Losing Control (Losing Control Series Book 1)

by Wilder, Desiree

  Chapter 7

  Gia

  As we were walking to the shuttles, Dana wanted to look through some of the shops. Brittany and Jo were wanting to get back to the motor home, so I said I would stay with Dana, I could use a new Poison t-shirt to wear to tomorrow night’s big show. It was the one I was most excited for.

  “Be careful coming back and don’t stay too long,” Jo told us, being the good mom that she was, looking out for every one’s safety.

  “Okay, Mommy,” Dana teased and we all laughed.

  The first shop we went into had a lot of beads, hats, shot glasses, and stuff like that, but not many shirts, so we moved on to the next. After several places, we were getting thirsty, so we had to grab a couple beers. We sat at a picnic table and talked about the night’s events and watched the people still stumbling out to the shuttles and parking areas. We decided we’d go to a big t-shirt shop we saw when we came in. If they didn’t have what we were looking for, we’d find it tomorrow.

  This place was huge. They had shirts for all 10 bands that were playing here this weekend. I found me a kick-ass Poison shirt and Dana found a new Ratt shirt with matching panties, who would’ve thought of that?

  ***

  As we came out of the gate and headed to the shuttles, we realized we must’ve been in that last store for longer than we thought, because the crowd had really dwindled down. Luckily they had lights out in the parking area, too, or it would’ve been a little spooky. Just then I heard something that brought the butterflies back.

  “You see that girl over there, she has the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen,” said a voice I recognized instantly. It was intentionally loud enough for us to hear from a distance.

  Dana and I turned and saw two guys sitting on the tailgate of a jacked-up Chevy.

  “Oh look,” I said to Dana, but loud enough for them to hear, “it’s the generous barback.”

  This made his buddy start laughing hysterically, which made all of us laugh even though we didn’t know what was so funny.

  Dana and I walked toward them, I was pretty drunk and so was Dana, but we had met him earlier and he worked here, so I felt like it was okay.

  When we approached the truck, both guys stood up, “Hi, I’m Ethan and this is Trey.” They extended their hands to us. I locked eyes with Ethan and grabbed his hand firmly. Touching him sent good vibrations through my body.

  “I’m Gia and this is Dana,” I said as I reluctantly released his hand and shook Trey’s. “Nice to meet you guys.”

  “Hope we didn’t startle you girls, but I was hoping I’d run into you again after seeing you at the bar earlier,” Ethan said. Wow, he was hoping to run into me again! This is good, this is real good! “I suppose you two have guys calling you all the time, I’m pleasantly surprised you walked over here.”

  “I just came over to get a closer look at the truck, I’m a Chevy girl,” I said and smiled. I was trying to play it cool. He didn’t need to know I had wanted to see him again, too.

  “Is that right? Well, you’re my kind of girl, then,” Ethan said and smiled back. My knees got weak for a second. We made small talk about how he fixed up this old truck over the years and now they used it to run around the campground and the arena. I couldn’t look away from him, he could’ve been talking about something I had no interest in and I would’ve been hanging on every word. I didn’t get out much but when I did, I certainly didn’t meet guys like him. And he was totally flirting with me!

  Ethan got a call on his cell and excused himself for a moment. Dana and I sat on the tailgate and chatted with Trey. He was very likable and good-looking too, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off Ethan for more than a couple seconds at a time. I got a good look at his ass and I think I actually sighed and drooled a little. I was fantasizing about touching him and trying to imagine what it would feel like if he touched me. He said good-bye and headed back toward us. I turned my attention back to Dana and Trey.

  “Did you girls enjoy the concerts tonight?” Trey asked, keeping his eyes on Dana.

  “We had the best time!” Dana said. “How about you guys, did you get to take a break and enjoy any of the show?”

  “No, it was pretty hectic tonight, being the first night and all, but we’re hoping to have some free time tomorrow night for the Poison concert. Are you girls going?” Trey asked.

  “Of course,” I said. “It’s the must see concert of the weekend.”

