One Day His (The Someday Series Book 2) (15 page)

“Right,” I agreed easily.

Jace grinned wider and wiggled his eyebrows as he playfully slapped me on my backside. “Then let’s get out of here. Let’s go have some fun.”

I furrowed my brow. “Fun?”

Jace teasingly spoke slowly to me, as if he were explaining something to a child. “Fun. It’s this thing that people have when they are trying to enjoy themselves.”

I laughed and smacked him on the shoulder. “Shut up. I know what fun is. I meant what
fun
did you have in mind?”

“Anything you want. It’s your call.”

I thought for a moment, and then my face lit up. “There is something, actually. It’s called The Writer’s Room. It’s hosted by Reza Aslan, and he interviews writers and they talk about the business, their writing process, and stuff like that.”

Jace tilted his head slightly to the right. “Ummmmm, maybe you
are
unfamiliar with the concept of fun…”

I laughed. “I’m not explaining it right. I mean, it’s funny and irreverent. I always watch the clips on YouTube, and I’ve been wanting to go since it started!”

Jace stood up, picking up the keys from my dresser. “Then that’s where we’ll go.”

I clapped my hands in front of me, feeling like an excited kid. Maybe I
had
been unfamiliar with the concept of fun before. But with Jace, I could make up for lost time.

Cat

J
ace and I
stood on the sidewalk in front of the West Hollywood club where The Writer’s Room was held as I watched the bouncer at the front of the line in disbelief. Embarrassment and frustration flooded through me and I shook my head. I was such an idiot. In all my excitement, I hadn’t even considered one small, but crucial, detail. The Writer’s Room was held in a nightclub. So, of
course,
it was twenty-one and over. That hadn’t even occurred to me when I had thought of the idea to come here. All of the times I had read the notices on Facebook about who the next guest was going to be and daydreamed about attending something so witty and sophisticated, it had never even entered my mind to start sorting out the logistics. My image of myself was as someone who was
very
far removed from the type of girl who went to cool places and did cool things. So much so that I had never thought that I might actually one day attend.

Now, here I was, and I wasn’t going to be able to get in. Great.

“I can’t believe I didn’t think about the whole club thing before,” I said with a sigh. “I guess we can just figure something else out. We’ll just go somewhere else.”

“Nope, not gonna happen,” Jace said with a small smile on his face that reminded me of the bad-boy image I had first labeled him with.

I stood in place on the sidewalk as Jace strode confidently up to the bouncer, who was checking IDs. He chatted with the guy for a minute, and they both looked over at me at one point. Then Jace did a very odd thing. He pulled out his phone and held it out for the man to examine.

After a moment, the bouncer’s face scrunched into an expression of amused pity and he waved me over, gesturing that both Jace and I could enter. When I opened my purse to get out some cash to pay my cover, he shook his head.

“On the house,” he said, sympathy in his voice, and then he took the very unexpected action of patting my shoulder.

Jace wrapped his arm around my waist and quickly pulled me inside, barely giving me time to thank the bouncer before I was being whisked away to an empty table Jace had spotted.

When we were seated, I said, “How did you do that? What did you show him?”

Jace grinned with a shrug. “The YouTube video that Elijah sent me. I figured, fuck it. If you have to deal with the shitty experience, you may as well get some mileage out of it.”

I shook my head and closed my eyes in embarrassment, but I couldn’t help but laugh. Somehow, Jace had this way of putting my experiences into perspective. He helped me laugh at myself and my crazy life, and that was something I really, truly treasured about him.

Jace ordered us a couple of Cokes, which I thought was a good idea. Getting us in here was one thing, but flaunting it by drinking would have been another. Still, even though I was sipping on Coca-Cola, I felt extremely sophisticated sitting at the table, waiting for an event to start where writers discussed their craft. I would never go so far, of course, as to call myself a “writer” (a spiral-bound notebook full of poems doesn’t count), but I had always loved words, and I loved to listen to people talk about how they used them and what their process was.

After the show started, I knew right away that it was going to live up to everything I had dreamed it would be. It was more stand-up comedy than an interview show, and the reactions of the crowd mirrored that sensibility. The energy in the room was raucous yet attentive and (dare I say) fun.

