Heart of Dixon

by Danielle Jamie

  Stalking back towards me, Dixon pins me against the wall with his stare and his body. "What are you smiling about, Darlin'?"

  Shaking my head, I bring my hands up and run them over Dixon's short beard he's sporting today. "At you...us. We are quite possibly the craziest people on the planet. You drive me completely batshit crazy on a daily basis...infuriating the hell out of me and bringing me to the point where I want to knee you in the balls...repeatedly...then tackle your ass and fuck your brains out."

  Dixon lets out the sexiest 'make my girly parts light up like the Fourth of fucking July' husky chuckle as he listens to my rant. "Well, I have to agree with you there. You do sound kind of crazy. I guess that's a side effect of having too much of the Dixie stick." He says teasingly giving me a playful wink.

  Smacking him on the chest I yell, "Don't ever call your dick that ever again! Only I'm allowed to call it that."

  "Whatever. Get your crazy ass moving before someone notices we've disappeared."

  Dixon's words feel like a bucket of ice being poured over my head. I freeze at the door and turn back to Dixon, "Please promise me you will keep what happened in here tonight between us. If Jax finds out, it'll destroy him. I promised him we'd only hook up with each other. I truly meant it when I told him that. It's just too exhausting fighting what we have between us. We may fight like cats and dogs but when we're fucking, it feels like there's nowhere else I'm supposed to be."

  Dixon grabs the nape of my neck and burns his eyes into mine, "I promise. But I don't want to share you. I don't know where things are going to go with us. Maybe we will fuck a few times and then the explosive passion between us with fizzle out. Or maybe it won't. But all I know, trying to ignore it is getting fucking impossible to do. I've walked around this weekend with the worst case of blue balls in my life. Watching you with him, knowing I couldn't bend you over anywhere I wanted, was pure. fucking. torture."

  Leaning up on my tiptoes, I press a kiss to Dixon’s full luscious lips, which I can't get enough of, and savor the feeling of them pressed against mine.

  Pulling away, I open the door. "Thank you. I'll go first and make up a story about being in the bathroom and puking my brains out all this time. Then you can come back and say whatever you want—you were jerking off in a closet. I don't care what. Just think of something actually believable." I can't hide the smirk on my lips as he blinks down at me.

  "Jerking off in a closet. Really?"

  Shrugging my shoulders, I tell him, "They'd all believe it. Sad but true. You are kind of a horndog when you're drunk."

  "I'll show you a horn dog! Come back here so I can bend you over and spank the shit outta that ass of yours before fucking you until you beg me to stop." His words send a shiver of excitement down my spine.

  I smile at him over my shoulder, "Oh, behave yourself. But I'll take a rain check on that hot ass spanking though."

  After using the bathroom to clean myself up, I reenter the living room where everyone is still drinking and playing pool. Savannah spots me first and jumps off the couch running over to me. "There you are. Where did you disappear off to?"

  "I went outside for some fresh air, but I had way too much to drink downstairs. I ended up praying to the porcelain Gods for the last twenty minutes. So not fun."

  Hugging me, she rubs my back gently. "Aww. I'm sorry to hear that bestie. Come sit down and relax," She says motioning towards the couch she was just sitting on.

  "So what'd I miss?" I ask plopping down onto the sofa.

  "Nothing much besides Reagan getting his drunk ass beat in pool along with Kayden. I swear the more drunk Jax gets, the better he's playing."

  Not long after I sit down, Dixon comes wondering back into the room. Kayden shouts to him, "There you are, ya asshole. Get over here and play some fucking pool. Now we can do teams. Me and you against Reagan and Jax."

  As the night progresses, I became more and more guilt-stricken. I don't know how I'm going to end it with Jax without coming off as a bitch who’s playing head games. This whole situation is messed up. I can only pray that everything will be okay, and Dixon doesn't revert to his asshole ways again.

  Chapter Eighteen

  It's been five days since we got back from Hawaii and today we're moving all of our things we brought to Sugar Land back to the beach house. I'm sad though because Savannah told me next week she'll start packing to move down to Kayden's beach house ten houses down.

  It's going to be weird having the entire house to myself. It's still strange being here now that Zak has been caught. I keep walking by the house they rented and being reminded of all the horrible things Zak and Jacob did. Hopefully in time the memories will fade. The one good thing is we've made so many good memories here that they outshine the bad thoughts.

  I know Savannah has struggled with it, and that's probably a big reason she's rushing to move in with Kayden.

  I haven't talked to Jax yet because I'm still trying to find the right way to do it. I've texted back and forth with Dixon. Mostly dirty texts which is a great way to pass the time. But it doesn't compare to being with him. He's been crazy busy since starting this new contract with his construction business. He's up at four a.m. and finally back to his suite by seven p.m. exhausted. Then repeats it the next day.

  We had planned on getting together this weekend, but my agent called me this morning to tell me she heard back from As the Days Go By soap opera, and I got the part of Raven, a mysterious new resident in town. She said depending on how it goes and how fans react to my character, there's a chance to have my role renewed for a longer more permanent term. For right now, it's only a four-week contract.

  Dixon isn't thrilled that I haven't talked with Jax yet but says he understands. I can only hope being in LA for the next week will help me find the strength to tell him. I'm not used to dealing with this shit. It sucks.

  Normally if I'm seeing a guy for a bit and things don't work out, I say 'It was fun, have a nice life.' But I have to see Jax all the time!

  I've gotten myself in quite the predicament. I can only pray I can find a way to try and see where things can go with Dixon without hurting Jax.

  Then I have to pray Dixon doesn't break my heart again because it's still fragile right now, but I'm trusting him to be upfront with me this time with what he wants.

  Walking onto the set, my stomach is a jumbled mess of nerves. I already had a tour of the building yesterday and got my own dressing room. The cast that I've met so far are all super nice, as are the hair and makeup team.

  I stop by my dressing room, tossing my purse in on the small couch before heading to the hair and makeup room.

  One if the soaps biggest actresses who is a legend in the soap opera world, because she's been acting on this show for over twenty years, is sitting in one of the makeup chairs in front of a large mirror framed with big, bright light bulbs.

  "Morning, Brooklyn." She greets me with a wide friendly smile as the hair stylist works on an up do for her.

  Climbing into the chair, I sip my coffee. It's only 5:30 in the morning and I feel like a damn zombie right now.

  "Good morning Olivia," I say greeting her back. I was so nervous meeting her yesterday because I've heard so many stories of these actresses being major divas and hating on the newbies. Thankfully, so far, everyone I've met are nice. At least they are to my face. I won't see the real people they are behind their politeness until a week or two of working with them.

  "Okay, Brooklyn. Wardrobe picked out a slip dress that wraps around your waist and ties at your hip so we can do your hair and makeup now. Good choice picking a button up flannel this morning they are the best choice so you don't ruin all the hard work I'll be doing," Roxanne says while giving me a friendly smile that's just as warm and welcoming as Olivia's.

  "I thought of that when I woke up this morning. My last role was as a stunt double. I was constantly being worked on for hours and if I didn't wear clothes that were easily removable my hair and makeup would whoop my ass!"
I laugh as I get settled in the chair.

  "Glad to know they trained you well! Now let's work some magic and get you for your first test run with Marcus."

  Marcus is the first person in the fictional town of Granville, California that I'll be shooting with. We screen tested together for my audition a few months back, and the director said our chemistry was outstanding, so my agent had a good feeling about it. Thankfully, the role wasn't slated to start filming until the end of February. My first episode will air the first week of March. I'm so excited to finally see myself in a speaking role!

  Finally, after an hour in hair and makeup, I made my way to wardrobe to change into the dress, heels and jewelry I'll be wearing for the scene.

  I head into my dressing room with my clothes and shoes in one hand and a refill on my coffee from the buffet table. After getting dressed, I plop down on the small sofa and run through my lines. I've read them a good thousand times since getting the script two days ago. I think I have it down pact.

