Page 5 of Her Marine
Journee got out of her car and headed to the front door. Knocking once before trying the handle as she searched her key ring for the correct one, but she found it unlocked. She walked down the hall toward the kitchen, where she knew her best friend would be. Kaydence had told her she was trying out a new recipe when she called and told her she would be over at six for their series binge.
“Hey,” Journee greeted as she walked over to the island to see what her friend was doing.
“Hey, how was your meeting?” Kaydence questioned, and Journee had almost forgotten that she told the other woman about some siblings that wanted help planning a surprise thirtieth-anniversary party for their parents.
“It went well. They’re looking to have everything planned over the next four weeks. I didn’t see the issue with it since they’ve already booked the venue, and that tends to be the toughest part.”
Kaydence nodded at her as she took out some measuring cups. “And your meeting with Alijah, that’s her name, right? It’s tomorrow?”
“Yeah, that’s her name, and it’s in two days. I’m nervous. This will be the biggest event I’ve ever planned if she chooses to go with my little company.”
“Don’t stress over it. You’re going to do great, and I’m not just saying that because you’re my friend. You’ve taken over the event planning circle here, and you’re starting to expand. She’s going to be impressed with you, and that’ll open up an entirely new tier of clients.”
Journee found herself nodding. “I guess you’re right.”
“I usually am,” Kaydence told her with a smirk.
Journee watched as her friend began adding all the ingredients she was planning to use in the bowl, and she allowed her mind to wander back to three days ago. She couldn’t shake Killian from her mind for some reason, and she’d had two wet dreams about him so far. Though she was sure, she probably should have been calling them nightmares because he’d been controlling, and commanding every inch of her body, and while her dream self didn’t seem to mind, Journee wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about a lack of control in any aspect. She also figured she could chalk those dreams up to not getting any since before she and David broke up, and it was about time.
“KD, what’s the deal with Axel’s friend?”
“I’m going to assume you mean Killian, and I don’t know his deal. I met him at the same time you did, remember? Why?”
“I don’t know. He just…for some reason, I can’t stop thinking about him,” she responded as she dipped her finger into the bowl, only to receive a glare before Kaydence returned to mixing. “And that night at the bar, I don’t know what came over me, what sort of…energy he was putting out, but I felt suffocated by it.”
Journee sighed, shifting to place her elbows on the island and resting her face on both of her hands. While she hadn’t been turned off by the feeling of being suffocated by his presence, his aura, Journee wouldn’t say that she liked it either. It put her in foreign territory. In a place she had never been to before, and she didn’t know how to deal with that.
“I mean, don’t get me wrong. The man is attractive. Anybody with a pair of eyes could see that. Why did he need to mess with me of all the people there? I’m completely grateful for his help, but he could have left it at that.”
Journee waited for Kaydence to reply, and when the other woman didn’t, Journee stuck her finger into the side of the bowl again, receiving a pop to her hand from her friend.
“Would you stop that?”
“Well, you aren’t listening to me,” Journee stated before sucking the mixture off. If the batter was anything to go by, these sweets were about to be on point.
“I am. I’m multitasking, and I honestly don’t see the dilemma.”
“How can you not see it?” she questioned, far more exasperated than she had meant to be.
Kaydence placed the bowl to the side. “You’re attracted to him. Explain the problem to me from there.”
Journee sighed. Attempting to choose the right words. “I don’t…I don’t like the feeling I had.”
Kaydence shook her head at her. “It’s because you’re so used to being in control. You’ve never dated or been attracted to anyone who was more assertive than you,” Kaydence informed her as she lined a baking pan. “There’s a first time for everything.”
Journee pursed her lips as she scrunched her nose. “I called this man that I’d just met, daddy. What the actual fuck is wrong with me? That’s not even one of my kinks.” Journee listened as her friend laughed, and she rolled her eyes at Kaydence. “It isn’t funny.”
“It’s a little funny,” Kaydence told her, causing Journee to whine.
“Then he had to go and say those things when we were walking back to the others and ask for my number.”
“What things?”
Journee bit her bottom lip but decided not to repeat them. She was sure she’d hear them in his voice, picture his handsome face and strong jawline, and she didn’t need whatever feeling had settled in her stomach when Killian had spoken them to return.
“That… isn’t important.”
Kaydence rolled her eyes at her. “If you say so. Well, did you give him your number?”
