College was a place where everyone seemed to float, worry-free, chasing dreams. For Jaxon, college wasn't a dream. It was a balance beam— walking between campus and shifts at the auto shop, between lectures and checking in on his little brother, Liam, who had just turned twelve and was already learning how to cook noodles.
But Jaxon never let anyone see the cracks.
He was a hot guy on campus. That's how people described him, not that he liked the attention. Tall, lean muscle, and that jawline women seemed to obsess over. He had that look—the kind of face that made girls whisper and giggle.
He'd hooked up with a few. Nothing serious. Jaxon didn't do serious.
Except once.
But that was a memory he didn't let to breathe too long. Not even in his own head.
Knox, his best friend, was the only person who knew the full picture. About his mom. About Liam. About the exhaustion that sat under his eyes no matter how hard he smiled.
Knox even knew about Sage.
"I thought you didn't do complicated" Knox had said after Jaxon told him, red-faced and tipsy, that he'd slept with her.
"I don't," Jaxon replied too fast. "She was just… there. I mean, she's hot, and it was late. You know me, man. "
It was a lie, of course. A pathetic one. But Knox had nodded, like always, reading between the lines without calling him out.
They never spoke about it again.
---
It was a Thursday evening when Knox finally dropped by the apartment.
They moved into the small living room, and Knox dropped onto the couch. Jaxon opened the fridge, grabbed two bottles, and tossed one to him.
They were halfway through their second beers when the bathroom door creaked open.
There was a soft thud of a towel being tossed then footsteps padded across the hallway.
Knox's eyes snapped up. Jaxon followed his gaze.
Mila stood in the doorway, barefoot, wearing Jaxon's oversized hoodie, the one she must've grabbed from the coach. Her dark curls were still damp, sticking to her neck, and she was holding her phone, scrolling with that dreamy boredom people had when they didn't know they were being watched.
Behind her, the bathroom door still swung slightly ajar.
And from inside, came the sound of a second shower turning off.
Sage.
Jaxon felt his gut twist, a reaction he wasn't proud of. He stared at Mila still wearing his hoodie and bit down the frustration that was starting to bubble up
Knox looked at him slowly his eyebrows raised in amused disbelief.
Then—Knox's hand moved. A quick, quiet gesture. One finger pointed toward the door, then back at himself.
Leave.
Jaxon blinked. "Seriously?" he whispered.
Knox just leaned back, fixing his himself running a hand through his dark blond hair like he was on a photoshoot.
Jaxon stood slowly, resisting the urge to glance toward the bathroom again. Mila looked up just then and smiled. "Hey."
He nodded. "Hey."
The sound of a second door unlocking echoed down the hall.
Sage.
Without another word, he slipped past Mila, and left.
---
Jaxon took a breath, letting the cold air outside to go in his lungs. He hadn't even known Sage was there. Hadn't known Mila was either. Hell, he hadn't expected to feel anything seeing either of them.
But he did.
Sage wasn't like the other girls he'd messed around with. She had this… fire. The kind that burned quietly, pulled you in before you noticed the singe. She wasn't clingy or loud. She didn't beg for attention. She was just present, and that made her dangerous.
They'd slept together once. Just once. But it hadn't felt like a one-time thing.
Afterward, she didn't ask for anything. No awkward "what are we" talks. She'd just acted like it hadn't happened. Which somehow made it worse.
So, when Knox had asked about it, Jaxon panicked.
"I was just after her skirt."
---
Back in the apartment, Knox was leaning into his game. He wasn't subtle—he didn't need to be. Mila was the type who liked attention, liked being seen.
"So, are you and Sage like… living here now?" he asked Mila as she handed him a fresh beer from the fridge.
"Oh, no. We just stopped by after class. She wanted to shower before hading out ," Mila replied.
Just then, Sage stepped into the living room. She wore leggings and a loose shirt, her hair still damp but pulled into a messy bun. Her eyes flicked over the room—over Knox, then Mila, then the empty spot where Jaxon had been.
"Where'd he go?" she asked.
"Emergency call," Knox lied. " Something about his boss at the garage."
Sage didn't question it. She just nodded and crossed to the counter to grab her phone.
---
Outside, Jaxon sat on the curb his hoodie pulled over his head, staring at the screen of his phone. A message from Liam blinked up at him.
> Liam: Sleepover fun. Can we get pizza tomorrow?
He smiled, then typed back:
> Jaxon: Only if you don't burn the kitchen down trying to make toast again.
He stared at the screen a little longer, then shoved the phone into his pocket.
This was his life.
The real one.
Not the college fantasy, not the version girls swooned over or the cocky front he gave Knox. He was a guy trying to survive. Trying to juggle responsibility without letting it crush him. Trying not to care too much about a girl who looked at him like he wasn't just a hot mess hiding behind a pretty face.
And failing.
Because he did care.
About Liam.
About Sage.
---