  My nerves are wound so tight, I find myself soon pacing the room as I await the warning knock that it's time to shoot the scene. Fifteen minutes later, that knocking happens.

  "Come in," I say freezing in front of the door.

  A man’s head pops in through the door wearing a headpiece. He speaks into quickly before speaking to me, "You’re up, head to stage three."

  Spitting my gum into the trash can I was chewing to cover my coffee breath, I hurry over to stage three which is set up to look like a quiet park with a bench surrounded by trees.

  The director shouts for us to take our spots after we do a quick run through of the scene. I inhale a deep breath then exhale out all my nervous energy and just go for it.

  My character, Raven, starts out the scene walking through the park reading an address off of a piece of paper before running snack dab into Marcus.

  "Oh! I'm so sorry!" I stammer as I crash into "Seth" Marcus's character.

  He smiles down at me with a dimpled smile and bright brown eyes with specks of gold and green throughout them. His smile is contagious as his white teeth practically glow against his light brown skin. His hair is in short dreadlocks stopping at his shoulders.

  "No need to be sorry. Hi, I'm Seth. And you are?"

  Straightening myself, I grip the slip of paper to my chest and smooth my hair out of my face. "I'm Raven. I’m trying to find this address." I say holding the paper up to him. "Would you possibly be able point me in the right direction?"

  Taking the paper from me he glances down reading the address scribbled on it. Glancing up at me he says with curiosity in his voice, "This is Chief Ericson's address. I know where it is—can I ask why you're looking for the Chief of Police? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

  Swallowing hard I wring my hands together nervously before opening my mouth to finally say my line. I'm really feeling this scene. It's flowing perfectly!

  "Chief Aaron Ericson is my father."

  "Cut!" The director shouts, and I instantly breathe out a sigh of relief because I didn't flub any of my lines.

  Marcus gives me another mega-watt smile, "You did great, Brooklyn. I'll see you in a little bit for our next scene."

  I swear...I floated back to my dressing room. I was bursting with so much excitement and had the biggest adrenaline rush ever!

  I am so excited to see what the next four weeks bring.

  I've been back in Houston for less than twenty-four hours and already Dixon is blowing me off. He's pissed I haven't spoken to Jax yet. I tried to explain to him that I've been in L.A. all week on the set of As the Days Go By. I want to talk to Jax in person not over the phone or through text.

  He texted me ten minutes ago saying he was too tired to come to Galveston so he'll just see me tomorrow. That'll give me time to tell Jax that the whole exclusive situation isn't working for me.

  Thankfully, Savannah agreed to go to kickboxing today even though she's PMSing because I have some serious frustrations to work out. Nothing works better than kicking the shit out of someone. Sparing is a huge stress reliever for me.

  We're leaving class right now, and already I'm feeling a little better. I keep trying to find the courage to confess to Savannah what happened in Maui with Dixon. I know she’s team 'Dixlyn,' as they would say in celebrity or soap opera couple slang. Though every time I try to tell her, I chicken out, which is insane because I'm the most blunt, 'say it like it is,' person you'll ever meet.

  Right now, we're heading into the grocery store to grab some chocolate and ice cream. The perfect remedy to help us girls get through our lovely visit from Mother Nature.

  After loading up the cart with enough junk food to make a dentist cringe, we head to the checkout. Savannah decides to look through the magazines to find a bridal one to skim through and get some new ideas for hers and Kayden's wedding.

  As we're waiting in line and looking at the magazines at the beginning of the checkout line, one catches our attention because it has a photo of Kayden, in a three piece suit standing in his office at Beaumont. In the bottom corner is a smaller picture of him and some dark haired girl sitting in a bar together.

  Savannah’s started to set all of her items on the conveyer belt when I read the caption. In big letters, it says across Kayden's photo “My wild night in Paris with Kayden Knox.”

  “What the fuck is this?!” I ask Savannah as I snatch the InTouch Weekly off the rack.

  “I don’t know,” She says, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Her face has gone pale, and I notice her eyes glossing over.

