Elvis curled his lip. “About what? How long we’ve been dating?”
Aunt Jolene laughed. “No, I think he’s wondering how we picked this restaurant.”
I turned to face Cash and grinned when I saw that he’d gone red. I leaned into Weston as I watched. “What exactly did you want to ask, Cash?”
“Yeah, what were you wondering about, bro?” Weston’s hand had slid higher when I turned but he let it move even higher and played with the hem of my dress. Each time the tips of his fingers grazed my skin under the dress I felt a bolt of lust shoot through my entire body.
“I just thought… Are you…” Cash cleared his throat. “I was just going to ask if that’s your natural hair color, Elvis.”
Hayes snorted. “Good one.”
Aunt Jolene cut him a break and reached over to pat his hand. “Relax, kid. We’re impersonators. Elvis here is the best George Washington you’ll ever see and I do Jackie Kennedy.”
I let out an embarrassing squawking laugh but it was thankfully drowned out by everyone else laughing along. “Aunt Jolene has won so many competitions being Dolly. The room I’m in now was her trophy room so now her trophies are filling the bathroom and parts of the kitchen.”
“I’m a talented woman. What can I say? But Dolly is more than just competition for me. This is just me now. If I ever asked my nail artist for a neutral nail I think he’d assume the world was ending.” She wiggled her fingers at the table. “And I can’t imagine living another way, either. I was born to draw a crowd. Cass’s mom used to get so angry at me when we snuck out together because you’d be able to hear me and see me coming a mile away.”
“So Cass’s mom isn’t quite as flashy?” Cash looked down at me and my face must’ve given it away. “Shit. I’m sorry.”
“Her momma died when she was a little girl. Her daddy took her with him to LA and I didn’t get to see her very often. But she’s here with me now and I don’t plan on letting her go anytime soon.” She reached over and took my hand. “As much as I could’ve thumped your daddy with a bullet for taking you away I’ll give him credit for raising you to be so goddamn wonderful.”
I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable with the praise. “Pretty sure some people would disagree with that last part, Aunt Jolene.”
“Then those people don’t know you.” She elbowed Elvis. “Right?”
“Oh, yeah. I think you’re great, honey.”
“Anyone who would believe the things they read about you without looking deeper is a fucking idiot. The shit you’ve been through and you’re still this wonderful woman sitting in front of me, it’s amazing.” Aunt Jolene took a breadstick from the basket and used it to point at the guys. “Her daddy died, too. And then that boy who once promised her the world broke her heart and just kept breaking it for years. If it didn’t go against my beliefs I would fly my perfect ass to LA and teach him how we do things in Texas.”
I cringed so hard that I felt smaller afterwards, like my whole body constricted in an attempt to hide. “Aunt Jolene.”
She sighed. “I’m just saying, babydoll, you’re better than anyone gives you credit for.”
Cash slid his hand over my knee and leaned over to kiss the side of my head. “Seems pretty clear that she’s been misjudged a lot.”
“With all the shit we’ve pulled it’s crazy how hard people will work to paint us as saints. No one’s given you that same grace, Cassidy.” Hayes met my gaze and I had to swallow my nerves because it all felt very real suddenly. More than ever.
“Okay, okay. I’ve embarrassed you enough, Cass. How about I tell the story about the time I partied with Jack Nicholson at a Winn Dixie down in Corpus Christi?” Aunt Jolene threw her head back and laughed at the story she hadn’t even told yet. “So, there was this Bill Clinton impersonator who wanted to get into my sequined jumpsuit but all that shit with poor Monica had just happened so it was a bad time to be a Bill Clinton impersonator in most crowds. Also, I met Monica once and she’s a fucking doll. Seriously. Anyway, my best friend Annie, a Lucille Ball impersonator, threw a party at her uncle’s beach house. Turns out, we went to the wrong house. Or Annie never had an uncle, maybe. I can’t remember.”
I relaxed as she got into her story and looked around our little table. The guys were all captivated by Aunt Jolene’s story, grinning and leaning forward with anticipation. Elvis was eating out of the palm of her hand pretty much. I could even see people from tables nearby watching and listening. For a moment I felt like I was part of something real.
27
***Weston***
“The big game’s tomorrow.” Cassidy worked her hands over my lower back, massaging that magical spot that gave me so much fucking relief.
I moaned as she hit an especially amazing spot. “That’swhat you want to talk about?”
She paused. “It’s kind of on topic, don’t you think? How are you feeling?”
“I feel fine. Let’s talk about our dinner date with your aunt and her boyfriend.” She’d insisted on riding home with them the night before instead of with us. I had a million questions for her but I didn’t know how to ask any of them.
“What about it?” She started rubbing my back again, hitting all the spots that made my dick hard. “Aunt Jolene declared that she finds the three of you tolerable.”
I turned my head to the side so I could see her. “I’ll try not to let my head get too big.”
“I’m sure it’s too late for that, Weston.” She leaned over and smiled. “Head down.”
