CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“THEROCKINGCHAIRSare simply beautiful, Jaye,” Velvet said, truly meaning it.
She knew Jaye had spent most of his evening hours working on them. On those days she hadn’t taught gymnastics after school, she had joined him and even helped him paint them. She could honestly say it was a project they had done together, and she’d enjoyed it. He had told her he would spend the weekend looking for cushions that would complement the color. What he’d chosen were perfect.
She had resumed jogging with him every morning and it was like she hadn’t stopped. She enjoyed hearing updates about the new bank in Birmingham, and sharing any news she had about her days at school. She told him about her conversation with Lenny and his passion for art. Like her, Jaye thought it was unfair for Allen Bordeaux to place so much pressure on his son.
She had spent the weekend in Phoenix, at Ruthie’s bridal shower, and returned home before noon on Sunday. The moment she drove into the yard, she knew she’d find him in the backyard. When he saw her, he turned off his electric saw, set aside his safety glasses and gloves, and opened his arms to her. She walked right into them and they shared the kiss she had definitely needed. And from the way he devoured her mouth, he had needed it as well. Then he held her and whispered that he had missed her. He showed her everything, including his new project. He was building a couple of wooden planters that would hold blueberry bushes on the porch as well.
She had selected the color blue but he had chosen the perfect shade that blended in well with the house exterior. She also noted, while she’d been gone, he had painted the floor of the porch a dark gray. “Why are the rocking chairs on the back porch instead of the front?” she asked as they stood side by side with his arms around her shoulders.
He looked down and met her gaze. “I built these chairs for us, Velvet, and I doubted you’d want anyone to see us rocking together on the front porch. I put them back here so we’ll have our privacy.”
She held his gaze, slightly confused. He’d told her he was making the chairs to complement the style of the house. “You made them for us?”
“Yes. I recall you once telling me how your parents had rocking chairs on their porch at your childhood home in Seattle, and how they would sit together in the evenings to watch the sunset.”
She blinked in surprise. “You remember me telling you that?”
“Yes, and I figured we could do that in the evenings when we get home from work. That way you can unload and tell me how your day went and I’ll tell you about mine, as well as anything else we want to talk about.”
What he’d said was a shocker. “Why? You never wanted that before, Jaye.” She recalled she’d tried countless times to get him to sit on the patio with her at his place or hers and just talk. He’d said they could talk just as well in the bedroom. Only problem was, once there, they never really had.
“There are a lot of things I didn’t do before that I want to do now. I’ve discovered it’s not good to have no one to talk to, especially when you have a lot on your mind.”
She nodded. “You’ve always had Mercury.”
“Yes, he’s always been my best friend and still is. I can talk to him about some things, but with a wife and a baby on the way, Mercury is busy these days.”
And Mercury’s outlook on life has changed, Velvet thought. Again, she couldn’t help wondering if the reason Jaye was making all these changes in his life was not because he honestly wanted to, but because he felt compelled to do so because those he’d been close to for years had made changes. When she had suggested that to him, he had denied it was the reason for any changes he was making in his life.
“Well, I just wanted to let you know I’m back. I don’t want to keep you from your work.” She moved away from his side.
He reached out and pulled her back, bringing her even closer to his side. “Now that you’re back, we can grab something to eat and then later, we can try out our chairs.”
Our chairs. Three years ago, she would have given anything to hear him refer to anything as theirs. “Okay. I have a taste for ribs.”
“Had I known I would have fired up the grill and had them ready when you got back.”
“That’s a sweet thought, Jaye, but you had enough on your plate with the chairs.”
“How was the bridal shower?”
“It was great. Unlike the one we did for Vaughn and Sierra, it was the traditional girls-only. The Suns played and Todd and the guys went to the game. Everyone was happy they won. You still have season tickets?”
“Yes, I still have them. How about if I pick up ribs from The Shack.”
She turned, wrapped her arms around his waist and tilted her head back to look into his eyes. “Barbeque ribs aren’t the only thing I have a taste for.” She wasn’t sure why at that moment she decided to tell him what she wanted. A part of her was a little overwhelmed by his comment that he’d built those rocking chairs for them. She knew how much time he’d spent over the past weeks working on them.
