Just Say Yes (Just Say Yes Book 2)

by Jen Andrews

  “Do you know how beautiful you are wearing that chain with all those tattoos?”

  He chuckled. “You know men aren’t supposed to be beautiful. They’re supposed to be handsome and masculine.”

  “Let’s not forget sexy, too,” I added. “You are all of that and more. When you add it up, it equals beautiful. Sorry, I can’t help it. You’re just too…”

  He put his hand up to stop me from going any further. “Zoey, I get it. I’m too sexy, remember?” He laughed at his own cheese ball joke.

  “Actually, you’re “Sex on Fire” now. I changed your ringtone ages ago to something a bit more fitting.”

  He arched his brows. “I guess I’d better check the song out later. Speaking of songs, I want you to sit there and eat. I have another pressie for you. Sit tight for a sec.”

  He moved his laptop back further, then stood and reached over the back of the couch to pick up his guitar from the stand. I was blessed with a nice shot of his gorgeous ass, and stared at it the entire time it was on the screen. As he sat back down, I quickly wiped the smile from my face so he wouldn’t notice.

  “I’ve been learning new songs while you’ve been gone,” he said as he sat back down and situated his guitar on his thigh.

  Since he’d moved his laptop away, I had full view of his half-naked body from his knees up. He was wearing my favorite jeans, and he was beautiful. I don’t care what he said.

  “Please don’t laugh if I suck at singing this, ’cause I’m really nervous.”

  He’s going to sing? I thought he was only going to play the guitar for me.

  “I’d never laugh at you. You’ll be perfect.”

  He shook his head and grinned at me. “Beautiful. Perfect. Zoey, you’re gonna give me a big ego if you keep it up,” he laughed.

  We sat in silence while he fine-tuned his guitar. I definitely wanted to remember this day, so I reached down and hit the record button so I could make a video of him to watch again later.

  Andy rubbed his forehead nervously with the back of his hand. “Okay, here goes. I’m sure you’ve heard this song before. It’s called “Fade Away.”

  He took a deep, anxious breath and began strumming his guitar. I didn’t immediately recognize the song until he started singing.

  His performance absolutely blew me away. The man could sing. It was a perfect song too. His voice sounded very much like the man who actually sang the song, deep and sexy.

  As he sat on his couch playing and singing, my eyes pooled with tears. I longed to be sitting on the couch next to him while he serenaded me. Listening closely to the lyrics it was clear to me why he picked that song to sing.

  The song was amazing when the band Seether performed it, but with him sitting there with only his guitar, and me watching, I had never felt so special and loved in my life.

  He finished the song and looked at me apprehensively to see whether I approved or not. By that time, all the tears that welled up in my eyes were running down my face and onto the dinner plate I’d abandoned on my lap.

  There were no words. He was amazing.

  “What’s wrong? Was it so bad it made you cry?” he joked. He knew I liked it.

  “Ha ha, very funny. Please tell me you have more songs to do.”

  He smiled. “Just one more, but I need to switch guitars. Give me another minute. Eat!” he demanded with a grin, pointing at my plate.

  This time when he stood up, he left my view completely so all I could see was the empty couch.

  I heard him in the background rustling around, when James hopped up on the couch in front of the webcam. “James,” I called, trying to get his attention. “Hey, James, what are you doing?”

  Yes, I was talking to my cat as if he was a person. He heard me and walked to the edge of the couch, trying to decide if he should jump to the table to get closer to the laptop. He was teetering on the edge, still trying to decide, when Andy walked behind the couch with his amp and guitar.

  “James, no,” he stated firmly.

  “Hey, be nice to my baby, you big meanie.” James became sidetracked by something and jumped to the floor. Yep, our kitty had a short attention span.

  Andy chuckled in the background. I still couldn’t see him on the screen. “He jumped on the kitchen table last night from one of the chairs and knocked over my cup of ice water,” he laughed. “The cup was aimed at me and it spilled all over my lap. It was a bit, um—”

  I could not control my response. “I bet it was cold and you had to take your pants off, huh?”

