“You should be enjoying yourself with the other moms,” he said in a concerned tone. “Are you having fun?”
He was leaning over me dripping water on me.
“Yes, you throw quite the barbeque, Greyson Scott,” I turned to him with a smile and pushed him back a bit, “and I don’t mind. But is that cast supposed to get wet?”
He had water droplets streaming down his body and water clung to his long eyelashes making them look even more full. His St. Christopher medallion on his gold chain shone bright in the sun. I didn’t have to look to know what it was. He never took it off. He was devastated when he lost it in the ocean at 20, only to be the luckiest guy and grab it out of the water five minutes later.
He took the trash bag away from me and slung a wet, heavy arm over my shoulder. Giving me a boyish smile, he said, “you worry too much, Juju. I get it off tomorrow… and you know what that means.”
I cocked an eyebrow at him.
He leaned in to whisper, “I get to make love to you with two hands… just imagine how much louder you’ll be screaming my name, baby.”
I felt a shock course through my body, emitting from low. My face was heating up fiercely, and my cheeks were without a doubt turning bright red and he totally noticed.
I could smell the beer on his breath. He was definitely feeling the alcohol a bit to be so outspoken.
He dipped close to me, “I love it when I get you all hot and bothered,” he said in a low grumble. “I love that I still have that effect on you,” he added in a more serious tone. He moved away from me then and moved towards the cooler. I immediately missed his presence in my personal space.
He grabbed two Coronas out of the cooler and handed one to me, just like he had so many times in the past.
I shook my head and looked up at him, “I have Canyon.” I really didn’t drink much anymore, besides the occasional glass of wine at dinner or the end of the day. My mom radar was always on, and I didn’t mind at all, in fact, I preferred it that way. That’s why Kevin didn’t even try to get more than partial custody of Canyon, he was still in frat boy mode half the time. I sometimes did think it would be nice to have a night out though.
“I have chatted with Mrs. Troy’s mom, whatever the hell her name is,” he countered playfully. In the back of my mind, I liked how he didn’t pay attention to her tall blonde figure the way Kevin had. Even if I didn’t want to admit it to myself, I wanted all of his attention. “I already asked if she could take Canyon home and baby-sit tonight. They loved the idea of a sleepover, they were like jumping out of their skin,” he smirked.
That was definitely more of a dad move- making sure Canyon would be alright instead of just expecting me to be free for him. It was a little different having someone else make plans... but I appreciated it.
His eyebrows drew together, “I hope that’s alright,” he added quickly.
“Oh, yeah,” I assured him. “But What’s happening tonight?” I hesitantly accepted the beer he was still holding towards me.
He shook his head at me and flashed his heartbreaker smile with all his confidence back in place, “A surprise.”
Chapter Thirty-seven: Grey- present
I think she thought that I’d forgotten. Silly girl, I never forgot.
Every year that we weren’t together, I went out with random guys from whatever team I was on and drank this night away until I blacked out. Because this date, her birthday, inevitably made me think about her and it was too painful. It was the fact that I knew she was somewhere in the world celebrating and I didn’t get to be a part of it. It cracked my heart open. I shoved all memories of her in a little box in the back of my mind, but that box bust open every September 29th.
But this year would be different. Jules turned 32 at midnight and I wanted it to be memorable for her. I wanted it to be her best birthday.
I recruited Paige, Max, Smitty, Ashlie, and Canyon to all help celebrate. Canyon’s part didn’t come in until tomorrow though- we were making pancakes for her- the special kind with the tiny marshmallows.
I’d taken Canyon to the store with me earlier in the week to pick out a necklace. It was simple and elegant and so very much Jules with just a single white diamond hanging from a silver chain.
Canyon was thoroughly pleased with the purchase. The only thing that bugged me was the fact that he said he usually just made his mom a homemade card because his dad never took him shopping for her and never gave her a cake. The fact that she hadn’t been dotted on and cared for pissed me off so damn much that I felt the urge to punch another wall harboring inside of me. What a son of a bitch to have a baby with a woman and then keep her as a wife just to treat her like shit. I wished like hell I could turn the clock back, but I needed to let go of the anger and move forward and make sure she was treated the way she deserved.
My plan for tonight was to go out on the town with her, treat her to a five-star dinner and then go dancing and get absolutely shit-faced and have the most fun. We’d finish the night up with some Taco Bell like we had in our early 20s… but this time we wouldn’t be crashing in a crappy dorm room, but at my home.
Paige and Ashlie helped me pick out my outfit because I was kinda nervous. They picked dark wash jeans and a nice button-down. It was a bit busy for my taste, but apparently it was the “in” style. Jules usually just saw me in sweats. As much as we’d been hanging out the past couple of weeks, we hadn’t gone on an official date; it had been more of hanging around with her and Canyon, which I loved, but I was excited to get some time with just her tonight when she was off mom-duty.
I rang the doorbell and watched through the glass paneling as she came down the stairs and it just about knocked the breath out of me.
She opened the door shyly and peaked around it, “It’s weird not having Canyon race me for the door,” she said quietly.
I stepped inside and looked her up and down. She looked drop dead gorgeous tonight. I didn’t give her much to go on in terms of dress, or time to get ready- only about an hour between the end of the barbeque and when I picked her up, but it didn’t really matter. She could be in her pajamas and I’d still find her the most attractive woman in any bar. But tonight, she had on an off the shoulder little dark red dress that hugged all her curves. She pinned her long, wavy hair to one side, so it ran down her one shoulder and was so long it reached her boob. It was light brown at the top and went to an almost blonde at the bottom. The left side of her neck and shoulder were exposed, and damn if I didn’t find everything down to her toes sexy.
“What? This okay?” She asked nervously.
