46. RAE
46
T he front door slams open with a loud thud, and I look into the hallway from the kitchen to see who it is.
“Damn, it’s cold outside!” Bodi grumbles, with a scowl on his face. He rubs his hands together, blowing some warmth into his palms.
“It’s forty degrees. It’s not that cold.” I frown at his pussy ass behavior.
“I’ve lived in LA for the last eight years, Goldilocks. It’s fucking freezin’.” He hangs his coat on the rack before he joins me in the kitchen.
“You do realize it’s pretty much the same temperature as in Atlanta, right?” I cock an eyebrow at him, while I start whisking the milk through the mashed potatoes, raking my eyes over his outfit.
He’s wearing gray pants, with a black dress shirt, and a gray waistcoat tops it off. His dark hair sits tousled on his head, and he is clearly freshly shaved, even though he’s been rocking a casual beard for the last few months.
“You’re all dressed up? What for?”
He dips his chin, glancing at his clothes. “Oh, this? Yeah, I just had a meeting.”
I narrow my eyes at him, having a feeling he is bullshitting me, but it’s fucking impossible to read his face. The man has a poker face that could win you millions.
“Am I the first one?” He glances around the kitchen.
“Yeah, I’m expecting Charlotte and Hunter any second, and Jensen just called. He’s leaving the rink right now.”
Bodi awkwardly shuffles on his feet, and I look at him. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” he says, with that same straight face as he moves to the fridge to grab himself a beer. When he closes the door again, he plucks an opener from the drawer, then leans his back against the counter.
“So, Kayla isn’t coming?” he asks, casually taking a pull from the bottle.
I purse my lips, dropping what I’m doing to press my hands against the cold surface of the kitchen island. “She is,” I drawl, “but I thought you two agreed it was nothing more than a summer fling now that she’s back in California.”
“We did.”
“That,” I pause to point my finger at his face, “is not a face that says we’re over .”
“Then what is it, Goldilocks?” An amused grin forms on his face before he takes another pull, his eyes holding my gaze over the rim of his beer.
“A face that says I want to fuck her again, because I can’t get enough .”
He snorts.
“ A face that says I might actually like this girl ,” I add.
“I do like her.”
I push out a troubled breath.
“Someone is about to get hurt, Bodi. She can pretend all she wants, but she’s not the kind of girl that does casual well. She’s not the tough girl she likes to think she is.”
My cousin plays a good game, but I also know she doesn’t have a heart of stone. When she loves, she loves deeply. Falling madly in love with a guy who’s ten years older and living on the other side of the country is the recipe of heartbreak.
Not to mention the little bits of information she sprinkles at me about her ex-boyfriend who may or may not be her boyfriend whatever day of the week you ask.
“I know.” He placates. “I’m not using her or anything.”
“I know you’re not,” I concede. “But you want to keep it casual. She just tells you she wants it casual.”
“Look, Goldilocks.” He gives me a sweet smile. “I don’t want to hurt her, okay? We’re just having fun. She knows that.”
I shake my head. “When shit hits the fan, and it will...” I scowl. “I’m gonna have to pick a side. She’s my cousin, and you’re my friend. I’m guessing you know what that means. Please don’t make me pick sides. She’s only here for one night. Don’t ruin friendsgiving by hooking up with her.”
He holds my gaze as every bit of oxygen escapes his lungs. “Okay, I won’t hook up with her.”
“Promise?”
“Yes! You little dictator.” Bodi whispers with a ghost of a smile haunting his handsome face. “You have my word.”
“Baby?” Jensen bellows through the house.
“I’m watching you,” I hiss as I walk past him to find Jensen in the hall.
A seductive smile creases my man’s face, as he bites his lip while hanging his jacket on the rack. “You look really sexy with that apron on. Really housewife-y.”
He closes the distance while I glance at my pink apron before bringing up my face with a glare. “Pretty sure that’s not a word.”
“We should make it one.” His cold hands land on the small of my back, then his lips find mine in a scorching kiss. One hand goes through my hair, fisting it before he tilts my head, forcing me to look up at him.
“How long do we have?” His lips brush against mine as he hovers above my face.
“Zero minutes, since your best friend is having a beer in the kitchen.”
“Fucking cockblocker,” Jensen mutters.
He gives me another kiss, then lets go of me when the doorbell rings.
“Can you get that? I’m gonna change.”
“Sure.” I walk to the front door while Jensen heads up the stairs, giving me a wink when our gazes lock once more. My heart jumps at his smirk, and I shake my head. The tips of my fingers reach behind my back to take off the apron, then I open the door.
“You okay?” I ask when I look at Charlotte’s exhausted face.
She holds her big belly with a slight roll of her eyes, pushing out a deep breath when she sees me. Her pregnancy glow is basically gone and all that’s left on her pretty, yet puffy, face is fatigue. I quickly glance at Hunter standing beside her with a pained expression on his face.
“I really want this baby out.”
“Err, yeah, can’t help you with that,” I offer, motioning them to come in.
“I know. It’s fine. Just give me a chair and food, and I’ll be settled for the rest of the night.”
“Well, okay.” I take her coat and she waggles off before I turn toward Hunter giving me a sheepish grin. “And how are you doing, daddy ?”
He takes his snapback off his head to run a hand through his hair. “I feel a little helpless.”
