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Also by A.M. Williams
Standalones
Graceful Matchmaking
Short Stop to Love
Southern Sands Series
Jax
Harry (coming December 2018)
Keep reading for a sneak peek into the next book in the series, Harry…
Prologue
Bailey
Seven Years Ago
Bailey sighed and rubbed her hand over her face as she worked to finish the paper that was due to her professor by midnight. She thought her basic studies were difficult to deal with, but her major classes were worse. The bright spot was that she was now in mostly physical education classes, even if she did have to memorize a lot of things she wasn’t sure she’d use as a P.E. teacher.
Her cell phone rang, pulling her from her trance. She glanced at the screen and saw Harry’s name flash and stifled another sigh. She’d been dodging his calls for a week now, but she knew if she didn’t answer soon, he was likely to make the trip from Gunner Falls to see her and that was the last thing she wanted.
She glanced behind her and saw that Karlie’s side of the room was still empty and decided to go ahead and talk to Harry. She answered and placed the phone on speaker. “Hello?”
“Bailey?” Harry sounded surprised that she answered.
“Yeah.” She scrolled through her paper, trying to find a place to add more information.
“I kinda can’t believe you answered.”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, believe it.”
They were both silent for several moments and she realized she was probably a bit more blunt than she should have been considering she’d been ignoring her boyfriend for the last week.
Harry coughed before saying, “Anything new?” His voice cracked a little at the end.
She paused in her scrolling and squinted at her phone. Was that nervousness creeping into his voice? “Nothing much. You?”
She resumed reading through her paper while Harry started talking. She had no clue what he was saying and it wasn’t until he was silent again that she said, “Wait, what? What did you say?”
Harry sighed and frustration crept into his voice. “You weren’t listening. Again.”
“Sorry, I’m trying to finish up a paper that’s due at midnight.” Her eyes slid to the clock and she winced at the realization she had only fifteen minutes to finish but still needed several hundred words. “Look, I’m going to have to let you go. I need to finish this and it’s due in a bit.”
Without waiting for an answer, she hung up and turned back to the paper, determined to finish it. In a flurry of typed words, she submitted it at 11:59 p.m. and did a fist pump when it was finished. She laced her fingers together and bent them outward, cracking them as she stretched the tired muscles in her back and arms. It felt good to work the kinks out.
She checked her phone and saw Harry hadn’t called back, but that Karlie also hadn’t gotten in touch with her. They usually let each other know if they were spending the night with someone else, but there was nothing.
She grabbed her phone and room keys, deciding to go and see if Karlie was outside or if her car was there. She shot off a quick text to her, hoping she would respond, and opened her door, jumping when she saw Harry standing on the other side of it with his fist raised to knock. His eyes widened in shock when he saw her.
“What the hell, dude?” She sagged against the door as she tried to calm her heartbeat.
He shrugged and dropped his hand to his side. “Sorry. I didn’t know you’d open the door.”
“That’s not what I was talking about. What are you doing here? And on a Wednesday? Don’t you have class tomorrow?” She fired her questions rapidly as she took in Harry’s appearance. He was wearing a beanie pulled low over his eyes, a ratty long-sleeved tee, and ripped jeans with boots. He looked a bit haggard. She assumed it was because he drove this far to see her.
Though Bailey went to one of the large state universities, Harry attended the community college campus in Gunner Falls, which was a solid two hour drive away.
He grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck. “Class is canceled tomorrow, so I decided to surprise you.”
She stared at him as she thought over his words. Surprising her was nice. If she wanted the surprise. As it was, she was exhausted and had an 8 a.m. class.
“Ummmm...” She tried to think of something to say. “Wow, that’s…great.” Even to her own ears she sounded less than enthused.
Harry’s face fell. That semi-hopeful look he had been wearing when she opened the door was now completely gone. “Oh, I guess I should have called first…”
Bailey shrugged and looked at the floor. “It’s just…I have this early class and a full day with that and practice. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to see you.”
“Well, I can just meet you for lunch then.”
Bailey cringed. “I have class at 12:15…and then practice immediately after. I usually pick up something in the education building and eat it during class.”
Harry’s shoulders drooped and Bailey felt like an ass, but she couldn’t help that she had no time to see him or even deal with him.
“I’m really sorry,” she said slowly.
“It’s fine…maybe dinner? I can just leave later in the day.”
“Ummm…” She glanced away from him as her cheeks heated.
“You can’t do that either, can you?”
She shook her head and glanced at him. She winced at the angry look now on his face. “I have a study group tomorrow night.”
“What the fuck, Bailey?” Harry’s tone matched his face, and she cringed. He didn’t get angry often, but when he did, it could get ugly.
She stepped back and waved Harry in. She didn’t want them in the hall if they were about to argue. Living in the dorm was like living in a fishbowl. People were always in her business and talking about who was screwing whom, who got in a fight, and who was passed out drunk.
