“If you don’t want to go, it’s cool. I’ll just . . .” His voice trailed off as he looked down at his phone and began scrolling through his contacts.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll go,” I answered, because it was obvious that he really wanted me to. Aidan’s face relaxed as he pulled me into the shower with him, where we enjoyed lathering each other’s bodies, and we used our hands to bring each other to release.
Needless to say, I was nervous about going to the birthday party. I didn’t know anything about teenagers. What kind of music did they like? Would it be an afternoon full of Justin Bieber or One Direction songs?
Honestly, I would rather have a root canal.
I even had Aidan take me back to my house so that I could scour my closet in order to pick out the most fashionable, hippest, and coolest outfit. He kept telling me that it wasn’t necessary, but I wouldn’t listen. I don’t even know why I cared so much about making a good impression, but I did.
Since the weather had been pretty warm during the day, I decided on a retro, pale-yellow dress with an embroidered sweetheart bodice that cinched at the waist, finished with crisscross straps on the back. It was fun yet not too dressy with a Marilyn Monroe vibe to it. I completed the look with a pair of tan wedge sandals, light makeup, and my hair was down in flowing waves.
Aidan had dressed very casually in a pair of jeans and a light gray button-down. He looked amazing as always. I couldn’t imagine how his clothes weren’t jumping off the hangers to spend the day on his body.
“Ready to go?” he asked as his eyes roamed over me from head to toe, looking very pleased. “You look great by the way,” he added with a smile.
“Yes, I’m ready,” I replied. Aidan grabbed my hand as he led me to his truck, and my heart grew a little heavy at the realization that this was going to be my last date with him.
Chapter Ten
Rendezvous #5: Access Granted.
It’s time to see your date through the eyes of the people who know them best, friends and family. If your date is willing to allow you into their inner circle, you’ve done something right . . .
The mood between us was light as Aidan gave me the quick down-and-dirty about his family. From our talk yesterday I knew a little about them. His father was a professional photographer for many years and traveled all over the world on assignments.
His face lit up when he talked about how great of a cook his mother was but she wasn’t so good at Pictionary. Maddie was born when he was twelve, and it was obvious that Aidan really adored his little sister. It warmed my heart. He did everything the typical, overprotective big brother of a teenage girl would do. In addition to relentlessly interrogating her dating prospects, he’d purposely crashed dates by showing up randomly at movie theaters or other hangout spots where kids went on group dates together. He was very proud of his reputation as the lurking big brother, and it made me laugh. I didn’t have that sort of closeness with Joe Junior or my parents. We all got along well enough, but the Lewises were more of a “get together on holidays and special events who occasionally talked on the phone” type of family.
We drove thirty minutes out of Louisville and into a beautiful high-end residential area. He stopped at a large iron gate, punched in a code, and was granted access. We continue down a long and winding drive until a large house appeared. It was breathtaking.
Aidan stopped in front of a large country house with stone accents, a columned front porch, and green grass as far as the eye could see. We got out of the car and walked hand in hand down a cobblestone path around the side of the house. I could hear lots of commotion. People were talking, laughing, and music was playing. It was safe to say that I was surprised by what I saw. There were several tables covered in white linens, flowers of vibrant colors were used as centerpieces, and white lanterns surrounded the area. Smoke was coming from two large gas grills where two men in white chef coats were cooking and plating food.
“Aidan, my boy!” an older man with slightly graying dark hair called before walking hurriedly over to us. He was wearing khaki shorts, a black short-sleeved button-down with some sort of pattern thinly traced into it. His eyes were the same shade of green as Aidan’s. They shared the same chiseled features and had similar builds, though Aidan was a few inches taller than the other man. They embraced with wide, identical smiles.
“Dad, this is Josette.” He proudly gestured to me, and I smiled brightly while extending my hand to Aidan’s father.
“Ah, yes, Josette. Good to finally meet you.” I shot a questioning glance over to Aidan before his dad tugged my hand slightly and pulled me into a tight hug. Aidan only grinned back at me. I wondered how much Aidan told his family about me, and I instantly felt bad because I hadn’t told anyone about him.
“Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Ross,” I said after stepping back from his embrace. He waved my words off with his hand.
“Scott, please call me Scott.” He smiled warmly at me, and I nodded. “My lovely wife should be around here somewhere; I know that she was real excited to meet you.” He looked around and his eyes finally rested on his target. He grabbed my hand and pulled me alongside him, Aidan following closely behind.
We approached a long table where a group of caterers was setting out food and a woman was directing the staff around with her back to us. Aidan quickly stepped past us and grabbed the woman’s waist and squeezed her in a playful, tickling kind of way. The woman yelped as she turned around.
“Aidan!” she gasped, pushing him back feigning outrage, and then yanked him back into a big hug. Both were laughing as her gaze settled on mine, and I smiled while nodding politely at her.
“Hello,” she said sweetly. Her face seemed very familiar to me, and just as I was wondering where I’d seen her before, Aidan spoke with one arm still around the woman’s waist.
“Mama, this is Josette. Josette, this is my mom, Sophie.” I did my best not to show my surprise. Sophie was stunningly gorgeous and didn’t look old enough to be Aidan’s mother. Not only was she very tall but she was also very beautiful with flawless skin, high cheekbones, perfectly sculpted eyebrows, and a set of warm brown eyes. Her cream-colored strapless dress hugged her trim waist and accentuated her long and shapely legs. Her hair was pulled away from her face and into a bun at the nape of her neck. She was elegant in every sense of the word. She lifted a graceful hand toward me and smiled kindly.
“Josette, I’m so happy to meet you.” I stepped forward and shook her hand.
“V-very nice to meet you, t-too,” I stuttered, my ankle shooting out from under me slightly as I stepped back again. I suddenly felt clumsy and slightly overwhelmed by her presence. Ignoring my obvious embarrassment, Sophie gave me a warm smile and continued to speak.
“I was wondering when Aidan was going to finally let us meet you,” she teased and nudged him with her hip. “Welcome to our home. Maddie is over with her friends and she has made Aidan promise to stay away. We’ll see how that goes.” We laughed together at how unlikely that would be. Aidan’s eyes were already roaming the lawn, sizing up all of the offending male population in attendance.
“Wait, wait, wait. Let’s put those over there.” Sophie turned to us apologetically before she quickly excused herself to continue with the party arrangements.
Maddie was a lovely girl. Beautiful, tall, and slender just like her mother. She was polite and shy, not at all what I had expected. She gave me a warm hug and introduced me to some of her friends before the group of giggling girls scurried to the dance floor under the gazebo after catching the beginning of a song that I had never heard before, but apparently was a big hit to everyone else.
Just as Aidan and I were making our way to a table, a little blur of flying curls and squeals whizzed by.
“Isa? Isa, stop right there,” Aidan commanded, and to my surprise the girl stopped, ran to hide behind Aidan and grinned mischievously. The little girl of about six let out another squeak as she huddled closer to Aidan’s back as Scott st
ormed by frowning, obviously searching for her.
“Hide me, Uncle Aidan!”
“What are you up to, Isabella?” Aidan turned and fixed a stern glare down to her.
“Mustard makes me mad!” she shouted.
“What?” Aidan asked, exasperated.
“Mustard makes me mad and Papa put it on my hot dog.”
“Isa, just say that you don’t like mustard.”
“I did, Uncle Aidan, like a million times but he never listens. I made sure he wouldn’t forget it this time because I poured mustard in his drink. Now he knows how it feels to have disgusting mustard ruin something he likes.”
I smiled at the absurd conversation between Aidan and his niece, who looked a lot like Maddie except Isabella’s long lashes fanned startling-beautiful gray eyes. Her dark hair was waist long and curled wildly down her back with several stray curls framing her face. Finally, Aidan gave up and turned back to me.
