Cursive - By Phoebe Lane Page 0,71

refill their drinks.

"Now, Evan, I need your help with keeping Jace busy this weekend."

"Why?"

"She wants to keep him away from Pam," Ellie explained.

"It's only for his sake, not hers. You should always protect the ones you love," Aislynn blurted out, and immediately regretted it. Ellie smiled wickedly at her, but like a good best friend, didn't call attention to her words.

Damn you and your slips, Freud.

"Come on, she can't be that bad," Evan said, not picking up on the significance of Aislynn's words.

"Actually, I'm going to agree with Aislynn on this one," Ellie added, and then turned to her friend, an amused smile still plastered on her face. "I don't think you'll be able to keep Jace away from Pam the whole weekend, though. I mean, he knows she’s coming, right?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"And he knows it's your birthday on Saturday?"

"It is? That's great! We should celebrate," Evan added excitedly, but then took in Aislynn's icy expression. "Or not."

"Jace's gonna want to spend time with you this weekend, and that will include meeting Pam. I'm pretty sure he can handle it," Ellie said with a smile, her eyes briefly glancing behind Aislynn.

"It's not him I'm worried about. It's me. And her. Ugh, this sucks!" she said, putting her head down on the bar.

She then heard a soft voice whisper in her ear, "I told you not to worry, babydoc. I can handle it."

She felt soft kisses tickle her neck, and warm arms snake around her body. The feeling was so delicious that she didn't even try to move an inch. Instead, she surrendered to it as a soft moan escaped her lips and her fingers laced with the hands that held her.

After a few seconds, Aislynn straightened in her chair, turned around, and found the world's most beautiful man staring lovingly back at her. She put her arms around his neck and gave in to the need to hug and kiss him, not caring who was watching.

"Hi," she finally said after kissing him for what felt like minutes. "I missed you."

"Hi, babydoc." He kissed her again, and then turned to Evan and Ellie. "How much did you guys let her drink?"

"She can't hold her alcohol, Jace. This is what she looks like after two glasses of wine," Ellie said as Jace continued to stare adoringly into Aislynn's eyes and caress her face with his fingers. "But it had to be done," Ellie continued. "She's freaking out about tomorrow. I found her organizing bottles of shampoo earlier."

"What's so wrong about that?" Evan asked.

"We were at the drugstore. She was putting them in alphabetical order," Ellie answered.

"As they should have been in the first place!" Aislynn exclaimed.

"All right, babydoc. Let's get you some dinner," Jace said, pulling her off the bar stool and helping her walk to the table in the back of the restaurant.

Later that night, after the heavy dinner helped clear the effects of the alcohol from her head, Aislynn snuggled into Jace's side on the car ride home from the bar and smiled as the comfort of his smell and his warmth surrounded her.

"This weekend is going to be a nightmare," Aislynn said.

"What is it that you’re so concerned about exactly?"

She told Jace about how unreceptive Pam had been to the news of them dating weeks before, and proposed that maybe it would be best for them to avoid spending time together while Pam was in town.

Jace argued the opposite, insisting that it was important for him to meet her. "It's a great opportunity for you to stand up to her, and not let her control your life anymore," he said. "I'm willing to stand up to her right along with you, but you've got to give me the chance."

It took Aislynn a few minutes, but she finally realized that her actions were probably making Jace feel like she was trying to hide their relationship. So she gave in and agreed with him.

She actually agreed with him over and over again, all while being held against the shower door later that night, her wrists held together over her head, panting moans of pleasure echoing off the walls. Jace had done an excellent job of drilling his point home.

And they say women use sex as a weapon.

"Do you feel better now?" he whispered in her ear after they lay down in bed.

"There's no other way to feel but better whenever I'm with you," she said, and gave in to sleep.

Aislynn made her way to the airport, triple espresso in hand and car