  He sat down on the couch, smirking. “I’m not taking my pants off for this song, Zoey.”

  Damn. “That’s too bad. I was kind of looking forward to seeing you without your pants,” I joked.

  He shook his head as he settled his electric guitar on his thigh then leaned forward to look directly into the webcam. “Zoey, when you get back here, neither one of us will be wearing anything or leave your bed for at least two days. I’m tired of taking cold showers while you’ve been away.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I said because the anticipation was already killing me. “We need to stop talking about this or I’m gonna take matters in to my own hands.”

  I laughed and wiggled my eyebrows so he knew what I meant. At that point, I was not opposed to taking care of my own needs since he was in California and I was in Cabo.

  Andy’s eyes shot up to mine and he raised a brow, shocked at what I’d said. God, I loved it when he did that. “Did you really just say that to me, Zoey? Oh fuck, the visual from that alone is going to keep me busy later tonight.”

  My jaw dropped and I giggled, realizing we’d just dirty talked each other over Skype. Andy stuck his guitar pick between his teeth, reached behind the guitar on his lap, and I could only assume he adjusted himself in his pants. When I laughed at the grimace on his face, he playfully glared at me.

  “You ready for our song?” he asked after he took the guitar pick from between his front teeth.

  Our song? I nodded and hit the record button again.

  As soon as he started playing his guitar, my heart started thumping faster in my chest.

  He learned to play and sing “An Olive Grove Facing the Sea.” Holy hell. I was not expecting it at all. It was wonderful watching him play his guitar because he was so good at it. His long fingers moved smoothly and precisely over the neck and strings.

  Vocally, he was flawless. He even hit the higher notes perfectly. It made my heart swell hearing him sing the lyrics aloud after our birthday dance. I would definitely try to get him to sing with me one day.

  He finished the song and set his guitar aside. “Well? Did I suck at that one?” he asked.

  “Um, no. I don’t want you to get a big ego or anything, but…you were perfect. You can sing for me any day, Andy.”

  “You know I’d do anything for you, right?”

  I nodded. “Of course, and I would for you.” I missed him so much it hurt. I really wanted to touch him. A long sigh escaped from deep within my lungs. “I wish you were here, even if it was for just a day. We could lounge on the beach in the sun.”

  His eyes lit up and he smiled. “It would be nice, wouldn’t it? It’s cold, especially without you here. James isn’t much help. I swear he hogs the bed more than you do.”

  Even if it was at my expense, I loved how he knew to rein me back in when I started to get a little sad.

  I am no bed hog.

  “Maybe I’ll take you home to New Zealand someday,” he added.

  “Sounds amazing, Andy. Count me in. I’ll start saving some money when I get back.”

  He shook his head. “No, you won’t. I said I’d take you to En Zed, which means I pay for everything.”

  I smiled and shook my head. I was definitely going to start saving up for our trip.

  Realizing my full dinner plate was still sitting on my lap, I picked it up and set it aside. I hadn’t touched a bite of it. I wasn’t even hungry anymore.

  “Zoey, please go ea
t your dinner. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  “Alright, bossy. Thank you for the flowers and the songs. I love you.”

  “Love you too, Beautiful. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

  After we disconnected our chat, I sent him a text.

  “New York,” by S.P.

  It was a song from the newest album, and of course had the perfect lyrics.

  The song made me think about what each of us went through before we found each other, the hurt we both experienced and saying we loved each other before we really knew each other, but meaning every word.

  It made me miss him, the scent of his cologne and the feel of his skin on mine.

  I seriously considered packing my bag that night to catch the next flight home.

  For the next several days, I kept myself very busy. I was enjoying myself at the stables working with Josie, but I was ready to go home. I missed Andy, my family, and my friends.

  Andy had been mysteriously missing-in-action each day until later in the evening. When I asked him what was keeping him so busy, he always answered “work.” I let it go because I was not going to be one of those girls who demanded to know where their boyfriends were every second of the day. He did have a life besides me.

