Boarded by Love

by Toni Aleo

  Tucking my phone in my pocket, I listen as she says, “That’s how you do it.”

  “Wow,” Megan says, her face full of awe. “That was beautiful.”

  “Thank you. Now go home, practice, and when we meet up next week, I want that emotion.”

  Megan nods and I watch as they clean up before both coming out, grins on their face. When Megan’s eyes meet mine, she giggles before sending a look at Claire. “So he’s the reason for all that emotion?”

  Claire’s face fills with color before she wraps her arms around my waist. “Yup, he sure is.”

  I kiss her temple and hug her tightly as Megan says, “Cool, see y’all later.”

  “Bye, Megan,” Claire calls as she cuddles into me tighter. Once I hear the door shut, she looks up at me. “I’ve been waiting all day to see you.”

  “Me too. All day, I’ve been watching the clock.”

  She hugs me tighter. “I’m sorry for this week. With Reese and Phillip gone, I had to take over the studio, and I’m so damn tired.”

  I hug her back, dusting her jaw with kisses. “I understand. I’ve been busy too.”

  “They come back tomorrow, though, so hopefully things will go back to normal.”

  “There is a normal with us?” I joke and she smiles.

  “Very good point. You know what I mean,” she says and I nod.

  “I know. Come on, let’s get out of here. We don’t want to be late,” I say as we start for the door.

  Once there, Claire locks everything up and then we head toward her car. I had Jayden drop me off since it’s a chilly night. I didn’t want to freeze on my bike or subject Claire to that. Might be time to put the bike up; the weather is starting to stay cold instead of fluctuating like it had been doing. Taking the keys from Claire, I kiss her knuckles and she bats her eyelashes at me before she heads to the other side to get in.

  Getting in, I adjust the seat and put my seat belt on as she says, “I still can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”

  I grin over at her. “What better way to spend date night than in a tattoo parlor?”

  “I can give you a lot of places we could spend date night, mainly my bed or yours, but tattoos it is.”

  I laugh. “You know you’re excited.”

  She shrugs, but I can see the grin pulling at her lips. “Maybe.”

  I poke her in her side, making her giggle out loud before smacking my hand away. Flashing me a bright grin, she leans across the console and gives me a loud kiss on the cheek. “Okay, I lied. I’m excited.”

  “That’s what I thought,” I say before kissing her lips quickly and then carefully backing her car out of the parking lot. She’s already nervous about Phillip finding out I drove her car, which makes me nervous, and for the next ten minutes, I’m driving like a great-grandma to the tattoo parlor.

  “Oh my God! You are driving slower than molasses! What the hell?”

  “Shh,” I say, pulling very carefully into the parking lot. I hate that I drove this slow. This car was made for power, but no way am I going to test that tonight. Not until I am in good standing with Phillip will I attempt that. “I’m taking it easy.”

  “Taking it easy? Jeez, I’m driving home,” she says, throwing the door open and getting out. I do the same and point my finger at her.

  “The hell you are. I’m the man – I drive.”

  Putting her hands on her hips, she says, “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought I was riding with my great-aunt. A real man would put the pedal to the medal. You were driving so slow, I’m pretty sure we were passed by a slug.”

  Glaring, I say, “Take that back.”

  “No, it’s the truth,” she says, standing a little taller.

  Taking a step toward her, I expect her to take a step back or even run from me, but I forget that Claire isn’t like other girls. She doesn’t back down from a fight, and man, that turns me on. Cupping my hand on the back of her head, I pull her against me, crashing my mouth against hers in hot need. Walking her back until we hit the wall, I deepen the kiss, my hand squeezing her hip as her fingers hook in the loops of my pants.

  Parting only an inch, I say, “I drove slow because I don’t want to give Phillip any more reasons to hate me.”

  Meeting my gaze with a lusty one, she smiles. “It doesn’t matter what he thinks. All that matters is that I love you.” My heart feels as if it is literally coming out of my chest as she cups my face. Looking deep in my eyes, she says, “Stop worrying about pleasing him. It isn’t going to work. Just worry about us.”

