Breathing hard, I collapse into his arms, mixing his sweat with mine. When I look up into his gorgeous face, he grins. “Can I have you again? I just can’t seem to get enough.” His voice rumbles, and I think I die a little.
Draping my arms around his shoulder, I nod. “You can have me, Baby. I want you, too.”
32
Iris
Standing in the middle of my kitchen, Mrs. Kingston clasps her hands to her heart like she’s scared it will melt right out of her chest. “I still can’t believe you guys were able to pull this off behind my back.”
Lexi slings an arm around her mother-in-law’s shoulder and grabs a pretzel stick from one of the snack bowls. “You almost ruined our surprise, though. When you walked in on us in the greenhouse that day.”
“Well, I doubt my sons would have been able to keep this secret from me without the help of you sneaky girls.” She playfully pokes Lexi in the ribs with her elbow.
“Since when are those boys able to do anything without us women?” Lexi laughs and gives Mrs. Kingston another squeeze. The two of them are close. They interact like they’ve known each other forever. It’s hard not to be a little bit jealous. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. The little girls’ room is calling my name. Again.” My friend scurries off toward the bathroom.
The sound of children’s laughter fills the backyard. Under Jessa’s vigilant supervision, Callie and all her friends run around, wearing shimmery pastel-coloured ballgowns like princesses.
There are balloons everywhere and kid-friendly music streams from the speakers. Jude and Cannon work on draping banners between the big trees out back. Their father has booted the boys out of the way and taken over the grill.
Over at the drinks table, Penny and Walker are bickering over…something. I wonder what that’s all about. But despite their little quarrel, I can still see the cartoon-hearts and goofy smiles and sexual tension that’s always simmering between them.
Beside me, Mrs. Kingston picks up a snack from one of the platters and takes a bite. “Mmm. What is this?” she asks.
“Oh, that’s a cauliflower tater tot,” I tell her.
“Cauliflower?” She takes another bite. “I’ve never had cauliflower that tastes this good!”
I smile. “I thought the kids might like it.”
“Oh, Callie definitely will.” That smile of hers lingers. “And I’m going to need the recipe. Or better yet, you could come to the guesthouse one day and show me how to make them.”
“No problem. I have a whole arsenal of tasty veggie recipes. Knowing just what to do with vegetables is the skill that’s kept me sane with this eternal diet that I’m on.” I laugh. “And with Jude in the house, I’ve found myself researching a whole bunch of creative recipes for the produce from the garden because my roommate is a big child who won’t eat his veggies.”
My laughter dies a painfully awkward death in my throat. My foot is all the way inside my mouth. Did I really just say that? To Jude’s mother?
Curiosity sparkles in the woman’s eyes. I see her trying to piece together the true nature of my involvement with her son.
You learned all those recipes for Jude, huh? Her twinkling eyes and sly smile beg the question.
Personally, I have no clue what’s going on with Jude and me. Not all that long ago, we couldn’t stand each other. Now, it seems we’re kissing and touching and falling into bed every chance we get.
There’s a voice in my head that says I should feel bad about that, but to be honest, I don’t. We’re both adults. I’m enjoying him and he seems to be enjoying me. So, what’s there to be ashamed of?
Mercifully, Mrs. Kingston doesn’t interrogate me. Instead, she changes the subject, adopting a light tone. “Y’know what I say about diets?” She looks me up and down as she eats some more snacks. “I say that diets are like apologizing to the world for having curves. You’re all woman and as long as you’re healthy, you don’t have to be sorry for having a little extra junk in the trunk.”
I laugh. “That’s an interesting way to see it.”
She turns and her admiring gaze flits around the room. “Your home is gorgeous, by the way. And the backyard, oh! So lovely.” The woman’s attention fans over my vegetable patch and flower garden.
“Thank you, Mrs. Kingston.”
She moves out onto the back deck and I follow her, hoping to absorb a little bit of her confidence by osmosis.
While the party rages on, I take a few minutes to give her a tour of the garden. She gushes over the flowers and I promise to cut her a fresh bouquet before she leaves.
