Beats of Life (Perception Book 5)

by Shandi Boyes

  “You have the boots for it,” I continued, causing him to chuckle loudly that it vibrated right through me.

  Slater and I continued to talk for the next thirty minutes. To say he had a sense of humour would have been a major understatement. He kept me laughing the entire time that I ended up having small tears well up in my eyes. When the bar started to quieten down, he looked down to a black leather watch on his wrist and his eyebrows pulled together tightly.

  “It’s not even nine,” he informed, like I was unaware of the time. Things in my home town were obviously a little different than what he was used to. There we rose early, normally before the sun was even up, so a lot of the town folk were normally in bed by then. If you own a ranch there is no Monday to Friday routine. The livestock and horses don’t care if it is Sunday or not, they want to be fed every day. When I explained that to Slater, he nodded his head, before he smiled a huge cheeky grin.

  “So you’re about to go and tuck yourself into bed?” he questioned cheekily, his eyes roamed over my body seductively, causing that tingling sensation to return again.

  “I said most town folks are normally in bed by now, I didn’t say I was like most town folks,” I replied, causing him to chuckle. I was only home for spring break. I was currently in my second year of college and I chose to attend one as far away from my home town as possible. Not because I didn’t love my family, it was because I wanted to experience life. My whole life I was raised on the ranch. I went to the same school with the same friends and we had the same routine every day for the first eighteen years of my life. To me that wasn’t living, it was like a hamster in a wheel, boring and predictable. I wanted to experience life to its fullest, to have an adventure and to live the best life I could. Maybe that was why someone like Slater was so attractive to me, he seemed full of fun and adventure. He appeared to be riding the crazy rollercoaster of life with his arms held high into the air, not even appearing to be the slightest bit scared.

  “Will you take me for a ride on your bike?” I questioned eagerly, before I had a chance of chickening out. I had never been on the back of a motorbike and I would have loved to tick it off my bucket list of things I wanted to achieve in my life. He smiled while nodding his head.

  “Now?” I requested, grabbing his hand in an attempt to drag him towards the entrance of the bar. He quickly downed the remainder of his beer before he followed me out of the bar.

  Once we were standing in front of his bike, the nervous butterflies were fluttering full force in my stomach. He grabbed a small black helmet out of a saddle bag and placed it on top of my head, ensuring that he tied the straps on the tight under my chin. He threw his leg over the bike and kicked up the stand before helping me onto the back. When he kicked over the bike, the rumbling of the engine vibrated right through me and I let out an excited squeal. My eyes darted down, trying to find where I was supposed to hold onto before Slater grabbed my hands and placed them around his waist.

  “Hold on,” he said, before we bolted out of the carpark. I squealed and giggled while looking back at the dust cloud we had left behind to find Dominic rushing out of the bar. His furious and confused eyes spotted us just as we entered the main highway. I gave him a quick wave, before reattaching my tight death grip around Slater’s hard and rigged stomach.

  “There he is,” Melanie squeals excitedly, interrupting me from my thoughts. She had just spotted Marcus heading onto the dance floor with Emily and Noah following closely behind.

  “If you introduce me, I’ll love you forever,” she begs, her blue eyes pleading into mine.

  “I’ll try, but he may not remember me,” I reply, causing her to squeal in excitement.

  I grab her hand in mine and quickly make my way towards Emily, Noah and Marcus. It isn’t an easy feat with all the people vying for their attention. Luckily for me, Melanie is aggressive and has no problems barging and elbowing people out of our way. Once we finally make it to the middle of the dance floor, I tap Emily softly on the shoulder. Always being polite, she slowly turns her head back to face me as she says “Hello.” It is only once her eyes finally lift to my face does she realize who she is greeting. She squeals loudly before throwing her arms around my neck, engulfing me with her vanilla scent. Noah instantly becomes alerted by her squeals that he stops dead in his tracks and spins around that fast, I become concerned for my safety. When he realizes why Emily is squealing, he smiles his famous panty dropping grin that makes all the girls surrounding him sigh in sync.

  “What are you doing in Seattle?” Emily questions, her light brown eyes leisurely roaming over my face.

  “Only attending the concert of the world’s greatest band,” Melanie answers dramatically, making Emily smile proudly.

  I introduce Emily and Noah to Melanie and I’m surprised when she maintains a cool calm composure, until Marcus stands next to Noah. Her eyes bulge out of her head and her grip on my hand tightens that much her nails dig into my palm.

  “Hi Kylie,” Marcus greets kindly, leaning in and placing a kiss on my cheek, causing Melanie to sigh loudly.

  “Marcus, this is my friend Melanie,” I introduce. Marcus politely greets Melanie and offers her his hand to shake. She stands still, staring at him, unable to move or speak, causing Emily to giggle softly. I pry her death grip off my hand and place her hand in Marcus’s to shake. The instant his hand wraps around hers, she snaps back into reality.

  “Sorry, I was just imaging what our children will look like,” she informs without any hesitation. Noah laughs loudly, but Marcus looks genuinely concerned about her statement.