  As much as I want Phillip to like me, I know she’s right. He doesn’t hate me as a person; he hates that I am important to Claire and what I could potentially do to her. As long as I do right by her, it doesn’t matter what he thinks. She’s all that matters. I just need to remember that. I think, too, that it has something to do with the fact that no one has ever hated me. I’ve always been liked at first meeting, and for once, someone doesn’t like me, and that bothers me. I feel like we could get along great, but that’s not the case. He cares more than anything about Claire and doesn’t want any sort of pain to come her way. I get that; I just need to accept that he’ll probably never like me.

  But I know someone who will always like me, and I’m kissing her.

  Nibbling on her bottom lip, I say, “I can do that.”

  “Good, now let’s go do this,” she says before pressing her lips to mine.

  Parting, I wrap my arm around her shoulders and we head in. When my tattoo artist Mackie sees me, he stands from his chair, a grin on his face as he shakes my hand. “Jude, my man, nice to see ya, bro.”

  “Hey, Mackie,” I say, my arm hanging loosely on Claire’s shoulder. “This is my girl, Claire.”

  “Claire,” he says, shaking her hand softly. “Wonderful to meet ya. You ready for this?”

  She nods slowly. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  “Awesome, come on over into my studio and check out what I have for you.”

  We follow him to his studio and then to his desk where the stencil for her tattoo lays. We have been sending him pictures and planning this tattoo all week. I’m excited to see what Mackie came up with, and like always, he does not disappoint.

  “Oh wow,” Claire gasps, leaning against the desk with her palms on it, taking in the beauty of the drawing.

  “It’s perfect,” I say as my eyes roam along the paper. In the middle is a bright red phoenix; it’s so bold and vibrant, almost real enough to come off the paper. Around it are big red and black blossoms, giving more depth to the picture. Underneath it, it says: “Ón luaithreach, a éirím”which is Gaelic for “From the ashes, I rise.”

  Nodding her head, she says, “Yeah, it is.”

  “Awesome!” Mackie says, and then he grabs a piece of paper before turning to Claire. “Now all I need is for you to kiss this.”

  Her brow rises before looking back at me. “Huh?”

  “For my tattoo,” I say with a grin, and I take out a tube of red lipstick I stole from her dance bag since I knew she would protest to this. Ever since I mentioned it at the wedding, she’s been telling me I’m crazy for this, but I want it.

  “I thought we decided against that?”

  I shake my head. “No, that’s not what we did. I’m ready for this.”

  “Jude. That’s insane. We’ve only been together a little over a month! That’s crazy, right, Mackie?” she says, turning to look at Mackie.

  He shakes his head. “I work in a tattoo parlor in downtown Nashville. Him wanting your lips tattooed on his chest is nowhere near crazy.”

  She lets out a breath. “You’re not helping.” Turning to me, she says, “Jude, come on, let’s wait. When we get married, we can get matching tattoos or something. It just seems so early to me.”

  Crossing my arms across my chest, I say, “You don’t want me to have your lips on me?”

  “I didn’t say that. I’m saying let’s wait.”

  “I want it now,” I say and she gl
ares.

  “And I am asking you to wait. Why rush this?”

  “’Cause I want to,” I say and I’m not budging. I want this.

  “Whatever,” she says, shaking her head as she looks away, her face red with frustration. “I wish you would just stop being so headstrong and wait.”

  “I don’t want to wait.”

  “Yeah! I get that,” she says, letting out another long breath.

  “Are we fighting?” I ask, even though I’m pretty sure I know the answer.

  “No, I just think it’s crazy.”

  “You’re starting to hurt my feelings. I love the way your lips look. They’re a work of art, Claire. Aren’t they, Mackie?”

  Mackie nods and Claire glares at him as he says, “Hottest lips ever.”

  “You are no help,” she accuses again before holding her hands out in front of her. “While I think that’s totally romantic and hot, Jude, I don’t want you to regret this.”

