Page 48 of Cherish

“Why is the shitty smelling one talking?” she asks while dramatically putting her index finger under her nose. “And nobody cares what you think.”

“Why are you here? Men are talking,” Luke shoots back.

“The better question is, why areyouhere. Oh, you don’t actually think you’re a man, do you?” She laughs dramatically before walking away.

“Luke, you idiot. You were supposed to tell her what a sexist pig I am. That was your in.”

Luke’s eyes widen at my words. He opens his mouth to speak, but Tash stomps over with Chris following behind her.

“You two keep messing with my cousin. I dare you,” she says, her eyes shooting fire at me and Luke.

“We’re not scared of you,” I tease.

“Try me, JD. You too, Luke.” She takes a step closer to us. “You should be scared of me, but I know for a fact you’re scared of my mother. She’s very protective of all us girls, but especially Vivienne.”

“Jake’s the only one who’s scared of your mother, Tash.” Luke’s voice has lost its confidence, and when he looks at me for confirmation, I say, “Speak for yourself.”

“Really? You should know she’s looking over here right now. All I have to do is change my expression, and she’ll be here demanding to know what’s going on and why her daughter looks upset.” She takes a step closer. “Try me.”

Jake laughs as he waits for me and Luke to speak.

“Fine. We won’t mess with your cousin anymore,” Luke finally says. I turn my head slightly, and sure enough, Mrs. Etienne is watching us. I lift my glass to her, but her sharp eyes remain on us, studying the scene.

“You better not or you’ll have to deal with me and Mama.” She places her hands on her hips and tries to make herself appear taller. Luke laughs but tries to cover it up as a cough. “You got something to say?”

She looks around at all of us, and we all put up our hands in surrender.

“What about you?” she asks Chris.

“Only that I’m really turned on right now.”

“Well then,” she says, grabbing his tie, “let’s dance, big boy.”

As she leads Chris away, we all laugh.

“Jesus. I didn’t do anything and even I was scared,” Troy says, causing us to laugh even harder.

“Boys,” Jake’s dad says as he approaches, “let’s go have a real drink, not this pink froufrou crap.”

CHAPTER 32

JASON

I know Alex wants to tell me we’re going in the wrong direction, but she doesn’t. She holds on to my hand as we walk down the embankment to the beach. As much as I loved the wedding and being a part of it, I’m happy my obligation has come to an end.

Eager to have some alone time with my woman, I quicken our pace, finally slowing down when we reach the beach. We stop, take off our shoes, intertwine our fingers and walk like lovers who have all the time in the world.

We walk in silence, the Clark house getter further away with each step. It’s a beautiful night, the full moon providing a soft glow.

Suddenly, I stop walking and turn to Alex and stare at her beauty. A soft summer breeze blows through her hair, pushing it to cover half her face. I touch her soft hair before brushing it out of the way. She looks more mature today. I don’t know if it’s because of the big loose curls or because of the dress she’s wearing, but she looks different.

The makeup she had worn for the wedding is long gone. The only thing left on her face is her happy smile. I lean down and inhale her skin. She smells of cake and alcohol.

“This is romantic,” she says, breathless.

“I guess I haven’t been romantic, huh? We’re always at my place, usually with my sister. And we get here and I’m cockblocked by groomzilla.”

“Groomzilla was like a needy chick.”

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