Aveline tore her eyes away from Greer to look at Sawyer. He was watching her, seeing how she reacted. Why were all the guys giving her relationship advice? First it was Rory with the little tidbit about the Greer and Jason bromance and now Sawyer. Were they trying to warn her or scare her off? It had been a day. One day. Yes, they had chemistry, a lot of chemistry but shouldn’t they have the chance to talk about them before his friends decided what they were for them?
It’s not like she could do serious at the moment anyway. Two jobs, school and being a caregiver didn’t leave much time for romance. “I appreciate whatever it is you are trying to do here but, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, you need to butt out.” From the couch, Greer snickered. “Whatever he and I are, is between us. Besides, I have no time in my life for serious.”
The shower turned off and the bathroom door opened. Jason walked out with a towel wrapped around his waist. “That was heavenly,” he announced.
“Greer, you’re up man.” Sawyer patted her shoulder and then walked over to his bunk and sat down to take off his shoes.
Aveline found that she was no longer in a very social mood. Her phone was on the counter charging. She unplugged it and decided that now would be a fabulous time to call Rob and check in at home.
Greer had rolled off the couch and onto his feet. He came over to her, his eyes heavy with exhaustion and wrapped her in a hug. She accepted it but something felt sour about it. Sawyer had planted that there. She looked over and found him watching them.
“Ignore them,” Greer whispered in her ear. She ducked her head so Sawyer couldn’t see her smile. “We are the only ones who get to decide what this is. They are only looking out for me but if you haven’t noticed, I am a man and can make my own manly adult choices.”
Oh, she knew he was a man. She felt that evidence against her earlier.
“Let’s just have fun this weekend as two friends, nothing more.”
Well, she hoped there would be more. “Two friends who kiss?”
“Of course! Kissing is very friendly,” he agreed.
Aveline turned her head so that her mouth was a hairbreadth away from his neck. She inhaled that sweet scent of his musk. Nothing boyish about that smell. “Do friends do anything else?” she whispered letting her lips graze his skin.
Greer swallowed. “Some friends do.”
“Best friends?” Aveline ran her hands down his back and into his back pockets.
“The bestest.”
Greer cupped her face, his lips planting long but light kisses along her temple.
“If you two are going to continue to hug it out over there then I’m going to get a shower,” Sawyer said from his bunk.
Greer turned his head and narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you dare. Ava, baby,” he asked with a much sweeter voice than the one he used on sawyer. “Can we continue this conversation later? If Sawyer goes in there I will have no hot water.”
She kissed his neck and let him go. Interruptions and bad timing seemed to be their thing. “Sure. I’m going to crash soon anyway.”
He kissed her forehead and told her goodnight before heading to the bathroom for his turn in the shower. Aveline watched him go and when the door shut she looked to Sawyer.
“Just be careful with him,” he told her and laid down on his bunk.
*****
Baby girl you need to go to sleep and stop worrying. All is well here.
The light from her phone illuminated the small room. Everyone had gone to bed over an hour ago and they were now on the road. The day was catching up with her and at first she found it hard to keep her eyes open as she waited for Rob to text her back, but after no response for ten minutes, she became worried. Even after twenty minutes of assurances that all was fine, she still couldn’t fall asleep.
I know, I know. I’m going. Goodnight.
She wasn’t brave enough to turn it off completely, because anything could happen and knowing that would keep her awake even longer. She settled for vibrate and put it in the bedside drawer to help with the temptation. Aveline just needed one more thing before she could sleep. It was a promise she used often. “I just need to use the bathroom,” or “Let me just answer these last few questions on chapter ten,” were common excuses. Aveline had to work her mind into exhaustion for her to sleep. And although her body was begging for rest, her mind was sharp and awake.
“Water,” she told herself. “Water then sleep.”
She had on a pair of cotton shorts and a large t-shirt. It was one of those ones that you get free for participating in some event, but they only order men’s XL so that it fits everybody. This one was a faded tie dyed shirt with a hole under the arm from some swimming rally her high school had done for charity. When she packed, it had been hectic. Aveline had started with her largest suitcase bursting with clothes. Rob had told her that it was probably overkill. In a frantic attempt to not look like the most materialistic and high maintenance girl ever, Aveline dumped out all the clothes and packed only the essentials. Unfortunately, she wasn’t paying attention to detail and grabbed her ugly sleep clothes.
