by Maya Hughes
Aedan was determined to explain everything to Jess eventually, but it looked like it should be sooner rather than later.
Tomorrow. I’ll tell her tomorrow.
13
Before Jess knew it, it was already the weekend again. She’d had a few more dinners and lunches with Aedan, and he even spent a couple of nights at her place. Her big project at work was keeping her busier than she would have liked, especially when the time with Aedan was so limited, but duty called.
Sam and Meg had been bugging Jess to go to the BrazilFest this year. This was after the blow out they had last year. Apparently, Meg got so many beads she could barely walk during the Carnival Day and Sam had about a hundred Pao de Queija—fluffy, cheesy, baked balls of goodness. She couldn’t look at cheese for about a month afterward, but she swore it was worth that sacrifice. They finally roped Jess into going by telling her there was also going to be a few capoeira demonstrations. Jess was excited to see the half-dance, half-martial art fight up close in person rather than just on TV.
After about the nine-hundredth time that Meg and Sam asked Jess to invite Aedan along, she relented. She didn’t want to seem too clingy or attached to him already, so Jess made it clear that if he didn’t want to tag along, she was OK with it. Aedan jumped at the chance to go with her and meet the infamous girls. Stepping onto the metro escalator, Jess apologized in advance for anything that they said.
“They are a bit much to handle, so I won’t be offended if you have to slowly back away from us and run for cover.”
“I’m sure I’ll be able to handle it. Don’t worry so much,” Aedan reassured her, smoothing the curls back from her face. The summer heat and humidity caused her hair to grow bigger by the minute. He gave her semi-clammy hand a squeeze, and her racing heart finally slowed down a bit. Aedan stepped up beside her and placed a gentle kiss on her nose. “I won’t be scared away by your protective friends and I’ll be sure to be the perfect gentleman.”
“It’s not you I’m worried about,” she muttered, spying the dynamic duo standing at the top of the metro escalator.
“So, you actually decided to show. Good. We were afraid you would back out and we’d have to hunt you down.” Already wearing about twenty sets of beads, Meg looked ready to pounce. “And look at you! Very nice to meet you, Aedan.” She grabbed ahold of Aedan’s hands and pulled him into a bear hug and quasi-copped a feel while she was at it. She shot Jess a look of approval over Aedan’s shoulder as Meg squeezed his shoulders, sizing up the muscles.
Jess mouthed, “stop,” while suppressing a giggle.
Sam, the one who was usually completely put together, was holding a plate of about fifteen cheese balls and pushing one into her mouth. She wiped her hand on her pants and held it out to Aedan. “Nice to meet you Aedan. We’ve heard so much about you,” she said around a mouthful of cheese. Jess just rolled her eyes. She would have to try these things if they turned even Sam into some kind of gluttonous cheese monster.
“All good I hope,” Aedan smiled, reaching out to take Jess’s hand.
“Yep, all pretty flattering. Glad you could join us today. It’s going to be an excellent. Pao de Queija?” She held out the plate of the cheese balls to them and Jess popped one in her mouth. It melted and she let out a moan. Sweet baby Jesus! Sam had not been lying.
“I know right!” Even Sam’s smug grin wasn’t enough to detract from the deliciousness of those puffs of cheesy goodness. Sam held one out to Aedan, which he took with a smile. Jess looked over at Aedan who seemed to be having a great time watching her enjoy the Brazilian treat.
“These things are amazing, right?”
“Yeah, they are,” He replied. “These ones are pretty good.”
“You’ve had better?”
“There’s a small shop I know of in Rio that makes some that would stop you in your tracks, but as far as outside Brazil goes, these are excellent.”
They soaked in the sights and sounds of the festival. There were food and craft stalls, samba performances, and colorful, barely-there costumes for the Carnival performers. Women walked around with huge headdresses decorated with feathers, playing cards, flowers, and hundreds of other items. Some of them looked so heavy that Jess wasn’t even sure how they were standing.