Standing on the sidewalk after the show was over, Jace could not stop grinning at me. Finally, I asked him why that wide smile was plastered across his face. He brushed my hair back from my forehead and said softly, love burning bright in his eyes, “You’re glowing right now. Your cheeks, your skin, your eyes, your…I don’t know…spirit. Everything about you is glowing.”

I smiled. “Usually, you saying something like that would make me really uncomfortable, because I’m horrible at taking compliments, but right now, I can accept it because I think you’re actually right. I feel myself glowing. I think it’s from being intellectually stimulated at the same time as being entertained. I wish they could bottle something that mimics this feeling, whatever chemicals are bouncing around in my brain right now, because it’s fucking awesome.”

Jace laughed. “I think they do. It’s called drugs.”

I chuckled as I let my head fall back. Taking a deep breath I lifted my gaze back to Jace. “I really don’t feel like going home right now. I’m too amped up. How about you? Are you still up for doing something else?”

“Babe, this night is all about you. I’ll stay out till dawn if that’s what you want to do.”

“Awesome, because I’m also starving. You want to go eat?”

“Sounds great. I could definitely eat. Where do you want to go?”

I gave him a sly smile. “Now, don’t veto this idea before hearing me out, okay?”

He put his hands up in mock surrender. “I have no veto power, remember? This night is all about you.”

I grinned. “Good. Because one of my favorite restaurants is here in West Hollywood. And I’m pretty sure it’s open late. It’s called Raw, because all the food is…well…raw.”

Jace wrinkled his forehead. “How does that work? I mean, can’t you get salmonella or something?”

“No, no! It’s all vegan! There’s no meat.”

Jace’s face crinkled, he drew back in horror. “So…it’s basically, like, just chopped vegetables on a plate?”

“No, not at all. They have pasta and chocolate shakes and nachos… It’s so delicious! Come on!”

His eyes narrowed, but he nodded reluctantly. “Well, all I’ll say is that it’s lucky for you that I already said I’d do whatever you wanted before you told me we’d be eating plants.”

I grinned. “Think I don’t know that?”

When we started walking towards the car, Jace muttered, “I wonder what they’ll even have that I can order…”

I said, “Get the Cheesy Kelp. Trust me.”

His head tilted to the side and he shook his head, clearly communicating that he thought I was trying to put one over on him. “You’re soooo
not
helping your case.”

I laughed again. I couldn’t believe I was having this much fun trying to convince Jace to try Raw. “I tell you what. If you don’t like it or you don’t feel full afterward and we’ll run through In-and-Out Burger. Deal?”

Jace breathed out a sigh of relief. “Deal.”

After we got into his truck, I searched for the address on my phone so that we could put it into the GPS.

He turned to me, his brow wrinkling. “I thought you said this was one of your favorite restaurants? Don’t you know where it is?”

“Well, the food is my favorite. We always got it delivered or one of the assistants would pick it up. I’ve never actually been there. I just know it’s in West Hollywood. I’m actually pretty excited to go there in person, to tell you the truth.”

“Okay, then. Lead the way.”

We made our way down to Santa Monica Boulevard and it was a straight shot down to Raw. Unlike the majority of LA, parking was not even an issue since the restaurant was part of a shopping center, so we found it and ducked inside to grab a table with no hassle whatsoever.

Jace, God love him, was trying to be a good sport. I gave him loads of credit, but that didn’t change the fact that he was still clearly skeptical as he perused the menu.

“Trust me. Like I said, don’t even bother with the menu. Just get the Cheesy Kelp. It’s fan-freaking-tastic,” I urged him.

He shuddered. “I just can’t get past the word ‘kelp.’ I mean, I’ve seen that stuff wash up on the beach before. I didn’t look at it—or smell it—and think, ‘Mmmm…dinner.”

“It’s not kelp like that. Not in that form. It’s just kelp noodles. Believe me. It just tastes like pasta. Would I steer you wrong? More to the point, would someone who loves food as much as I do love this place so much if it wasn’t freaking delicious?”