He held her gaze for a long moment. “And what else do you have a taste for, Velvet?”
“For you, Jaye.”
She saw the potent look of desire in his eyes when he said, “And I have a taste for you, too.”
His words sent a sensuous tingling up and down her spine. Jaye was the only man whose deep husky tone, had the ability to do that. Then there was that look in his eyes that said how he would taste her and just where.
“Then I suggest we take care of these hot and sensual taste buds first. What do you think of that?” she asked, gently rubbing her hands down his arms.
“Whatever you want, Velvet, I will give it to you. No matter what it is.”
She smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“I’LLBEBACKin a few, baby.”
Velvet opened sleepy eyes to the sound of the deep husky voice and saw Jaye standing by the bed. They had made love several times before slipping off to sleep for a nap. Now he was up and dressed and she was still in bed naked. “Be back? Where are you going?”
“To pick up the ribs.” He grinned and added, “You know that other thing you had a taste for.”
At any other time, she would have blushed, but not now. She was too exhausted to even bother. Jaye had practically worn her out. She was certain there were passion marks over every part of her body. And she had left passion marks of her own on parts of him.
“I remember,” she said, shifting in bed and feeling the intensity of his lovemaking in several muscles.
She was about to close her eyes and doze off again, when she felt him nibbling at her lips. When she whispered his name, he slid his tongue inside her mouth and kissed her with enough passion to curl her toes. His kisses were always an all-out assault on her senses and in no time at all she was moaning. The pressure of his kiss eased up some, but that didn’t stop the moans or all the sensations flowing through her.
After several deeper strokes of his tongue, he finally whispered against her moist lips, “Think of me until I get back.”
She had no problem doing that and told him so. When she heard his door close behind him, she reached out and drew his pillow close to her to inhale Jaye’s scent. She loved how he smelled. Instead of drifting back to sleep, she shifted on her back to stare up at the ceiling as a wondrous feeling swept over her.
Like she’d told Ruthie when her best friend had picked her up from the airport Friday night, she enjoyed being in a noncommitted relationship with Jaye because she didn’t have to worry about a broken heart. Although she loved him, she had accepted that he didn’t love her, and never would. With that acceptance, she felt satisfied. And speaking of satisfaction, since they’d agreed to their sex-only affair, Jaye was filling her nights with so much of it, she was smiling every day. She would miss him when he left Catalina Cove to return to Phoenix. She pushed the thought from her mind that she only had him for a few more months. He’d mentioned they had officially hired a new bank manager for the branch here in the cove. When the man arrived, there would be no reason for Jaye to hang around.
She sat up in bed and decided to get dressed. There was still a lot of daylight left and Jaye had said they would be trying the rocking chairs out today. She was excited about that. He had done a great job on them and what was even more special was that she had helped.
Just the thought he had remembered what she’d told him about her parents and their chairs gave her pause. She honestly thought he’d tuned her out when she told him but obviously he’d heard her. She also thought about what he’d said about realizing what he’d missed out on by not sharing himself with others. She would be the first to admit this Jaye was different, but the big question was how long he would stay that way.
BYTHETIMEJaye returned with dinner, Velvet had showered and changed into a pair of leggings and pullover top and, as usual, he thought she looked sexy as hell. She’d opened the door to her home, letting him know they would be eating there.
“The ribs are delicious,” she said when they began digging in. He felt a heady rush of desire when he saw her greedily lick her lips and recalled how she had licked him the same way earlier.
“Jaye?”
Suddenly, he realized she’d said his name while he’d been captivated by her mouth. “Yes?”
“Was the Shack crowded?”
He wondered if she was asking because it had taken him a little longer to return. Hopefully, she’d missed him. “No, but I did run into a few people.”
“Oh? Who?”
“Ray and Ashley, Isaac and Donna and their little ones. They were dining in.” He paused. “Just so you know, they noticed I was getting two take-out dinners instead of one.”
He studied her expression as she kept eating. When she didn’t comment, he asked, “Does that bother you?”
