Across the Miles (The Not So Bad Boys of Rock #1)

by Rhonda James

  “Boyfriend huh? So this is him? What’s your name buddy?”

  “Sebastian.” He stuck his arm out to grip Marcus’ outstretched hand, shaking it firmly.

  “You look kind of familiar, do you dine here often?”

  “No,” Sebastian smirked, “I’ve never been here before today.”

  “I could swear that I’ve seen you someplace. You workout at the gym down the road? I think I’ve seen you there, that must be where it is. Am I right?” Marcus prodded.

  I couldn’t help but laugh, and gave a quick glance to Sebastian, making sure I had his permission to give him away. “Oh, you’ve seen him at the gym, but not in the way you’re thinking.” Sebastian furrowed his brow, unsure of where I was going with this. “You know the hallway that leads up to the women’s locker room?” Marcus nodded. “There’s a large poster that hangs just outside the door; all the women touch it for good luck before going in…” I could tell he wasn’t following me. “He’s one of the guys in the poster.”

  “What do you mean, like a male model or something? Yeah, you look the part,” he replied, eyeing Sebastian up and down casually.

  “No Marcus, he’s not a male model,” I turned and gave him the same once over, “although he most certainly could be. That poster advertises the band Paradox, a rock band; he’s one of the guys in the band.” Suddenly, Marcus’ eyes reflected that he understood and then he looked over at Sebastian once more.

  “That’s pretty cool dude, but if you hurt her I’ll hunt you down,” he waved a hand over the rest of the kitchen crew, who by now were watching intently, “we all will.”

  Sebastian laughed and clapped him on the back, understanding completely what was going on. “Hey, that’s cool, I appreciate you looking out for her, but I promise I won’t do anything to hurt her.”

  “Then, welcome to the family Sebastian,” Marcus replied, fist bumping Sebastian’s raised knuckles.

  I took him around and gave him the full tour, showing him every nook and cranny in the building, trying my best to make our time together stretch out. Somehow, after only two days, this parting felt like it might be even harder than our first. Now that I knew how hard it was to live without him, and being teased by his presence again, I just wanted to smuggle him away in my closet and never let him leave my side again. During this visit I felt as if we had bonded even further, our conversations had taken a different tone, like there was direct intention in every statement. I couldn’t help but notice how he spoke of our future together as if he had already drawn up a plan in his head, and he was trying to figure out how to make it play out the way it needed to. I won’t lie, I had thought long and hard about a future with him, it was almost all that I had thought about. Even though we had only been together for three months, I knew, I could feel it deep in my bones, that he was someone I could spend the rest of my life with, and I knew that he would do everything he could to make me the happiest woman in the world. Now that he was with me, standing in my restaurant, I was actually looking forward to seeing that plan play out if only I could bring myself to ask him what his vision looked like.

  On our way out we passed by Donnie’s office, he was sitting at his desk on the phone, when he saw me holding Sebastian’s hand he motioned for me to come in, and he wrapped up his call.

  “Brooke, glad to see your dedication, but seriously, you need to learn to stay away on your days off,” he joked. “Who’s this?”

  “Well, Donnie, this is my boyfriend, Sebastian, and Sebastian, this is Donnie, my boss.” I looked nervously at them, Sebastian stood a good two inches taller than Donnie, but Donnie was ten years older, and very much my self-appointed big brother. For someone that had grown up an only child, I was suddenly inundated with surrogate older brothers.

  “It’s so nice to meet you Donnie; I’ve heard wonderful things about your and this restaurant.” They shook hands, and I saw Donnie’s face soften at the compliments. “I also want to thank you for allowing Brooke to spend that week with me, I guess we have you to thank for helping us fall in love,” he said, wrapping an arm casually around my shoulders, staking his manly claim.

  “Well, I can say that I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about you as well. Brooke tells me that you took excellent care of her, as her quasi-big brother I want to thank you. You know, my wife and I are really big fans of your music.” And just like that they were at ease with one another and talking shop about music and travel, before he left Sebastian signed a bunch of items for Donnie’s wife and kids and some of the guys in the kitchen.

