by Rhonda James
“Oh my God, Dek? What are you doing here!” she threw her arms around him as he bent to kiss her.
“Um, guys, I think we need to take this inside, we’re starting to draw a crowd,” Travis stated, running a hand through his unruly hair. I looked over my shoulder and saw that several doors had opened, and a crowd had started to gather. We quickly moved through the door, and it wasn’t until we were all the way inside before Brooke slid slowly down my body, still keeping her arms around my waist.
“I’m so glad you’re here. I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow night,” she gushed.
“Well, when I told them I was driving out they all wanted to tag along,” I shrugged, allowing her to move away from me and hug everyone.
“We all wanted to be here for you sweetie,” Chris told her, giving her a brotherly hug and kiss on the cheek. When she moved to Dek, he gave her a chaste kiss on the forehead and told her that he wouldn’t have missed it for the world, but Brooke saw right through that and called him out on it, allowing everyone to see her playful side.
“No way Dekker, I see right through your motives, I know you only tagged along so that you could put the moves on my best friend.” She harassed him.
“Guilty,” he shrugged, pulling Jade in for a kiss that would make any girl’s knees weak, a fact I only know because Brooke later told me that’s what a kiss like that will do to a woman, a little tidbit I stored away for later.
“Of course we’re here to help, we’re badass rockers,” Chris quipped.
“Yeah,” Travis guffawed, “more like the not so bad boys of rock.” It took Brooke and Jade a good five minutes to stop laughing at that remark, and when she finally pulled it together there were black streaks running down her face where her mascara had run, now it was my turn to laugh.
“Ha, you look like a raccoon!” I spat out, pointing my finger in her face. She smacked it away and pulled her body flush against mine.
“You’ll pay for that later Miles,” she purred.
The moving truck pulled up bright and early at seven as I had requested. Brooke had marked all of her boxes according to rooms and the items stored, which didn’t surprise me considering how hard she worked to keep everything organized in her life. We carried down box after box, sometimes waiting by the door while Brooke decided which one to send next. We took a couple of breaks and still managed to pack everything into the truck or SUV in just under two hours. Before everyone headed back into the building, I offered to take everyone to breakfast, which they happily agreed to since they had just worked up one hell of an appetite making all of those trips up and down the steps.
Brooke directed me to a small restaurant located just off the busy section of town, a place well-known for their great service and over the top breakfast platters. After waiting in a long line to be seated, and doing our best to make ourselves look like typical college grad students, we were seated in a booth near the door. When the waitress came over she did a double take and then narrowed her eyes at me, opening her mouth to say something but deciding against it at the last minute.
“Are you ready to order?” she smiled, giving me a slight wink before writing down everyone’s choices. Once we had completed our meal, I made sure to leave a generous tip in the center of the table. We made our way to the door, and I heard a loud gasp followed by a shaky voice.
“That guy just left me a two hundred dollar tip on a forty-dollar check.” I smiled knowingly; the peaceful dining experience she had offered me by not calling attention to us had been worth far more than that.
Brooke~
Having all the guys here to help me load everything up had been beyond amazing, it would have taken Sebastian and I hours to accomplish what we had pulled off in just two, even with Jade’s help. Going out to breakfast together had felt so normal, despite Sebastian being on edge about getting spotted after waiting in such a long line. Our waitress did give them all a funny look as if she suspected they were famous, but she never let on further than her initial loss of speech when she first approached the table.
The plan had been to leave first thing in the morning to get a head start on getting back to California, but since there were so many capable drivers we decided to leave tonight, a decision that left Jade feeling very despondent, and uncharacteristically grumpy.
“I don’t see what the rush is, it’s not like you have anything pressing to get back home to,” she pouted.
“Aw baby, you’re going to miss me aren’t you?” Dek grabbed her from behind and pulled her into his lap.
“It’s not fair that you’re taking my best friend, and I’m going to be left behind here to watch television and knit.”
“Since when do you knit?” I laughed, placing my hand over hers. “I’ll miss you too, you know.”
“No, you won’t, you’ll be too busy playing house to miss me,” she gave a half smile.
“I don’t know why you’re getting all sappy, just come with us babe,” Dek offered, looking quite pleased with himself for suggesting such a thing.
“What do you mean?” Jade looked back over her shoulder at him.
“I mean why don’t you pack a bag and join us for a week and then I’ll fly you back home.”
“You want me to come with you?” she flushed, bringing her hands up to her face.
“That’s a great idea. Sweetie, you have to come with us; it will make the ride back much more bearable for me.” I clapped my hands together in excitement.
“Hey,” Sebastian argued, “I thought being with me would make the ride bearable.” He kissed my temple before resting his chin on my shoulder.
“Nah, there’ll be way too much testosterone in that car; I’m going to need all the extra help I can get,” I elbowed him gently in the ribs.
“Oomph!” he grunted and rubbed at his side. “Damn, those boney elbows are lethal.”
The drive back took a little longer than their whirlwind trip to get me. The guys grumbled every time Jade and I made a request to stop and use a restroom, Chris even suggested it would be quicker if we could just squat behind a tree. Needless to say, after a well placed boney elbow, he didn’t make that suggestion again. Instead of everyone taking turns sleeping in the car I convinced them to get a few hotel rooms so that we could get a good night’s rest before hitting the road again. I, for one, was exhausted, Sebastian must have been as well because when we made it to the room we climbed into bed and kissed goodnight before falling asleep in each other’s arms.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“I’m nervous,” Jade proclaimed, sitting on the edge of the guest bed. “Why am I so nervous to meet Sebastian’s parents? They’re not even Dek’s parents.” She sighed heavily and flopped back onto the firm mattress with a thump. “This mattress is really firm,” she jammed against it with her elbow.
“Yeah,” I sat down next to her, folding a leg underneath me. “I slept in here when I first met him.” I looked around at the warm surroundings. “When I first stayed here I had no idea that one day I would be back here, and it would be my house. Life has a funny way of playing out doesn’t it,” I declared, not so much as a question but more of an observation.
Jade placed her hand on my arm and rubbed up and down, knowing all too well the places where my head had been known to drift off. “I don’t know Brooke, life may have thrown you a pretty nasty curve ball but I think you’ve still managed to knock it out of the park. You have a man out there that looks at you with the kind of love that most people only dream about. You’re not second guessing your decision to move out here are you?”
“Oh no, not at all, but now that I’m out here everything just seems so final, you know, like I find myself wondering what just happened. I don’t know,” I dropped down next to her, twisting sideways to face her. “I’ve just never lived with a guy before; it’s going to be different.”
“Well, it won’t be anything like living with me; I’ll tell you that. Look at this place,” she swept a hand over the room, “it’s practic
ally spotless, everything is a little too perfect for my taste. But, I suppose you’ll fit right in, you always were a bit of a neat freak,” she teased.
“Yeah, that’s one of the reasons I couldn’t wait to leave, you’re a slob and I got tired of cleaning up after you,” I jabbed her in the side, and soon we were in an all out pillow fight, screaming hysterically. Dek and Sebastian appeared in the doorway, staring at us as if we had just sprouted two heads.
“Dude, it’s a catfight!” Dek howled, grinning ear to ear.
“My money’s on Brooke,” Sebastian replied quickly.
“Why’s that, you think my girl can’t handle her own?”
“I didn’t say that, but I know my kitten, she’s a real tiger in the bedroom,” he smirked. Dek and Jade both turned to stare at me, neither one believing what they had just heard. I turned seven shades of red, wondering how I could convince them that they had misunderstood him and hung my head in my hands, laughing. Jade took that opportunity to pummel me with her pillow, catching me off guard and knocking me back onto the bed.
“One, two, three,” Dek pounded the mattress, “my girl takes the title!” He yells out, holding Jade’s arm over her head.
Sebastian leaned over and offered a hand to help me up but, instead of letting him pull me up, I yanked hard on his arm and pulled him down next to me. I raised up on one elbow and placed a kiss on the tip of his nose.
“I appreciate the vote of confidence babe, but next time keep quiet,” I kissed him again, “you cost me that win. I think you and I ought to go a round or two with the pillows.”
He raised a hand and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “You’re on, but it’s going to have to wait until later.”
“And why is that, are you chicken?” I nipped at his bottom lip, rolling the tender flesh loosely between my teeth.
“No, my Mom’s expecting us.” He pulled me down, resting his mouth against my ear, whispering softly. “Besides, the only pillow fighting I intend to do is going to take place in our bedroom, and it doesn’t involve an audience.” My mouth fell open, and he pecked it once more, giving me a jaunty wink, and hopping off the bed, barely managing to dodge my foot as it kicked out after him.
Sebastian~
It’s taken no time at all for Brooke to settle into a routine at the house. The first week seemed to fly by, what with all of her unpacking and Jade keeping us company. Dek practically lived with us while Jade was in town. Hell, I couldn’t blame him, I remembered all too well how I had felt after spending that first week with Brooke. My entire focus had been getting the most out of the time that we still had together. Dek took her out every day, sparing no expense, but her favorite thing to do had always been to lay with him on the beach, just like Brooke and I had found ourselves doing not six months ago.
The day Jade left for the airport was pretty emotional, for Brooke and Dek. We rode with them to the airport, and it had taken every ounce of strength I had to force Dek back into the car and leave. He moped the entire ride back to the house, mumbling something about his heart no longer belonging to him, and once we pulled into the drive he hopped out and immediately got into his car and peeled out, leaving Brooke and me to shake our heads.
“I remember that hurt all too well. Poor guy,” I sighed heavily, wishing like hell that I could convince him it would get easier, but knowing that I couldn’t. Hell, it hadn’t gotten any easier for me until the day I arrived at her door to load up her stuff and bring her home with me.
“Oh baby, I’m sorry it was hard for you, it was hard for me too, but we survived.” She laced her hands with mine and gave me a wet kiss, trying her best to draw me back into the here and now.
“Barely,” I shuddered, recalling that empty feeling I had pulling away from the airport, knowing that in a few hours she would be more than a thousand miles away. She kissed me again, and I smiled, grateful that we had survived those long months of a long distance relationship.
“You’ll have to keep encouraging him. She’s crazy about him, I hope he knows that.”
“It’s not always easy, being apart from someone that you love.”
“I know,” she placed her cheek against my chest and wrapped her delicate arms around my middle. “But, she saw how we were able to make it work so there is reason for her to have hope.”
“You’re just about the best thing I could have every hoped for, you know that?” I ran my knuckles along her cheek before I lifting her chin so that her eyes met mine. “I love you so much Brooke Caldwell. Thank you for turning your life upside down for me.”
“Didn’t I ever tell you,” she grinned wickedly, “I spent most of my formative years hanging upside down on the monkey bars. I’ve got this,” she winked, and the only response I could muster was to laugh. I could tell right away that we were going to have a lot of fun together, now that the stress of having to part again was out of the way.
“Seriously though,” she pressed her palm to my chest, “we need to make sure to invite him over often. I don’t like the thought of him being alone.
“Do you think Jade will be okay? Not only did she walk away from him today, but she lost you too. That can’t have been easy for her.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t, but Jade is tough. Hell, she and I are both tough, a lot tougher than you sappy rock stars.” She poked me in the stomach and, after tolerating it the first few times, I jerked back out of her reach and bent down to scoop her up.
“Put me down,” she gasped as I ran out the back door towards the water. “No way Sebastian, do not throw me into that water!” she screamed, just as I sank both of us beneath the surface. When we both came up for air, and with her still in my arms, I pushed the wet tangles off her face and smiled innocently.
