by A. D. Ryan
Lilah then explained how she and Kyle met after she moved to Houston with Jensen. While she didn’t go into specifics on why she left Chicago, she did say that she regretted none of her past, because without it, she’d never have met her soul mate. I noticed Lilah’s eyes glisten before Janet reached across the island between them and grasped her hand, squeezing ever so slightly. It was almost as though she was trying to transfer some of her maternal strength to her daughter. Sure, Lilah might not have regretted her turbulent relationship with Robert, but that didn’t mean it didn’t still hurt to talk about it.
Willow poured another round of shooters, clearly picking up on the vibe that Lilah might be in need of one. We toasted to the past shaping us for our futures and drank simultaneously before Janet spoke next. “I’m almost ashamed to admit how Henry and I met,” she admitted, setting her glass down in front of her. Why did her words suddenly make me nervous?
“Mom, you guys met in college. You moved across the Atlantic for him,” Lilah said, grabbing her wine glass and taking a sip before reaching for a few crackers from the nearby platter. “It’s romantic.”
Janet laughed, and there was an impish glint in her eyes that told me her meeting with Henry might actually rival my own when it came to censorship. To say I wasn’t morbidly curious for her to continue would have been a lie.
“I was a freshman at Oxford,” Janet began, smirking slightly. “Henry and I met at a party.”
Oh, I thought to myself. Was that all?
“I had just gotten out of a terrible relationship and wasn’t looking to meet anyone else—let alone date …”
Uh oh … I was suddenly all too aware where this was going. Janet and Henry hooked up at a party. My morbid curiosity quickly dissipated, and I instantly picked up my wine glass and chugged the remainder of it, hoping to use it as some sort of stand-in brain bleach. My wine was gone before I knew it, and I had just reached for the bottle to refill when Lilah finally caught on to what her mother was implying.
“Mom! Ew!”
Janet laughed. “Oh please. We’re all adults here,” she said, trying to justify her story—or lack-there-of since she never really finished telling it. “Besides, nothing happened. Your father was a perfect gentleman.”
It was a relief to hear. I couldn’t imagine just how drunk I would’ve had to be to forget hearing otherwise.
Jillian didn’t have a story to share since she was newly single, but said she loved hearing everyone’s stories and that they gave her hope that one day she would meet the man of her dreams. She definitely deserved a nice guy. If only I knew any single m—
I hummed excitedly, my mouth full of wine. I quickly swallowed and reached across the island top to pat Lilah’s hand. “We should introduce Riley to Jillian!”
Lilah loved the idea. “Yes! Oh, he would just love you to bits! You’re exactly his type!”
Jillian beamed, listening raptly as Lilah told her all about Riley while Willow poured another round of tequila. After a few more shots, my body was starting to feel the effects, and soon enough the bottle was almost empty. The five of us were still circled around the kitchen island, laughing.
“Oh no!” Willow cried out as she tipped the empty Patron bottle completely upside down over her half-full shot glass. “Madi, do you have anything good to do shooters with?”
Pursing my lips, I turned to the cabinet where I kept my liquor. “Umm … Lemme check.” Upon opening it, I noticed that I had a bottle of vodka and another bottle of Patron. “Ooooh!” I said excitedly, pulling the tequila from the back of the cabinet. It was official: I was definitely on my way to inebriated.
Willow gladly took the bottle from me so she could fill her glass, and we drank again. The rational side of my brain told me I was going to regret getting this drunk on tequila again, but the alcohol was effectively drowning her out. I was having such a good time; if my brain allowed for it later, I’d have to thank Jensen properly for not listening to me.
“Okay, ladies,” Jillian announced. “If I plan to make it home tonight, I should probably stop drinking now.”
“Oh psssh!” I protested animatedly. “You can stay the night! You can’t go. It’s my birthday, and I won’t take no for an answer.”
Jillian looked at me strangely. “That’s really sweet, Madison. But I should go home tonight. Thanks, though.”