  “I’m glad you two hit it off,” I said casually as we headed back to the apartment.

  “You and me both, I was nervous there for a second,” he admitted before grabbing me and hoisting me up on his back, for old-time sake.

  “Attention all passengers, at this time we would like to remind you not to leave your bags unattended. In the event…” The woman on the intercom droned on and on about safety and security while in the airport and aboard the planes.

  “I can’t believe you’re already leaving, it feels like you just got here,” I pouted.

  “I know, but we’ll be together soon, at Nikki’s wedding. You got your invitation, right?”

  “Yeah, I can hardly wait to see you in a tux,” I kissed his chin, he was so tall that unless I had on heels, or stood up on high my tiptoes, I couldn’t reach his lips.

  “And I can’t wait to spend the night dancing, holding you in my arms. You’ll try to stay for the week when you come, right?”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” I promise.

  “And I’ve got your ticket covered, so be sure to book first class again,” he smiled warmly.

  “I don’t expect you to pay for my ticket, I want to come to the wedding, I don’t feel as if I have to.” Ever since our initial meeting, Nikki and I had been chatting off and on over the phone and Facebook messenger, and we’d gotten pretty close.

  “I know you don’t expect it, but I want to do it, so please just let me take care of you. I like doing things for you baby.”

  “I know one thing you could do for me right now, before you go,” I pulled my lip between my teeth, “I haven’t had a bone crusher in a very long time.” A smile filled his face, and he locked his wrists tightly behind my back, pulling me firmly against him.

  “I thought you’d never ask.” He kissed me one last time before heading down the terminal, looking back three times and mouthing the words ‘I love you’ as he disappeared into the crowd. I glanced over at Jade and saw a few tears escaping down her cheeks.

  “Oh my gosh, I don’t know how you do it,” she brushed the tears away with a swipe of her hand. “That was so hard, and I’ve only known him two days!”

  “So you two hit is off then?” I teased, knowingly.

  She rolled her eyes and laughed. “He is quite the charmer, let me tell you.”

  “I’m sure he is, but the question is, did his charms work on you?” I elbowed her in the ribs.

  “Ouch! For your information, they worked beautifully, but not in the way you’re dirty mind is thinking,” she scoffed.

  “Hey, my mind isn’t dirty. Our time together was meaningful and very PG-13. Hands remained above the waistline, thank you very much.”

  “Yeah, well so was ours. Honestly, I would have thought rock stars would be more demanding.”

  “I guess you can’t believe everything you read,” I shrugged.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Brooke~

  I stood in the middle of my closet, trying my best to pick out the right outfits for my trip. When I was there the last time I had only packed for three days and had to wear the same clothes over and over. This time, knowing in advance how long I was going to be there and who I would be trying to impress, I wanted everything to be just right.

  Sebastian: Hey baby, are you almost packed?

  Me: Just about, although I can’t get my dress to fit in my carry-on. I need to learn how to get by with less.


  Sebastian: Last time you were here you made do with only a few things, neither one of us seemed to mind it before. Besides, this time it’s even warmer, just pack your dress and a bikini.

  Me: Yeah right, I’m going to spend the entire week in a bikini?

  Sebastian: You wouldn’t hear me complaining

  Me: That’s because you wouldn’t care if I wore nothing at all

  No reply. After a few moments, I check to see that he still has a pulse.

  Me: Sebastian, hello, are you there?

  Sebastian: Yeah, sorry, my mind got away from me for a moment.

  Me: Oh, you are so lucky I’m not there right now, or I would slug you

  Sebastian: Do your worst baby

  He was waiting for me, outside the airport, just like he said he would be. It was hard to believe that another month had passed since he surprised me at my apartment. I slipped into the passenger seat, and barely managed to pull the door shut, when his lips were on me, devouring me in one full swoop. No matter how hard I could have tried, there was no resisting him, and I didn’t want to. We broke apart, and he rested his forehead on mine.