Harry brushed past her, and she shut the door softly behind him before turning to lean against it.
“Seriously?” He glared at her, arms crossed. “You can’t make fifteen minutes to see me in your schedule tomorrow?”
She bit her lip before saying, “No, not really. I have back to back classes and practice before a study group.”
Harry scoffed and shook his head. “How much do you want to bet that if you were to be asked to go to a party tomorrow night or do something with your teammates that you’d drop everything to do it?”
Bailey didn’t say anything because she didn’t know what to say. She dropped her gaze to the floor in shame. He was right. She would completely rearrange her schedule to hang out with her teammates or attend a party. So she stayed silent.
Harry snorted, drawing her gaze back up. “Exactly. You’d do whatever you could. Don’t you see something wrong with that? We haven’t seen each other in weeks! You’ve claimed something is going on every weekend and you wouldn’t tag along with Karlie when she came home last weekend.”
“I have had something every—”
Harry cut her off. “Bullshit. I talked to Karlie and she said that the weekends you claimed you needed the study time you were out at parties with your teammates.”
Bailey grimaced and tamped down on her anger with Karlie. They were best friends and she should have Bailey’s back, though, considering Karlie had known Harry for a lot longer, she shouldn’t be surprised. It didn’t make it right for her to rat her true plans out though.
“Those were all last minute decisions,” she said slowly.
“Please.” Harry scoffed and threw his hands in the air and paced a few steps before turning to go the other way. They were silent while Harry walked back and forth, Bailey watching. He abruptly stopped and turned to face her. “W
hat are we doing?”
Her nose wrinkled. “What do you mean?”
Harry waved his hands in the air. “I mean, what are we doing together? It’s obvious that you don’t want to be with me while I’m ready to commit to you—to our relationship, even with the distance.”
Bailey was taken aback and wasn’t sure what to say. Where was this coming from?
“Is this because I didn’t answer your calls this week? I’m sorry, I was busy.”
Harry scrubbed his hand over his face and barked out a laugh. “No, it’s not because of that. We haven’t seen each other in God knows how long. You always make excuses. Case and point? Me coming here to surprise you and you can’t be bothered to make time to see me.”
She still didn’t know what to say. “I’m not sure what you’re looking for here…”
He stared at her for a few moments before shaking his head. “Nothing. I’m looking for nothing.”
With that, he stepped toward her, gently moving her to the side before he opened the door and stepped outside. Bailey watched as the door shut and listened to his steps as they echoed down the hall. “What the hell just happened?” she asked herself as she walked to the small window that overlooked the parking lot.
A few moments later, she saw Harry walk out the front doors and down the steps. Her eyes followed him as he walked through the dimly lit lot to his car. The headlights soon came on and he backed out and left. She just wasn’t sure if he was leaving her or not. Her chest hurt as she thought about the previous conversation and what it could mean.
She didn’t want to be in a relationship, that was for sure, but she didn’t want to lose Harry either. She just didn’t know how to make that happen, and that’s what led to the dodging of the last few weeks.
Her phone dinged and she looked down. It was a message from Karlie saying she wouldn’t be home. As she typed her response, her phone dinged again, this time with a text from Harry.
I can’t do this anymore. Call me if you ever decide to give a relationship a try again.
Chapter One
Bailey
Present Day
There was no feeling quite like coming home after being gone for an extended time. Though her apartment was a bit stale it was still home, and Bailey sighed as she sank into her couch cushions, ignoring how the springs dug into her back and thighs. It was still better than her car seat. She’d dropped her bags by end of her threadbare couch, not caring that she’d probably trip over them when she finally got up.
She let her head fall back and closed her eyes, melting into the cushions. Though the road trip was actually a vacation, it certainly didn’t feel like it at the end. She and Karlie were both tired of each other and the car by the time they crossed back into North Carolina several hours earlier. The silence of her apartment was welcome after the tense silence of the last few hours.
As much fun as it was to have her best friend to herself for the trip and to see all the cool sights they hit, living out of a suitcase grew old after a few days. So did sharing a room, and sometimes a bed, with her best friend.
Her phone dinged and she cracked her eyes open. She didn’t want to move, but it dinged again. She patted her pockets, not feeling its shape. She leaned to the side and slipped her hand in between the couch cushions, digging around to see if it had fallen in there and huffed when she felt the phone and wiggled her fingers a bit more to grasp it and pull it out.
She woke her phone up and saw it was just a text from Karlie letting her know she’d made it home safely. Bailey’s brow furrowed when she noticed she had an unread message from Harry. She didn’t remember getting the notification. She clicked on the thread and scrolled through it. He was only asking what time she’d be home and if he should bring dinner.
She thought for a few moments, her mind going over the laundry that needed to be done and the lessons she needed to prepare for the upcoming year. She really should prioritize those things over having Harry over. Dinner sounded better though. She clicked to start typing just as her phone rang in her hand. Harry’s name flashed on the screen.