There were also floats that would be part of a mini parade later on. Float dancers were practicing for the parade and Jess was looking forward to it. So many of the attendees were wearing bright yellow Brazil soccer shirts. Aedan had clued her into that when she wondered if the four of them had missed the dress code requirement: beaded bikini, or yellow and green soccer jersey.
After an attempt at a samba lesson that ended with Aedan showing off some serious moves and rhythm, Jess decided there was a lot more to this man than met the eye. Sam and Meg grabbed two unsuspecting but completely willing dance partners from the sidelines for their lesson and they all ended up laughing and having a great time.
Then there was a soccer area. Aedan kicked five successive back-of-the-net goals and the man working the goal simulator looked at him with awe. Aedan could have gotten her one of the grown, man-sized Brazil World Cup armadillo mascots, but Jess just shook her head and laughed. Her purse was big, but not that big. Instead, she went with the cute, pocket-sized one. She gave the mascot a hug and Aedan a quick peck on the cheek before stuffing the doll into her Tardis of a purse.
Getting a prime spot for the capoeira demonstration, Aedan stood with his arms wrapped around Jess’s waist as they watched the show begin. The athleticism and choreography was breathtaking up close. The display of power, speed, and flexibility as the performers swept their legs within inches of each other’s faces in mock battle, flipping and rounding on each other, had Jess enraptured. She leaned back against Aedan’s chest and he gave her a squeeze.
Next came the audience participation portion. Jess was kicking herself for getting a spot so close when one of the performers zeroed in on their location. One of the performers held out his hand in her direction and she shrank back and shook her head vigorously. “Nooo way, no freaking way.”
Even Sam and Meg were on her side with this one. She turned her head as Aedan’s hand shot out to the performer on stage. He grasped it to launch himself onto the stage. He gave her a wink before he joined the other performers and volunteers on stage. At the urging of the performers, Aedan took off his shirt, looking a bit sheepish as he tucked it into his back pocket. Jess could barely take her eyes off of him as he stood front and center, muscles rippling and looking as mouthwatering as always. He was smiling and prepared to give some capoeira a go.
“Oh wow,” Meg said staring wide-eyed at all of the manly flesh on display on that stage. “That is quite a package he had hidden under there. I mean, I copped a feel earlier, but seeing it for real is definitely better than the short grope led me to believe.”
“No shit,” Jess said with a wink.
Taking direction from the performers, the participants were nervously smiling at each other and the crowd. Aedan seemed much more relaxed than the rest and looked ready to go. After the participants were shown a few practice moves and had a couple of minutes to practice them, it was their turn to go.
The first volunteer barely missed kicking his partner directly in the face, which drew a laugh from the crowd. He turned beat red, although his partner had him give it another try to make him look good. They traded moves, then moved off to allow another partner pair to go. The next pair mainly stayed on the ground swaying, keeping the kicks low, and even throwing in a few pulled punches as they danced around one another. The crowd gave them a clap as they moved off.
Finally, it was Aedan’s turn. He gave her a wink and the performers pushed him forward to give it a try with his partner. His first move was a front flip into a low crouch that drew a sound of awe from the crowd. He moved alongside his partner like a practiced member of the team. The fluidity of his movements was mesmerizing. Seeing every corded muscle tensing and relaxing as they did their dance/figh
t was getting Jess a bit hot and bothered. Meg nudged her with her elbow, fanning herself. “Holy shit—check him out.”
“How can I not?” Sam chimed in from her other side. Jess couldn’t help the smile that broke out across her face. He danced, throwing in some of the moves they had learned earlier, and even went up into a one-armed handstand. Aedan’s partner continued to throw challenging moves at him and Aedan held his own. When Aedan ended his display with a flip, the crowd broke out into applause. He took a small bow and blew Jess a kiss.
Aedan hopped down off the stage after shaking hands with all of the performers. Jess pulled him into a big hug, rubbing her hands up his back as he pulled his shirt back on.