  “Nice seeing you again Kylie,” Marcus informs politely, before making his way back towards the stairs.

  After Noah’s laughter eventually dies down he turns to face Melanie. “I think you scared him away,” he informs slightly chuckling.

  “He’ll get use to the idea……. Eventually,” Melanie informs, watching Marcus walk up the stairwell. Once he reaches the top, he turns back to look down at us and Melanie gives him an over eager wave. He hesitantly waves back before he moves away from the edge of the balcony, probably to ensure he is no longer in Melanie’s visual.

  “Beautiful caramel babies,” Melanie sighs softly, causing both me and Emily to giggle softly.

  Chapter 5

  Slater

  By the time I make it back out into the VIP section, all of the band members are back sitting in the red leather booths and I’m thoroughly satisfied. I never had any problems hooking up with women before I was famous, but now the women are endless. It is at times a little too easy. I could just snap my fingers and I would have several companions instantly vying for my attention.

  As I make my way back to the booths, I ensure my zipper on my jeans is up. When my gaze lifts, the first set of eyes I notice belong to Kylie. Her hazel eyes are lowered down looking at the crutch of my jeans before they flick over to the waitress that has just followed me out the bathroom. The waitress’s lipstick is no longer existent and her hair is ruffled from the tight grip I had on her hair to ensure she gave head the way I liked it. I could have fucked her in the bathroom, but neither of us had any protection, and I’m sure as hell not going down the parenthood path like Noah and Nick. I don’t care if the chick assures me she is on the pill, I will not have sex without a condom.

  When Kylie’s eyes eventually return to mine, I see a small gathering of tears forming in them, making me hesitate in joining my bandmates. I’ve always been a sucker for tears, but this is the first time I have seen them form in Kylie’s eyes in years.

  No stuff that, that is my band, they are my friends and I’m not the one that did anything wrong. She is the one intruding on my turf now and if anyone should be made to feel uncomfortable it should be her. I make a beeline for Marcus while signalling to the waitress to bring me another whiskey.

  “Who invited her?” I question the instant I plop down next to Marcus. His confused eyes turn to look at me before he responds, “Who?” like he doesn’t ha
ve a clue who I’m talking about. I motion my head towards Kylie and her blonde friend.

  “All I know is that Emily invited them into the VIP section,” he informs, his green eyes flicking between mine. “I’m the blonde’s baby daddy,” he informs seriously. Now I’m the one appearing confused. It is only when Marcus smiles while waggling his eyebrows do I realize that he is joking.

  When I turn my gaze to the blonde, she appears deep in conversation with Emily and Kylie, but her eyes constantly dart back to look at Marcus.

  “Are you at least going to tap that?” I ask, accepting the glass of whiskey from the waitress, noticing that her lipstick has been replaced and her hair has been brushed.

  Marcus doesn’t answer my question, but he has a small smirk on his face like he is considering the idea. I wink at the waitress to thank her for the beverage, triggering her to lick her swollen lips. When I return my gaze to Kylie, I notice that her eyes are no longer filled with tears, but they are narrowed angrily. I give her the same wink I had just given the waitress and she angrily rolls her eyes before standing from the red leather booth to make her way to the bar with her blonde friend closely behind.

  I can’t help but run my eyes over her tight body. Kylie’s hair is a lot shorter than it was when we were dating. Her normal wavy mousy brown hair has been replaced with a rich chocolate coloring and sits a few inches past her chin. Her face is heavily coated in make-up, hiding all of her freckles. She is wearing a tight black strapless dress that seems a little out of the ordinary for her. But when I look down at her feet, I realize that the normal Kylie is still hiding under there somewhere because she is wearing cropped black cowboy boots.

  Her and her friend seem to be having a heated discussion and the blonde’s eyes and hands keeps motioning towards me. Kylie crosses her arms, pushing her breasts up higher in her dress, and I’m not the only one that notices, the bartender’s eyes zoom straight onto her cleavage. When he notices that I’m shotting daggers at him, he quickly scurries away to take orders from other patrons.

  I can’t hear what Kylie is saying, but her friend huffs loudly before storming down the wooden stairs. Kylie takes in several deep breaths before she slowly makes her way back to Emily and Jenni. She says a few words to them before moving over to me and Marcus.

  “It was nice seeing you both again,” she informs quietly. The twang of her voice less noticeable compared to when I first met her.

  Marcus stands from the booth and gives her a friendly hug. I stay sitting in the booth, my gaze seeking anything but hers. Marcus’s eyes dart down to me and he slightly nods his head to Kylie, trying to convince me to say goodbye. I shake my head softly and turn my gaze back down to the dance floor below. Even though Kylie brushes it away quickly, I couldn’t miss the tear that slide down her face. Feeling bad because I’ve made her cry, my eyes slowly lift to look into her sad and tormented eyes. She offers me a small smile before she spins on her heels and makes her way swiftly down the stairs.