  Taking her hands in mine, I pull her to me. “I can’t regret something as beautiful as a tattoo of your lips. Even if for some insane reason we don’t work out, I’ll always have that piece of you. I want that. I want that constant reminder of the greatest love ever. Not that I’ll ever forget us, but just something to remind me of you every time I look in the mirror.”

  Her eyes soften and I know I have her as Mackie says, “That’s some deep shit, dude.”

  “And I mean every word,” I say, cupping her jaw. “And now I’m gonna be an ass and say that if you love me, you’ll support me on this.”

  “Oh, that’s dirty,” she says, her body molding against mine.

  A triumphant grin takes over my face as I reach for the paper and hand it to her. “I never said I play nice. Now, pucker up, gorgeous.”

  Later that night, after six hours at the tattoo parlor followed by eating a platter full of sushi, we lie in my bed, both of us completely naked and spent. She rocked my world, and I’m pretty sure the whole house heard us going at it. I’ll probably get shit for it tomorrow, but at this moment, in my love bed in the sky, I couldn’t care less. I run my finger down her spine as she lies in the crook of my arm, her fingers tracing the sensitive skin where her bright red lips sit.

  Looking up at me, she grins as she says, “I still can’t believe you did this. It’s crazy.”

  “Why?” I ask. “Don’t you know my love for you is crazy?”

  Her eyes brighten as she shakes her head slowly. “Crazy it is, for sure,” she agrees as she nods. “But I have to admit, I love seeing them on you. It’s kinda like you’re mine.”

  “I am yours,” I whisper against her jaw. Kissing her, I lift my head to admire her tattoo. Her arm is swollen but still the tattoo is flawless and looks amazing on her shoulder. “This is fucking awesome.”

  Looking at her arm, she smiles. “Yeah, Phillip and Reese loved it when I sent them the text.”

  “Awesome,” I say just as she yawns. “Tired?”

  “Yeah, but I don’t want to go to sleep yet,” she says, and I can see that she is fighting to keep her eyes open. “If I go to sleep, then tomorrow starts, and that means I won’t see you for a couple days.”

  I nod and hate that. I have an away game Saturday, and the dance team doesn’t travel with the team. She was going to drive up to Cincinnati for the game, but she has to work this weekend, so that idea was thrown out the window. As much as it sucks since I won’t see her till Sunday afternoon, I understand. We both have busy lives, but unlike other people, we work to make sure we have time together. We aren’t giving up. We love each other way too much for that.

  Moving my fingers slowly against her jaw, I nod. “I know, baby, but you’re tired. Go to sleep. I’ll be here in the morning.”

  Her eyes drift closed as she leans against me, nuzzling her nose against my jaw.

  “You know what the greatest thing about being with you is?” she whispers against my jaw.

  “What?” I whisper back, reaching up to shut the lamp off.

  Opening her eyes, she looks up at me. I can see her eyes in the light from the TV, and I swear, the only thing I see is love. “That I get to be your other half.”

  Running my nose against her, I say, “I agree; that is the best part.”

  “I love you,” she says, her eyes closing again.

  “I love you too. Now go to sleep,” I whisper and soon her breathing becomes even, telling me that she’s asleep. As I hold her, I watch as she sleeps, her little lips puckered and her long eyelashes kissing the tops of her cheeks. She’s so beautiful, and every time I think that she is all mine, I almost can’t believe it. How did a cocky asshole like me land the greatest girl in the world?

  With a grin pulling at my lips, I reach for my phone off my desk and open my gallery to look at my pictures. Mostly there are pictures of Claire and me, kissing, snuggling and being us. I love these pictures and usually go through them a lot, but as she lies in my arms, there is only one thing I want to look at. Opening the video of her dancing from earlier today, I watch as she moves to the music, her eyes captivating me even from the little screen of my iPhone. After watching it twice, I close it and kiss her temple. She stirs only a little before snuggling deeper into my arms, her sexy, naked body pressed to mine. If she wasn’t as tired as she is, I would have my way with her, but I know to let her be.

