Chapter 22
Julian
Everyone is making a big deal about my birthday, and it’s got me a bit crazed.
No one has ever made a big deal or even cared about my birthday until now.
Except Taya a couple times after she found out.
After twenty-two years, yeah. It’s giving awkward self-importance vibes.
Although Allie has tried the last couple of years to make me celebrate, even that was meager.
I mostly indulged her because it was easier than protesting.
She’s all about energy and signs, and now that I’m with Ever, I’ve got to admit her logic tracks.
As a Libra, Julian, it’s important you have strong social connections. It’s in your nature. Your sign is ruled by Venus, the planet of love. You’re drawn to love, beauty, harmony and relationships. Let people love on you.
So I’m letting these people of Blue Lake, that I love, love on me, as cheesy as that sounds. I only hope it’s low-key. Plus, if it’s going to be good for business and the brand, I’ll suck it up.
“Hi, boyfriend.” Ever bounces into the kickboxing room as my last class files out.
We’re less careful now about PDAs. Mostly because everyone in a town this size already knows we live together at Allie’s, which will soon be ours and kinda already is.
She wraps her arms around my sweat-drenched muscle-shirt-clad torso and kisses me on the lips.
“Hi, girlfriend. What can I do for you?”
She kisses me on the lips again, ignoring my sweaty skin.
I love that she isn’t grossed out by sweat. In fact, I think she kinda likes it. I focus my eyes on her face and ignore the pull in my groin. God, I hope we always want each other this way.
“I need to know your favorite cake.” She’s enjoying this way too much.
I roll my eyes. “Cake too?”
“Duh. It’s a birthday. There’s always cake.”
“What if I don’t like cake?” I nuzzle her ear, inhaling her scent.
“You have to have cake.” She reaches up and twists her fingers into the longer locks of hair on top of my head and tugs softly—her favorite thing since our plot twist. I let her pull my head away from her neck and look into her almost opaque eyes. “Or some kind of birthday dessert,” she insists.
I ponder for a moment. “Can I have donuts?” I smile and peck her lips.
“Absolutely. I’ll call Glaze of Glory tomorrow morning.”
“My girlfriend is the best.”
“I agree.” She plants a kiss on me and turns to leave.
“Hey,” I call out, stopping her. “Any plans for dinner tonight?”
“No. I actually have a couple big assignments due by midnight.”
“Okay, cool. Pete asked if I’d swing by Brew and have a beer with him. Talk party details. It’s weird I’m weighing in on my own birthday, isn’t it? It feels weird.”
“It’s also the McKay Method launch day. Maybe think of it as your launch party. Either way, go hang out with Pete. I’ll crank out my assignments and maybe enroll in the certification program.”
“I thought you wanted to wait for summer break to do that.”
“I think I can handle it. School isn’t as hard or time-consuming as I thought. Especially now with Brew shut down till spring.”
“Okay, Einstein. Knock yourself out. You riding back with me? I’m done for the day.”
“Yep. I’m good to go when you are.”
The domesticity of the entire conversation has me grinning like a lovesick puppy.
It lasts all the way home. I shower quickly, change clothes and drop a kiss on Ever’s head on my way out to meet Pete.
With her earbuds in, books and laptop littering the coffee table and her butt planted on the floor in front of the couch, she barely looks up, blowing a kiss in my general direction.
That she’s locked-in makes me proud. My lovesick smile is back as I swing the door closed behind me.
***
“I think simple is always better.” Pete takes another swig of beer and sets the icy bottle neatly on the coaster.
Brew is empty, so we’re sitting at a table in the center of the dining room.
The view beyond the glass wall of windows is pitch black.
We walked through all the details, including how to mirror Ashley’s Zoom Room onto the big screen so the launch party from down south can be part of the birthday here in Blue Lake.
Everything he mapped out looks tasteful but keeps the vibe of lake town.
I’m gratefully relieved. “See? This is why I need you running the show. You won’t let this thing get out of control.”
My answer is his low laugh. But he promised he’ll keep it low-key.
“Sometimes the celebration for you isn’t about you.
Sometimes it’s about the people that care about you needing to show it.
And in that case, it’s up to you to find a way to let them because you care about them too.
” Pete quietly picks up his beer again and takes a long sip, staring into the darkness.
I don’t know what to say, so I don’t say anything.
I just sip my beer too and wonder if Pete moonlights as a therapist. His words perfectly worm their way into my soul.
