I shut the door quietly before using the toilet and relishing in another private moment. Then I hear a loud knock on the suite door, followed by the unmistakably panicked voice of my mother. Wondering what’s going on, I make quick work of sorting myself out and washing my hands before exiting the bathroom.
‘Jesse,’ My mum is clearly exasperated. ‘You and I are going to fall out if you don’t do as you’re told.’
I look over at Kate, who is drinking more Most Marvellous while my mum is distracted. She grins at me on a shrug. ‘What’s going on?’ I ask.
‘Jesse wants to see you, but Elizabeth is having none of it.’
I roll my eyes, turning my attention to the door, where my mum is blocking the small gap between the door and the frame. Then I hear him.
‘We won’t fall out, mum, if you let me in.’ I know he’s grinning at my mother, but his playfulness isn’t fooling me. I can detect the threat in his tone. He’s coming in this room, and not even mum will stop him.
‘Jesse Ward, you do not get to call me mum when I’m only nine years older than you.’ she spits. ‘Now go, you’ll be seeing her in half an hour.’
‘Ava!’ he yells past my mum.
I throw my eyes back to Kate, and she nods her head, instantly catching my drift. We both run towards the door, Kate unhooking my dress from the top and me gathering the bottom in my arms before we take it into the bathroom and rehang it on the back of the door.
Kate laughs. ‘Will your mum learn or will she continue to try and tame him?’
‘I don’t know.’ I smooth the front of my dress down and follow Kate back out, shutting the door behind me. Mum is still guarding the door, her foot wedged at the bottom. That won’t stop him.
‘Jesse, no!’ She’s pushing against him now. ‘Oh no! It’s bad luck. Have you no respect for tradition, you stubborn man?’
‘Let me in, Elizabeth.’ He’s clenching his teeth, I know he is.
I glace at Kate and shake my head. He’s trampling my mother, just like he promised to do if she ever got in his way, and she is most certainly in his way.
Kate takes another drink from the tray and walks casually over to the door. ‘Elizabeth, just let him in, you’ll never stop him. The man’s a rhinoceros.’
‘No!’ Mum is really digging her heels in, not that it’ll work. She should know this by now, even after the limited time she’s spent with him. ‘He is not… oh!… Jesse Ward!’
I smile to myself as I watch my determined mother shoved back slightly before being lifted from her feet and placed neatly to the side, giving Jesse access to me. She rearranges her dress and straightens her hairpiece, all the while spitting nails at my challenging man. Then I cast my eyes back to the open doorway. His eyes are green pools of desire and they’re studying me closely; his face expressionless, his jaw stubbled. My greedy eyes trail slowly down his half nakedness as he stands before me in just his loose shorts, his solid chest damp and his hair dark with sweat. He’s been running again.
‘Well!’ Mum huffs. ‘Ava, tell him to leave!’ She’s not happy.
I find his eyes again. ‘It’s fine, mum. Just give us five minutes.’
His eyes sparkle in approval as he stands patiently waiting for my mum to relent and leave us. Mum won’t appreciate it, but even this small gesture is uncharacteristically respectful. He’ll ravish me wherever and whenever he pleases, so the fact that he hasn’t physically removed my mum from the room is quite a surprise. He’s trampling all right, but he could trample harder.
I see Kate in my peripheral vision approach my mum and take her arm. ‘Come on, Elizabeth. Just a few minutes won’t hurt.’
‘It’s tradition!’ she argues, but still lets Kate lead her out. I smile a little. There is nothing traditional about my relationship with Jesse.. ‘What’s that bruise on his chest?’ I hear my mother ask as she’s pushed from the room.
The door closes, and we maintain our deep eye connection, neither one of us saying anything for the longest time. I just drink him in, every finely tuned muscle, every perfect inch of pure beauty.
He finally speaks. ‘I don’t want to take my eyes away from your face.’
‘No?’
He shakes his head mildly. ‘They’ll be lace if I do, won’t there?’
I nod.
‘White lace?’
‘Ivory.’
His chest expands slightly. ‘And you’re taller, so you’ve got heels on.’