  “I agree,” Ethan said. “We should meet up—if you would want to, that is. We have a pretty kick-ass spot to watch the concert and it’s a lot more fun with company. What do you think, Gia?” Our eyes locked. The way my name sounded coming out of his mouth sent a flush of heat through my body and I had to take a breath and swallow. I wanted him to say it again, over and over.

  I wanted to say yes, but we couldn’t ditch Jo and Brittany. “We better not, we have two more friends with us and we should stick together,” I answered. “But thanks for the offer, it’s definitely tempting.”

  “Bring them along,” Ethan said. “The more the merrier, Gia.” It was like he knew what it was doing to me to hear him say my name.

  “Really? Okay then, it’s a, um, date, I guess?” I felt really dumb. I hated when I didn’t think before I spoke.

  Ethan smiled. “Okay then, it’s a date!” I think he knew I felt embarrassed, so he agreed to go on a ‘date’ with me out of pity. But then he surprised me. “Actually, if this is a date, I would like to take you for dinner first. Would that be possible, Gia?” I almost wet myself.

  “Um, well, my friends…” I started and Dana interrupted.

  “Her friends will be fine. We’ll meet up later for the concert, Gia.” She was so bossy.

  “Okay, sounds fun,” I said, butterflies were fluttering wildly. I have a date with him tomorrow? How did that just happen? I immediately started wondering what I was going to wear. Just then I noticed the last shuttle pulling up. “We better get back to our motor home, it’s really late and I’m starving.”

  “So am I!” Dana said.

  “Hey, we were just getting ready to head out and get some breakfast before we saw you girls, why don’t you join us? Ethan is one hell of a cook,” Trey suggested.

  “Sounds good,” Dana said without even consulting me, so I nodded yes.

  “Great! Jump in,” Trey said and he closed the tailgate. Dana followed him to the driver’s side of the truck and I followed Ethan to the passenger side. Ethan got in and then slapped his hands on his thighs for me to sit on his lap. There wasn’t enough room for all four of us on the seat. I think this was one of the greatest moments of my life. Without hesitation, I climbed in and onto Ethan’s lap. I had to lean into him so my head wasn’t against the roof. I was proud of myself—I was being bad. I could feel his warmth as I had gotten rather chilly outside. I was sitting sideways, facing Dana. She looked at me, opened her eyes real wide and smiled, big. I smiled big, too.

  ***

  The ride was short. We could’ve walked, but then I wouldn’t have gotten to sit on Ethan’s lap, so I was glad we drove. Plus, they would have to give us a ride back to camp when we got done eating. I’ll have to sit on Ethan’s lap again, I can’t wait.

  Ethan’s place was really nice, obviously not where the barbacks stayed. It was like a ground level studio apartment. It consisted of one big area with a kitchen, dining table, living room, and bedroom. It was neat and tidy, smelled nice, and had decent furniture, a big screen TV, and a huge king-size bed with what looked like a down comforter and very fluffy pillows. I could totally crawl into that right now! I excused myself to the bathroom, and of course, Dana came along.

  “Shit, Dana! We just met these guys and we jump in their truck and come to their house at two o’clock in the morning—what’s wrong with you?” She looked surprised.

  “Me? You agreed to go on a date with one and you jumped on his lap so fast I thought maybe the ground was on fire!” We giggled nervously, knowing what we did was really stupid. But
here we were, and I knew this Ethan could give me what I wanted, no, what I needed, and if he wanted to tell me how beautiful my eyes were while he was fulfilling me, then good for me!

  “Gia, you’ve got to take advantage of this situation. Ethan is totally into you, he can’t keep his eyes off you! He has a body that most women don’t even bother fantasizing about because it’s so beyond their reach, but it’s right there for you—take it!”

  “Shhh! Dana, not so loud, I know all this,” I whispered. “Believe me, I know, and I’m going to go for it, but you know what happened with Jason when it came down to it—I couldn’t, so who knows? I’ll probably screw this up, too, but yes, I’m going to try to ‘take it,’ as you put it.” I took a deep breath, looked in the mirror, sprayed some breath freshener in my mouth, and told myself, “You go, girl.” We both giggled like little school girls.