“That was seriously amazing,” she told him, then leaned in and whispered, “Way to get me all hot and bothered.”
“Now you know how I feel all the time when I’m around you,” he whispered back causing Jess to blush a bit.
“Where did you learn that?”
“I’ve spent a little time in Brazil. It was always something that looked so cool, so I practiced it a bit down there.” The murmur of the crowd seemed to grow after Aedan got off the stage and more and more people were looking in their direction and pulling out their phones. Jess knew his display was impressive, but not enough to warrant that much attention.
But it could also have something to do with Meg’s bead quest. Beads aren’t even a thing in Brazilian Carnival, but lo and behold, it seems that someone at the event was not deterred by the prospect of getting women to flash themselves for a pair of twenty-five cent beads. Not that she could fault Meg. After she made it through her cancer and got the reconstructive surgery and nipple tattoos (who knew that was a thing!), they all just kind of let her go with whatever she needed to do to make her happy.
Speaking of Meg, Jess lost her in the crowd as they moved away from the capoeira performance area and into the Carnival area.
“I’m a bit beat. Have you seen everything you wanted to see? Do mind if we head out?” Aedan asked, looking exhausted.
“Yeah, sure that’s fine with me. Are you feeling OK?” Jess fought the urge to put her hand to his forehead.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit tired.”
“I hope not too tired. Especially after seeing you up on that stage, I can’t wait to get you home.” Aedan’s eyes snapped back to hers and Jess could see the hunger gleaming in his eyes. She clenched her thighs together as his gaze continued to devour her, and she made one more attempt to find the girls.
“Just let me tell Sam and Meg that we’re leaving.” The gentle ribbing quickly turned to serious sparks as Jess licked her lips in anticipation of getting Aedan out of that shirt again.
“Do you want to order a taxi? Or take the metro?”
“Definitely a taxi; it’ll get us there just that much quicker.”
Aedan was looking increasingly nervous, as they waded through a crowd that appeared to be getting thicker by the moment. Jess finally made her way to Meg, who was wearing even more beads than she had been just ten minutes ago.
“More beads? Really Meg?”
“Hey, I can’t help it; I’m irresistible!”
“Well Ms. Irresistible, we’re going to get out of here. Don’t you abandon Sam—make sure she doesn’t go into a cheese coma. It’s getting late and I need to get back to my place with Aedan.”
“Of course you do. After what he did on stage, I’m surprised you guys are still even here. See you later. I’m going to try to pry Sam away from the cheese balls. You know what a mess she was last year after all those things. She just doesn’t learn!” She kissed Jess and Aedan on the cheek and she pushed them toward the festival exit.
They left the festival and headed a few blocks away to make it easier to find a taxi. “That was really impressive back there. You weren’t nervous about doing that in front of all of those people?”
“No, not really. I’m not too bad about being in front of a crowd and doing physical stuff like that. Now, if they had asked me to sing I would probably still be running away from this place, lest everyone’s ears start bleeding.”
“I’ll be sure to file that away for later.” She turned and wrapped her arms around Aedan, breathing in his masculine scent—slightly sweaty and a little bit musky. She rested her head on his chest. “Thanks for coming out tonight. The girls really liked meeting you.”
“And I, them. I’m glad I made a good impression.”
“You made a great impression.” Just then the taxi pulled up and Jess swore there was a camera flash directed right at them. Aedan opened the door for her and jumped in behind her. Finally, they were on the way to her apartment.
14
That was close. Aedan had known that going to the BrazilFest was a risk when it came to keeping his time in DC and with Jess under wraps. The sights and sounds of the festival had temporarily transported him back to Brazil. He got swept along, and ended up going up onto the stage, which was a serious misstep. Playing against teams from Brazil over the years, he developed a fondness for the country, especially during Carnival. The colorful costumes, infectious energy, and great dancing were always a lure to Brazil. It was one of the few places Aedan had played where he had made time to do a little exploring.