  “Hey you, sorry about that, but I’ve missed those lips,” he smiled, licking the remains of my strawberry lip balm from his upper lip. “Yum.”

  “You’re crazy,” I giggled, as he put the car into gear and merged into traffic.

  “So, I see you decided to pack more than the bikini,” he stated, surveying the luggage piled into the backseat. “Pity.”

  “Ha ha, you’re not only crazy, but hilarious too. You know I need more than a bikini to wear, what would your Mom think.” I scolded him playfully.

  “I don’t recall saying anything about sharing you during this visit. We have one obligation, well, technically two if you count the rehearsal dinner, and then you are mine for the rest of the week pretty lady,” he smirked, placing a hand just above my knee.

  “Oh, is that so? And just what do you think your Mother will have to say about that when she knows I’m here? You know I can’t avoid her, I want to see her Sebastian. You can have me for the majority of the trip, but you better get used to it babe, you’re going to have to share me.”

  “Family only though,” he bared his pearly white teeth at me, causing me to laugh out loud.

  “You know your family includes the guys don’t you? I mean, Chris is already planning a dance for brothers and sisters at the reception,” I covered his wandering hand with my own.

  “Argh, why did I have to fall in love with someone so irresistible to everyone else?” He pulled my hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.

  “Well, silly, you fell in love with me because I’m irresistible, remember?” I tilted my head slightly, batting my heavily mascaraed eyelashes.

  “Oh yeah,” he played along, “now I remember. I guess I can make a few exceptions, but let’s not get carried away, you and I both know how fast a week will fly by.”

  “Brooke!” I heard Tracy’s voice calling over the multitude of people in the room. I looked off in the near distance and saw her waving frantically in our direction. “Oh honey, it is so great to see you again, you look so beautiful, but I think you’ve lost weight since you were here, are you eating enough?” She guided me to the waiting party, seated around the table, continuing to mother me along the short distance.

  “I promise I’m eating, I’ve just been busy at work. I’ll be sure to let you fatten me up a little this week,” I kissed her before sitting down next to Sebastian.

  “Welcome home,” he whispered in my ear.

  We all sat around, eating and drinking, catching up. The rehearsal was set for Friday, and I spent most of the evening getting to know the other members of the wedding party, particularly the woman, named Hilary, who was paired up with Sebastian, not entirely out of jealousy, but mostly because of the way she flicked her hair over her shoulder or licked her lips when he spoke to her. It appeared she had somewhat of a crush on my man, not that it surprised me, but I must admit that I was somewhat offended that she would blatantly go after him with me sitting right next to him, knowing that we were a couple. I sat there stewing silently, hoping like hell that the smoke I felt coming out of my ears wasn’t visible to anyone else in the room, well, anyone else but Miss flirty-pants. She continued her conversation with him, doing her best to hold his attention, but hardly succeeding, he was obviously just being polite. At one point, she leaned in close to him and brushed her breast against his forearm, pretending to be reaching for the pepper, my eyes narrowed at the intentional contact. What I did next, I am not particularly proud of, but it had to be done, if not for anyone’s sake but my own sanity.

  “Sweetie, do we have any plans after dinner?” I leaned in, drawing my hand slowly down his chest and stopping in his lap. “I was kind of hoping we could go home after this; I’m a little tired.” He choked out a low cough and slipped his hand behind my head, pulling me in for a kiss, obviously understanding my fit of jealous rage.

  “What are you doing?” he whispered in my ear. “Are you trying to drive me crazy? You know I’d love nothing more than to take you home and do just what you’re implying.” He cleared his throat and spoke louder so that Hilary could hear. “My whole night is dedicated to your happiness baby, hell, not just tonight, my whole life is in your hands.”

  I shrank back against my chair, instantly regretting my foolishness. I had played with his emotions in order to stake my claim, something I was not cool with. Since when had I become such a territorial brat?