“Josette, this is my brother’s daughter, Isabella.” He poked the girl in her side and she jumped back and giggled. “Isa, this is Josette.” Isabella stared up at me bashfully, yet knowingly.
“Ooooh, is this your girrrrrlfriend?” she singsonged.
“Hey!” Aidan shouted down at her and proceeded to tickle Isabella until her legs gave out and she slumped onto the floor, laughing and gasping for air. “Uh-oh! I think I see Papa coming,” Aidan warned. Isabella’s face immediately straightened as she bolted off into the direction of the house. We both watched in amusement as Scott followed behind the girl, grinning while in hot pursuit.
We also stopped and spoke to Sean and his wife, Nicole. I noticed the similarities between the brothers. Sean had the same dark hair and chiseled features as the other Ross men, but he had brown eyes just like Sophie and Maddie. He was dressed in a pair of comfortable jeans and a polo-style shirt. Nicole was a pretty blonde who probably stood no taller than five feet with a big round belly, and it was clear that her due date was soon. I realized right away that she was a spitfire even though it took her a while to waddle up to us. She wasted no time teasing Aidan about nearly forgetting about the party before she zeroed in on me with a lot of questions. She wasn’t being mean, just merely curious. I almost felt like I was interviewing for a job, and I found it amusing. It made sense that Isabella was so mischievous.
Once Nicole was satisfied with her interrogation of me, well actually Sean put an end to it by pulling her away, Aidan guided us until we were sitting at a little table.
“Why does your mom look so familiar?” I asked as I took a sip from the wine glass Aidan handed me.
“That’s probably because you’ve heard of her. She’s Sophie Hayden.”
Sophie Hayden was a famous cover model in the eighties. Her pictures were in magazines everywhere, but where I remember her was during the time she was a celebrity judge on a modeling competition show I used to watch when I was a teenager. Sophie was a model and Scott was a photographer so it made sense that the two of them ended up together.
“Did he meet Sophie on a photo shoot?” I asked
“No, she had stopped modeling for a while and opened a little café. She was catering an industry event that my dad was attending. He said that he loved her food so much that he tried to convince her to make him dinner one night.”
“Did that really work?” I chuckled.
“No, not at all.” He laughed. “But since my dad was a highly sought after photographer, he started insisting that she was used to cater all of his shoots and events. Finally, as Mom would put it, he’d worn her down.” I smiled as my eyes found Scott and Sophie walking hand in hand as they strolled together across the lawn chatting with guests. I loved their connection. They were a perfect vision of two people who were deeply in love. I felt a little envious.
“You have a lovely family.” I smiled at him with genuine warmth. His lips curved up into a lopsided grin. Instead of speaking, he grabbed my hand and pulled me to the dance floor. We spent the rest of the afternoon trying not to look as old as we felt next to all of the kids crowding the dance floor. Aidan attempted a few dance moves, unsuccessfully I might add, to the utter embarrassment of Maddie and Isabella. I decided to stick with a safe two-step, no matter the song.
Finally giving up on dancing, I went back to the house in search of the bathroom. I entered the kitchen through the French doors and was about to venture down the hall to my right when I heard a strange muffled noise in the distance that made me curious enough to find out what it was. Just off the kitchen was a large pantry with the door open. I stood gaping at Scott who had Sophie pinned against the far shelf with her long leg resting on his hip, grinding into her fully clothed, kissing her ravenously. The muffled sound was Sophie moaning “Scotty” into his mouth, her hands fisting into his hair as she pulled him tightly against her. I quietly started backing away feeling embarrassed to witness this private moment.
Whoa.
Even after thirty years of marriage the electricity between them was humming through the room. I could feel it. I quickly tiptoed down the hall in the opposite direction, slightly dazed and hoping with all my heart that I would have that for myself one day. Suddenly an image of me and Aidan together doing the exact same thing thirty years from now filled my head, and I knew I was in trouble.
Chapter Eleven
After Maddie’s party, Aidan and I went back to his house for the night. He placed his iPod on the docking station and pressed shuffle. We were sitting next to each other on the barstools at the counter, drinking bottled beer and eating some of the party leftovers Sophie shoved into our hands to take home.
