MoreJade_LPavlov-eBooks

by Pavlov, Laura

  “Dude, I didn’t touch her. We’re dancing,” Brayden said, shock in his tone. His words slurred a bit.

  “It’s fine. I’ve got him. We’re going to go get a water,” I said to the bouncer who looked like he was ready to throw Brayden out.

  Ari hurried over to me. “What was that all about?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Jace laughed. “That may be a sign it’s time to get out of here.”

  Ari leaned close to me again. “Did he do something to you?”

  “No. He was just dancing. It wasn’t a big deal. I don’t know why the bouncer came out there.”

  We decided to call it a night, as clearly everyone had had more than enough to drink. I glanced back at the stage just before I walked out the door, and Cruz’s honeyed gaze locked with mine. I held his stare before I turned to leave.

  “If he didn’t do anything, why did the bouncer come out and pull him away from you?” Ari asked once we settled in our Uber.

  “I have no idea. I mean, I think he was going to kiss me, and I wasn’t really feeling it. But he didn’t do anything to warrant the bouncer coming out and grabbing him. I don’t know why the guy came out and did that. I would think people would complain if these bouncers think they can decide who dances with who,” I said, feeling a little outraged at the whole thing.

  “I don’t think they do that with anyone else though. I made out with Jace last week when we were dancing. I think they’re doing it because Cruz doesn’t like you with anyone else.”

  I rolled my eyes. It was ludicrous. “You’re insane. Cruz was with a girl last night. Why would he care if I danced with Brayden?”

  “I don’t know, but I caught him staring at you, multiple times. Regardless of his actions, there’s something there.”

  I waved my hand at her to stop and leaned against her shoulder. “Thanks for tonight. I had fun.”

  “Me too. And I’m glad you turned me on to those beer shots. I would have been sick if I drank all that tequila.”

  “Stick with me, kid. I know how to have a good time,” I said with a laugh.

  Ari and I say goodnight and I went to my room and washed my face before bed. Thankfully, Meagan was out. I saw her at The Dive, but we didn’t acknowledge one another. I couldn’t wait to move out of this room. I climbed into bed and my phone vibrated.

  Cruz ~ Can we meet tomorrow at the library? I want to start studying for the next test.

  Wasn’t he still out?

  Me ~ How do I know this is you and not Dex?

  Cruz ~ It’s me, More Jade. Did you have fun tonight?

  Me ~ Yes. Until that bouncer ruined all the fun.

  I stared at the three little dots. I wanted to know if he had anything to do with it.

  Cruz ~ Gus only gets involved when he needs to. You should be thanking him for pulling that douchebag off you.

  For some reason, I smiled. I wanted it to bother him. But I was also annoyed that he thought he could tell me who I could hang out with.

  Me ~ Brayden is not a douchebag. He’s a nice guy. Maybe I didn’t want him pulled off me.

  I said it on purpose even though it wasn’t true. I didn’t want Brayden to kiss me, but I didn’t have to tell Cruz that.

  Cruz ~ Take it from me, you didn’t look like you were enjoying it.

  Me ~ You have no idea what I enjoy. I think you should take care of yourself.

  Cruz ~ I know more about you than you think I do. Got to go back on stage. See you tomorrow. Goodnight, More Jade.

  I didn’t respond. I climbed into bed and pulled the covers up. The room was cold, and I tried to get warm under my comforter. I lay my head on my pillow and drifted away. And my dreams were haunted by a sandy blond haired rock star who liked to mess with my head.

  Chapter Eight

  Cruz

  “Going to study with your hot little tutor?” Dex asked when I grabbed my backpack.

  “Shut the fuck up,” I said. Technically, I wasn’t speaking to him. Adam and Lennon were pissed at him for what he did to Jade too, and we all agreed Dex is out of control. I had it out with him after I got home from apologizing to her. The look on her face when Sabrina opened the door stark fucking naked did something to me. She looked hurt. Dex thought it was funny. I wasn’t surprised, asshole loved a good joke at someone else’s expense. He was a mean-spirited dickhead. I used to be intimidated by him, but over the years, I learned to accept him for who he was. A kickass musician, and a selfish prick. I was sort of tied to the dude at this point, so there wasn’t much I could do about it.