Although the festival was great, there were a lot more people there who were likely to recognize him, but he wanted to meet Jess’s friends and she seemed genuinely excited about going. Aedan had wanted to go with her to spend as much time with her as he could. And here she was, snuggled up beside him in the taxi, looking out the windows at the sights and sounds of the city. He wished they could stay like that forever.
Toward the end of the capoeira presentation, he was sure that people had recognized him. After the goal simulator where he won Jess the armadillo, and then the dance demonstration, he was beginning to feel the crush of the crowd. The only thing that bought them the time to get out of there before people started to approach was how out of place he probably seemed in DC. Why would Aedan O’Connell be at the DC Brazil Festival? Thankfully, Jess had seen all that she wanted to, so he didn’t mind urging her to head out early.
Her girlfriends were quite a trip, the pair of them. Something of wild children compared to Jess. He supposed that was why she was so guarded when they met and unable to believe he was interested in her. Aedan could see that by surrounding herself with such animated characters, Jess was accustomed to fading into the background. But he’d seen through that wallflower when she stood up for the waitress.
She was kind, adventurous, and seriously sexy. As her hands found their way under his shirt and skimmed along the waistband of his jeans, Aedan wondered how much longer it was going to be before he could get her back into her apartment and in the bed, or couch, or floor. He wasn’t being choosy at this point. Feeling him harden against her back, Jess looked up at him with an innocent, wide-eyed smile.
“I think something has come up. We really should hurry back to my place.” Jess laughed out loud as they sat stopped at a light.
“You’ll pay for this when we get there.” Aedan whispered, then sealed it with a demanding kiss that took both of their breaths away. He would never get enough of this woman.
As Jess sat in the back of the taxi looking out the window, she thought back to her college romance disaster. She met Emmett met over the summer through an online forum before classes began at U Penn. He was funny, a great listener, and always there for her when she would freak out about starting school. He was there before the semester began for football practice, so he could give her tons of advice and keep her anxiety at bay. As a freshman, he would be lucky if he even set foot on the field in the next two years, but he was happy for his athletic scholarship and couldn’t wait to become a software engineer.
They talked about their favorite movies and TV shows, and debated for hours about whether or not the ending to LOST was the biggest cop out of a TV series finale of all time. The chat sessions turned into phone calls and before she knew it, they wer
e falling asleep talking to one another on the phone. It was a different kind of attention than she was used to.
Having two sisters that were just four and five years older than her meant that people were constantly comparing them—perhaps even more striking since they were half-sisters. Her parents tried their best not to compare, but it just wasn’t possible all the time and her older sisters were always given special attention since Jess’s dad was their stepdad.
To teachers, classmates, and pretty much everyone else, she was Emma’s and Clara’s younger sister. She didn’t even get her own name. That’s part of the reason she chose a college eight hours away from home. Her sisters had both gone to State U and while they had excelled at sports—with the bodies to show for it—Jess had secured academic scholarships as well as a great financial aid package for UPenn.
Her sisters were always nice to her and they never had that terrible older sister/younger sister relationship, but they were always distant. People always said she wasn’t there ‘real’ sister, since they were only half sisters, never mind they grew up together. But the fact that their dad died when they were eight and nine meant that they had a bond together that Jess had never been a part of.
Knowing she would never measure up or be one of them was always a hard pill to swallow, so leaving town and heading to Philadelphia was one way to step out of the shadow and finally feel like she could be herself. Heading to college wasn’t just about independence and starting a new chapter, it was also about finally being able to meet Emmett. Jess could barely contain herself as their family van pulled up to campus. It was all she could do to kiss her mom and dad and get them out of the dorm, so she could let Emmett know she’d arrived.
She sent him a text to let him know that she was there. “At practice. I’ll be there in an hour.” he texted back. Jess started to unpack and organize her room. As a scholarship recipient, Jess arrived to campus three days early for a special reception and a one-day program. She began to unpack and her phone buzzed. “On my way now, meet you in the lobby?”