“I can imagine. Come on.” I slap his shoulder. “I’ll grab you a beer.”
“Yeah, great,” he mumbles, following his wife into the kitchen.
When I want to trail behind him, the doorbell rings once more, and I turn back around to open the door.
“What’s up, cous’?” Kayla wraps her arms around my neck, pressing her cold cheek against mine. “Is he here?” she whispers in my ear.
“Hmm, maybe,” I muse, suppressing a chuckle.
“I want to say yay , but I’ll pretend to be unaffected.” She makes a dramatic straight face that looks more like she’s dead rather than unaffected. “How is this?”
“Yeah, don’t do that.” I frown. “Just be yourself, Keeks.”
“Great idea, Rae. Let’s put that in the idea-box for later.” She rolls her eyes, then waves at Jensen trotting back down the stairs while she makes her casual entrance into the kitchen.
A smirk forms on his lips, watching my cousin into the kitchen, then he reaches out to tug me against his chest.
“How are you, baby?” He holds my face between his hands, then pushes his lips against mine.
“I’m good.”
“Yeah? All set?”
“Just need to make some gravy, and then we’re ready to go.”
He twists me in his arms, pressing my back against his chest with his arms around my waist.
“Is this what you wanted for Friendsgiving?” He buries his nose in my neck, placing a scorching kiss on my sensitive skin there.
“Hmm, yes. But I’m starting to have second thoughts if you keep doing that,” I purr, leaning into his touch.
“What? This?” He starts a trail of open-mouthed kisses that have me melting in his arms, and I let out a tortured moan.
“Jensen,” I growl. “Not fair.”
“I know,” he whispers in my ear, “but don’t worry. I’m saving you for dessert.”
He lets go of me, grabbing my hand to drag me behind him toward the kitchen.
“Jensen, you can’t say shit to me like that when the night just started!” I screech, feeling an ache forming between my legs.
“What?” he counters with a playful smirk that makes the flutter grow at a fast pace. “Sounds like the perfect Friendsgiving ending, if you ask me.”
I shake my head with a half glare.
When I told him I wanted a Thanksgiving dinner with our friends to celebrate our new house, he stepped up as the perfect boyfriend, inviting them all for the night before Thanksgiving. He helped with the groceries, and he even helped me with the turkey this morning before he had to go to practice, making it our first cooked meal together. I don’t know why that feels so special to me, but it does.
I held off for a few weeks, telling him moving in that early was too quick, but it’s times like this when I’m glad I agreed after his persistence.
The knowledge of waking up next to him tomorrow morning and the promise of his touch before we go to sleep has me happier than ever.
Glancing around the kitchen, a smile slides in place, giving me that feeling I haven’t felt in a long time. Peace. Safety.
“What time is Della coming home tomorrow?” I ask, tugging Jensen toward me.
He wraps his arm around my neck, kissing my hair. “Around nine. I’ll go and pick her up. You can sleep in.”
When Jensen’s parents threatened to not pay for her tuition to go to Yale, Jensen and Finn both agreed to pay all her school fees so she could go to college without a worry.
But when those three siblings agreed to that, Della dropped the bomb confessing that she’d rather go to Berkeley anyway.
Mr. and Mrs. Jensen weren’t pleased, as you can imagine. So, Della moved in with Jensen for the summer until she went to Berkeley in the fall. We kept her room as it is, because we both agreed she shouldn’t have to go to New York if she doesn’t want to. I’ve been trying to push Jensen to talk to his parents, to try to work things out, but so far none of the Jensen kids seem keen on working things out with their parents. I’m letting it go for now, but I hope one day we can all have Thanksgiving together.
“It’s okay, I’ll come with you. I’ve missed her.”
He dips his chin, and I can feel his eyes burning through my body. When I look up, affection is clear in his gaze, and heat flares up my cheeks.
“I got you something.” I still can’t believe I did it, it being fucking permanent and all, but then again I can’t see my life without this man anyway.
“Hmm, what’s that?”
Daringly licking my lower lip, I hold his gazes with hooded eyes as I push the thick fabric of my black pants down.
“Rae, what are you doing?” His vision trails down, growing wider as I keep pushing until it exposes the skin just below my hip. Tucked between the swell of my thigh and flesh of my most sensitive part is a piece of ink that’s forever etched in my body.
A soft black heart next two three letters.
JJJ .
It’s simple, it’s cheesy is fuck, but it’s my promise to fight for him. To stand by him. To choose him every day for the rest of my life, no matter how hard life gets. No matter what war we have to fight. We fight it together.
“I don’t know what to say,” he breathes, then settles for a bruising kiss as he takes my head in his hands. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“I love you, Jared James Jensen . And will keep loving you until the end, when we are old and gray and grumpy as fuck. I have nothing to fear.”
His forehead falls against mine, his eyes shut. His loaded energy washes over me, heating my core, desperate for him to run his tongue over his initials on my body.
“You have no idea how desperate I am for dessert right now.”
“I have a feeling,” I chuckle.
“I love you so fucking much. You make me so happy.” He lowers his head so he can look me in the eye. “Are you happy, babe?” he asks, pushing a strand of my blonde hair behind my ear.
“So happy. It’s perfect.”
Everything is perfect.
He grins, licking his lips as if he’s going to devour me long before dessert is served, but to be honest, I don’t even care, completely surrendering to him when he says; “ You are perfect.”