Seaside Embrace(37)
Amy covered Jana’s hand with her own. “You’re one of us now. Friends don’t abandon ship over a man.”
“I knew it the night he drove you home from Undercover, when you were so drunk you could barely walk.” Jenna looked around the table. “Didn’t I tell you guys that when Sky said he was still there the next morning? I mean, really, what guy stays overnight with a girl he’s not sleeping with?”
Bella, Sky, and Amy said “Blue” in unison. Blue was Sky’s closest male friend, and they used to sleep over at each other’s houses all the time, without ever once leaving the friend zone.
“And the roses. That’s what sealed it for me,” Jessica said.
“The roses threw me for a loop, because come on. Hunter? Flowers? I never thought I’d see the day,” Sky admitted.
“So, Sky, you’re okay with me and Hunter seeing each other?” Jana twisted a lock of her hair, hoping Sky’s smile wasn’t feigned.
“Are you kidding? I’m totally okay with it, but, honestly, you are right about you two. Neither one of you has a great track record with dating. Are you okay with it?”
“To be honest, it was really hard for me to let him in, and sometimes it’s still difficult. But he’s so…” She searched her brain for the right words to describe Hunter, and there were too many that fit, so she shared them all. “He’s romantic and caring. Thoughtful and patient.” She held back on saying that he was a lion in bed and a kitten when she least expected it, and instead said, “He’s got to be the most generous and understanding person I know, and yeah, he’s a stubborn mule of a man, but…he’s just the right amount of soft and hard.”
“There’s nothing soft about that man,” Jenna mumbled.
Amy giggled.
Jana laughed. “You know what I mean. Before Hunter, I was never used to, you know, dealing with real emotions beyond an hour or two of great sex.”
“Wow, you get an hour or two?” Leanna nibbled on her lower lip. “Ever since Sloan was born, we’re lucky if we get fifteen minutes.”
“Tell me about it.” Jessica nodded in agreement. “We’ve snuck into the bedroom for a quickie more than once while Dustin was in his bouncy seat.”
“God, you guys are great birth control,” Sky teased. “More importantly, Jana, just tell me one thing. How long have you guys been seeing each other?”
She dropped her eyes, and for a split second she debated not telling them the truth, but she’d come this far, and she had to admit that getting it off her chest felt too good to keep it in any longer.
“Remember the grand opening of your tattoo parlor?” She told them about how she and Hunter had hooked up after the grand opening and how they’d bumped into each other every few weeks afterward, always happenstance, and at the end of the night, they’d almost always hooked up.
“But it wasn’t until that night at the Governor Bradford when we were listening to Sawyer play and Hunter was giving me crap about boxing.” She looked around the table at the curious and supportive eyes of the women who had become her closest friends, and she knew she was doing the right thing. “Remember that night?”
“Boy, do I ever,” Jenna said. “I thought you were going to rip each other’s heads off.” She shifted her eyes up for a moment, her brows knitted, and then a smile crept across her lips. “Now I totally see it. Wow, that’s a totally different kind of hot.”
“I honestly thought you were going to rip each other’s clothes off right there in the bar,” Bella said. “But Sky pointed out that you guys would probably tear each other’s heads off first.”
“Well, we, um…find other uses for all that energy.” Relief washed through her. How could Hunter have known that telling her friends was exactly what she needed?
Because you’re setting me free.
Chapter Twenty-Six
THE WELLFLEET THEATER was buzzing by the end of the last act, and Jana was positively glowing. It wasn’t just her gorgeous smile that sparked glints of delight in her baby blues, either. It was the way she squared her shoulders and craned her neck to make sure she didn’t miss a single thing happening on the stage. She mouthed the words to the songs, and even some of the lines, as if she’d acted in the play before, which she probably had, since up until this summer she’d been in musicals with nearly all the theaters on the Cape.
When the musical ended, Jana pushed to her feet, her cheeks flushed with excitement as she applauded.