She shrugged. “After Kaegan and Bryce’s party, I think some people might have their suspicions, anyway. We were giving off some pretty hot vibes.” She stopped. “Something Bryce said that night pretty much confirmed others had noticed.”
He lifted a brow. “And what did Bryce say?”
“She assured me we were among friends. Before I could ask her what she meant, you walked up. But I think I know what she meant.”
“What’s that?”
“That the people at the party, most of whom I’ve met since moving to the cove and consider friends, can be trusted not to spread gossip.”
Jaye nodded. “By gossip, you mean spreading news that we have a thing for each other?”
“Yes, a sexual thing.”
He was beginning to not like any words that had the word sex connected to them. “Will you ever level with them—those you trust and feel close to—and let them know we once shared something more serious than a sexual thing?”
She tilted her head and looked at him, frowning. “But that’s all we shared before Jaye—a sexual thing. My mistake was thinking it was more, remember?”
He could hear the hurt in her voice and reached out and took her hand, ready to tell her the truth. “Velvet, I—”
Velvet quickly pulled her hand back. “No, Jaye. Please don’t spoil this moment for us. I don’t want to talk about the past. I just want to focus on now.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin, smiled and said excitedly, “I’m ready to try out our rocking chairs.”
A SHORTWHILELATER, with full wineglasses, Velvet and Jaye settled into the rocking chairs, admiring the view. Fields and fields of blueberry bushes stretched under the beautiful Louisiana sky. She was glad he’d decided to put the chairs out back instead of in the front. Not just for privacy, but because the view was a lot nicer and provided a sense of peace and tranquility. She hoped this would become one of their favorite places.
“This feels nice, Jaye. You did a great job.”
“And you helped.”
“Yes,” she said proudly, grinning from ear to ear. “And I helped just a little.”
“You helped a lot. I enjoyed working with you. We make a great team.”
She refused to read anything into what he said and jokingly asked, “Is that your way of hinting that you want me to help you build those planters for the porch now?”
He chuckled. “That would be nice.”
Velvet chuckled as well. “That can be arranged.”
They rocked while sipping wine. Eventually, she said, “Sierra called after you left. The wedding is in less than two weeks, and I think she’s getting nervous.”
“Vaughn came into the bank Friday, and he doesn’t seem nervous at all.”
“That’s a man for you.”
He took another sip of wine and then asked, “Who’s keeping their goddaughter while they’re honeymooning in the Caribbean?”
“Things worked out great since they’ll be gone the week of spring break. Just so happens, it’s the same as spring break for schools in Atlanta, so Teryn will be spending the week with Dani, Emory and their kids.”
He nodded. “I forgot all about spring break. What do you have planned for that week?”
She shrugged. “Nothing really. Last year Sierra and I took Teryn to Disney World in Orlando, and we had a great time.”
Jaye stopped rocking and looked at her. She saw the serious look on his face. “Jaye, what’s wrong?”
“I’d like to ask you something. You don’t have to give me your answer now, but promise me you’ll at least think about it.”
“What?”
“The week of spring break... Since you don’t have any plans, will you go out of town with me, Velvet? Spending time with you here is nice but I’d like to take you out to dinner and do fun things with you outside of the bedroom.”
She didn’t say anything and took another sip of wine. That was a switch. Even when they went on trips together in the past, they would stay inside and in the bedroom most of time, being the two passionate beings that they were.
“Where would we go?” she asked, wondering what he would say. Usually, they’d gone to his family’s cabin in the mountains of North Carolina, his place on Lake Tahoe, or skiing in Aspen.
“I want you to decide. Somewhere you’d want to go for a week to get away, wherever it is. I want to take you there. Where we can engage in unrestrained indulgences and won’t be confined to this house.”
Unrestrained indulgences...
Velvet thought about his offer. Honestly, she would love to go somewhere for a week. The only reason she hadn’t planned something was because she hadn’t wanted to sacrifice any time she could spend with him—inside the bedroom. Especially when she had no idea how much more time they had left.
She studied him. “Thanks for the invite, Jaye. I’ll give it some thought and let you know my decision.”