  When I did speak to him, he was very attentive and loving, but something was up. I also knew he would tell me what was going on when the time was right for him.

  We were taking it day-by-day, right? I still had feelings to work through before I went home. I was almost ready, but just needed a few more days.

  While I was helping Josie with the horses, she was helping me to get myself back together. I didn’t realize she was doing it because she was very good at what she did. She knew it, of course, but she didn’t push me. She must have been really good at her job as a therapist at the horse ranch. We talked constantly when we were together and I told her about things I never talked to anyone about, not even Dr. Jensen.

  The Thursday morning before I was to fly home, Josie invited me out on a ride with her. It would be just the two of us going on one last trip. During our talks, I’d asked her only once to tell me about how she became an orphan. Her response was that she would tell me before I left and only after she was certain I’d figured out who I was, since it was my goal. We made a deal that if I didn’t figure out who I was by the time I left, she was going to make me go snorkeling with her for one last visit with the ‘piranha.’

  There was no way in hell I was going to go snorkeling again, so I worked my ass off to figure my shit out.

  Finally, after many conversations with Josie, I knew who I was. I was Zoey Lynn James. Daughter of Doug and Luisa James, sister to Jason, Noah, Jeremy, and Adam James. Girlfriend to Andy Tate, the best friend of Jess, Sasha, Will, and Justin. I was not a victim of my birth mom, my sperm donor father, or a victim of Rob. I was my own person, who had my own mind and ideas, and would not think of myself as anyone less than that.

  When I arrived at the stables early Thursday morning, Josie had Smoke and her horse, Magnum, tied to the fence for our ride. Noticing they weren’t saddled up yet, I went to the barn to see if Josie needed help bringing the saddles out. As I walked through the door, Josie was coming out with a backpack already on her back.

  “Ready to go?” she asked.

  “Don’t we need saddles?”

  Josie shook her head. “No. Where we’re going we won’t need them,” she said with a mischievous smile. She called over her shoulder to one of the stable hands, “Carlos, can you give Zoey a boost, por favor?”

  “Sí, señora,” Carlos said with a grin, as he glanced up at Josie. There was something in his eyes that told me he was quite fond of Josie, and not in a friend-like manner. It was much more than that. It appeared that Carlos had a bit of a crush.

  With a smile, I untied Smoke, and stepped beside him to wait for Carlos. In the next moment, a strong hand wrapped around my calf, my feet were off the ground, and I was swinging a leg over Smoke’s back. I’d always ridden him using a saddle so I was a little freaked out about falling off.

  “Gracias, Carlos,” I said with a wink as I waited for Josie to tell me what to do next.

  “Just keep your body centered and you’ll do just fine,” Josie reassured me. In one swift movement, she grabbed a thick chunk of Magnum’s mane and gracefully swung herself up onto his bare back. She took the reins in her hand, turned her horse toward the beach and I followed them.

  We rode along the sand in silence away from the stables and from the beachgoers. “You wanted to know my story, Zoey, and you’ve worked so hard for yourself, I’m ready to tell you.”

  For some reason I was very nervous to hear Josie’s story. I knew it was bad, so much worse than anything I could have ever imagined. But, if she wanted to tell me, I would let her. She’d listened to me for the last three weeks. I owed her as much.

  “Do you know what coyotes and drug mules are?” Josie asked.

  Oh, God. “Yes, I do. My mom is from Santiago, Mexico, and I’ve heard horror stories.” Suddenly, I didn’t want her to share her story because I didn’t want her to relive it. “Josie, you don’t have to tell me.”

  “It’s okay, amiga, I’ve made peace with it,” she said, then started her story. “When I was nine, my parents tried to get my family across the border into Arizona from Mexico. They wanted a better life for us so they found a man…a ‘coyote.’ They paid him their life savings to take my older sister, them, and me across the border illegally. The coyote loaded my family, plus more than thirty others into a small trailer then drove us out into the desert toward Arizona. In the middle of the night, the driver stopped to let us all out of the trailer. We thought we’d made it to the border, but we were wrong. We were met by men with guns. All the young women, including myself, were separated from our parents and the men from the trailer. We watched as the others from the trailer were lined up next to a shallow ditch then shot to death. Including my parents.”