“Let’s go backstage.” She dragged Hunter across the crowded floor toward the doors that he assumed led to the private actor area. She stopped to greet a large man who stood eye to eye with Hunter and blocked the doorway.
The big man’s harsh features softened when Jana opened her arms and said, “Micah! I’ve missed you. This is Hunter. I want to go back and say hi to everyone.”
Micah embraced her. “Good to see you, Jayjay.” He held a hand out to Hunter. “How’s it going, Hunter?”
“Great. Nice to meet you.”
Micah held the door open for them. “Go on back. Everyone will be thrilled to see you.”
Hunter leaned in close to Jana and whispered, “Jayjay?”
She laughed. “Stage name. Everyone here calls me something different. Jayjay, Jana girl, Garner. Whatever comes to them, I guess.”
They entered a large room cordoned off by heavy dark curtains. The room hummed with excitement as the actors’ voices rose and fell, each talking over the next.
“Jana girl!” A redheaded woman ran across the room, calling the attention of the others, and within seconds Jana was engulfed by welcoming hugs and shouts about missing her.
Hunter stood off to the side, soaking it all in, his chest tight with conflicting emotions. He was overjoyed to see Jana among so many friends who were not only excited to see her, but asking her when they could expect her back among them. That joy was underscored by sadness over how much she’d missed out on because of her work situation. Now, more than ever, he was determined to help her see the light and open her own studio, so she could go back to taking part in this other, obviously very meaningful part of her life.
After the whirlwind calmed, Jana introduced Hunter to her friends, and a while later, when they left the theater, Jana sighed dreamily as they walked toward the car.
“Thank you for that.” She gazed up at him and he couldn’t think of a time, except when he’d seen her dancing in the studio, when she’d looked so content. A gentle breeze blew her hair off her shoulders, the sweet scent of her perfume mingled with the scents of the sea, and Hunter slid his hand to the nape of her neck.
“It was my pleasure. I want you to be happy, Jana. I want you to wake up every morning excited to jump into the day instead of feeling like you’re trapped by your life. Between boxing and teaching and handling the studio, I thought you could use a reminder of something you loved.” He stopped walking a few feet from the car and reached for her hands.
“I know you have a hard time with commitment, and you worry about taking the space I offered in case things don’t work out between us, but as I’ve said a million times, I’m in this for the long haul, and I wish you’d take the space and let your dreams come true. All I want is for you to be happy.”
“I believe you.” She smiled and went up on her toes to kiss him. “I want to take the space, but only if you allow me to pay a fair rent and you treat me like you’d treat any other renter.”
He lifted her off her feet and spun her around as he kissed her with all the emotions he’d been holding in. When he set her feet back on the ground, they were both laughing.
“You’re taking it? You’re really going to follow your dreams? I’m so…” He reached for the right words—proud, happy, thankful—and finally decided that he couldn’t say what he wanted to in a single word.
“Seeing you soar is almost everything I’ve ever hoped for.” He slanted his mouth over hers, and she pushed him away.
“Wait, wait, wait.” She was still smiling so wide it made him laugh again. “Almost?”
“I’m still waiting for you to have enough faith in us that I don’t have to hide my feelings in front of our friends and family,” he teased. “Now hurry up and get those lips back here.”
“Oh, please,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “I told the girls about us this morning.”
She laughed as he lifted her into his arms again.
“Thank Christ and Moses and the stars above. It’s about damn time, pretty girl.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
THE NEXT MORNING Jana was on fire during boxing practice. She felt lighter on her feet, invigorated with enthusiasm. Every punch felt stronger, more effective, and her mind was less cluttered. And she realized as she wrapped up the last thirty seconds of a sparring match that she no longer felt trapped.
“That was awesome,” Brock said as she and her sparring partner knocked gloves and left the ring. “You were strong in there today. Quicker, less aggressive but more focused.”
She removed her gloves and mouthpiece and gulped down water.