Chapter 18
Julian
As soon as my Jeep leaves the freeway and reaches the meandering highways of home, the weight leaves my body.
I roll the windows down. Despite the cooling temperatures, my lungs welcome the air that chills my face.
I inhale the smell of home—soil-rich fields, woodsy oaks, and a hint of something ancient and quiet.
The rolling golden hills of dry grass and sprawling alligator-skinned oak trees as far as the eye can see embrace me.
My anticipation grows the closer I get to Blue Lake and my gray-eyed girl.
I’ve missed her so much. Especially since early feedback shows the algorithm favors clips with Ever as much as those of me alone.
Proof we’re better together. It’s also true what they say.
Sex sells. And she’s sexy as fuck on camera.
I’m eager to tell her. Mostly because I’m so proud of her.
But I’m nervous how she’ll respond to the growing interest in her.
She’s private and still hasn’t reactivated her social media since leaving Oak Valley.
Opening the door, every cell in my body exhales.
The faint and steady patter of water hitting tile trickles down the stairs.
My girl is in the shower, which immediately sends blood rushing south.
I drop my bags at the door, swing the wood shut behind me, and ascend the stairs two at a time.
Steam fogs up the mirror so I can’t see her in the reflection as I approach the open master bathroom door.
I stop in the doorway and lean on the jamb, watching her sluice water off her hair, head tilted back in the spray, eyes closed.
She must sense me there, because her eyes fly open and pin me with her smoky stare.
Straightening from the doorway, I yank my shirt over my head as I’m kicking off my Dunks and sliding my joggers and boxers down my legs. I’m already hard in anticipation. I step through the sliding doors and reach for her.
She snakes her heated arms around me, molding herself to me.
“Hi, beautiful girl.” I kiss her wet lips, sucking on them slightly until she opens and presses her tongue against mine.
She quickly sweeps in and out, closing her lips again on mine. “Hi, beautiful boyfriend.”
“I missed you, Ever.” I peck her lips again.
“Yeah? How much?” Her smoky eyes grow dark like a thunderstorm.
I don’t answer her with words. Instead, I curl my fingers around her thigh and lift her leg, placing her foot on the tiled seat. Taking her hands, I lace our fingers and pin her arms to the shower wall above her head and drive into her without warm-up or warning.
“Augh.”
The cry that rips from deep in her chest gives me pause. I freeze for a moment. Did I hurt her?
She presses into me. “Don’t stop, Julie.”
So I don’t. I swivel my hips and thrust into her again.
As I drive into her, she bears down on me in a fevered rhythm that rivals the heat of the shower.
When I feel her muscles tighten, her walls squeezing me, I don’t stop.
Her eyes are shut, her breaths labored and still I plunge. I’m close. I know she is too.
“Fuck, I missed you. I want you to come, Ever. I’m so close. Are you close?” I’ve never come before her. I reach between us and use my thumb on the bundle of nerves.
“Yessss.” The pressure drags the word from her throat. Her free hand grips my neck; her nails dig into my skin.
“Good girl. Come for me, Ever.” Her walls convulse around me as I still my thumb, pressing it hard against her pulsing clit. With one last thrust, I come so hard I brace myself with my arm outstretched, palm flat against the tile wall.
Once the convulsions stop, hers and mine, I bury my face in her neck and rain kisses behind her ear and along her jaw until I capture her lips. I pick her up, her legs wrapping around me instantly, and kiss her until we’re both breathing hard. Did we ever stop?
Panting as our lips separate, Ever giggles breathlessly. “Wow, I guess you did miss me.”
“Yeah, sassy girl, I did.” I squeeze her ass playfully as I release her, snag a loofah off the hook, pump a blob of body wash onto it and begin rubbing it on her arm to create a lather.
Taking it from me, she says, “Me too,” and begins soaping my chest and torso. “And I’m already showered so . . .” She trails off and continues spreading the suds over my body.
I turn and let her cover my back. Her slippery hands on me feel too fucking good. I reach up and rub the bubbles covering the tattoo on my chest. Whatever I did to deserve her, I don’t take it for granted. She’s beyond what I ever hoped to have in this life.
When we’re drying off, Ever says she has a surprise for me. My heartbeat trips and thuds a little quicker. I’m not sure I’ll ever like surprises. But I smile and raise my eyebrows askance.
She takes my hand and leads me into the bedroom and begins throwing on her oldest softest sweats. “Just throw on something cozy. It’s in the garage.”
My heartbeat doesn’t calm down as I pull on my baggiest joggers I wear for lounging around and a T-shirt from a drawer without caring which one.
She twists her hair up into a wet knot on her head and grabs my hand to lead me downstairs.
As soon as she opens the garage door off the laundry room, I hear the little mewling sounds coming from the laundry basket.
Her angelic smile spreads as she tracks my expression.
The thudding slows and a smile takes over my face.
Anything that can make my girl’s eyes shine like that is okay with me.
Apparently, it’s three somethings. One orange, one gray and one “everything.”
“I found them just off the trail when I went for a run today. There was no momma that I could find. Just them. I couldn’t leave them out there to get eaten by the CCS.
” She pleads her case while I laugh at her remembering our nickname for the “crazy country shit” that might incidentally eat kittens in Blue Lake—coyotes, mountain lions, and hawks to name a few.
“Okay.” I look at her beaming face and tuck a fallen wet strand of hair behind her ear.
