Chapter 6
Vanessa
Jude had one hand up Brae’s jacket and the other on her ass. He lifted and pushed her against their door, never breaking their connection. I was impressed with the choreography, not to mention how unaware they were of the five sets of eyes witnessing every tongue flick and pelvic thrust. With Jude’s back toward us, we could only assume the sound of a zipper lowering meant they were going for it, yet no one moved or said a word.
Taking matters into my own hands, because my friend would be mortified if her husband dropped his jeans as we all watched, my slow steady clapping snapped their attention toward us.
“Surprise!” We all yelled. It took a second for them to focus, see us, and realize what almost happened before our very eyes. Kyle blew a party favor horn, and I snorted when the colorful paper roll shot out from the end of a plastic penis with a squeal sounding like someone stepped on a cat’s tail.
“Oh my God!” Brae dropped her legs in haste.
A rosy tinge colored her tanned cheeks just as her husband barked, “What the fuck are you all doing here?”
“Um… welcome home,” Cassie said tentatively, raising her arms like a cheerleader.
“Nice moves, Soren. That takes control,” Kyle complimented with a huge grin. Jude adjusted himself and mumbled something that no one understood.
“Ah, shit.” Luca grimaced. “He’s breaking into his native tongue.”
“Wow, this is such a nice surprise.” Brae smoothed her hair and grabbed Jude’s arm. “Isn’t this wonderful, honey?”
Jude’s glare didn’t match his voice when he said, “Yes, it’s fantastic.”
“You can resume after we leave.” Kyle leaned forward and patted his friend’s shoulder. “I brought presents. You’ll thank me later, Soren.”
“A gun?”
“No, but there is a bullet involved,” Kyle responded without missing a beat. The way he shrugged, Brae gawked, and Jude raised a brow in interest elicited another laugh from me. Kyle looked my way and did the same. He was a very handsome man, but when he smiled or laughed with abandon he was even hotter.
His sky-blue eyes looked like they were backlit. And I didn’t really notice that until he directed them to me. I also never paid attention to scruff on a man before, but on Kyle’s jaw it acted as an accessory to his boyish good looks. It announced, he may have an adorable smile, stunning eyes, and a devilish charm, but he was all man.
Normally, my type was more tall, dark, mysterious—like Luca. Kyle’s sandy brown hair, light eyes, and open-book personality were new for me. The attributes I did find attractive were his insatiable appetite for sex, his tall lean frame, and the way his mouth could make me wet when it wasn’t even near me. He had pretty lips—kissable, bitable, and sexy all in a perfectly proportioned way.
I also never studied a man as much as I did Kyle. That alone sent smoke signals to my brain. But that damn mouth of his. Beyond the talent it possessed, it was the humorous comments that flew out from it. There weren’t many men who could make me laugh at a drop of a dime. His sarcasm, sexual innuendos, and crass remarks had me biting my lip on more than one occasion.
Once the shock of us being there wore off, we all settled in the living room with drinks in hand and fell into our comfortable banter. I was on the couch facing Jude, Brae, Luca, and Cassie. Beside me to the right was Kyle, to the left Desiree.
For some reason, a surge of anxiety coursed through me. Hearing all about the romantic honeymoon, while sitting beside a man who did all sorts of dirty things to me, started to make me uncomfortable.
“Oh, before I forget,” Cassie blurted out. “There’s a big Halloween party at Dispatch. Prizes and everything. We’re all going. Kyle and I sort of made a bet.”
“What kind of bet?” Jude asked, narrowing his eyes at Kyle.
“Don’t worry, this one only involves you putting on a costume. You don’t have to shack up with a gorgeous chick for six weeks.”
“There will be no more shacking up in his future,” Brae announced, pointing a finger directly at Kyle.
“For the Swede… no more shacking up for the Swede,” Kyle quipped, pointing a finger right back at Brae.
“Really, Cass?”
Her enthusiastic expression swung my way. “Oh, come on, V. It’ll be fun! If any of us win, the drink tab at Dispatch is on the opposite sex for a month.”
“Oh, that does sound like fun! We’re in.” Brae’s face lit up as Jude’s scowled.
“Babe, really?”
“Remember the night in St. John we ended up locked out of our cottage?”
She leaned in, whispered something in his ear, and he said, “Fine,” with no hesitancy whatsoever. “But… only if Benedetto is in charge. I don’t trust Cleary.”
“Wow, that hurts.” Jude showed no sympathy toward Kyle. “I must say, though, I’m impressed you got him to agree at all, Brae. That must have been some night from the look on Soren’s face. Details.” Kyle fished for more, but Brae didn’t bite.
“Nope, our secret. But I will tell you we had such an amazing time,” she said with a demure smile before recounting G-rated highlights of their two-week stay. The entire time, Jude’s eyes were on his wife. It was as if he needed every word she spoke, every smile, every blink, every breath to function. From where I sat, she was his battery and without her he’d be lifeless.