  Sabrina was someone I’d hooked up with a couple times in the past. She was hanging out during rehearsals and I took her home the night I’d been at the beach with Jade. I thought I could just bang another chick and get Jade out of my head. Not the case. Sabrina and I made out when we got back to my place, but she smelled like smoke and tasted like tequila. It was a turn-off. How fucked up is that? I pretended to be too drunk to take things further, and thought if I passed out, she’d take the hint and leave. Apparently, getting naked and spending the night in my bed was more her speed. My plan backfired. And the following day when Jade ran out of the house—it felt like I lost something. Something valuable. I told her I didn’t sleep with Sabrina which probably sounded crazy considering Jade and I weren’t even dating. We weren’t anything. Yet it felt like—everything. How fucked up was it that I felt like I cheated on a girl I wasn’t even dating? And that I took home a girl I didn’t even like to try to get the one I did like out of my head. We’d never discussed the attraction between us, because I didn’t know if she was even aware of it. It was for the better. Crossing the line with Jade would be a mistake. I’d just fuck it up. But seeing that dude rubbing himself against her last night—I nearly jumped off the stage. I was glad Gus read my mind. He gave me a look, and I nodded and within seconds, he had that piece of shit away from her. Thankfully Dex didn’t notice. Lennon asked me about it after the show and he laughed when I said it was nothing. Jesus. What was this chick doing to me?

  The library wasn’t too crowded yet, but it was Saturday morning, so most college kids were still in bed. Normally I would be too. But instead, I was jumping through hoops to make sure my non-girlfriend wasn’t mad at me for hooking up with someone else.

  “Hey,” I said, dropping into the chair across from her.

  She barely looked up. “Hi. I’ll be done in a minute and we can get started.”

  I doubted I’d be getting any more live performances of “Shining Star.” Jade was cold as ice right now.

  She closed her book and pulled out her bio notebook. “Are you ready?”

  “You want to talk about it?”

  “Talk about what?” She tilted her head to the side with a straight fucking face.

  “Why you’re being so hostile?”

  “I’m not being hostile. I’m busy, and I’m just trying to get everything done,” she said before flipping the book over and pointing to the vocab words in the right margin.

  Her phone buzzed and she read the text before she set it back down. While she turned to dig in her backpack for a pencil, I glanced at the message.

  Unknown number ~ Hey Jade, it’s Brayden. I hope it’s okay I got your number from Ariana. I wanted to apologize if I offended you at all last night. I’d love to meet for coffee this afternoon so I can apologize face to face.

  Jesus. What a boy scout. You said your apology. Move on, man. Now he wanted to meet her?

  “Are you seriously reading my text? You know that’s an invasion of privacy,” she said. She was angry, which told me she was as frustrated as I was.

  “What if I am? Maybe I’m looking out for you. You shouldn’t meet random dudes alone. Who knows what he’s capable of?”

  “You’re insane. He’s a super nice guy. He didn’t even do anything. Your bully of a bouncer made
it into a big thing and now he feels terrible.”

  “My bully of a bouncer? He saved your ass. And he was doing me a favor, so you’re welcome,” I said, dropping my book on the table.

  “I knew you were behind it. Have you always been a hypocrite, or is this new for you?”

  I laughed. She was fucking hilarious. “I think always is safe.”

  “You had a naked girl in your room yesterday. Why do you care who I talk to?”

  Her dark brown hair fell just past her shoulders and the layers flipped up at the ends. Her complexion was fair with hardly a stitch of makeup. Fucking beautiful. She had just a little pink on her cheeks and bright green eyes the color of jade. Her full pouty lips were driving me mad, and she had a little beauty mark above her top lip. I wanted to kiss her. Everywhere. Anywhere she’d let me.