“Fine,” I grumbled. “But you’re going to let me find you a ride or call you a cab or something. Now …” I slid her full shot glass toward her. “Drink up.”
We had just set our glasses back down when I heard the clickety-clack of tiny claws on the tile floor. Turning around with a smile, I saw Bones join us from the living room where I could hear the guys talking and laughing up a storm.
“There’s my little guy,” I cooed, kneeling down to pick him up. His little tail wagged excitedly as he licked my face.
“Are you really going to give him a Trekkie name?” Willow inquired with an arched brow.
I kissed Bones on the top of the head, resting my cheek against the side of his face and looked at Willow. “Uh huh. It suits him,” I replied through pursed lips, still using a cutesy baby voice as I spoke. It was probably safe to say that I had arrived to drunksville.
“And what is going on in here?” Jensen asked from the kitchen’s entry. I smiled at him and watched his eyes drop to the empty bottle and discarded limes between us before he pieced it all together. “Are you ladies doing shots without us? Oh, Kyle will not be pleased with you at all.”
“By all means,” I said cockily, fairly confident I was slurring my words. “Invite him in. We found another bottle, and we have a full bottle of vodka.”
My drinking partners all agreed that the guys should join us for a couple of birthday shots, and that’s when Jensen looked at his mother. “Mom? Are you doing shots of Patron?”
“Of course she is,” I announced, noticing for the first time that my words were slightly slurred. “It is my birthday.”
“Jensen,” Janet replied softly. “I’m not a child. I have done this before.”
Shaking his head, he stepped farther into the room where he sidled up next to me and scratched the top of Bones’ head. “You women are out of control,” he teased.
“Mmm … But having fun,” I assured him. “And isn’t that what’s important? I mean, it’s keeping you from getting in trouble for orchestrating this whole night.”
My reminder seemed to please him, because he smiled and nodded like the good boy that he was. “Indeed. That is what’s important. I’m glad you’re having fun, baby.” Slowly, he wrapped his arm around me, placing his hand on my waist before he tightened his grip slightly. Sparks of desire shot through me from the tips of his fingers as he leaned in to kiss my cheek softly.
His lips brushed the skin of my cheek before ghosting over my earlobe. “Make sure you don’t drink too much. We wouldn’t want a repeat of what happened in Memphis, now would we?” he whispered, and I expelled a breathy sigh, suddenly wanting to put the dog down and rush Jensen to our bedroom. The fact that we were entertaining guests was the only reason I wasn’t doing just that.
“You two need to get a room,” Willow chirped, causing the other three women to laugh with her. Jensen stood up straight and cleared his throat.
Suddenly, the kitchen seemed to be the most popular place in the house as the rest of our guests joined us. The girls and I backed away from the island to let the men and their growling stomachs through to get some food. That was when Kyle saw the tequila and turned to me.
“You’re looking a little flushed there, Madikins,” he announced. “You been doing shots without me?”
I shrugged. “What can I say, Kyle? I couldn’t handle seeing you wallow after drinking you under the table again. I needed some real competition.”
Kyle’s booming laughter filled the room. “If you weren’t already looking a little tipsy, I’d show you who’d reign champion.”
Everyone grabbed a small plate of sna
cks before finding a place to stand or sit in the kitchen while we all talked. As I ate crackers and cheeses, munched on some fruit and drank the water that Jensen insisted on, I could feel the veil of inebriation slowly beginning to lift. I was still feeling pretty damn good, but I wouldn’t be passing out any time soon. Bonus.
“Okay, who’s ready for cake?” Janet asked when everyone had finished. No one answered, well, not with the usual “me’s” or “I do’s.” No, they all broke into song instead.
I could feel my face growing warmer as the song went on, and I swore they were singing it at an agonizingly slow pace, just to draw out my embarrassment. “This is totally unnecessary,” I mumbled, leaning into Jensen’s side as he pressed his lips into the top of my head, breaking up his singing only momentarily.