The way Kyle’s arm lay behind me on the back of the couch seemed innocent enough until his fingers started twirling a piece of my hair. Out of the blue, I was transported back to my dorm room when my boyfriend Robert played with my hair in the exact same way.
It’d been years—actually nine years ago tomorrow to be exact, since I lost him. My chance at settling down and spending all of eternity with one person vanished in a flash, and I had zero control over it happening. I believed in love and soul mates, but I also believed it came once in a lifetime. Witnessing Jude and Brae’s love for each other, combined with the anniversary of the day I lost him, caused bile to rise in the back of my throat. I was so very happy for my friend, but at the same time so very envious.
Kyle listened intently as Luca filled Jude in on the torturing lunch meeting he had to endure while he was off frolicking in the Caribbean. I wasn’t even sure Kyle was aware he was touching me.
I was very aware… also very aware of how my throat constricted from the memories that suddenly haunted me. The fact that my body reacted to his touch caused guilt, but the way my insides clenched from my loss caused me to want to run. All the emotions suffocated me, and it was all too much to handle.
When his hand skimmed over my shoulder and settled on the back of my neck, I stiffened. But when he began drawing circles on my over-sensitive flesh, the intimacy of the act caused me to fly off the couch and loudly announce, “Who wants to do shots?”
My friends looked at me like I was deranged, and fuck if I didn’t agree with them.
“Oh, hell yeah.” Kyle jumped up and followed. The man looked like he didn’t have a care in the world or a romantic notion in his mind. My brain misread his actions, and I had no idea why.
Kyle moved toward the liquor cabinet with Jude and Luca behind him. Desiree’s eyebrows bunched together. “What’s wrong with you, Vanessa?”
Wasn’t that the question of the night? If I only had an answer. “Nothing is wrong. I was just thirsty. Can’t a girl be thirsty?” Each of my friends stared at me with narrowed eyes. Fine, they didn’t believe me, but that was the best excuse I had to offer.
Brae, who was still in honeymoon oblivion, threw her arms around the three of us for a quick hug. “I missed you girls. Brunch tomorrow?”
“Well, since you missed brunch and yoga today, that sounds great,” Cassie said with a rueful smile. Des and Cassie’s eyes darted to me with shit eating grins on their faces, but they didn’t tell her that we needed to find yet another yoga studio.
“Girls!” Kyle called as he stood at the island with Luca and Jude. The shots were all poured and lined up ready to be consumed.
“What is this?” Cassie asked, sniffing it before scrunching her nose in disgust.
“It’s the only shot Soren will do,” Kyle responded, lifting the bottle of Belvedere with a flourish. “To the happy couple!” He lifted his tiny glass and slammed it back. One by one we all followed his lead, and the moment our glasses were emptied he refilled them without asking.
The expensive vodka rekindled Jude’s fire, and unapologetically he announced, “Lock up on your way out,” as he grabbed Brae’s hand and dragged her toward their bedroom. Her giggling protests did nothing to deter him, and a few seconds later we were left standing around the island staring at each other.
“Well, on that note,” Desiree said, grabbing her bag and jacket and heading for the door. Cassie followed, as did Luca.
Kyle’s eyes connected with mine. “My place?” His whispered invitation held so much promise.
“V, are you coming?”
My gaze spun from Kyle to my friends at the door and back to Kyle. My head was too fuzzy from alcohol—or so I wanted to believe it was the booze, to agree to spend any time alone with him. I needed away from all the lovey dovey shit that suffocated me all night. I needed air, and before I could change my mind I stared back at him and responded, “Yes, I’m coming.”
The only sign of disappointment I witnessed was the way he clenched his jaw as I walked away.
Families, couples, and friends just like us enjoyed their meals in the small comfortable restaurant. When the cute waiter came by with our mimosas, we placed our breakfast orders. Brae lifted her glass initiating a toast. “To us. May our friendship always be as strong as the shots we drank last night.”
We gently tapped the glasses together before taking a sip. Well, my friends took a sip, I downed mine in one swallow. Last night’s events still ran rampant in my brain. This wasn’t like me. I didn’t let a man consume my thoughts.
I wiggled my finger at our waiter, indicating I needed another drink.
Brae’s elbows were on the table, her head propped up on her hands. “So, what did I miss?”
Cassie and Desiree looked at me. “What? I’m not the only one who did anything.”
A sweet laugh came from Brae. “Tell me about Kyle.” She waggled her eyebrows.
“There’s not much to tell. We had fun together, that’s all.”
“Hmm…”
“Brae, there’s no hmm.”
Cassie chimed in. “I don’t know, V. The way he looked at you last night, and don’t think I didn’t notice the way he touched you, I’d say the man has it bad.”
I shook my head. “No, you’re wrong. We aren’t like that.”
“Could have fooled me,” Cassie said with a shrug.
This felt more like an episode of Dr. Phil, or worse, Judge Judy.