  “I don’t know.” It was the truth.

  “Wow. What a great answer. Let me know when you figure it out. Can we get to work? I have a friend to meet for coffee at noon.” She gave me a fake smile and responded to the douchebag.

  We worked for the next hour, and she even laughed a few times at my jokes. When she closed her book, I tried to stretch things out. I didn’t want her to leave. I didn’t fucking know why, but I didn’t.

  “Did Sam head back to school?”

  “Yeah. He actually apologized for being rude to you,” she said as she loaded her backpack.

  “He wasn’t that bad.”

  “You’re right. He wasn’t. See ya,” she said as she strode right past me. She didn’t look back either. She’d never been so cold or short with me. I hated it.

  I walked out of the library and my phone buzzed. My dad’s name flashed across the screen. Could this day get any worse?

  “Hey.”

  “Cruz. What’s the down-low?” My father believed he was younger and hipper than he actually was.

  I stopped to sit on a bench in the quad and lit up a smoke. “Not much. Just leaving the library.”

  “You should be at the studio, not the library,” he said, and then laughed so loud I had to hold the phone away from my ear.

  “We have a show tonight, so there’s no need to go to the studio.”

  “Right, I talked to Luke this morning. He thought I should be the one to tell you that AF Records is interested. They want a fresh demo, and they’re planning to come out in a few months and see you guys perform. There are several people who they need to get on board, but I think things are looking good, son.” He only called me this when he wanted something. Which was the only time he called.

  “Alright. I’ll let the guys know.” My tone was flat.

  “When you’re not performing, you need to be in the studio practicing. Lennon needs to tighten things up, and he’ll follow your lead.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Lennon’s fine. He’s balancing school and the band. You should be proud of him.”

  “He goes to fucking community college. Exiled is all he has going for him and you know it. Why he insists on even taking classes is a joke.”

  “How do you berate your kid for getting an education? You have a gift for making him feel like shit. He’s going to try to transfer to Northwestern next year. They take a ton of kids out of community college.”

  “He’s wasting his time. You guys will be signed before next year rolls around. And community college is not going to pay Lennon’s bills. Music is. Until then, I call the shots.”

  “You sure do. What’s the plan for Thanksgiving?” I changed the subject because I wanted to irritate him because he bothered the fuck out of me.

  “How the hell would I know? Isn’t that a few months away? Your mom will be in touch.”

  “Thanksgiving is next month.” It was only the first of October, so technically, it wasn’t really a month away, but he didn’t know that.

  “Jesus, Cruz. I’ll have her get it on the schedule. I need to know that between now and then you’re going to put your head down and work your ass off to tighten things up with the band. I spoke to Dex yesterday and he told me you and Adam are bogged down with your studies and Lennon’s not focused. If that’s the case, you need to take a leave of absence from school and focus on your career. Do you understand me?”

  Fucking Dex. My patience was wearing thin with him.

  “Why the fuck are you talking to Dex? He doesn’t have a fucking clue what I’m doing, or what Adam and Lennon are up to. You have two sons in this band, why are you going to that asshole?” I asked, running a hand through my hair.

  “Because he checks in with me more often than you and Lennon do. You’re too fucking busy with your classes. I told you from the beginning, if it interferes with your music, you’re done.”

  I shook my head. “I got it, Dad. Everything is fine. Don’t talk to Dex about me. The guy is an asshole.”

  “If I agree not to talk to him, will you agree to increase your studio time?”

  Always the negotiator. My disdain for this man at times was difficult to manage. He was selfish and detached. I didn’t know how my mom tolerated him.

  “Yes.”

  “Okay. That’s what I like to hear. We’ll be in touch soon.”

  Dad disconnected the call. We’ll be in touch soon? Was that something a father says to his son? He didn’t know how to turn off work mode. He never had.

