Boarded by Love (49 page)

I
’m a little early, but I don’t mind. I wasn’t supposed to be here for another twenty minutes, but I’m sorta glad I came early. I love seeing my girl in her element. Bracing my forearm against the doorframe, I lean into the wall, watching through a window as Claire trains one of her dancers. The dancer doesn’t look that much younger than Claire, but it’s obvious that she looks up to my girl. Her eyes haven’t left Claire’s body since I took up my post against the wall, but neither have mine.

She is breathtaking.

The song that is playing is the one we danced to after my game, a little over week ago. “Latch” by Sam Smith. I’ve downloaded the song and listen to it on repeat when we’re apart, which has been a lot lately. Tonight is the first night we actually get to have a date night, and I can’t wait to just be enveloped by her awesomeness. We text constantly and see each other randomly throughout the day, but for the next twelve hours, she’s mine.

“Megan, you have to pay attention. You’re missing most of the song’s key parts, and you have to have the emotion. You’ve been in love, right?” Claire asks. Her voice is muffled by the glass, but I can still hear what she’s saying.

Megan nods. “Yeah. I have.”

“Okay, channel that. This dance, this song is about having the soul-deep, amazing love that leaves you breathless and wanting more every second of the day. It’s like when you’re apart from that person, your heart is coming out of your chest, trying to find the person who causes it to race. It’s almost like you are dancing for that person. You’re doing great, technically, but you need the emotion for this song to work. I’m going to show you, full-out, okay? Watch me,” she demands as she goes to the middle of the floor.

I’m not sure how she hasn’t seen me yet, but I’m thankful for that. I want to watch her do this full-out because I feel like this is for me. Pulling out my phone, I go to my camera and push record as I wait for the music to start. And for the next minute and thirty-nine seconds, I’m completely speechless. Every emotion she described to Megan is brought to life by her body. It is honestly the most gorgeous thing I’ve seen in my entire life. It’s not only her body that has me completely enraptured, it’s her face, the way her eyes tell the story along with her body.

A small smile tugs at my mouth as she turns, letting her back arch before slowly pulling it up. When she is fully erect, her eyes meet mine, and a grin pulls at her lips before she waves at me. I hit the end button on my camera and wave back, my heart coming out of my chest for this girl. I want to go through the wall to close the distance between us. I want to hold her, tell her how much she means to me and how life is nothing without her. Because without her, I’m not complete.

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 glares.

“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.”