“Okay? We can keep them?” Her smile creases the corners of her eyes that have gone almost opaque in her excitement.
“What if we keep them at Brew?” We need barn cats to help keep rodents out of the storage garage.
“So, garage cats?” She looks worried.
I nod in answer. “It’s a thing out here. Another aspect of the CCS. Barn cats keep the rodent population down, which keeps the snake population at bay. Let’s call it the Blue Lake circle of life.”
“But how do we keep them safe?” Her eyes, like saucers, plead with mine as she points to the laundry basket.
“We’ll keep them inside until they’re fixed and big enough to defend themselves.
Besides, I think Pete and Shelley will be thrilled to have them policing Brew.
” She looks dejected they won’t be here with us.
So I add, “I’m not an expert, but I think these types of feral cats will be happier hunting.
” She nods once, twice, but her eyes are sad.
“C’mon, let’s go inside and text Pete about them. ”
Pete and Shelley are beyond thrilled about the abandoned litter.
Their old cat, Smokey, just “crossed over the rainbow bridge,” and their boys have been sad about it.
This information brings the light back to my girl’s eyes.
Knowing she’s giving a gift to those boys trumps her longing to keep them.
I’m relieved because, as much as I’d do anything to make my sweet girl smile like that, raising three kittens is not the move.
With traveling down south and her carrying a full load for school, plus our regular jobs, I don’t see how we’d manage it.
Fuck, I sound like a grown-up. When did that happen?
Almost two hours later, we’re back at home preparing dinner together.
Between going to the local feed store for kitten supplies and bringing them and all their necessities to the DeLucas’, I’m now starving.
But Pete, Shelley and the boys were ecstatic with the little fuzz balls.
Seeing the boys with them made Ever so happy, she doesn’t seem at all sad about not keeping them.
I’m relieved because I want to bring up her role in the McKay Method—which, if she’s into, will mean a lot less time for things like kittens.
We decide on camp tacos for dinner, which was just her dad’s way of saying taco salad. I grill chicken while she dices the vegetables. Now we’re taking turns tossing it all into a giant bowl when I decide to spit out the idea and hope for the best.
“Ever?”
“Julie?”
We speak at the exact same time. Then we both half laugh in unison, which makes us laugh again.
“You first,” I say, wiping my hands on the towel and giving her my full attention.
“No, you go,” she offers. I’m already shaking my head like I insist. “Okay,” she adds when she sees I’m not budging.
“I’ve been thinking,” she continues timidly.
I wait while she works her way around to saying whatever it is she’s struggling to say.
I ignore the increase in my heart rate. “I think I picked a major.” Her gray eyes look unblinkingly into mine.
My heart rate settles. “That sounds like good news. What is it?”
“Sport and Exercise Psychology.” She smiles as she says it but looks like she’s holding her breath waiting for my reaction.
“Wow, Ever. That sounds amazing. And . . . kinda perfect.” I reach for her and wrap my arms around her. “Like you.” My wheels are spinning. For her and where this could take her. And us.
“Or I could just get the degree in psych with a minor in health and wellness. I want to use it to help people. Teach them to use exercise and fitness to deal with trauma. Like offer that at Fit. Or . . . at the McKay Method.” She says the last part quietly with her cheek against my chest.
I pull back and can’t keep the smile off my face.
When she looks up at me, she steps back from my embrace and mirrors my smile. “What?” She looks skeptical, like I’m up to something.
“You’re not going to believe how perfect this is, but . . . okay, promise you’ll hear me out before you react.”
“The disclaimer doesn’t exactly scream ‘perfect.’” She folds her arms over her chest and waits for me to elaborate.
I offer what I hope is a reassuring smile.
I’m beyond hyped by her news. I want her to be hyped by mine.
I’m seeing our future roll out in front of me, and I almost can’t contain the excitement, foreign as the feeling is.
I’ve never really looked forward to my future like this.
At least not the way I am now. If someone would’ve asked me even a year ago where I thought I’d be at almost twenty-two, this wouldn’t have even made the radar.
“It turns out people love you. The videos of us together are getting way more views and interactions than the ones of me alone.” I hold my breath and wait for her reaction.
Her eyebrows are up, her eyes wide and round, smile crooked, lifting on one side. She exhales through puffed-out cheeks. “Are you serious?”
I nod, grinning. She mirrors my expression.
I don’t want to bring up socials and wipe it off her face, but she needs to hear it all to make the best decision for her.
“People love love. That’s how Ashley’s team puts it.
They want you to activate your socials.” I look down at my hands as I say it, but I raise my eyes to hers again when I add, “I told them that may not happen. It’s totally up to you, Ever. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
“I know. You always make sure I’m okay.” She reaches up and runs her nails through the hair on my forehead and pecks my cheek with a soft kiss. “I don’t love the social media part but considering where I’m at with my degree and career idea, it could be kinda perfect,” she concedes.
After catching her up on the rest of my meetings with Ashley, Ever reluctantly agrees she might need to activate her social accounts again.
I can tell she likes the idea of taking a more active role in the McKay Method.
I’m so relieved she’s on board. Maybe we can even find a way for her not to have her own social presence but a business one that’s managed by an assistant instead.
Whatever my girl needs to feel calm and secure.
I want our life to be a happy, peaceful one.
And I’m cheesing like an unhinged weirdo as my brain thinks in terms of ours.
The best part is her expression mirrors mine.
I rub the spot on my chest, in happy anticipation this time.