There was a comfortable silence between us and at the same time an undeniable magnetic pull. I couldn’t seem to stop myself from repeatedly glancing his way and grinning when I found him looking at me, too. Finally, Aidan grabbed my hand and pulled me into his room. We slowly undressed each other, trying our best to methodically kiss each piece of skin we’d uncovered. I pushed him down on to the bed, climbed on top, and lowered myself onto him. There were no thoughts in my head other than the feel of him beneath me, his hands roaming my body, caressing my breasts, my stomach, and hips.
Enjoying the overwhelming sensations, I threw my head back and rocked harder. The soothing melody of “Coming Home” by Leon Bridges was flowing from the living room and my hips moved in time with the beat that seemed to go perfectly with the mood. Slow, relaxed, and passionate as I found myself rolling my hips, moving my hands to touch my breasts, pinching my nipples and moaning softly. I was brought out of my dreamlike state by the sound of Aidan groaning below me. I open my eyes to see him staring at me, eyes filled with smoky passion and something that resembled wonderment.
“What?” I asked, my voice husky as I began to feel a little embarrassed by my loss of awareness.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Josie. I love watching you let go.” His voice was as thick as mine, and the sound caused my inner muscles to clench involuntarily around him as I grew even wetter. I bit my bottom lip as goose bumps formed on my skin before smiling down at him. I couldn’t resist leaning down to kiss him. He met me halfway, his mouth devouring mine. We moved to a sitting position with our lips never separating.
One of his hands fell to rest on my hip, the other wrapped behind me at the base of my neck. He guided our pace, still keeping time with the song. It was as if we’d left this world and somehow landed in an alternate universe where it was possible to become one with music. Nothing else around us existed, just the feel of his hands on me, our warm tongues entwined, and the way he moved deliciously inside of me
“Oh God, Josie. This is . . .” His voice trailed off as he groaned against my mouth. I could feel tiny bumps cover the surface of his skin, too.
I pulled back to look into his half-lidded eyes and whispered, “I know, Aidan. I feel it too.” It was an awakening. From what? I wasn’t sure. I just knew that I’d never felt it before, and I would never be the same. I returned my lips to his as we exploded simultan
eously, shouting into each other’s mouths as our release took control and carried us away.
He smoothed back my damp hair and placed soft kisses along the curve of my neck, our lower halves still pulsing against each other. It was clear that neither of us wanted to break the connection or the moment we’d just shared.
“Baby.” Aidan turned his head and gestured to the unused condoms on the nightstand. “I’m sorry, I wanted to say something but when you sank down onto me I couldn’t think about anything else.”
“It’s okay. I’m on the pill.”
“Even if you weren’t, I would take care of you. You know that right?” I looked into his eyes and I knew that he would, so I nodded. He was a good person. The exact kind of person that I’d always wanted to find.
Something had changed between us and we both knew it. Except, I’d created a situation where I had no choice but to move thousands of miles away very soon. Cruel how life worked sometimes. I wasn’t ready to let him go, and I was having a hard time admitting it.
I wouldn’t realize this until much later, but I didn’t think about Derek once that entire weekend.
****
Early the next morning Aidan and I were standing next to my car, staring at each other. He had his arms wrapped around my waist as he held me against him.
“I want to keep seeing you,” he said against my neck, and I closed my eyes. I don’t know why either of us thought this would be a five-date thing. “I don’t want you to move to California.”
“Aidan.” I sighed. “I can’t stay even if I wanted to. I’ve already sold my house.”
“That’s no excuse. There are plenty of places here to live. Just stay.”
“You know why I need to leave.”
“Why? Because of him? What about me? Don’t run away from me, too. Stay.”
I wanted to. I really, really wanted to, but I was terrified to open my heart to someone else, especially after it had been completely torn to shreds by the last person I tried to give it to.
Kentucky on the Rocks Page 6