Chapter 34
chapter thirty-four
Audrey
Today's vocabulary word: aura
The engagement party was exactly what I would expect from Janet and Rita.
A homey backyard potluck with mismatched folding chairs and a cutesy signature cocktail—prickly pear margaritas for the pair of honor.
Twinkle lights everywhere. A photo slideshow playing on the TV—though all the pics were from the past few days.
Every surface in the kitchen was crammed with crockpots while Gary manned the grill out back.
The patio was packed with a fascinating mix of folks, more than this place should've been able to contain, but somehow it worked. There was no hope of remembering everyone's names but I forgave myself for that early. It wasn't like I'd be back here for the holidays.
Right from the start, Jude was committed to performing the shit out of this relationship.
We'd planned as much earlier though I hadn't expected him to overachieve like this.
Between gluing a hand to the small of my back the minute we stepped out of the car to dropping fiancée into every conversation like he'd bought the word and intended to get his money's worth, it became clear he had no intention of half-assing this. Full-asses, all the way.
Which was great. Really, it was. I didn't have to carry this entire engagement on my shoulders or even do the heavy lifting to keep the conversation going. A huge improvement over that dinner with Janet and Gary the other day.
But the problem was that I didn't know where the act ended and reality rushed back in.
I didn't know what to do with my brain's insistence on grabbing every tender word he said about me and stowing it away like it meant something.
Or how to handle my body's reaction to him stroking a thumb over my hip while telling Janet's friend Irena a story from high school.
"Audrey danced the lead in Giselle that season," he said, oblivious to the high beam situation he'd created with my nipples, "but it opened the same night as our spring formal. We hopped on my bike and left right after the curtain fell. She didn't even change out of her costume."
"It was a cute dress," I said. "Perfect for twirling. The costume manager just about killed me for it though."
"I remember the twirling," he said, laughing.
"That's badass," Irena said, giving us a slow, appraising nod. "Has anyone ever told you two that you have some truly enchanting aura energies? The way you blend is mesmerizing."
We shifted to exchange a glance. He arched a brow though I knew from the twitch of his lips he was fighting off a laugh. Not one for auras, not when he could have precise, tangible things like engines and gears. But, still staring at me, he asked, "What does that mean?"
"Might not mean anything. Most folks find themselves a good aura match but the way you complement and contrast is almost perfect. Not so common." She shrugged. "You probably have a lot of fun together."
Jude grinned at me. "You wouldn't believe some of our stories just from this week."
"Jude captured a dragon-lizard," I said.
"Audrey danced with an entire rodeo roster," he added.
"It wasn't the entire roster," I said.
He squeezed my hip, his fingers sliding firmly into underwear territory. And he knew that because he kept tracing the band of my panties. "Close enough."
"There's obviously a lot of heat between you." Irena's tone made it clear she'd noticed my nipples. Hell, the neighbors two streets over could see them at this point. "If I had to guess, I'd say it's an exact matchup in energies there."
We shared another glance. His gaze shifted from my eyes to my lips and then fell down to my chest. A muscle in his jaw pulsed but that was the only reaction he offered.
I moved my hand from where it'd rested on his waist to between his shoulder blades, saying, "You won't hear any bedroom complaints from me. "
I didn't know what'd compelled me to say that.
I could've nodded along and let it go but I'd tapped into my sexually confident side.
I didn't have a sexually confident side, not without psychoactive drugs, but now I had to live with that comment.
Just the same way I had to live with my antics from last night.
Jude's fingers flexed on my hip. "That's right, princess."
Irena murmured to herself like we'd opened up another layer of spiritual color theory for her. Jude asked her about her work leading Jeep tours and I let myself focus on the way his muscles moved under my fingers.
I kept telling myself this was part of our strategy—to win over his mother, charm the townsfolk, whatever. But if that was the objective, why did it feel like I was being won over? I didn't have an answer for that. And I wasn't sure I wanted to find one because I didn't want to break my own heart.
As the night wore on, we seemed to migrate closer together.
He'd stroke my arm while I slipped a hand into his back pocket.
I'd lean in close and he'd feed me a strawberry filled with cheesecake.
He'd gently release my hair when it got trapped under the arm he curled around my shoulder.
I'd grab his beer bottle out of his hand and take a sip.
He'd kiss my temple and I'd thumb a nonexistent smudge of guacamole from the corner of his mouth.
I'd perch on the arm of his chair and he'd tug me right into his lap.
And when it was dark and late, and some of the guests had said their good-byes, he pulled me into his arms, my back to his chest, and held me close. His chin perched on my shoulder, he asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Better," I said with some hesitation. The shaky emptiness that followed a flare was no fun but the worst was behind me now. "Tired, though."
He settled a hand over my abdomen and rubbed slow, lazy circles into my belly. It was amazing. "Ready to go?"
I glanced around the patio, eventually finding Janet carrying on an animated conversation with a few women while Gary stood nearby, holding her drink. She caught my eye and waved like we hadn't seen each other in years.
"Do you think we put the suspicions to rest?" he asked.
I layered a hand over his. "I think she's trying to decide whether this is your way of telling her we're giving her another grandchild."
He hummed against my neck as if the idea did nice things for him. Too bad they weren't so nice for me. That, and we probably wouldn't see each other again after tomorrow.
"Let's get back to our room." There was something thick and low in his words, and all I could do was murmur in agreement. "I want to get you alone."
"Too bad your mother wasn't around to hear that."
"I don't want her to hear it," he replied.
I turned my head just enough to catch his eye. He held my gaze as if to say Yeah. That's exactly how I meant it.
"I want to take you back to the room, lock the door, and kiss every inch of your body. I don't want to stop for a very, very long time."
He wasn't even finished speaking when I said, "Okay."
Blinking, startled, he asked, "Okay?"
"Yeah. Okay."
Jude stared at me for a long, painful moment that kicked the first fizzes of panic into gear. But then he grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the door.