Circle in the Sand by Lia Fairchild

of those commercials to know
     what I’m looking at, but I don’t have any idea why.
    I set it on the counter while I wash my hands, unable to take my eyes off it. I put
     the toilet lid down, turn and take a seat. “What the hell?” I whisper to myself, staring
     at it in confusion. It could belong to the people that live here. I flash back to
     the pictures I saw in the hallway a minute ago—grown sons and a somewhat older couple.
     Not likely. Which means… My brain runs over possible scenarios, but this is not something
     you blurt out, “Who saw the new Ironman movie? Oh yeah, and which one of you got knocked
     up?” I would say Emily is the most obvious, but after our latest conversation, I’m
     not sure about that.
    I glance over at the sink and try to determine if all three girls have been using
     this bathroom even though by the mess it should be obvious. There are three toothbrushes
     in the holder and three small nylon bags that appear to hold toiletries. “Shit.”
    “What are you doing in there?” I hear after a couple of loud knocks on the door.
    I stand abruptly, as if I’d been caught doing something indecent. The bra thing doesn’t
     count. I take one last look at the stick. I’m ninety percent sure this thing is supposed
     to have some kind of lines on it which means no one ever pissed on it. I have no idea
     what I’m going to do or say when I walk out of here, but for now, I cram it in my
     pocket and open the bathroom door.
     

CHAPTER 12 - JAX
     
    At just after noon, we’re sitting at the patio table, eating. It’s chilly and we’re
     wearing sweatshirts, except for Ned. We’re used to winter at the beach and welcome
     the change in both the weather and the feel around our community. The waves have picked
     up, causing jet skis and boats to chop across the water. A giant bounce house in the
     grass area sways in the wind, causing shrieks from kids inside.
    I watch as Emily’s stare gravitates toward the children. She fidgets with her food,
     probably unsure what to do with a full plate she has all to herself. Sage and Ned
     make small talk, and I wonder if she’s asking him about that party. I understand she
     doesn’t want to go alone, but it bothers me that Ned is her back-up. She’s always
     had a way of getting men to do what she wants.
    We all grow quiet for a time, and then Ned brings up the one thing I don’t want to
     talk about.
    “So Jax, you still seeing Dale?”
    My stomach feels suddenly empty, even though I had downed two pieces of chicken and
     slid my teeth across a corn on the cob. Thinking of Dale means thinking of my recent
     appointment, and I’d worked so hard to forget that. “No, it’s over,” I say. I start
     to stack everyone’s used paper plates, hoping that will be the end of the conversation.
    “Sorry to hear that. He was pretty cool, except for that hair,” Ned says.
    “What are you talking about, Ned? What’s wrong with his hair?”
    “Are you freakin kidding me?” he says almost laughing. “It’s all long and scraggly,
     like he thinks he’s Kid Rock or Jesus or something.”
    They all laugh and I do too, thankful for the distraction. “I liked it,” I say. “It
     made him look rugged.” The eagle tattooed behind his left shoulder was pretty sexy,
     too. I blink to erase the image.
    “Yeah, but he was no Mr. X,” Sage says.
    “Oh, God, no.” I throw a loose kernel of corn at her. One of the paper plates catches
     in the wind and almost blows away before I slap a hand down on it.
    “Who’s Mr. X?” Ned says. His face is alight with curiosity.
    I can’t believe this hasn’t been brought up in front of him before. I’m not the type
     of person to be shy, but this is the one thing I don’t want to share with Ned. I don’t
     want him to have any more ammunition against me.
    Before I have a chance to answer, Sage jumps in. “He was the best kiss of Jax’s life.
     I believe she used the word ‘magical’.”
    Crap , I