  I texted Jo before we came out of the bathroom. I was hoping they had just passed out when they got back to the motor home so she wasn’t worrying about us.

  Dana plopped down on the couch next to Trey, who was flipping through the channels on the TV. I went over to the kitchen area. “Hey, good-lookin’, watcha got cookin’?” I couldn’t help myself, it was the first thing I thought of when I saw him in front of the stove.

  Ethan smiled. “Hey, Hotness, grab yourself a drink out of the fridge and keep me company.” Hotness? Oh, I liked that. I opened the fridge. Man, this guy takes care of himself, all healthy stuff, stuff I’ve never even heard of. I grabbed a bottle of water and walked over to the stove right next to him.

  “Smells delicious,” I said as I closed my eyes and took a big whiff. When I opened them, Ethan was staring at me.

  “You know, you really do have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen. I could get lost in them, they pull me in.” We stared at each other for awhile longer. I wanted to kiss him, to touch him, to do things to him I’d only fantasized about. And I wanted to let him do things to me that I believed were against the law in some states. Then I smelled something.

  “You’re burning my breakfast,” I said without unlocking my eyes from his. It took him a second, but he had to look away and grab the pan off the burner. Then he turned right back to me, put his hands on my waist and lifted me up so I was sitting on the counter. He dropped his hands down to my knees, spread my legs apart, pulled me to him and brought his lips to mine. Our mouths opened hungrily as I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders, our tongues met, and I moaned. He was a fantastic kisser, his mouth was strong and fit perfectly onto mine. Ethan put his hands on my face, he pulled his head back and our eyes locked. He brushed his thumbs against my cheeks. He was so sexy and the way he looked at me was unlike anyone had ever looked at me before. It was an aphrodisiac and it made me feel like I was the sexy, desirable one, like I was the only woman he had ever wanted. The feeling was mutual, it was undeniable, and there was no turning back.

  “If we didn’t have company, I would be tempted to take you right here, right now, you are so captivating, Gia. I would’ve never believed I could have this kind of yearning for someone I’ve just met, but I can’t deny it, you’re exquisite.” Wow, no one had ever said anything like that to me before.

  “This is your place, kick the company out!” I had to say something to lighten the mood otherwise I was afraid of what I might do in front of Dana and Trey. Why couldn’t he have had a separate bedroom? We sighed and he kissed me on the forehead before returning to his cooking.

  “Can I do something to help?” I asked.

  “Just tell me about yourself,” he said. Crap, really?

  “Okay, not much to tell. I work at a law firm in the city, I live a few blocks away from there in a small but decent apartment. I’ve been divorced for almost two years now. I spend most of my free time listening to music or reading. Dana is my best friend, and if I go out anywhere, I’m usually either with her or my younger sister, who I’m pretty close to. I go to my parents’ house every other Sunday for dinner, and that’s it.”

  ***

  Ethan

  Wow, she didn’t want me to know much about her. Maybe I was expecting a lot, it was just that I had been wondering for so long. I walked over to her and kissed her on the forehead, hoping she’d see I sincerely wanted to get to know her. “Okay, now I know what you do, but what I meant was who you are.”

  “I’m Gia Stone, and I—I don’t know what you want to know.” She seemed confused, I felt bad I had pushed her. She just met me, why would she want to tell me anything? I knew I had more time with her to find out since she had agreed to go to dinner and the concert with me later. When she’d said ‘it’s a, um, date’ I knew it was just something people said when they made plans, but I was sure glad she did because it opened the door for me to turn it into dinner. And as far as watching the concert together, if she would have said she had two hundred friends with her I would have spent the next ten hours adding on to the VIP section so she would be there, with me. I couldn’t screw this up now.

  “I want to know who you are, what makes you tick, what you like, what you don’t… I want to know everything, Gia Stone, and I have a feeling it’s going to be really fun finding out!” I had to let her off the hook before I scared her off. At least she knew I wasn’t just trying to get in her pants. I lifted her off the counter. “Time to eat,” I said and kissed her soft lips.