This seemed to be the first argument that was swaying Jace at all. He paused, and I could practically hear the gears churning in his head as he pondered my last statement. Finally, he said, “True. It’s not like you’re much of a health freak or anything.”

“No, and I’m not even a vegan. I swear to you, I love this place based on taste and taste alone. I wouldn’t lie to you. You don’t lie about women and sex. I don’t lie about food,” I teased, reminding him of what he said the first time we had lunch together.

Jace grinned and, when the waitress came over to take our orders, followed my advice and ordered the—gasp—
kelp
. It gave me a little flicker of pride that, even if it had taken some nudging, he trusted my judgment enough to follow me into food territory that, for him, was completely uncharted up until now.

As we sipped our lemonades, Jace took my hand and ran his thumb over my knuckles. “I’m so glad you had fun at the show.”

I nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, I really did. I loved being in a room where everyone there loves words as much as I do. Writing is so special to me, you know? I mean, I would never call myself a ‘writer’ or anything… I’m not that pretentious…”

Jace’s eyebrows drew together. “You’re a writer. What are you talking about?”

“No, I mean…I’ve never sold a piece. I’ve never been paid for my writing or anything.”

Shrugging Jace’s eyes sparked. “No one pays me to be sexy, but I sure as hell am.”

Laughter bubbled up inside of me. “True. So yeah, I guess, following that logic, even if I’m not a
professional
writer, I’m still a writer. So I guess I loved that about tonight—being with other people who get that.”

“Yeah, it’s the same reason why I’m so comfortable with Elijah. Sometimes, you just need to be with people who get it.”

The waitress brought our food and we were quiet as we dug in. Even though we weren’t actively conversing, I just enjoyed being near Jace. We kept brushing our knees together, smiling at each other, or touching hands. Without words, we were still connecting.

I felt so lucky in that moment. Jace and I were nothing alike. He was a bad boy. I was adorkable. He was practical. I was artsy. But I loved that we appreciated each other for exactly who we were. Even though I was sure that the last thing in the world Jace wanted to do was go watch writers talk about their craft and then eat vegan food, he was doing it. For me. All of that, for me.

When I thought about it like that, lucky didn’t even begin to describe what I was.

Cat

J
ace and I
walked into my room at three in the morning, kissing and giggling. Well, I was giggling, anyway. Jace isn’t much of a giggler. I thought that this might be the most exhilarated I had ever been when walking into this room. It was no secret why—it was the only time I had ever walked back in here after a night on the town with Jace. And, bonus points, he was still here with me. Best. Night. Ever.

“I can’t believe how much fun that was!”

“I can’t believe that raw food actually tastes good,” Jace said flatly.

I giggled even harder. “Both of our minds are being expanded tonight.”

Jace suggestively waggled his eyebrows at me. “That’s not the only thing of mine that’s being expanded.”

With that, I moved from giggles to flat-out laughter. Jace took advantage of my head being thrown back in abandon to start trailing hot, insistent kisses down my neck. That brought the laughter to an abrupt halt as my heart started racing and every cell of my body sprang to life, aching for Jace’s touch.

It was so amazing to me how he could do that. He was able to do it every single time—take me from full-blown laughter or any other emotional state to instant arousal with just a few touches, a kiss, or some whispered words.

Honestly, it shouldn’t have been a surprise anymore. He had done it many times—but every time it happened, the shock overcame me again. It was just so unexpected, the whiplash sensation of being drawn so immediately and so forcefully from one emotion to the next. To have that little control over my own body and my own soul—and, even more than that, the realization that I didn’t even
want
to be in control. Jace was pulling the strings. He touched me and I responded. He led the way and my body followed. I liked it that way. My body
certainly
liked it that way.

The longer his mouth and tongue worked their way down the sensitive skin of my neck, the harder it was to breathe, and the more my whole body craved his touch. It wasn’t only the sexual parts of my body that I longed to feel his hands and mouth on, either. Although it was insanely awesome when he cupped the cheeks of my rear with his strong hands, gently flicked my nipples with his hot tongue, or stroked me between my legs with his thick and powerful fingers—there was so much more.