Page 61 of Break the Ice
Their rich yellow centers are so perfect that they appear airbrushed on. Like they’re artificial. When I run my fingertip over one of the silky petals, Jayden tells me, “They’re called frangipani. My momma’s favorite.”
“Smells so sweet.”
“Yeah, when she was having chemotherapy, it was about the only scent that took away chemo smell for her.”
I pause to look at him again, to see his face and if it still matches the moroseness in his voice.
Surrounded by all the greenery, his hazel eyes appear greener. Giving his stare a kind of ethereal brightness that contrasts with his tightly furrowed brows.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him, curling my fingertips under his. “Is your momma okay now?”
“She’s been in remission for almost a year.” He smiles, wiping a large hand over his face before he rolls his shoulders back and continues walking me toward the doors leading to the outdoor space. “You’ll meet her at Thanksgiving next week along with my mom, my dad and the Sire.”
“The sire?” I snicker at the funny face he pulls, like he’s got fangs.
“Sperm donor daddy. It’s a family joke. Jonathan is tall, pale as fuck and his hairline rivals Dracula’s.” The Jayden I know is back with his beaming smile as he adds, “Kailey and I are lucky we got our mom’s complexion.”
As we reach the doors, I glimpse behind us to appreciate the sight from this new angle.
I can’t believe Elijah didn’t tell me about this place. It almost feels cruel of him to deprive me of it.
My chest wrings painfully tight at the thought that maybe the reason he’s so distant, holding back is because he regrets bringing me here. What if everything that’s happened has left scars too deep for us to heal? To move past? To find our way back to each other, back to how we used to be?
“What’s wrong, Lucky?” Jayden curls his fingers tighter into mine, pulling my focus back to him with the slight bite of his nails.
“Nothing. I’m… taking it all in.” His eyes narrow, then his brow cocks, like he can see directly to the core of my thoughts. In a diversion tactic, I ask, “What is it like having two sets of parents?”
My gut lurches when his posture tightens.
Shoot.
I didn’t mean to overstep or offend him. I’m about to apologize and take my question back when he asks, “Do you mean two sets of gay parents?”
I bite my lip in a wordless reply, curling my toes into the rubber sole of my flip-flops.
“It’s no different to having two sets of separated hetero parents.”
“So were your biological parents together before…” I don’t know how to finish the question without sounding ridiculously ignorant.
“No,” he snickers, pulling me closer as he opens the door and leads me outside.
The sun is high in the sky, so bright that I have to squint. In my peripheral vision I’m fully aware that the view is spectacular and that out here is as breathtaking as inside, but I’m too ensnared by him to tear my eyes from his.
“My momma and The Sire have been best friends since college; they opened a psychology practice together… When it came to them having kids, it seemed logical to look to each other. My moms needed a sperm donor, and my dads needed a surrogate… and here I am… along with my two bratty sisters!”
Here he is.Every joyful and kind facet of him that reminds me that there is real, honest good left in the world.
“You’ll love Kailey, she’s the nice one.” Pulling a funny face he adds, “Isla’s nice, too. Just quieter, I guess. She takes after my dad, and even though he’ll never admit it, she’s his princess while Kailey and I are more like The Sire and our mom. We can talk for days and we’re pretty chill about most things.”
“It sounds nice having that… siblings you get on with and parents thatreallywant you.”
Jayden pauses, lips puckered like he’s looking for something nice to say back. But there is nothing he can say that changes the fact my parents are subpar to his, and as for Presley…
No words needed for that one.
“Come on,” he says, tugging me in the direction of the deck chairs sitting in front of the tall glass walls overlooking the panoramic view of Redondo Beach with Santa Monica and Los Angeles in the distance. “It’s crazy how small the world seems from up here, and yet so distant.”
“It's breathtaking.”
