The Jump

10 Walk You Home

Lucinda's jaw dropped at the sight of him. He was still in his brown polo shirt with the words, Barrel Wave, on the breast pocket. His hair was a lovely mess of waves that looked as if it had been windblown from walking over to the house. It was close to midnight, yet the smile on his face looked anything but tired as he weaved through the crowd of guests while receiving pats on the back. Everyone seemed so excited that he finally arrived to the party, but none of them were as happy as Lucinda.

Her stomach somersaulted and her heart fluttered as she watched him exchange greetings with people, but on the outside she kept her composure calm. Isabel was still by her side as she felt the woman's hand on her arm. She shifted her focus to her and Isabel was beaming back at her with a knowing grin.

"Well imagine that!" Isabel began to say. "Here we've been chatting about him and he suddenly he shows up. When Emma told me he might not make it tonight, I knew there was no way he would miss seeing you." She winked.

"He didn't come here for me," Lucinda replied sheepishly as she looked away.

"No?" Isabel asked and then motioned to the French doors. "Then why is he making a bee-line over here?"

Lucinda gasped and looked around in a panic. "Oh god..."

"What's the matter?"

"Uh... um..." Lucinda babbled as she darted her gaze about.

"Looking for an escape?" Isabel chuckled.

"He can't see me in this dress, Isabel!"

The woman let out a husky laugh as she practically doubled over. "And why not?"

"It's too..." Lucinda motioned in front of the low cut neckline.

Isabel placed her hands on Lucinda's shoulders, gaving her light shake to snap her out of her panic. "Sexy? Oh trust me, girly, Raif will love it." Then she nodded over to the French doors. "And look, there he is..."

Braving a glance over in his direction, Lucinda had to bite back the smile forming on her lips as Raif stared back at her. There was a brightness in his eyes that practically twinkled as he stepped down onto the patio, not taking his eyes off of her. A few more guests greeted him with nods and pats on the back, but he simply kept his sights on her like a beacon through the crowd.

"I'm... going to head back inside," Isabel announced and then squeezed Lucinda's arm as she excused herself.

"Ok," Lucinda mumbled, not really paying attention to what Isabel had said since her focus was still on Raif as he prowled towards her.

"Glad you could make it," Isabel said to him as she stopped to kiss his cheek and then whispered, "Try to be quicker next time. Our girl here is like a piece of lamb for the wolves. Tanner has been salivating over her."

Raif arched his brow at her words, but as he took in Lucinda's dress, he couldn't blame them. "I'll take things from here." he winked to Isabel and the woman nodded approvingly.

"You made it." Lucinda smiled nervously, as she toyed with the gold bangle on her wrist.

"I thought I'd never get the Senior Chess club out of the cafe. Their tournaments can become pretty intense. A couple of them almost got into a fist fight," Raif explained as he circled around Lucinda, continuing his prowl to stand by the firepit.

"Are you serious?"

"Nope," he whispered into her ear, and then dragged his hand along her lower back as he added, "I'm happy I didn't miss seeing you in this dress."

Lucinda shivered at the close proximity of his mouth to her ear and she could've sworn she heard him chuckle softly. "Well, I suppose I have you to thank because it's thanks to your bonus money that I could afford it."