“I was just about to text you back,” she answered, leaning back into the couch again.
Harry chuckled. “Great minds then?”
“Something like that.”
Realizing she wouldn’t be able to relax like she wanted while on the phone, she stood and stretched. She then grabbed the handle of her duffel and walked into her bedroom with it.
“So, dinner?” Harry asked.
“Yeah, that’s fine with me.” She wrestled the bag onto the bed while holding the phone between her ear and shoulder.
Bailey unzipped the bag as Harry rattled off a list of their favorite places. “I don’t really care,” she told him as she dumped her clothing on the bed. “Anything sounds good.”
“Okay. Then I’ll get Chinese. You can eat it for a day or two.”
Bailey laughed. “You know me too well to know I do that.”
They got off the phone and Bailey stared at the pile of clothes on her bed. Because she didn’t care, her dirty clothes were mixed with her clean clothes. She didn’t feel like trying to figure out which was which, so she grabbed her laundry basket and pushed it all in there before picking it up and walking out to her little laundry nook in the kitchen.
She loathed doing laundry, but she disliked unpacking and putting clothes away more. Doing laundry would delay the inevitable. She stuffed as many clothes inside the drum as she could before pouring detergent in and starting it.
Checking the time and seeing that she still had a bit before Harry arrived with dinner, she decided she should go on and unpack the rest of her stuff. Grumbling softly to herself, she took care of the rest, throwing things into any available space, not caring that she might not be able to find it later.
A knock sounded on her door as she finished unpacking her toiletries. The bag clattered into the sink and she walked quickly to the door with a smile on her face. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but she had missed Harry while they were gone.
“Hey,” she said as she opened the door, holding it wide so Harry could step in.
“Hey, yourself,” he said, brushing past her. She took a moment to appreciate him, raking her eyes over his body. He was dressed casually in a tank top and shorts, but she still thought he looked pretty sexy.
The smell of Chinese food wafted from the bag and Bailey’s stomach growled. Harry laughed. “Are you that hungry?”
She shrugged as she followed him into the living room. “I can’t help that Chinese food is my weakness.”
Harry rolled his eyes before he started unpacking the bag. “Want to get us some beers or whatever you have in here to drink?”
She walked to the fridge, trying to remember if she had anything to drink besides water. Crossing her fingers, she opened the door and smiled at the six pack of Yuengling sitting on the shelf.
“You’re in luck,” she said as she grabbed the carrier. “I’ve got your favorite beer.”
“Awesome,” Harry said.
Bailey pushed the door shut with her hip and quickly grabbed some plates from the cabinet. The sound of SportsCenter filled her apartment and Bailey felt herself fully relaxing. This was the life: dinner with one of the best guys around and sports on TV.
She rejoined Harry in the living room and they dug in. He asked about her trip and she asked about their few gigs while they were gone. Eventually, they stopped talking and watched the instant replays the sportscasters were going through, commenting periodically on something they didn’t agree with. Going on the road trip meant Bailey didn’t watch the show as often as she usually did, so she felt like she had a lot to catch up on.
When they finished eating, she quickly cleaned everything up on a commercial break and popped the top on another beer. Harry had already moved to the couch and was sprawled across the cushions, eyes glued to the television and a beer bottle dangling loosely from his fingertips.
Bailey sank onto the cushion
next to him and took a long pull from her bottle. At the next commercial break, she saw Harry look at her from the corner of her eye.
“So, you coming to our next gig?” he asked nonchalantly as he took a long pull from his bottle.
“When is it again?” She tried to remember, but she was terrible with dates and drew a blank.
“This weekend.”
Bailey thought ahead. She really needed to get those lessons done, but going to hear Harry sing with Southern Sands was always worth it, especially when they were getting along well like they were now. She could certainly make the time to go see them play. She’d always make time for that.
She nodded. “Yeah, I’ll try to make it. I’ll talk to Karlie and see if we can ride together. I’ll get the details from her.”
Harry grinned and nodded. “Awesome.”
The show came back on and they both turned their attention back to it. However, Bailey now found herself unable to concentrate on what they were saying. She was, instead, watching Harry from the corner of her eye. She watched as he shifted on the cushion, crossing an ankle over his knee as he slouched further into the cushion. He pushed his hair back, the long brown strands just this side of too long.
Quickly, her thoughts turned to what was underneath his clothing. Harry was tall and thin, wiry almost, but he did have some muscle definition. However, where Jax—the blond lead guitarist of Southern Sands—was noticeably ripped, Harry was more subtly built. She intimately knew the strength in his arms, the abs on his stomach, and the muscles cording his thighs.
“Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” Harry said, startling Bailey from her salacious thoughts.
She coughed and placed her half-empty bottle on the end table next to her. “What?” she asked, not taking her eyes off him.
Jax (Southern Sands Book 1) Page 21