61. Chapter 61
Charlotte
After a delicious breakfast at the cute beachside café—waffles and avocado toast shared between us—Kayla and I jump into her Range Rover and make our way to Hannah’s house.
Kayla is still in her funeral attire, and I have to admire her dedication, even if she is overly dramatic.
But it’s one of the things I love most about her.
Since we met all those years ago, she has been the most amazing friend, and I truly believe we need each other.
I’m the calm to her crazy, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Once the dogs realize where we’re going, the volume in the car increases.
Turning round the corner, we pull up onto Hannah’s drive.
After parking up, we haul Bella and Remy out of the car and ring the bell.
The sounds of Bruiser and Max echo loudly behind the door, just as a frazzled Hannah appears.
“Hey, Mama S!” Kayla leans in and hugs her. I let both dogs off their leads and then reach for Hannah.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” she says as she wraps her arms around me. “Alyssa’s making coffee.”
“Actually…” Alyssa starts. “I got bored of making coffee, so I door dashed Starbs instead.”
“Thank God,” Kayla chimes, “because no offense, girl, you cannot make coffee for shit.” We all laugh and hang around in the kitchen until our delivery arrives.
Once we’ve all got our coffee of choice, we make our way outside to the decked patio area by the pool.
There are tropical plants dotted about and an array of colorful flowers.
It reminds me of a tropical oasis you’d see somewhere like Bali.
Not that I’ve been, but that’s what I imagine. I’ve never left the country.
The dogs have scattered themselves around trying to find some shade—it’s definitely a scorcher today.
We start chatting about our last read for book club, which was Dante by Sadie Kincaid. “So, what did we all think?” I ask.
“Give me a mafia man who has touch-me-and-die vibes all day long,” Alyssa says, moaning into her coffee. “God, they’re so sexy.”
“Agreed, I would have climbed that man like a tree. I wonder if I could get Louis to roleplay with me,” Kayla muses as she stares into space, clearly lost to her daydream.
Clearing her throat, Hannah laughs. “Anyway, I really enjoyed it. Lots of spice, and I’m curious to know more about the other characters.”
“Same, so shall we carry on with this series for our next book?”
It’s a resounding yes, and once we’ve all downloaded the next one to our Kindles, we sit back and enjoy the sun.
Kayla breaks the silence, “You know what we need?”
“Nope, but I’m sure you’re going to tell us?” Alyssa says, peering over her sunglasses.
“A trip to Disneyland.”
“Disneyland?” I repeat—I love it there.
“Now the season’s starting, there's some time where the guys are on a long away stretch, so why don’t we go on a girl’s trip?”
“I’m a bit old for Disneyland, honey, and plus I look after the dogs. But I do agree it would be great for you three to go,” Hannah points out.
“I’m in.” It really would be great to be with just the girls for a few days.
“Me too, let’s do this shit.” Alyssa nods.
“Perfect, I’ll make the arrangements,” Kayla says, sipping the last of her iced coffee.
There's a commotion coming from inside, so it sounds like the guys are back from the way the dogs are now running around and barking.
They swagger out into the garden like GQ models as Hannah gets up to greet them. They all kiss her cheek and give her a hug as they move around her to make their way over to us.
Louis is the first to reach us. “Bonjour, Mon amore.” He kisses Kayla on the lips; she’s trying not to react but fails miserably and they end up giving us a show no one here paid to see.
Theo practically throws himself into the chair next to Alyssa and wraps his arm around her shoulder, kissing her temple. More evidence I’m filing away for her mystery lover.
Codey is on the floor playing with Bruiser, having a tug of war with a frisbee, totally oblivious to any of us. But that’s just him. Not the most social, but when he does have something to say, it’s with a lot of thought and is usually important.
And finally, my Jake is here, and all is right in the world once again.
I stand and he hugs me so tight my legs dangle from the ground.
I’m surrounded by the scent that’s just Jake, and it wraps around me like my favorite comfort blanket.
He gives me a peck on the lips and puts me down, taking the seat next to me.
That’s one of the things I love about him; he knows me so well.
He knows how uncomfortable I’d be with a full on PDA in front of his friends and family, but it’s enough to show me he missed me and I’m his.
Squeezing my thigh, he leans in close and whispers into my ear so quietly no one else can hear him, but I hear the words perfectly clear and I’m pretty sure my face is about to give me away.
“I can’t wait to get home and eat your sweet pussy until you come all over my face, and then I want to watch you ride me.”
My face is on fire as he nips my ear and moves away to take a sip of his water, totally unaffected. I’m transfixed, watching his throat bob as he swallows, unable to look away. It’s almost as if I’ve been put into a trance by a snake charmer.
Who knew swallowing was so sexy?