  I lit up another smoke and walked to my car. The only thing that sounded good right now was Jade dancing on the beach. But she hated me at the moment, so I’d settle for the next best thing—a date with a bottle of tequila.

  The next few weeks went by, and Jade and I were back to our routine. Whatever that meant. She wasn’t as angry at me, and I was still fantasizing about her every day. I called it my new normal. We spent more time together than I’d ever spent with anyone, aside from my brother. Between biology class, tutoring, and now studying with her daily, she was improving my grades considerably. But I didn’t spend hours with her in the library at night because I liked studying. I did it because I liked Jade. So, I faked it. But ultimately, it paid off. She hadn’t been back to The Dive since the douchebag pawed all over her. She tried to act like she was dating him for all of one week. It drove me fucking crazy. One day she had rushed out of the library to meet him for dinner. I texted her twenty-two times that night with bullshit biology questions, which pissed her off. In the end, she admitted they were just friends.

  Jade took up all the space in my head. I definitely liked this girl. But for now, friendship would have to do. She was cautious of me, and she should be. However, I hadn’t touched another chick since my night with Sabrina, where not much happened anyway. So, to say I was uncomfortable was a fucking understatement. If you looked up blue balls in the dictionary, Merriam-Webster would have an eight by ten glossy of me.

  “Hey,” I said as I took the seat beside her in class. We had our second exam today, and I was feeling pretty good.

  “Hi. Are you ready?”

  She set her phone down and pulled out two pencils. Like it was completely normal for this girl to take care of me. I didn’t know how it happened, but it did. We talked about everything—but the elephant in the room. That I wanted to do things to her that she couldn’t even fathom. She hadn’t brought up another dude since boy scout Brayden, so I didn’t think she was dating. It would be tough with all the time we spent together. She didn’t ask if I was. Or if I was hooking up with anyone either. Which I wasn’t. And I wanted to tell her.

  “Yeah, I think so. How are we going to celebrate this time around?” I asked. If I got another shot at the beach with her, we wouldn’t be interrupted, and I could talk to her.

  “I don’t know. I figured you’d celebrate with a naked girl again.” She tilted her head to the side and raised a brow. She deserved an explanation for what happened that night.

  “That hasn’t happened again, and I don’t want it to.”

>   “Is that so?”

  “It is.”

  “Hmmm… so then how would you like to celebrate?”

  “There’s only one way to properly celebrate. What do you say about a repeat performance?”

  “Let’s see how you do first. Don’t put the cart before the horse,” she said.

  Professor Lockhart passed out the exams and I spent the next hour and a half focusing on something other than the girl next to me.

  I waited for her outside, because of course she was the last one to finish. She probably used the full amount of time to go back and check her work.

  “Thanks. You didn’t have to wait for me,” she said.

  “I don’t mind. Had time to kill before my next class. How do you feel?”

  “Good. How about you?”

  “Same,” I said, surprising us both. I laughed. Who’d have ever fucking thought I’d feel confident after a biology exam.

  “That’s awesome. He said he’ll have them graded by Friday,” she said.

  The air was crisp, and Jade zipped up her jacket. Her cheeks were pink from the wind, and her sleeves were long enough to tuck her hands inside.

  “Jade,” an annoying voice from behind us called out.

  We both stopped and turned around. “Oh, hey Brayden. This is Cruz.”

  “Nice to meet you.” He extended his hand and I wanted to crush it when I thought of how he tried to put his hands all over her.

  “Hey.” I kept it short. I didn’t like him.

  “I was going to text you. Jace is going to talk to Ariana about getting a group together to go to The Dive on Halloween,” he said, looking at Jade.

  “Oh, really? I haven’t been out in weeks. I’ve been pretty bogged down with schoolwork. You guys are playing that night, aren’t you?” she asked, bringing her attention back to me.

  “Yeah, we are. But it gets crazy on Halloween. The crowds always a little rowdier,” I said before scowling at the dude standing too close to her. I moved forward, which forced him to step back.