightens. “Do you really see it?”

“No. No, Dixon. Of course not.”

She grumbles in annoyance. “Why did you even pretend to play along?”

“Because it’s fun getting you excited and then destroying your dreams.”

“I dislike you immensely.”

“Oh no. How will I ever sleep at night with that knowledge keeping me up?”

A dry voice interrupts us.

“Are you sure you two are together?” Gigi inquires, raising a brow.

Although she’s joking, I don’t miss the gleam of skepticism in her gray eyes.

And although I did tell Ryder we were dating, it feels wrong putting on this deliberate act in front of our best friends.

I glance at Diana in an unspoken maybe we should fess up. Her guilty look confirms she’s also having trouble blatantly lying. Resignation enters her green eyes, and I suspect she’s about to come clean—until her ex enters the pool area.

“Fucking hell,” she mutters under her breath.

Gigi straightens up. “What?”

Diana nods toward the other side of the deck.

“Who’s that?” Ryder asks.

“My ex-boyfriend,” she answers grimly. “He decided to rent out the apartment three buildings down from me. Because he’s a sociopath.”

Ryder sits up. He’s wearing shades, but the taut set of his jaw reveals his thoughts on the matter. “Is this asshole stalking you?”

Diana’s gaze is glued to Percy. Although we’re talking quietly, he must know we’re talking about him.

On the other side of the swimming pool, he lays down a towel and takes his shirt off. For a physics student, he’s not in bad shape. He’s tall and lean but has some muscle to him. Not as bulky as me and Ryder, but I assume he doesn’t spend as much time in the gym or playing competitive hockey.

He settles on the chaise and rests a paperback novel on his knee. I can’t make out the title of the book, but I’d bet a hundred bucks he’s pretending to read.

“He claims he had nowhere else to go,” Diana tells Ryder. “His townhouse doesn’t free up until September first, and he’s teaching a class at Briar this summer, so he needs to stay local.”

“And you don’t believe him?” Ryder says.

“Nope. He can’t get over this breakup. And he’s…” She hesitates, visibly frustrated. “Whatever. He’ll be gone soon.”

“Does he know about you two?” Gigi asks, shifting a finger from me to Diana.

“Yep,” Diana answers. “Which is another reason he’s over there pretending to read and glaring at us.”

I glance at Percy. I don’t think I’ve seen him flip a page yet.

“Come on, Girlfriend,” I say. “Let’s cool off. I can see that temper of yours heating up.”

“Fine.” She lets me tug her off the chair. That slamming body of hers is barely covered by a tiny red bikini. She adjusts the two triangles as she walks toward the shallow end.

I know my next move could backfire on me and ignite her temper even more, but I grab her arm and draw her toward me.

“Where do you think you’re going?” I taunt.

A yelp escapes her lips when I scoop her into my arms and run toward the pool. I jump, and then we’re airborne for a second before we hit the water with a loud splash. Diana is sputtering with laughter when her head pops out of the water.

“Oh, you asshole,” she says, smacking me in the chest. But her eyes are dancing.

See? I know how to cheer Dixon up.

We swim side by side for a while and eventually wind up in the middle of the pool. I can stand in this section, but she can’t, so she wraps her legs and arms around me, clinging to my body like a koala hanging onto a tree.

“Can you really not touch the ground here?” I ask.

“No! I’m short.”

“Must be a terrible way to go through life.”

I walk us backward until my shoulder blades bump the side of the pool near our chairs. Diana twists around so her back is flush against my chest. I wrap my arms around her, tilting my head to the sky. I don’t see any murderous magicians, but suddenly I’m looking for shapes everywhere. Dixon rubs off on me in the strangest ways.

“What kind of thoughts do you think a cloud would have if it was sentient?” I ask her.

“I can’t even begin to answer that question.”

I absently play with the end of her wet ponytail. “I think he’d think, what the hell am I doing up here?”

There’s a beat of silence, and then Diana bursts out laughing, waves splashing everywhere as she shudders in my arms.

“Oh my God, why are you so weird?” she howls.

“Shut up.”

I hear Gigi giggling from her chair. “Okay, I take it back.”