  Since I’m not tired, I open my Facebook app and play around on there to kill time. When Claire suddenly rolls out of my arms and onto her side, I stare at the back of her head and the love for this girl seriously takes over my body. Like I said at the tattoo parlor, I really don’t think I’ll ever experience this kind of love again. She is it. She is mine, and I want to get on my knees and thank the Lord above for her. He gave me this gift, this treasure, and I don’t think I can do anything else but protect her and love her.

  I’m about to close my app and cuddle against her when Facebook’s question catches my eyes.

  What’s on your mind?

  Letting out a breath, I look back at Claire and then back at my screen.

  And it doesn’t take long to tell Facebook what I’m thinking about.

  And it isn’t a surprise, either.

  It’s the one person I never stop thinking about.

  Claire.

  Chapter 41

  Claire.

  This is my beautiful girlfriend, Claire Anderson. Isn’t she amazing? I’ve never seen something so beautiful or breathtaking than when my girlfriend dances. I’m not saying that she isn’t beautiful and breathtaking when she’s just standing in front of me, because hell yeah she is, but when she dances, I honestly can’t move or form a sentence or thought. Before meeting Claire, I thought I had my life figured out, but man was I wrong. So damn wrong. I don’t think anyone will ever understand the love I have for this beautiful girl and frankly, I don’t give a shit. I love her. She has my heart and I am proud to be her boyfriend. I know I have hurt people and I am sorry for that. I never realized how much of a dick I was before until the most amazing person I’ve ever met loved me. I would never want to make her feel the way I made other girls feel and again, I am really sorry for that. Claire has completely changed me and made me the man I want to be. Everything I do is thoroughly thought out because I don’t want to ever embarrass her or make her unhappy. I just want to be the man she deserves and that’s my new plan. #MyGirlfriendIsBetterThanYours #LifeIsCompleteWithHer #WifeyMaterial

  As I stand in the middle of my dorm, I still can’t believe Jude’s post. He must have done it when I was sleeping, and I’m just now reading it after my second class of the day. My phone was dead when I woke up this morning, and when I finally charged it, I saw that I was tagged in a status by him. I never expected to find a video of me dancing to our song and then a beautiful status like this. When I see the wifey hashtag, my eyes start to fill with tears. He has changed so much. He’s still cocky and a little full of himself, but for the most part, he’s the most amazing, sweetest man I’ve ever met. He cares for peopl
e, would give the shirt off his back to a stranger, and most of all, he loves me something crazy.

  Crazy.

  Ha, that is the perfect word to describe this whirlwind of a love we have. It has been crazy and intense since the moment we met. I still remember everything about the moment when his eyes met mine while I was tearing down the dumbass flyers that Ellen was stapling to trees. The way his mouth pulled to the side, how he looked at me like I was it. Was it love at first sight? Maybe, hell, I don’t know. All I know is that I’m completely in love with this guy. It’s been fast, it’s been crazy, but it’s our love story, and it’s the greatest in the history of love, in my opinion.

  After clicking LIKE, I hit the comment link, and write:

  Claire Anderson: Life is nothing without you, Jude. I love you. More than words. The greatest thing in the world is that we are growing together and together we can do anything. Love you. #MyBoyfriendIsAmazing #MakesMeCryHappyTears #HubbyMaterialForSure

  “What the hell is the matter?”

  Looking over, I see that Skylar has entered the room. I didn’t even hear her come in; I was too consumed with Jude’s post.

  “Jude,” I breathe. “He tagged me in the most unbelievable status.”

  She smiles. “Yeah, I saw that sugary sweet shit. Did you see that almost half his female friends deleted him too?

  Taken aback, I say, “Really?”

  “Yeah, I was messing around with Matty, and he was telling me that he, Bryan, and Jayden were giving Jude shit for y’all making the house shake last night and then his girlie-ass status, and Jude was laughing ’cause almost everyone deleted him.”

  “Wow,” I say with a grin. “That’s a good thing, I guess, but whoa… Wait, you’re messing around with Matt?”