“This is really impressive, Iris.” She eyes me thoughtfully. “Y’know, Cannon says the florist in town is looking to sell. You should consider putting in an offer.”
I catch a tight feeling in my gut. I won’t lie. I’ve thought about it. Owning that floral shop would be a dream come true. But with the state of my finances, that’s just not feasible right now. “I-I don’t know if that would be the right decision for me.”
My stomach clenches again but this time it’s because of the rumbling sound of Jude’s voice as he strolls over with Callie high up on his shoulders.
“What are you ladies over here gabbing about?” He tickles my ribs and instantly, I blush.
His mother bites back a smile at our blatant flirtation.
He leans over the food table and grabs some bite-sized treats.“Ma, I hope you’re not over here telling the pretty girl all my embarrassing high school stories,” he warns his mother.“You said it yourself—that NSYNC phase I went through was totally normal and natural and it’s nothing I need to be ashamed of.”
“Your secret’s safe with me, Dear.” The woman chuckles softly.
My roomie grins. “You’re the best, Ma.” He flashes a panty-destroying wink my way. He hands a few treats to Callie before popping one into his mouth.
He starts to walk away but when the flavor hits, he doubles-back and grabs a few more.
“What’s an NSYNC?” a giggling Callie asks as she and her uncle bop off across the lawn.
Mrs. Kingston watches after them as they go. “Is he eating cauliflower?!” Her jaw is loose in shock.
I laugh. “I told you about that cauliflower tot recipe, Mrs. Kingston. It’s good stuff.” I may be gloating a little.
She glances at me with an awed expression. “Would you call me Diana already? Any woman who can get my Jude to eat his vegetables is an instant friend.” She pokes me in the ribs like she just did to Lexi.
I fall a little bit in love with Jude’s mom.
Cinderella eventually shows up with a gang of other costumed entertainers who all look a tiny bit sketchy and reek of cigarette smoke. The children go wild. I take the opportunity to refill the snack bowls.
Everyone’s having a good time…
Until Penny and Walker reach their boiling point over at the makeshift bar. I witness it up close and personal as I’m replenishing the salad bar at the neighboring table.
“My god, Walker. Would you lighten up?” My cousin seethes. “I tend bar at the most popular night spot in town. I think I can handle making some fruit punch for a child’s birthday party.”
His big shoulders vibrate on an irritated exhale. “All I’m saying is if you want to make the kids some fruit punch, the least you can do is use some real damn fruits. That powdered shit is loaded with sugar and artificial colorings and all that other crap.” He points accusingly at a jug that Penny is stirring.
My cousin’s response is an exasperated roll of her eyes. “Gosh, you’re so bossy.” She throws her head back.
With a frustrated shrug, Walker shoves his massive hand through his hair. “That’s just my advice, Penn. Take it or leave it. You’re just gonna do what you wanna do anyway.” He turns away from her. “But you know I’m right.”
“Hey, where are you going?” she calls after him. “We can have a disagreement without you walking away, y’know.”
He issues a grunt and strolls off.
Penny cringes, instantly realizing that she may have overreacted. A teensy bit.
This behavior is out of character for my cousin. Penny’s the femme fatale, the vixen. And the vixen does not go around dousing the guests with fruit punch mix at children’s parties.
Walker turns around slowly, a lethal glint in his eyes. “Did you just…?”
Penny snaps out of her shock. She plants a fist on her hip. “Maybe I did…” she challenges.
Walker narrows his gaze on her. He snatches a lettuce leaf from my salad bar.
“Hey!” I protest. But he’s too busy flinging it at Penny to pay me any mind. It lands in her cleavage.
She gasps in horror as she picks the soggy leaf from her boobs with her perfect French manicure. She throbs with offended energy. But, I see the grin twitching the corners of her mouth.
And is it just me or is the sexual energy rising between them? Sort of seems like foreplay…
They have the crowd’s attention now. An audience is gathering. Cinderella watches on from the edge of the yard where she’s lighting up a fresh cigarette.