  We had a good conversation as we all ate together. Trey and Dana had a lot in common. I felt like I knew more about her than I knew about Gia at that point. It didn’t matter, we couldn’t stop staring at each other and there was plenty of time to get to know each other tomorrow. But I didn’t want to wait, I didn’t want to let her out of my sight. What if she canceled on me tomorrow and went back to the city and I never saw her again? There was no way I was going to let that happen.

  Gia and I went out to have a smoke while Trey and Dana cleaned up breakfast.

  “I didn’t take you for a smoker,” Gia told me.

  “I’m an occasional smoker,” I admitted.

  “Same here. When I’m drinking and occasionally if I’ve had a shit day,” she said. “You seem to take such good care of yourself, I’m surprised you have the habit.”

  “It’s my vice, I try to keep it to a minimum. Although I do enjoy it on occasion, like now, with you, it’s relaxing.” I sat down next to her. I’d love to sit with her and watch the sun come up, maybe she’d come to Sunset with me.

  “Would you like to stay with me for awhile longer? There’s something I’d like to show you.” Just trust me and say yes.

  Gia thought for a bit. “I’d love to see it, whatever it is,” she finally answered. I was so relieved that I’d bought more time with her.

  Dana and Trey joined us outside. Dana looked exhausted. “Dana, are you ready for bed?” Gia asked. Dana nodded.

  “I’ll take Dana back to camp,” I told Trey. “Then I’m gonna take Gia up to Sunset—you’d better get some sleep, we have a big day tomorrow.”

  “See you tomorrow night for the big show. Get some rest ‘cause you’re gonna need it!” Trey said to Dana as he gave her a bear hug. She leaned into him and it looked like she fell asleep for a moment. Trey laughed. “Sweet dreams, Dana.” He secretly gave me thumbs up, said good-night, and headed to his place next door.

  ***

  I helped the girls into the truck and headed to the campground. “What site are you in?” I asked them.

  “Sixty-nine,” Gia said. I think she was smiling.

  “I could’ve guessed,” I told them. “Marcus always puts the hottest girls in that spot, he must have a crush on one of you.”

  “Who’s Marcus?” Gia asked, sounding a little concerned.

  “Marcus is head of the campground, he must’ve checked you girls in. He had a fling with a woman in lot sixty-nine a few years ago, we all think it was his first. He was fresh out of high school, cleaning bathrooms and shower houses. She was older, called him over to take a look at her air conditioner, and boom, a ne
w Penthouse Forum story was born. Don’t worry about him, he’s harmless, pretty shy, goes to college and works here during the summer. I think sometimes he wished he was still out there scrubbing toilets and doing maintenance.” I chuckled as I recalled the story.

  Gia asked how long I’d worked here. I forgot she thought I was a barback or something.

  “Nineteen years,” I answered. It sounded so long.

  “Thanks for the breakfast and for the ride, Ethan. Take care of my girl,” Dana said as I pulled up to their motor home. “Be safe, Gia,” she added, and then we watched until she went in.

  “She seems like a good friend,” I told Gia. I was glad she had someone like her. It reminded me of my relationship with Trey.

  “She’s the best friend. She’s got my back, always, and I’ve got hers,” Gia said. “Now, where are you taking me? What’s ‘Sunset’?”

  “Patience, Hotness, patience,” I told her as we started the short drive I’d taken hundreds of times over the years. I’d gone up there and watched the sun go down countless times. I’d sat up there and thought about Hotness. I dreamed I’d take her there someday and now that day was here. I’d only watched the sun come up from that spot a couple other times, so it was a little different heading up there in the dark.

  When we got there, I grabbed my blanket from behind the seat, kissed Gia on the forehead, and pointed. “That’s Sunset.” She looked a little concerned.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked. I hoped she didn’t think I was going to take advantage of her or something and push her off the edge.

  “My feet are throbbing already,” she said, apologizing. Poor thing, I should’ve thought of that.

  “No problem, I’ll give you a piggy-back.” And I was happy to do it. I slouched down, helped her up, and with a huge smile on my face, headed up the hill.