The Perfect Spiral (by Ashley Constantine) novel Chapter 28

Ding Dong

The bell chimed from the kitchen as I was busy packing leftovers into containers for the week–or rather, for the next day, considering my brothers‘ voracious appetites.

Loud greetings echoed through the kitchen door, but I continued my task, undeterred. The door swung open, and Boomer, our family dog, skidded across the kitchen tiles, making a beeline for me. He began to playfully nibble at my feet just as Sam and Tyson entered the kitchen.

“All I’m saying, bro, is you need to get your shit together before the next game, or the coach will drop your ass. You haven’t been playing well at all! Your arm is not in good shape right now.” Tyson admonished the person trailing behind

him.

X

“I know, I know. I just have some things on my mind right now. I’ll be fine before the next game! Just hitting a rough patch right now,” Knox responded, entering the kitchen with little Adam cradled in his arms.

“Alex!” My eyes shot up to the little boy nestled in the arms of the towering Knox. Dressed in a red sweater, crisp white shirt, and tiny navy slacks, Adam looked absolutely adorable.

He wiggled his little hands at me, signaling for me to take him from Knox. I wiped my hands on a towel and moved

towards them.

“Well, doesn’t my boyfriend look adorable in his little outfit!” I cooed, opening my arms to take Adam. I lifted him out of Knox’s arms and cradled him in my own.

Adam gave me a tight hug, and I returned it, placing my hand on the back of his head.

“I missed you, Alex!” He beamed at me as he pulled back, but remained comfortably seated in my arms. I adjusted my weight to keep myself stable with him in my arms and shifted him over to my hip.

“I missed you too, little bud! I hope Santa was good to you this year. I know you’ve been such a good boy.”

I walked back to the counter to pick up the containers and put them into the refrigerator so the food wouldn’t start to

smell.

“Yeah! I got a toy car and a real one! I got a surfboard too from Uncle Knox! Now you can teach me to surf,” Adam excitedly shared his Christmas haul.

I hadn’t looked at Knox the entire time he’d been in the kitchen. It was a little awkward, I won’t lie, but it was really my

fault.

“You got a real car? What? Are you serious?” I finally looked up at Knox, giving him a disbelieving look. He simply shook his head at me, explaining it was a mini hummer type of thing.

“Of course I’ll teach you how to surf, Adam. How about this summer? In Savannah?” He nodded enthusiastically at my suggestion. I tossed my phone to Sam.

“Here, take a pic of me and my boyfriend. You know, for my followers and whatnot.” I smirked at her, teasing her about her earlier comment. I received a glare and an eye roll in return.

She took a few pictures of me with Adam in my arms, capturing our shared affection. I couldn’t resist taking a photo

with Adam in his adorable outfit.

We scrolled through each of the photos, and Adam picked out his favorite–the one where he was kissing me on my

cheek.

Chapter 28 of 106: Chapter 28

Report

AA

Display

142 Comments

12.1K Shares

x+

+4 x+

KIKA

O

<

0%

ཊཱི51%.

Mon, 25 Aug

We scrolled through each of the photos, and Adam picked out his favorite–the one where he was kissing me on my cheek.

“That one! That one!” he yelled, pointing at the screen. I uploaded it to my Instagram with the caption ‘Me and my boyfriend #couplegoals‘.

Original, I know,

As soon as I uploaded it, the likes started pouring in. Some people really have no chill. Who was the first to like it?

Yep. Knox. I looked up to see him engrossed in his phone, a smirk slowly spreading across his face as if he knew I was watching him.

People started tagging him in the post, just like they did with Sam’s picture. Wes even commented on it.

@Alex.T Adam my man! Swap places with me?

I liked his comment and showed my phone to Adam. “Aren’t you Mr. Popular?” I tickled him, put my phone back into my pocket, and carried him into the living room where the other little ones were.

I set him down on the couch and told them I’d be right back. I returned to the kitchen where Sam and Tyson were sitting at the table, out of earshot.

I continued to pack the containers into the refrigerator, arranging them like a jigsaw puzzle. I was so focused on the task that I forgot Knox was still in the room.

“You ignoring me now?”

“No, just concentrating.”

“It seems like you are.”

“Does it? Well, I’m not.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

I heard him sigh and the squeal of the chair as he stood up. Maybe he’d leave me to my task now?

As I bent down to rearrange the containers, an arm reached over my shoulder, helping me slot them into place. I added more containers until I was finished and closed the refrigerator door.

Turning around to face him, I avoided making eye contact. “Thanks,” I finally said, starting to clean the counter where some scraps of food were left from packing the containers.

From the corner of my eye, I saw him lean on his elbows on the counter.

“Baby doll, I think you are ignoring me. You’ve only looked at me once since I’ve come in.”

“Alex! Sweetheart! You look fabulous! My god, that is so your color, right Knox?”

I knew what she was trying to do. Ignoring Knox’s response, I walked over to Delilah to give her a hug.

“I brought some more cupcakes for you, but I don’t want any more food fights between you two now, do you hear?” Delilah certainly knew how to make an entrance as she pointed between Knox and me.

I guess stirring the pot runs in the family?

“Don’t fret, Delilah,” I murmured, a smile playing on my lips. I took the box of cupcakes from Ace’s hands and wrapped him in a tight hug. He was like a second father to me.

Chapter 28 of 106: Chapter 28

1%

KIKA

|||

0

13:12 Mon, 25 Aug POP

I should’ve known. He was such a big kid himself. I saw him smile at me before turning his attention back to Adam, sticking out his tongue in a playful gesture. Adam responded in kind.

They continued their little game for a while, distracting me from the movie.

“Are you two going to keep messing around or watch the movie?” I asked, tickling Adam and making him squirm with

laughter.

“Don’t be jealous, baby doll,” Knox retorted.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the screen. We watched the movie a while longer until more people started to fill the room, and we had to sit up to make space on the sofa.

Adam sat on my lap, the blanket still wrapped around us. I still couldn’t shake off the chill. I wrapped my arms around Adam as we watched the movie, feeling someone’s gaze on me from time to time.

I refused to look around to see who it was. It could’ve been just my paranoia. Every now and then, Adam would rest his head against mine, and I would kiss the crown of his head.

I had a lot of love for this little boy. He was going to be a heartbreaker when he grew up.

“He adores you,” Mila, Adam’s mom and Knox’s eldest brother’s wife, whispered to me. I snuggled Adam closer to me.

“I adore him. He’s such a good kid! You’re so lucky to have him. I have all the time in the world for this little guy,” I

said, smiling at her.

“He’s always talking about you, Al. I swear, he’s got a little crush on you. He looks forward to seeing you so much, he even cried when we had to leave Savannah after Thanksgiving.“.

“Really? That’s so sweet. I miss him too. He’s such a joy to be around. I miss him the most out of everyone. If you’re ever in California, let me know. I’d be thrilled to babysit him and take him to the beach with me.”

“We might just take you up on that offer. We could use some alone time every now and then,” she said, smirking over at Adam who was watching her every move. He returned her smirk, as if he knew exactly what we were talking about.

“He’s always around Knox because Knox is always over here, and around you. So in a way, he uses his uncle as an excuse to see you.” she said, laughing. This caused Adam to turn his head around at me and his mom.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify