Breathe

by Jessica Phoenix

  “And I’m definitely not going to after this. Leave. Now.” Her voice is low, but her anger is apparent.

  “Hey. For real man. She clearly doesn’t want to talk to you. She’s working right now. Why don’t you just go?” the guy says losing the humor he previously had in his voice.

  “She’s not your business, so just back off,” I say squaring off with him.

  “Actually, she’s very much so my business,” he retorts stepping up to me — chest to chest.

  At that, my last resolve snaps and I tackle dude to the floor. We both land a few punches before security is pulling us apart and escorting me out.

  I hear the asshole ask from behind me, “Where’d you find this clown Gia?”

  “He’s really not a bad guy. He just misses her,” I hear Quinn lightly defend.

  I chance a glance over my shoulder. When I do, I lock eyes with Gia just before she storms off to the back.

  If it wasn’t clear before, it is now. I totally blew it.

  The brawny security guard shoves me outside into the parking lot. I stumble a bit catching myself before I hit the concrete.

  I move to lower the tailgate on the back of my truck to sit. They can kick me out of the club, but I plan to sit right here in this parking lot until Gia comes out. I have to convince her to come back to me.

  I don’t have to wait long.

  I hear the metal back door creak open and lift my eyes just enough to see her advancing on me. I sit up straight when my brain realizes that she’s not a mirage. She stops just in front of me, before throwing a bag of ice at my head.

  “Here,” she says as I catch the bag. “Keith clocked you pretty good. You might want to ice that shit.”

  As if on cue, I feel the pain from the punch to my left eye. I hadn’t realized it until she mentioned it. I wince when I touch my eye with the bag, immediately removing it from my face.

  Gia rolls her eyes before snatching the bag out of my hand and climbing up to sit next to me on the tailgate. She gingerly places the ice pack to my swelling eye.

  “Your new boyfriend okay with you being out here with me playing doctor?” I ask sardonically. I don’t really give a damn if he’s okay or not since she belongs to me.

  “Keith could not care less that I’m out here. Believe me,” she chuckles.

  “He’d care if he knew all the ways we’ve fucked from here to Sunday. So he must not know we dated,” I roll out before I can stop myself. Apparently, that pisses her off because she shoves the ice pack hard against my sore eye. “Ow! Damn it Gia!”

  “Watch your fucking mouth then! Since when do you disrespect me like that?”

  “Sorry. I’m sorry. It’s the jealousy talking. I wasn’t trying to disrespect you. I’d never do that.”

  “No. You’d just lie to me,” she shoots back.

  “Gia I-”

  “Stop. I don’t want to talk about that. What the hell was that back there?”

  “You know what that was. You seriously just moved on without talking to me?” I asked pissed off all over again at the thought of Keith touching her.

  “I said all I had to say to you. It’s not my fault you won’t take the hint,” she fires back.

  “You can’t have a new boyfriend already. Not when I know you’re still in love with me,” I say barely above a whisper. Trying my damnedest to hold it together. Hoping that I’m right about her still loving me because I still love her so damn much.

  She just stares at me for a minute. A minute that feels like an eternity. She licks her gorgeous lips drawing my attention to them before speaking again. “Well for your information, not that it’s any of your business…Keith is not my boyfriend. He’s my cousin,” she smirks.

  “Huh? Wait…I thought-”

  “Yeah, I know what you thought. Serves you right. If you’d have just listened for two seconds instead of jumping to conclusions, we were both trying to tell you.”

  My head falls back. My embarrassment is evident. I finally shake my head at myself. “I’m so sorry. Your job?”

  “Is fine. It’d take a lot more than you acting like a jackass in public for Jake to fire me. Speaking of, I better get back in to finish the last set I’ve now missed most of. That, he might fire me for.”

  She hops off the tailgate to go back inside. I catch her gently by the wrist before she can walk off and ask, “Can we talk some time? Soon? Please baby.” I’m not above begging at this point.

  She lets out a breath before warily responding, “Call me tomorrow. We’ll talk.”

  Before I can stop myself, I pull her body into mine and my lips are on hers in an instant. She tenses at first, but her lips begin to soften for a second. She gently pushes me away before she can lose herself in our kiss that’s already left her a bit breathless.

  I fight the urge to pull her back to me, hike up that sexy little dress she’s wearing and take her right here on the bed of my truck.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow then,” I say with unmistakable cockiness now that I’ve rattled her. She fights a smile as she gives me her back and darts back inside.

  I can’t contain my smile. I’m more than certain now that if I can get her alone again, she’s done for. She’ll be right back where she’s supposed to be; with me.

  Chapter 23

  Gia

  Shit!

  As soon as I felt Nate’s lips on mine I was a goner. All the anger and resentment instantly melted away. It wasn’t a very long or deep kiss, but it was enough to bring me to my senses. I still love and want to be with him.

  Hearing the way Quinn said he missed me made my heart ache. It’s evident they’d been keeping in touch. Strangely enough, it didn’t bother me though. I’m sure Nathan hounded her for info about me, and she’s been rooting for us from day one.

  Before last night, I was sure that I never wanted to speak to him again, but seeing him face to face, obliterated my all resolve.

  I spent the night tossing and turning, aching to be with him. I picked up the phone over a dozen times to invite him over before ultimately deciding against it. We needed to talk about things before I could entertain the idea of us being…us again. I miss him so much, but I need to be certain he won’t betray me ever again.

  Keith was a good enough sport and wasn’t too bent out of shape about everything. We were able to move on with our evening without falter for the remainder of the night thankfully.

  Nathan called me this morning at the ass crack of dawn asking what time I wanted to meet up with him. How a talk turned into a meeting is beyond me. I mean seriously? We could have talked over the phone.

  Who the hell, am I kidding? I want to see him.

  Now here, I am standing in front of his apartment door, steeling my nerves before I knock.

  We need to talk. Do not stare at his sexy chin dimple and do not fall for the grin until you sort things out.

  Eventually finding the courage to face him, I knock three times and wait for an answer, which is almost immediate.

  When he answers the door, Nathan is standing in front of me…shirtless. Abs on display begging for me to run my tongue over every single one of them.

  My eyes make the journey north, and I note that his hair is still wet from his recent shower…and now so am I.

  Damn he’s good.

  He’s not playing fair. He knows exactly what he’s doing standing there in a pair of low hanging joggers. Did I mention the abs?

  Determined to keep my hands off him, I peel my eyes off his midsection looking back up to catch the smug bastard with a knowing smirk on his stupid face.

  Rolling my eyes I ask, “Are you going to let me in?”

  He doesn’t say anything. His smile grows, and he steps aside, motioning for me to enter. I walk past him into his apartment, and when I turn around, he’s opening his mouth to speak.

  Before he can, I drop my bag to the floor, reaching up to pull his head down to mine crashing my lips into
his.

  I can’t help it. I love and miss this man. On top of that, I’m horny as hell. This month away from him has been torture. He’s created a monster in the form of my libido.

  He responds to my aggressive attack with just as much desperation, pulling my body flush against his. His hands move to tangle in my hair, kissing me so hard it’s almost bruising. He lifts me, holding me up by my ass while my legs lock around his waist. Neither of us comes up for air. Kissing, biting, and tugging at one another.

  I don’t even realize we’re in his bedroom until I feel the soft mattress beneath me. Nathan pulls back to undress my lower half. I sit up to remove my shirt while he frees himself of those sexy joggers that make me drool. His cock springs free and my mouth waters.

  Before I get the chance to reach out and touch it like I want, he’s on top of me settling between my legs. I’m bare underneath him except for my bra, but it doesn’t stay on for long.

  “Off,” he simply says, not waiting for me to remove it. He pulls it down the middle, ripping the thin material in the center, making my breasts pop out exposing my bare chest to him. I don’t bother trying to remove the remnants, and he doesn’t hesitate to suck one of my taut nipples into his mouth, alternating between them. My back arches the second his tongue meets my sensitive flesh. I’m already drenched and pulsing. I can’t wait anymore.

  As if reading my mind, he lines himself up with me and surges inside me, pulling a gasp from my throat followed by strained moans. My nails dig into his shoulders, and my legs tighten around him as he delivers thrust after punishing thrust.

  My first orgasm hits me like a tidal wave, sweeping over me, sending shivers throughout my entire being. He keeps working my body, drawing out my euphoric climax. I throw my head back, reveling in the ecstasy, as my body is weakened from the much needed release.

  Nathan doesn’t stop though. He’s not done, and neither am I. I swiftly catch my second wind as he flips us so that I’m on top and I take my turn to make his toes curl.

  Ah hell. We can talk tomorrow.

  After Nathan and I have both been thoroughly sated, which was an almost impossible feat, we lie in bed holding each other, our limbs entangled. Each of us refusing to let the other go.

  “I missed you so much,” he tells me.

  “I missed you too,” I confess.

  “You have to know I never meant to hurt you. I just didn’t know how to approach the subject. I didn’t want to lose you. But I swear, I would never have told him where you were unless you wanted me to,” Nate rushes out. Giving me the explanation I never let him.

  “I don’t like being lied to. Opening up the way I did to you is not something I do often. It’s hard for me to do. I don’t like being vulnerable,” I tell him, pausing briefly. “When I found out you knew my brother, if that’s what you want to call him, I thought you were just like everybody else that had ever crushed me.”

  “I know. Again I’m so sorry, and I’ll never hold out on you again. I screwed up by keeping it from you. I should never have done that. The decision of what to do about Kyle should have been yours from the beginning, and I know that. At least now I do. I won’t hurt you again,” he says sincerely.

  “I know you won’t and now that I’ve had time to think I also know you wouldn’t deliberately hurt me. It was just jarring seeing Kyle. I love you and want to be with you, but I don’t want anything to do with him. Ever. You two have been friends for a long time. So if that’s going to be a problem for you, maybe we should just not do this anymore,” I tell him putting all my cards on the table now. I don’t want him later trying to push for a reconciliation between his girl and his friend. There won’t be one.

  He props up on his elbow looking down at me. “Gia. I didn’t know the Kyle you knew back then. I would never have thought he was capable of such cruelty. I honestly believe he’s changed from then, and the guy I know is a good man.

  “Even still, I hate what he and the rest of that family put you through. I can’t just forget about that. I certainly can’t let you go. I love you more than anything. Nothing or no one is more important to me. My loyalty will always lie with you.”

  “I love you too Nate,” I say pulling his face to mine to reward him with a kiss for his sweet words. And for picking me. No one ever has before.

  Our kiss quickly becomes heated, and we make love again. This time, it’s not as frenzied like earlier tonight. This time, it’s gentle, yet just as passionate.

  I’m not sure how I made it this long without him. Now that I have him back, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to give him up.

  Chapter 24

  Gia

  “So what are you doing next Saturday afternoon at one o’clock?” I ask Nathan as we dry off from our joint shower.

  We stayed in until the water ran cold. Now, we’re grudgingly getting dressed because I have to work tonight.

  “Free as a bird. Why?” he answers.

  “Well, I thought you’d like to see me get my diploma. I graduate next week,” I tell him proudly.

  He smiles, wrapping his arms around me. He tilts my chin up to plant a luscious kiss on my lips.

  “Of course, I’ll be there. I wouldn’t miss it. I’m super proud of you babe. I know you’re going to do amazing things.”

  I give him a chaste kiss to his lips to let him know I appreciate his kind words before I start to dress.

  “So any thought to what you want to do now?” he asks, repeating the same question he’s asked countless times before our little hiatus.

  “What, you don’t already know?” I tease.

  A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “What do you mean?” he asks feigning innocence.

  “Oh please, don’t try to act like Quinn hasn’t been feeding you info the whole time we’ve been on our break.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he says turning his back to me, surely hiding his cocky grin.

  I move in front of him and find my suspicions true. I raise my eyebrows waiting for him to cave. It doesn’t take long.

  “Okay. Okay. You may be right,” He chuckles.

  “Uh huh.”

  “So. Songwriter huh?” he smiles.

  “Producer/songwriter,” I playfully correct.

  “That’s awesome baby. You’re so talented, which reminds me. How could you not tell me you have this amazing gift? You’re incredible. How long have you played?”

  “I started playing about four years ago.”

  “That’s it? That’s amazing. You’re amazing,” he tells me pulling me to him. “How’d you get so good?”

  “Well, thank you,” I say toying with a button on his shirt. “And Sam Harris is the reason I’m “so good”,” I tell him.

  “Sam Harris?”

  “Yes him and Darryl Jones. You’ll actually get to meet Darryl this Saturday. He’s coming to graduation.”

  I give him the same rundown about my two mentors as I gave Quinn the other day.

  “He sounds like he was a great guy,” Nathan says stroking my hair.

  “He was the best. He was the closest thing to a father figure I’d ever known.”

  “Until now,” he points out.

  “Until now,” I echo.

  “Can I ask how things are going with him? You two seem to be adjusting rather well from what I saw last night.”

  “It’s actually going really well,” I say before I fall into a fit of laughter.

  “What?” he asks, looking at me with bemusement.

  “You, I can’t believe you thought I was dating my cousin,” laugh.

  “To be fair, I didn’t know he was your cousin.” His face is turning redder by the second.

  “Did you not see his eyes? They’re almost identical to mine. Or his moms rather. Wait until you see her pictures. It’s eerie how much I look like her. I’m like her light-skinned doppelgänger. It’s crazy,” I chuckle.

  When I look over at Nat
e, he’s gazing at me with a small smile on his gorgeous face.

  “What?” I ask curiously.

  “I’m just really happy for you.”

  I smile. “Yeah, I’m happy for me too.”

  I’m the last one to leave the club Friday night. I wanted to put music to this song I’ve been writing, and since I have a key, Jake told me I could just stay and lock up when I was done.