But then his rambunctious brother interrupted, reminding me that we did, in fact, have an audience.
“Get a room,” Chad snickered.
With his eyes fixed on mine, Jet bent his head forward just enough to bite my chin. I felt the brush of his tongue for just a second before he leaned away and then rolled off me.
He didn’t take his eyes off me, though. And I could see that he was as . . . bothered by the encounter as I was. And that it was a good thing we weren’t alone.
We finally settled down to at least start the movie before Jet’s mom got home, but even that did nothing to alleviate the tension between us. Every second that his side is pressed against mine on the sofa feels like a special kind of torture. I’ve ached the entire twenty-two minutes that I’ve been feigning interest in the show.
I’m both relieved and nervous when I hear the door open. All heads turn to find Gail dragging some bags through the door. The boys get up and run to see what she’s got.
“Ah, ah, ah! You just stay right there. This is birthday stuff. Nothing you need to be nosing around in,” she declares, holding the bags behind her and out of sight.
“Aw, Mom,” Todd says, but it’s easy to see that they’re both pleased and excited about whatever she bought.
Gail directs her next words to Jet. “Let me get these put away and you two can go.”
Jet stands, holding out his hand for me. I slide my fingers across his palm and he squeezes them, pulling me to my feet. When I stand, he doesn’t back away. He just stares down into my face, his body so close I can still feel the heat of it.
“Since we’re only playing Lucky’s tonight, do you want to just ride over with me?”
Lucky’s is a local bar, one of the only places the younger crowd can go. I know about it, even though I’ve never been. The party atmosphere was never my scene, for obvious reasons.
“Ummm, am I dressed okay? I mean, I didn’t—”
“You look mouthwatering. You don’t need to change anything,” he replies softly.
I feel the flush of pleasure rise from my belly to my chest and into my face. “Then yes, I’ll just ride with you. If you don’t mind taking me home afterward.”
Jet’s thumb is rubbing slowly back and forth over the top of my hand. “I don’t mind at all.”
Gail comes back out and walks to the couch, grabbing a few remaining popcorn kernels. “Thanks for coming. I appreciate you two.”
Jet nods. “Anytime. I’m glad you called.”
I watch the uncomfortable interaction, wishing I could just melt away and leave them alone in the moment. It seems there is so much more being said between them than just words.
“You still writing?” she asks, making her way slowly to the door.
“Hadn’t been until the last little while. I think it’s coming back, though.”
Gail’s eyes flicker to me and then quickly move away. She nods. “Good. Don’t give up on that. It’ll make all this band nonsense worth it if you make it.”
I’m sure Jet would like to comment, but he does the right thing and just lets it ride. No reason to leave on a bad note or being argumentative.
“I’m trying.”
“Good for you,” she says, swinging the door open, a not-so-subtle hint that it’s time for us to go. I suppose her tolerance is at an end. At least for the moment.
“Call me if you need me.”
“Maybe I will,” she says noncommittally. And just when I think that she’s so cool and casual that I want to slap her, she pleasantly surprises me. “Love you, Jethro.”
I can almost feel the exhale in Jet. And his fingers actually get tighter around mine as he leans forward to kiss his mother on the cheek. “Love you, too, Mom.”
She gives him a warm smile then turns it on me before she shoos us out the door and locks up behind us. Jet seems to walk a bit lighter down the walk than he walked up it a few hours earlier. I know this was huge for him. For his mother, too, I’m sure. But probably more for Jet.
I want to take him in my arms and hold him, but I know I can’t. I shouldn’t. So I just hold on to his hand a little tighter, hoping he’ll get what I’m saying without me having to open my mouth. And when he looks down at me as he’s opening the passenger side door, I know that he got it. Loud and clear.
* * *
Lucky’s is quite a bit different than the other venues where I’ve seen Jet play. There’s no backstage area for them to dress and await their show time. There’s no big crew of people there to coordinate everything. In fact, this is more like a few members of the crowd who just hop up on the small stage and sing to a bunch of their friends.
And I like it much better.
I can see a happiness in Jet that hasn’t been there at the other places. I can hear an ease in his voice, see a comfort in his body language, all telling me that he feels safe when he’s among friends.
And it probably doesn’t hurt that he had a good evening with his family. That seems to taint everything, for better or for worse.
Jet sat me at a table near the stage, telling me to stay put, that some friends of his would be joining me. But the show just started, and I’m still sitting alone.
Until the blonde shows up.
“You must be Violet,” the beautiful woman says.
“I am,” I reply, waiting for her to introduce herself.
She pulls up the chair closest to me and plunks down, glancing over her shoulder at someone. Finally, she turns her attention back to me. “Sorry. How rude of me! I’m Laney. Laney Theopolis.”
“Hi, Laney. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I hear you got to witness the heathens at play at my husband’s bachelor party.” She’s smiling like there’s an inside joke.
“Well, I was there. I don’t know how much I witnessed, though.”
“Oh, girl, don’t you worry about spilling the beans. Jake told me as soon as he got home.” She waves it off like no big deal. “Men!”
I only vaguely remember the others from that night. The one that hit on Tia is pretty clear in my head, but I can’t seem to recall Jake. Probably because all I could concentrate on was Jet.
It’s when Jake makes his way to the table and sits down that I very clearly remember him. He’s absolutely gorgeous!
“Nice to see you again,” he says, winking one amber eye and flashing me a breathtaking smile before he turns to kiss his wife on the lips. “They’re out of Sprite, but they’re sending someone across the street for a few.”