As I cut the cake, Jensen told me it was from a new bakery in town that used only organic ingredients. It was absolutely amazing. First of all, Jensen and I had never had the “favorite cake” discussion, but when I cut into that top tier to find it was carrot cake with cream cheese frosting? Well, I almost died. My mouth watered as I cut slice after delicious-smelling slice for everyone before serving myself the biggest piece I thought I could eat. I had never tasted a more delicious cake in all my life.
Once everyone finished eating, Tom announced that he and Jeff had to go. Jeff had school the next day and Tom offered to come out to help on the ranch the next morning since Dad was giving me the day off to nurse my future hangover. Jensen and I walked Tom and Jeff to the door where I hugged them both and thanked them for coming.
It wasn’t long after returning to the party that Dad said he needed to go home and get some sleep. It was almost ten by that point, and he had an early morning. When he announced his departure, Henry and Janet also decided they should be on their way.
“We’ll leave you kids to have fun,” Janet said, pulling me into her arms. “Happy birthday, honey. You make sure you and Jensen come out to the house for dinner soon, all right?”
“Of course. That would be great,” I said.
Smiling, Janet nodded. “Jillian, dear?” she called over my shoulder.
“Yeah?” Jillian answered, entering the foyer.
“You live in town, right?” Jill nodded. “Well, Henry and I have to drive through town to get home. Would you like a ride?”
“Uh, yeah. That’d be great.” Jillian turned to me. “I’ll see about catching a ride into work tomorrow night since my car will be here.”
I shook my head. “Nah, I’ll be up at some point. I’ll swing by your place and pick you up for work.”
“You sure?”
Nodding, I wrapped my arms around her. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Call if you want me to come and get you earlier.”
She nodded against my shoulder. “Happy birthday, Madi.”
The door had just closed behind Jillian when a loud clap was heard behind us. “Okay!” When Jensen and I turned around, we were met with Kyle’s wide, dimpled grin. “Now that the parents are gone, let the real party begin.” He extended an arm and pointed right at me. “You and I have some shots to do, little one. But first … Hot tub time!”
Chapter 22. Hot Tub Booze Machine
“Here, let me help you with that,” Jensen said softly, coming up behind me after closing the door and reaching for my zipper. The tips of his fingers brushed the skin of my neck, and my body erupted in goose bumps, tingling from head to toe at the completely innocent gesture. “I think I’m going to like this whole room-sharing thing.” Okay, so I thought it was an innocent gesture; I really should have known better.
His hands slipped through the slackened fabric, palms gliding over my waist and toward my stomach before travelling down …
Turning around quickly, I held my dress against my chest with one hand to keep it from falling down while I splayed the other hand across his chest and kept him an arm’s length away. “Now, what kind of host would you be if I let you take advantage of me in my current state of almost-inebriation?”
Chuckling, Jensen moved my hand from his chest and pulled me against him. I crashed against his chest gently. “Baby, you’re rambling. That’s a sure sign that you’re not almost inebriated.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to convey just how funny he wasn’t. My ire was short-lived when his fingers started moving up and down the exposed flesh of my back between the open zipper, stopping at my bra and unfastening the hooks. Sighing breathlessly, I tilted my head up until my lips brushed faintly against his. Originally, I had only intended to tempt him before pulling away, but when his eyes locked on mine, I surrendered to desire, slowly pressing my lips to his.
With a deep groan, Jensen tightened his grip around me, his lips parting. My entire body tingled as the sound registered in my brain. I pulled the arm holding my dress from between us so I could wrap them both around his neck, and it didn’t take long for the both of us to become completely shrouded in lust. Soon enough our tongues met, pressing and swirling around one another as Jensen backed me toward our bed.
Moaning into his mouth, I lowered my hands to the collar of his shirt and tugged on it until the backs of my legs connected with the cool, overhanging duvet.
A loud bang on the door forced us to stop kissing. “Come on, you two!” Kyle shouted through the thick door as Jensen and I tried to calm our heavy breathing. “Stop necking and get your asses changed!”