“What was that you were saying about sappy rock stars?” Her response cut short as my mouth covered hers, and together we became a tongue-tangled, dripping wet mess. Which, in my honest opinion, was the best kind of mess there was.
Later that night we were hanging out in the man cave, watching a movie, and just chilling. Brooke had made spaghetti Carbonara, making sure to throw in a little extra bacon since we both have a deep affection for it and homemade vanilla ice cream for dessert. I joked and told her that if she kept cooking that way for me I would gain twenty pounds and wouldn’t be able to perform on stage. In her quick wit, she responded by telling me to intensify my jogging routine, meaning that I should get used to it. I guess that could be considered both a positive and negative to living with a chef. The movie plot had begun to get intriguing, and she had just settled comfortably in the crook of my arm, when her phone rang.
“I have to take this, it’s Max,” looking up from the screen. She patted me on the hand and stood up to head away from the noise of the action packed movie. “Hey Max, it’s good to hear your voice too.” Her voice trailed off as she made her way down the hall and out of earshot. She came back thirty minutes later and stood before me, wringing her hands together, with a strange look on her face.
“Babe, what’s up?” I tilted my head, acutely aware that her mood had shifted.
“He wants me to go to London with him this week.” Her voice was shaky, and very un-Brooke like. Normally, she was rock solid and completely confident, and I loved that about her. But this, this Brooke reminded me of the way she was when we first met, a touch wary and very much in need of encouragement.
“That sounds exciting,” I smiled, trying my best to remain positive. “London is beautiful, have you ever been?” She shook her head. “Did he say why he wanted you to join him?” Brook had only been working with him for two weeks, but in that time she had proven herself worthy of his trust. Not only had she been able to come in and garner the trust of her staff, but she had also suggested a few changes that had been implemented and received positive results. At one time, Max Wolf had been a commanding presence in the kitchen of his Los Angeles establishment. As with most accomplished chefs who decide to branch out and open more locations, he became less and le
ss of a permanent fixture in L.A. and was required to spend a lot more time traveling between sites. There were currently five locations where Lardon’s had expanded to Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, Atlanta, and London. The location in London had only been open for four months, but the launch had been rocky, and the concept hadn’t been received as well as Max had hoped. These challenges had required Max to spend a great deal of time over there, which was why it had taken him so long to offer Brooke the position.
“I’ll only be gone a week,” she said encouragingly, more for her own benefit. “When do you leave?”
“The tour kicks off in three weeks but we leave a few days before that,” I opened up the calendar app on my phone and checked my schedule. “We fly out on the nineteenth.”
“And your birthday party is on the fifteenth,” she reminded me.
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that,” I said, jokingly.
“Sebastian Miles!” she punched me playfully in the arm, “I’ve been planning this for two weeks. Everyone’s going to be there.”
“Easy there Brooklyn,” I grunted, dodging her tiny fist, “I promise I’ll be there too. Now, come over here, I think you could use one of my special hugs.” I lifted her up, drawing her closer to me. A sigh escaped her lips as my arms encircled her, pulling us closer together, chest to chest, where our hearts beat together as one. “Everything’s going to be fine baby.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Brooke left three days ago, and I couldn’t have been more thankful for the distraction of prepping for the tour. We spent four days straight in the studio, going over changes and fine tuning some of the vocals. Our latest album was set launch in three days, with a party scheduled that same night. Unfortunately, Brooke will miss it. Things have been going well for her in London, she loved the area and said she would love to see the restaurant succeed. Listening to her go on and on about London made me a bit nervous, and I couldn’t help but ask myself if she were coming back home to me. Thankfully, her answer had been a resounding yes, but she still loved the city. I promised to take her there when our tour was over, even though I would be sick to death of traveling and staying in strange places. If it made her happy, I would suck it up and do it, just for her.