“What?” Diana says, glancing over.

“You two are kind of perfect for each other.”

I don’t know if Percy heard that, but I notice his cloudy eyes flick in our direction before he lowers them back to his novel.

“Why won’t he go away?” Diana mutters to me.

“Do you want me to go over there and say something? Because I’m happy to.”

“No. He legally rented the Garrison place. What are we supposed to do about that?”

“You could file some sort of complaint with Brenda?”

“He hasn’t done anything that warrants kicking him out of the building. Trust me, I’ve read the handbook.”

Of course she has.

“He’ll be gone soon,” I assure her. “And until then, I will diligently serve as your boyfriend.”

“Thank you.” Genuine gratitude softens her face.

It’s odd to see it. I didn’t think Diana was capable of being rattled by an ex-boyfriend, but for someone who enjoys confrontation, she sure doesn’t want one with this dude.

“Have you spoken to Lynsey lately?” she asks, still using my body as a chair.

“No.” I keep my voice low because I don’t want Ryder overhearing. He’s been knocking me for the last year about not being over my ex.

“We should post some pics of us on social media. Make her jealous,” Diana says devilishly. Before I can object, she holds onto the side of the pool and calls out to Gigi. “Hey, G, can you take a picture of us?”

“Sure.” There’s a rustling sound as Gigi climbs off her lounger. Then she chuckles. “Um. D? You have five thousand notifications. Literally.”

“Sure.”

“I’m serious.”

Confused, Diana dries her hands with the towel Gigi hands her and checks her phone. A moment later, she starts to laugh again.

“Oh my God. Lindley. We’ve gone viral.”

Dread twists my stomach. “No.”

“Our last video has…wait for it…two and a half million views. And counting.”

Oh, Jesus. Two and a half million people watched me do the cha cha and thrust my hips?

Kill me now.

“This is incredible.” She’s still laughing, shaking her head in amazement as she gives Gigi the phone back. “We’ll celebrate this later.”

“We will not,” I tell her, but she’s already looping her arms around my neck again and forcing me to pose for a photo.

“Let’s see a kiss,” Gigi says, holding up the phone.

I dutifully bend my head and bring my lips to Diana’s. When we pull apart, Diana glances at Gigi. “Thanks, G.”

“No problem. You know me, just your personal photographer, following you around.”

“That’s part of the best-friend duty!” Diana calls as Gigi returns to her chair.

We stay in the water, swimming toward the shallow end. But even though Diana can reach the ground here, she still wraps her legs around me again. I hold on to her ass, while the sun beats down on our heads.

I fixate on Diana’s lips. I remember kissing those lips in my kitchen. How delicious they tasted. How good her tongue felt in my mouth. The way she used it, with that teasing little swirl—

“Why are you staring at me?”

“I was thinking about the swirl move you did with your tongue when we made out.”

She lightly punches my shoulder. Droplets of water splash onto my arm.

“Hey, you asked.” I teasingly drag my fingers over the swell of her ass. “Don’t tell me you haven’t been thinking about it.”

“Not one iota of brain power has gone toward that kiss.”

“Bullshit. I’m not the only one who was affected.”

“Sorry to break it to you, but you were.”

I give her ass cheeks a discreet squeeze. When her lips part, I take full advantage and press my mouth to hers, sliding my tongue through that seam. Despite her surprised noise, Diana kisses me back. I’m rock-hard within seconds, and I know she can feel it.

I pull my mouth away when I hear a loud slapping against the deck. We turn to see Percy’s retreating back as he leaves the pool.

“Point made,” I hear Gigi say from her chair.

Fuck. To be honest, I totally forgot about Diana’s ex. There was no point being made. I simply wanted to kiss her and to prove I turn her on.

“See,” I murmur. “It affects you as much as it affects me.”

She reaches down between us, and my lips barely contain a groan when she lightly squeezes my erection.

“Really… Because the way I see it, if we’re both so affected…why am I the only one who can get out of the pool?”

She laughs and swims off toward the ladder. And she’s right. I can’t get out without inviting Ryder’s merciless taunting. All I can do is stay in the water with my erection and wait it out.