I’d do anything for the people I care about—including indulging them in this birthday party, I guess.
Downing the last of the hops from my bottle, I pick up Pete’s empty bottle and drop them into the recycle canister.
Shaking his hand, I say, “I appreciate you, Pete. And I’m counting on you to keep this thing small.
If you can do that, I can let them . . .
care about me.” I say that with a wink so he knows I’m being sincere and not a smart-ass.
“You got it. You still coming by tomorrow?”
“Yep, after my Fit sessions. I’ve decided to keep the apartment. I want to expand it and use it for people that fly in and need a place to stay.”
“Love that idea. Let me know if you want help. I love a good reno project.”
“Will do. Have a good night, Pete. And thanks again.” I push through the glass door and step into the pitch-black parking lot. It’s later than I’d planned to stay. I wonder if Ever is still awake as I hop into the Jeep and steer toward home, my thoughts already consumed with her.
***
Although I have no solid reference or comparison, the birthday party was perfect—low-key but festive. Kicked back in the dining area of Brew, I swallow the lump in my throat as I reflect on the night.
“Did you have a good time tonight?” Ever wraps her arms around my neck from behind as I sit staring into the night, sipping the last of my beer like I had two weeks ago with Pete.
“I did.” Setting my bottle on the table, I reach my hands up and rub them along one arm still curled around my neck.
With her other she reaches for my beer and tilts it to her lips.
Once she takes a long sip, she returns it to the coaster and plants her cold lips on my neck.
Almost everyone is gone now. I still hear Pete clanging a few dishes in the kitchen.
Snaking one of my arms around her waist, I swing Ever onto my lap sideways.
Covering my cheeks with her hands, she brings my face to hers for a lingering kiss.
Ever is bolder and more confident in our relationship now than she was even two weeks ago.
It’s like our plot twist dissolved any lingering shyness.
She asks for what she wants or takes it, like now.
Her kiss is hungry. Her tongue is cool, tangling with mine, and tastes like malt.
I like it. It doesn’t stay cool for long though.
The kiss itself is heating my whole body and hers.
Pete clears his throat from the swinging doors of the kitchen behind us. “Goodnight, lovebirds. I’m out. Only thing left is to lock up.”
We don’t startle or separate immediately. Not anymore. We just stop kissing. I crank my head to look back, and Ever looks up over my shoulder. She’s the first to respond.
“Thanks for everything, Pete.”
“Yeah, man, it was perfect,” I add.
“You bet. See you guys. Have a good night.”
Ever returns her gaze to me and says, “It was perfect, wasn’t it?” She’s pushing her fingernails through the hair on my forehead and dragging them up along my scalp deliciously, making it hard to concentrate.
I nod as my eyes roll back, my lids drifting closed. “Mmm, it was. I’ll give you ten years to stop doing that.” I groan again at the lulling strokes of her nails.
A giggle bubbles in her throat as her lips find my neck again just before her whispery voice, raspy from all the talking, fills my ear. “Ready to go home?”
I nod, enthralled, her husky voice alone affecting me. This young woman owns me and I’m not sure she even realizes it.
“Okay, I’m going to get the leftovers from the kitchen. Two minutes . . .”
I nod again as she lifts herself off my lap and pushes through the swinging doors of the kitchen.
I take the empty beer bottles from the table, stand and swivel to place them in the recycle canister just as the bell over the front door chimes.
Expecting Pete, I turn and open my mouth as the word hey dies on my lips and the bottles in my hands slip and shatter to the floor.
“Hi, Jay.” My jaw feels weighted, being pulled toward the floor. My eyes are tracking the blonde hair, a little darker and shorter than I remember, the face a little leaner. The eyes are the same. The lips. My ears prick. Her voice is the same.
How? “Taya?” My head is already shaking back and forth in disbelief. Every nerve ending tingles like a near-miss collision. My mind screams it’s not possible. “How . . .”
“Sorry to just show up like this.” Her smile is timid, but it’s the same. It’s hers.
What the fuck? How the fuck is she here right now?
As if in a trance, I step to her and reach out. Once my hands touch her arms and she’s real, my fingers clench around her biceps. I squeeze and pull her to me with a slight shake. “How are you here right now?” My eyes are blurring and welling, the pressure behind them making my head pound.
“Jayce, you’re hurting me.” Her words snap me out of my trance.
I blink once, twice.
Then her voice hits me like a slap back to reality. My head pivots to the sound.