“I don’t want you to get upset. Everyone is physically okay, by the way, but an incident happened in the casino.”
I blow out a breath and give him a little shove, hoping it will prompt him to spill whatever he’s got to say. “Jay! Tell me. I won’t get upset.”
He leans down and kisses me again, it’s soft and sweet… and tentative. “Okay.” He pulls back and sucks in a breath. “The LA Lakers are in town.”
After I got over the shock of everything Jay had to say about what happened in the casino, which took over an hour of us talking it out, he finally was able to distract me and a quicker version of the previous night entailed. It’s like I needed him to fuck this sudden news right out of me.
This time, however, we weren’t up until the wee hours of morning. I for one needed some shut eye for Tanner and Deb’s big day.
I never in my wildest dreams believed that Jay would ever run into Aaron, or Tanner, for that matter. Talk about a case of bad timing. I’m just so glad I didn’t run into him. And from what Jay said, I don’t have to worry about him contacting me ever again.
I mean, the LA Lakers! It isn’t something I knew about, I obviously haven’t been keeping any kind of tabs on him. Whatever he does from here is no longer my concern. I already had closure when I said what I had to say the moment I found out what he’d been up to. There’s no way I need to do it again.
From the moment a random message popped up on his phone that I happened to see, it was all down hill from there.
I’m just glad he’s out of my life for good and I found out sooner rather than later.
“Let me fix your tie,” I giggle as Jay refuses to keep still and keeps trying to grab me around the waist. “I have to get back to the bride!”
“And I have to get back in you.” He nuzzles into my neck, his beautiful scent encapsulating me like it wants to be a part of me. I slap his hands away, but it only encourages him.
He was so pumped last night after his big night at the arena and spending a few hours with the boys at the casino. Thankfully for Tanner, the night was pretty tame as far as a buck’s night, at least until my ex showed up.
“We will, later. You have to behave yourself tonight, too,” I remind him. “No funny business on the dance floor.”
“I can’t promise that, Sweetheart. You know me. As soon as I see you in your dress, all bets are off. And Tanner knows now, anyway.”
Well, there is that. But my parents don’t and I’d rather not make that mistake again of keeping anything for them. I’ll be having a chat with them at some point today. “Hardly a reason for us to suddenly flaunt it.”
“All the more reason to, do you know how hard it was to not skate up to you last night and grab you from the stands right after we won?”
“How hard?” I waggle my brows, unable to keep a straight face.
The corner of his mouth lifts up and he bumps his hips forward. “So, so hard, Baby.”
“You!” I chastise, but neither of us can hold off on our laughter. “Keep it in your pants until after the wedding.”
“All I can do is try.”
I break the news to my folks a few hours before Tanner and Deb say I do. I think it’s the right thing to do, given the fact that Jay and I are going to be in close proximity for the most part of the day. While we don’t have anything official to declare for the moment, we both want to navigate it as it comes, and I want my parents to hear it from me that we’re seeing each other.
Mom is kind of shocked, and Dad too, if I’m being honest, but I know they love Jay and they will come around to the idea, once they’ve gotten used to it.
“It’s really new between us,” I tell them both. “I think we kind of realized in Seattle, but tried to deny it. Then being apart all those weeks after I left kinda cemented things. Nothing happened before that.”
“I think a part of you has always admired Jay,” Mom says, when she’s recovered from the shock. “What does Tanner say about it?”
“Jay spoke to him last night, he was shocked too. But I think he’s coming around to the idea.” I haven’t had a chance to even broach it with him myself yet.
“I’m happy for you,” Dad says. “I love Jay, you know that. But if he hurts you, I will kill him.”
“Dad!”
Mom gives him a slap on the arm. “What your father is trying to say is that we want you to be happy, Jade. We’ve alwayswanted that. And if Jay is the one to be that person, who are we to stand in your way.”
Tears brim my eyes. “I didn’t want to keep anything from you both, not like the last time, with those other things,” I say. “But there’s something about it with him, he’s very special.”
“I have to agree there,” Mom says, pulling me into a hug. Dad wraps his arms around me too.