“Penny, are you just gonna take that?” Lexi teases from over by the DJ stand.
Little instigator, she is. A grinning Cannon locks an arm around his wife’s waist and slaps a hand over her big mouth.
My cousin’s narrowed eyes tell me she’s out for blood. She scoops a handful of shaved ice out of the cooler and shapes it into a snowball. Walker holds up a hand defensively. “Don’t you—”
Before he can even finish, Penny launches the ice. It smacks him in the center of the chest.
A cumulative gasp rings out around the yard. The kids find it hilarious. Their chirps of laughter fill the air.
The towering farmer lifts a brow, a small smile playing on the edges of his mouth. “Oh, it’s on, Penelope!”
He snatches up the garden hose.
The crowd hoots and whistles with amusement.
“No, you wouldn’t…” Penny dares him.
Walker’s finger glides over the trigger on the sprayer nozzle. He grins threateningly. “Maybe I would…”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile like this. He’s usually the quiet, growly Kingston in the corner but now as he’s sparring with his best friend, there’s something playful in his demeanor.
“No, you wouldn’t…” Penny insists.
Walker tilts his head to the side. He offers up a half-smirk and a shrug.
The kids cheer him on. “Spray the water, Uncle Walker!” Callie yells.
Walker aims the nozzle. Penny lifts her arms for cover and charges in his direction. The hose gets trapped between them as they wrestle, arms tangled around each other. They half-laugh, half-fight. And I half-think they’re about to rip each other’s clothes off and go at it on my back lawn. The children jump and cheer as the adults look on, laughing.
And then my automatic sprinkler system turns on…
Ice cold water shoots from the sprinklers, launching across the yard in arcs. People start shrieking as water rains down on the backyard.
Panic splits my chest open. Dammit, I forgot to reset the timer. And now, my guests are getting drenched on my back lawn.
Crap. Crap. Crap.
As I’m dashing across the yard to get to the control panel, I feel a thick, wet arm loop around my waist. I glance over my shoulder and find Jude grinning down at me.
The contact of our bodies is like plunging a thousand wet fingertips into an electric socket. The power supply to fuel an entire city moves between us when his hard, damp torso presses to my back.
“Lemme go turn off the water.” I’m barely able to get the words out with the way my brain is fritzing right now.
His wet hair is plastered to his forehead. Water clings to his tempting, smiling lips. “No way!” His eyes drop and linger on my mouth, my neck, my breasts before sliding back up to my face. He gives me the slowest, sexiest smile. “Come join the fun!”
Everything below my belly button quivers and heats…despite the fact that we’re surrounded by his parents and a herd of shrieking pre-schoolers and some chain-smoking fairytale princess wannabes who are getting paid by the hour. That’s the effect this man has on me.
His fingers intertwine with mine and he gives me a small tug. “Come on, Iris. Get in here.” He juts his chin in the direction of the party.
When the water started blasting, I’d expected everyone to go scampering out of the spray radius for safety. Instead, they did the opposite.
The kids are shrieking and jumping under the deluge. Penny’s got her face buried in Walker’s chest as she laughs. He has one arm around her waist and he makes a chivalrous attempt to protect her from the downpour, their argument long forgotten. Jessa grabs Callie. They’re holding hands and hopping through the spray. The birthday girl drags in Mr. Kingston. Diana clings to her husband’s arm and, together, they join the festivities.
Foxxy witnesses the scene from the kitchen window, head down, tail up, watching the humans with alarm.
“I can’t go over there!” I lower my voice and hiss.
Jude glances my way and tugs on my arm again. “Come on!” His massive smile expands across his face. And his dimples are being extra dimple-y right now.
When Diana’s eyes meet mine, she grins face-wide. “Get in here, Iris! Get in!”
I hesitate. The idea of my wet clothes clinging to my curves and exposing my lady lumps in front of Jude’s family is almost enough to make me hyperventilate.