  Tears fell from my eyes as I listened to Josie speak, but she continued as if she’d told her account of that night a thousand times.

  “The men shoved us into the trailer and took us back in to Mexico where they said if we didn’t become ‘drug mules’ and carry drugs to the US for them, they would either kill us or turn us in to whores for the men in their cartel. Since I was so young, my sister tried convincing the cartel to let me go, but they refused. One night while I was sleeping, my sister woke me and we ran away. She had someone on the inside that she trusted, and they took me to a safe orphanage and left. I never saw my sister again.”

  “Oh, Josie, I’m so sorry,” I cried. She was only a year older than I was when Child Protective Services took me from my mother.

  “Gracias, Zoey. This is no time for crying though,” she said, seemingly unaffected by the story she’d just told me. “Let’s go have some fun and enjoy the rest of our morning.”

  Getting over my initial shock of what Josie had been through, we had a great morning together. She’d packed us a picnic to eat on the beach. After lunch, we rode the horses into a small lagoon where they swam around with us on their backs. It was exhilarating, freeing, and the best part of my vacation.

  When we arrived back at the stables, I invited Josie over for dinner. She accepted, and that night, we shared a wonderful meal together with my family, talking late in to the evening before Josie made her departure.

  “Zoey, take the rest of your time here and relax. I cannot thank you enough for all the help you’ve given me at the stables. If you ever decide to move here, you’ve got a job.”

  We laughed, but I knew she meant what she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I need one more day then I’ll be out of your hair, I promise.” I hugged her tightly. “Thank you, Josie. You’ve helped me find myself…I will never forget you.”

  Friday morning, I woke up feeling like a new person. There was still an ache in my gut, but deep down it was because I missed home. I began the tedious task of packing my clothes into my suitcase and wish
ed I’d brought two so I had more room to pack all the souvenirs I bought.

  After breakfast, I left for the stables to go on one last ride. Josie didn’t have a full schedule so she’d left Smoke behind for me.

  Not bothering to saddle him up since I was comfortable with him, I slipped his bridle on and led him down to the beach. I kicked off my sandals, grabbed the reins along with a handful of Smoke’s mane, and swung my leg over his back. Once I was steadied, I turned him toward the beach. I let him prance around in the waves like he had the first day I rode him.

  It was so liberating I couldn’t help but grin and soon found myself singing quietly. Good thing nobody else was on that stretch of the beach because they would’ve probably thought I was a lunatic.

  I wasn’t. I was truly happy…a new and improved Zoey.

  After riding a while I hopped down into the surf to cool off, then walked Smoke slowly back to the stables. I took my time and brushed him, feeding him the sugar cubes I’d brought for a treat.

  Giving Smoke one last pet and scratch behind his ears, I went to say bye to Josie and all my new friends at the stables. I made my way back to my aunt and uncle’s, and when I arrived, I found the house empty. I strolled into the kitchen and found a note on the countertop.

  Since I was home alone for the rest of the weekend, I heated up leftovers for dinner then tried to call Andy, but the call went to voicemail. He was probably working late again. I decided to take a nice long, hot bath. Filling the tub and adding scented bath oil, I submerged in the water up to my chin.

  After a while of luxurious soaking, washing, and conditioning my hair, I took my sponge and scrubbed my skin until it felt clean and smooth. My fingertips were getting wrinkly, so I stepped out of the tub and wrapped a large towel around myself. As I did, Andy’s ringtone blasted from my cell phone in my bedroom. I scrambled out of the bathroom to my dresser to answer it.

  “Hi, Zoey, how are you?” Andy asked.

  I fastened the towel around me tighter. “I’d be much better if it was Sunday and I was seeing you in person.”