  Jenni must have noticed Kylie’s tears as the instant she left as she looks over at me and her face is marred with confusion. Nick defuses her angry glare by running the back of his hand down her cheek. I plan on spending the rest of the night enjoying the company of my friends and the unlimited alcohol while trying my hardest to forget about a girl I hope to never see again. It would have been a lot easier if Jenni didn’t come and sit next to me.

  “What happened between you and Kylie?” she questions without any hesitation, forcing me to flop back harshly in the booth with a mighty long groan. I quickly signal to the waiter that I need another whiskey, triggering Jenni to giggle softly before she leans her head down against my shoulder.

  “I really liked her,” she informs softly, her breath tickling my unshaven jawline.

  “You weren’t the only one,” I reply quietly. I loved Kylie, she was the first girlfriend I had since Nikki, but I was left completely guttered after her. She was all the convincing I needed that relationships aren’t for me and I never intend on being in one ever again.

  “She told me how you wouldn’t get up and boot scoot with her,” Jenni informs giggling softly. “I’ve seen you dance, you could have totally worked it,” she continues, making me chuckle softly.

  I was mortified when Kylie motioned for me to join her on the dance floor that day. They were not dancing, they were line dancing, like full on cowboy shit. I was getting enough odd looks as it was sitting at the bar, imagine how out of place I would have looked in the middle of the dance floor?

  “That’s not the type of tapping boots I like doing,” I reply making Jenni giggle softly. I don’t even need to look at her to know that her cheeks will be turning pink.

  When Jenni yawns, my eyes flick down to my watch and I’m surprised to see it is nearly one am. I nudge her with my shoulder, causing her light blue eyes to look up into mine. Yep, she has the exact same eyes my little sister had. Just staring at them makes me think I’m looking into Serena’s eyes.

  Serena and I were only eleven months apart. When mom would take us into town, people would often mistake us for twins. We didn’t have the sibling rivalry that everyone else seems to experience. She was my very best friend in the world and I miss her every single day. When Jenni notices the sullen look on my face, she leans her head back down onto my shoulder. She knows all about Serena, I had told her about her after she came and spoke to me about her relationship with Nick. People use to think my relationship with Jenni was odd, even Kylie herself at one stage became jealous. But they soon realize that I treat Jenni as if she is my sister, nothing more. I know she isn’t Serena, but I can’t help but treat her like she is.

  “Why were you running to the bathroom before?” I question concerned. She looks okay now, but she didn’t look that crash hot before. This time when her eyes flick up, her cheeks are bright pink in color. Her eyes dart over to look at Nick, he smirks and winks at her before nodding his head.

  “I think I’m pregnant,” she informs, biting down on her bottom lip.

  “Again,” I reply mortified, triggering her to nod her head excitedly. “Didn’t you learn after the first one?” I continue, forcing her bottom lip to drop and her eyes to narrow.

  “I’m just joking, congratulations,” I offer sincerely. I was only joking. Jasper is adorable and one of the best little kids you could ever met, solely because he has his mother’s personality, thank fuck.

  Nick must have shared the news with Emily and Noah at the same time Jenni was telling me, because Emily squealed loudly before she rushed towards Jenni and engulfed her in a huge hug that caused them both to crash into the booth, spilling my glass of whiskey all over my jeans.

  Great, now tomorrow headlines are going to scream ‘Rise Up drummer Slater Scott pisses his pants’ or something along those lines.

  Chapter 6

  Kylie

  When Melanie and I follow Emily to the VIP section of the nightclub, I am fully expecting to cop the wrath of an angry Slater, so I am surprised when he is nowhere in sight. Our small group is soon joined by Jenni, Nick and Marcus and the conversation flows freely. It reminds me so much of the night we all spent together at the cabin, although Jenni and Nick seem to get on a lot more now than they did back then. Emily’s interest became peaked when I mentioned that I had just finished my studies in media relations and was currently looking for an internship. Her eager and excited eyes darted to Noah and they talked for several minutes in hushed whispers while I continued talking to Jenni and Nick. Melanie’s focus remained solely on silently stalking Marcus.

  “Do you have the ability to travel?” Emily questions, interrupting Jenni from telling me the story of when Jasper took his first steps.

  “She sure does, our lease expired last month,” Melanie answers for me. Our lease didn’t really expire; we just can’t afford to pay our rent anymore. So Melanie is moving back to San Jose with her parents and I’m going back to my family ranch with my tail firmly planted between my legs.

  “
I could really use an assistant on this tour,” Emily informs hesitantly, her light brown eyes flicking between Melanie and I. Melanie grabs my hand and squeezes it tight as my pulse quickens. “I know it isn’t anything glamourous, but until you find something else it could help us both out,” Emily offers kindly with a small smile on her face.

  My confused and excited eyes flick between Emily and Noah. The last I heard Emily was a student at college like I was, so why would she require an assistant? When I eventually work up the courage to say that to Emily, Noah chuckles softly and Emily smiles politely.