  It wasn’t until we were alone again, walking to the car, that I was able to acknowledge what had taken place.

  “I’m sorry for the way I acted in there; it wasn’t fair to you. I’m ashamed of myself for reacting that way.”

  “Why did you get so territorial, you have to know how I feel about you, besides, she’s totally not my type,” he guffawed.

  “I don’t know, I’ve just never seen another woman trying to sink her claws into you, and I don’t have to remind you that you two will be spending an awful lot of time together this weekend between the rehearsal and the wedding photos, not to mention the dance you two will share,” I whined. “All of it just makes my skin crawl.”

  “If you’re so worried about other women getting to me then move in with me, relocate to California and spend every day with me.” He stopped walking and turned to face me, holding both of my hands firmly at my sides. “Brooke? Breathe baby.”

  I sucked in a big gulp of air and felt the ground beneath me start to give way. I shook my head and tried to process what he had just suggested, it had thrown me for a loop, it sounded completely absurd, yet at the same time it sounded incredibly sane.

  “Brooke, are you okay?” he urged gently.

  “Wow, you just kind of threw me there for a moment. Are you really suggesting that I leave everything I know and move here to be with you? How would that even work? Are you actually being serious?” I peppered him with questions.

  “Are you finished?” he asked calmly. Calm? How could he be so calm?

  “Yes.”

  “Bear with me now, because I’m about to get really sappy on you, okay?” I nodded, encouraging him to continue. “From the very moment I met you, I knew, deep down inside I knew that I would have trouble letting you go, and I was right. We’ve tried being together, and we’ve tried being apart.” He moved closer to me, placing his hands on either side of me as my back pressed against the door of the car. I swallowed hard. “I think,” he kissed me once, “that we’re better,” and again, “together.” He crushed his mouth over mine, in an all-consuming kiss, effectively taking away my breath and my resolve. I wove my hands into his hair and moved my tongue in time with his, holding on tight and unwilling to let go. What he was asking me to do, it sounded crazy, yet I found myself seriously considering it.

  “I couldn’t agree more, so take me home then,” I breathed against him rapidly, ready to give in right there in the middle of the parking lot, no thought need
ed.

  “Will you at least consider it?” he asked, instinctively knowing I would need more time to process it fully.

  “I promise to give it my full consideration.”

  “I look forward to hearing your answer,” he winked.

  Sebastian~

  “I asked Brooke to move in with me,” I told Travis, as we stood in the bathroom of the restaurant where the rehearsal dinner was being held. We had spent most of the morning at Mom and Dad’s, surrounded by screeching women all getting ready for tonight’s gathering.

  “Wow, that’s a big step, and a big transition for her. What did she say?” Travis and Natalie had been a huge support for the two of us as we navigated through our long-distance relationship. Having a happily married couple to share our joys and frustrations with had played a large role in the survival of our new love. I had always looked to Travis as sort of a hero of mine, I mean, let’s face it, he was older, a great father, loved his wife fiercely, and somehow amidst the craziness of the whole rock and roll scene he had managed to stay sober and remain faithful, not an easy task when you are presented with the kinds of opportunities we are.

  “Let’s just say she’s giving it some serious consideration.” We made eye contact in the mirror as we both adjust our ties, not because they need adjusting, but because it’s an easy distraction. His stare penetrates me, and I let out a heavy sigh.

  “Look, I know it was probably a selfish thing to ask her, even saying it out loud makes me see that, but I can’t help it, I’m so in love with her I don’t think straight. I guess I thought that having her here would not only make me happy, but it would make her happy as well. Out here she would be surrounded by people that love her and encourage her, that’s something she should always have.” Travis turned and placed a hand on my shoulder, and I looked him in the eye. “I want to spend the rest of my life with her.” His grip on my shoulder tightened and his eyes reflected the warmth that I’ve always associated with Travis.

  “Have you told her that?”