Jensen laughed, pressing his forehead to mine and nodding. “All right!” he finally responded, sounding more than a little irritated. “Give us five minutes.”
“Wow,” Kyle said, the smile on his face undeniably audible in his voice. “You’re a lucky, lucky woman, Madi. Five whole minutes?” Laughing once more, Kyle’s voice faded as he retreated down the hall toward the living room, leaving Jensen and I alone again.
“He’s always such a smart ass,” Jensen grumbled, parting our bodies and safely backing a few steps away.
Grabbing my dress before it could fall, I walked over to the long dresser and started opening drawers, still not sure which ones Jensen had designated to me. “In his defense, babe, you kind of walked right into that one,” I teased, opening the middle drawer on the right side of the dresser to find my bathing suits.
After setting my black bikini on the dresser, I let my dress and bra fall to the floor before casting a coy glance over my shoulder to find Jensen perched on the edge of the bed. Just as I suspected, he was watching me intently. “Aren’t you going to get changed?” I inquired, hooking my thumbs into the hips of my panties.
“In just a second.”
“You’re incorrigible,” I informed him, playfully rolling my eyes and sliding my panties down my legs. Jensen hummed his approval, and I could feel his eyes still on me. Had it not been for the tequila, I probably would have been blushing for an entirely different reason.
“I don’t know if I can let you go outside in that,” Jensen said when I turned around, reaching behind me to tie my top.
Laughing, I crossed the room to stand in front of him, his face level with my bare abdomen. “Oh? And why is that?”
“Because I’d hate to have to gouge out Kyle or Brandon’s eyes for having seen so much of you.” There was only a slight lilt to his voice that indicated he was partially serious.
“Well, it’s either this or a terribly unflattering green one-piece that I’ve had forever. I figured you’d like this a little more,” I confessed, placing my hands on his shoulders while his ensnared my hips. “Come on. Get changed.”
On our way down the hall, I grabbed a stack of towels from the closet. Willow, Brandon, Kyle, and Lilah were already in the hot tub, a fresh bottle of wine and six glasses on one of the edges as well as the remaining Patron and some shot glasses. Kyle smirked when he noticed my eyes fall to the tequila.
“That’s right,” he said. “You didn’t think your little jab earlier about needing ‘real competition’ would go unchallenged, did you?”
“I was counting on it, actually,” I fibb
ed, hoping he wasn’t as perceptive as Jensen.
As soon as my feet hit the grass, I heard an excited yip from the corner of our back yard before I heard Bones’ heavy foot falls moving across the grass. “Hey buddy,” I cooed, kneeling down to give him a quick pet, and then got into the water.
Kyle grabbed two of the full shot glasses, handing them to Jensen and myself, before divvying the rest out to everyone else. After our first shot was done, I accepted my glass of wine from Lilah and took a sip. “I want to thank you all for coming tonight. Even though a party isn’t what I wanted …” I glanced over to Jensen, glaring playfully “… I’m having a blast.”
“Well, we’re glad Jensen didn’t listen to you,” Willow informed me. “It’s been far too long since you’ve had a party.”
“You know I don’t enjoy being the center of attention. It’s just so much pressure, and then I get all clumsy and bad things start happening,” I reminded her.
“And yet, you rode professionally with thousands of people watching,” she challenged. The woman had a point, and she knew it.
Taking a sip of my wine, I nodded. “True,” I said after swallowing. “However, you forget that I’m not alone out there.”
Willow quirked an eyebrow. “So you’re saying that you never buckle under pressure while riding?” I should have known she’d find a way to bring up my recent accident.
Jensen chuckled next to me, taking a sip of his own wine as he tried to mask his smirk. This birthday party may not have resulted in a physical injury, but my pride was sure taking a beating. There was no way I was going to sit back and take their teasing without at least trying to put up a fight.
“You know there were extenuating circumstances to what happened this summer,” I replied, pointing my finger at Willow, who only smiled and nodded. “I was having an off couple of days.”