But I look at Jude again. And I’m so focused on that smile…So focused on that smile…
The next thing I know, I’m under the water, surrounded by riotous laughter and good vibes and Jude’s strong arms. And the mess I must look like is the last thing on my mind. I’m just focused on having fun.
Moments later, Lexi shows up with fluffy bath towels for everyone. She and Cannon hand them out to the shivering guests.
“Look at you, letting loose!” My bestie grins at me as she hands me a towel.
“How come you weren’t in the middle of all that, Lex?” I motion to the melee on the lawn as it starts to wind down. Lexi is the biggest trouble maker of all. She’d usually be the first one to jump into that mess.
She throws a glance at her husband across the yard and grins. Then, she speaks in a dramatic, biblical tone. “Because I am with child,” she announces.
My eyes bulge. “You’re pregnant?! You’re having a baby?!”
She drops the pile of bath towels on a table and drags me away from the crowd. “Shh! We haven’t told Diana yet. We’re waiting till after the party.”
I pull my bestie into a wet monster hug. “Oh my god oh my god!” I whisper into her face. “I’m so excited for you. Oh my god!”
Lexi’s beaming. “Thank you, boo. But you’re dripping water all over me.” She takes a step back and hops from foot to foot. “Also, it’s time for me to hit up the bathroom again. I’ll call you after the party to spill the details.” Before I can say a word, she’s dashed into the house.
Smiling, I stand on the edge of the yard with a towel around my shoulders, nursing a lemonade and watching everyone have a good time. This is what I always imagined when I was renovating this place; the backyard full of life and laughter and love. This feels good.
Cinderella and her friends are over by the hedges, having another smoke. Across the yard, Walker has Penny seated on an abandoned table. They’re smiling and grinning in each other’s faces as he drapes a towel around her shivering shoulders then he stands between her legs, carefully mopping up her smudged makeup with a dry cloth. ‘We’re just friends’. That’s their official line but those two aren’t fooling anyone.
Diana strolls up to me, laughing and wringing water out of her hair. “That was fun, huh?�
��
I hand her a towel. “It was.”
She grins, looking ten years younger with the happiness lighting her face. “And to think you almost missed out.” She runs the towel over her head.
I chew on my lip, ashamed that I almost let my insecurities deprive me of the moment, wishing I could push through my doubts more often and claim the things I really want from life.
It’s like Diana can read my thoughts. She places a hand on my arm. “Dear, it’s okay to loosen up and have fun sometimes.”
“I-I just get so self-conscious…It’s just I don’t have a body like Penny or Jessa or Lexi…I don’t want people looking at me. Judging me. I’m just not comfortable in my skin, y’know?”
Jeez, Iris. Overshare Central over here.
I barely even know the woman but she just has this soothing presence that makes me feel like I can tell her anything.
“A lot of the time, I feel like I’m trapped inside a body that’s not even my own. A body that’s bigger than my brain realizes. Sometimes I feel pretty, but then I see a photo of myself, and can’t believe it’s me. Stupid, I know.” I swallow a big breath. “Still, I realize that I should be grateful that my body works properly even if it doesn't look exactly the way I want it to. My self-image issues don’t compare to tangible problems. Like what Jude is going through.”
“The people who love you are gonna love you no matter what you look like. The people who don’t love you are gonna be bitter no matter what you look like. And it’s not your job to change anyone and their opinions.” Jude’s mother sighs. “Dear, some bitches are just bitter and there’s not much anyone can do about it.”
I think my eyes bulge in shock when she says that. She laughs heartily at my expression.
“What I’m trying to say is, beauty shines from the inside, out. Doesn’t matter what you do or don’t put in your mouth. You’ll never be happy with your body if you’re emotionally malnourished.” She squeezes my shoulder.
The truth of her words strike deep and hard. I’ve been depriving myself. Not only when it comes to what I eat but also, how I love and how I feel about myself. I’ve been depriving myself on every level. No wonder I feel crappy all the time.
Mister Baller: A Small Town Enemies-to-Lovers Sports Romance (Bad Boys in Love Book 2) Page 18