  We check out our stuff and hurry back to my Jeep. The second we climb in, I start it up, speed out of the parking lot and head towards her and Kayden’s beach house. “I don’t believe that shit for one minute Savannah and neither should you. That man loves you; anyone who’s not blind can see that!”

  We've seen enough of these bogus fifteen minutes of fame stories to know to only take them with a grain of salt. But because of the damn picture of Kayden and this new upcoming model Nadia, who've I've now nicknamed twatwaffle bitchface, Savannah is convinced it just might be true. I've reminded her over and over that he takes pictures with girls all the time. It means nothing. It's just a story to get her face on magazines. With Logan, I knew right away he was a douchebag. But with Kayden, he has proven time and time again he's the real deal. I believe he is innocent. Sadly, Savannah doesn't.

  Breaking down, Savannah begins sobbing in the passenger seat as she buries her face in her hands. “I’m so scared Brooklyn. I don’t know what I’ll do if the story is true. I barely recovered after Logan did this to me. I know I won’t if Kayden betrayed me too. I love him with everything in me.”

  “You need to talk to Kayden before you do anything rash Savannah,” I tell her sternly. I feel bad yelling at her, but she needs to open her eyes and think clearly not with emotion. Because I, for one, don’t believe this shit for a single second. I will track this bitch down and beat the truth out of her if need be.

  “You’re right; I’ll talk to him as soon as he gets home tonight.”

  Savannah and I sat on her couch stuffing our faces until Kayden got home from work. I tried the entire time to talk some sense into her, but she is so confused about everything because of how badly Logan fucked her over. That douchebag has scared her for life, thanks to him being the biggest man-whore in all of Los Angeles.

  As soon as Kayden walked through the door, I could tell he already knew about the article. He looked raging fucking mad. I don’t blame him. People are messing with his life and hurting Savannah in the process. All for five minutes of fame?

  I left them to have some privacy and sat out on the deck overlooking the ocean. Not long after, Savannah came bursting out onto the deck, slamming the front door behind her.

  “Can you book us flights back to Los Angeles, please. I need to get out of here for a few days.” She says between sobs.

  Jumping to my feet, I wrap her in my arms, “Sure. Anything you want, bestie. We ca
n go back to the beach house, and I’ll book our flights. So I’m taking it things didn’t go well inside?”

  Stepping away from me, Savannah wipes at her teary eyes, “I feel so awful. He was begging me to stay. Pleading with me to stay here by his side and fight the story. He said he’s going to sue her for lying about all of this. I just don’t know what to believe. I told him that, and he threw Logan in my face saying that Logan fucked me up so much that I can’t see when someone is lying to me or telling me the truth! He told me he’s been open and honest with me about everything in his life and now at the first sign of trouble, I’m running away. Before I knew what was happening, I slapped him across the face.”

  Giving her a sympathy smile, I rest my hands on my hips and let out a sigh of frustration. “I don’t know what to say, Savannah. I know hitting Kayden wasn’t right. But I also see where you’re coming from. Logan is a sensitive subject. There’s just too much going on right now for you to be able to think rationally. We’ll go back to L.A., hunt this bitch down. Find out the truth. Which I know in my gut, Savannah, Kayden is telling the truth. That man loves you. I knew from the start that Logan was a piece of shit dressed up as prince charming. But Kayden, I can see as plain as day, that man worships the ground you walk on.”

  “I hate this. I told Kayden I needed a few days to deal with all of this. Thank you for being here for me.”

  “Anytime. What are best friends for? Believe me, if needed, I will break out my can of whoop ass on this bitch. I will find you all the answers you need. Don’t you worry.”

  I sent Kayden a text letting him know I'd do my best to help get to the bottom of this. The model was in Paris with Giselle, from what Kayden has told me. The second I heard her name, I knew she had to have something to do with this. She's been determined to steal Kayden from Savannah since they got together. She has a serious obsession with him and has been a major bitch to Savannah since her, and Kayden got together.