“It is what it is, great sex—nothing more, nothing less. The man is an orgasm wizard in the way he wields his magic wand.”
An older woman sitting at the table next to us, with who I’d guess to be her grandchildren, clucked her tongue and glared at me. What was her problem? Like she had never had sex before. Where did those rugrats and their parents come from? The stork?
Desiree smiled at the woman and apologized for me. “Can we please change the subject?”
Changing the subject was fine by me. I woke up horny, which wasn’t in itself unusual. The dreams starring a certain wisecracking Canadian were what had me freaked out. Sex dreams were normal occurrences for me, as was the method of how I handled them. But the men who came to life through my vibrator were always faceless.
“Cassie, why don’t you start? How’s school going?”
Our sweet friend let out a sigh just as our waiter brought our meals and my second mimosa. Before he could retreat, I snagged his wrist and whispered, “Honey, keep them coming.” He nodded with a huge grin and walked away. Three sets of eyes stared at me and forced me to ask, “What?”
Des spoke up. “Keep them coming?”
“They’re mostly juice. Relax, Mom,” I said knowing damn well the reason I hoped to catch a buzz was to stop thinking about a certain Canadian for a while.
“Anyway…” Cassie said in a sharp tone at my interruption. “It’s great. You know I love my kids. They’re like little sponges waiting to soak up every bit of knowledge I’m willing to share with them. In a way, I envy them. Their lives are a clean slate, ready to be shaped into whatever it is they want to be. They haven’t been tainted.” She beamed. “One student told me he wanted to be a teacher one day. Who knows what he will do, but just hearing that makes all of the stress worth it.”
“That’s wonderful, Cass.” Brae smiled at her. “What about you, V? Is your scrooge of a boss any better?”
“No. He’s still a Grade A douchebag.” I glanced at grandma sitting next to us and shrugged. “Enough about me today, trust me when I say my life isn’t exciting. What about you, Des? Any juicy stories?”
She placed a strawberry in her mouth and rolled her eyes. “Your boss has nothing on this loser that’s divorcing one of our clients. Married men suck.” Brae’s eyes popped open. “Please, this man is nothing like Jude. No, this guy, has a five-strand comb-over, a keg rather than a six-pack, and is shorter than I am. And get this, he filed for divorce after twenty years of marriage because he felt his wife was hindering his love life.” Cassie snort-laughed. Des waved her fork in the air before piercing a grape with it. “It gets better. When we left court, this jackass drove away in his little red sports car with a vanity plate that read, D-O-U-L-8-R.”
The three of us sat there and mouthed the letters trying to figure out what the hell it stood for. Then Cassie snapped her fingers in the air. I swear if there was a game show buzzer on the table, she would have pressed it. “Do you later!”
Brae’s nose crinkled. “Gross.”
“Right?” Des mimicked Brae’s expression. “Trust me, his wife was a warrior sticking with him for as long as she did.”
Cassie snickered and in a breathy voice said, “Aaand Warrior One.” I shook my head, wondering where my third mimosa was.
“Oh, Cass, you sound just like a yogi. Speaking of, how was class yesterday? I can’t wait to go next week.” Brae beamed.
I wanted to smack the enthusiasm right out of her right after I smacked Cassie and her big mouth.
Des laughed. “Well, since you asked.” She glanced at me. “Would you like to explain, Vanessa?”
“Sure.” Cutie came back with my cocktail. After a long steady stream flowed down my throat, I smiled. “We need to find a different yoga studio.”
Brae’s eyebrows drew together. “Wait, why? I loved it there.” Her eyes cut to me. “V, what happened?”
“Ready? Keep up.” I drained the rest of my mimosa and ticked off on my fingers, starting with my thumb. “Date with a cheating, lying bastard.” Movement beside us had our heads turning toward Grandma as she dragged the kiddies out of the booth and away from us. My pointer finger joined my thumb, and with each statement the other fingers followed in succession. “Condom packet sent his wedding band flying in the air and landing at my feet… I recapped how I kicked him out to these two… Cassie swore… the sound of a gong… then Des swore and fell on her ass… another gong, co-eds shushing us pissed me off… I told them all to fuck off. Grabbed my mat, shouted namaste, and parked my ass on the curb and waited twenty minutes for these two to come out.” Twelve fingers later, I glanced at Brae who was staring at me open mouthed while blinking. “So now you know why we got kicked out.”
“I’ve been thinking about this, Brae.” Desiree paused for effect. “We know you love your yoga, but maybe for the sake of V’s sanity, we switch to kickboxing?”
“Yes! I would love to kick someone’s ass on a weekly basis. Let’s do that!” The mimosas caused my voice to amplify, and soon enough the rest of the restaurant was glaring at me much like Grandma had earlier.
“Absolutely not.” Brae shook her head adamantly. “I can only imagine the havoc that would ensue putting you in a kickboxing class.”
Whatever.