She almost convinced herself that she should just stay in bed because one of the guys might be awake and then they’d see her crappy shorts and holey, faded shirt. Aveline was trying to uphold this notion that she was much cooler than she actually was. For some reason they all liked her. Well, she wasn’t sure what Sawyer thought of her. He was trying to protect one of them, she just wasn’t sure which one.
At this point, Greer and Aveline had hung out a total of one day. That shouldn’t result in a conversation about serious relationships but somehow it had. Aveline really liked Greer, wasn’t that enough for the time being?
In spite of Sawyer and his big brother antics, Aveline decided to get up and get a bottle of water. If they judged her on her sleeping attire, then fuck them. And if Greer saw her and became violently unattached to her then she would get on the first plane out of there. She didn’t need that bullshit in her life when she already had enough bullshit to deal with.
The door opened silently and she looked out. All the curtains were drawn closed around the bunks. Something in her deflated. Part of her had been hoping maybe someone else was awake, which was stupid. She had seen how tired they were when they got back.
Using her phone’s flashlight feature she walked down the aisle of beds to the refrigerator. A soft snore came from the bunk above Greer’s. She paused for a second but when no sounds came from Greer’s bed, she continued on. Brandon, the driver, was singing quietly to himself from the little cabin upfront. Her bottle of water had been put in the fridge. She grabbed it, not even thirsty anymore.
When Aveline turned around, someone was watching her. The curtains had been pulled back and Greer was propped up on his elbow. A tiny thrill went through her.
He put his finger to his lips and pointed to her room.
Aveline nodded.
Greer rolled out of bed, the blankets dropping off to reveal a very bare chest, and he walked softly back to the bedroom. She watched for a moment but no heads popped out of their curtains to see what was going on. Making sure she had her water and phone, Aveline quickly walked back to her room and shut the door.
“Hey,” Greer whispered. He was sitting on her bed. Something about seeing him with bed head and so much skin showing while on her messed up sheets, made her breath stick in her throat. The sleepy smile on his face was almost too much. She had to look away or take off her clothes and offer herself up to him like one of his groupies.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice gruff from not talking.
“Nothing. Just didn’t expect anyone else to be awake.” Her phone had timed out and the light turned off tossing them into darkness. She stayed put, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the limited lights. Aveline blinked trying to speed the process along when the pressure of Greer’s fingers found her waist.
“I’ve got you,” he said, his lips against her temple. “Come on, let’s get
into bed.” He walked her the four steps to the bed and held up the sheets for her to crawl under. She busied herself with putting her phone and water away while the bed dipped on the other side and his body moved closer.
They had been teasing each other all day. Kisses, touching, verbal acknowledgments of heat between them, each moment came back to her in vivid sight and sound. As he settled back against the pillows Aveline rolled over, her breath coming almost as fast as the memories. Through the darkness, she could see him smile. It wasn’t the lust fueled grin she had tasted earlier, but a sleepy smirk on a guy who was content with where he was.
“Come here, you.” Greer pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. She found his chest made a very nice pillow. “How’s your mom?”
The question “DOES HE EXPECT SEX?” that had been screaming in her mind the last few minutes shut up real fast. No man who wanted sex would bring up mom in conversation.
And now she felt like a dope.
Nice going libido.
At least she hadn’t played the part of groupies and shed her clothes at first sight.
“She’s good. Why are you awake?”
His chest rumbled with a quiet laughter. “Really? You are feet away in another room and you want to know why I’m awake?”
She slapped his stomach.
It slapped back.
Hot damn those were some abs.
“Shut up. If you wanted to see me then why didn’t you knock?”
Because it was already there, Aveline let her hand rest on his stomach.
“I wasn’t sure if you were asleep or not until I heard you whispering on the phone. But you got so quiet so fast I assumed you fell asleep.”
Resting on his chest let her feel the mad thumping of his heart. When she brushed her fingers over the rim of his belly button, it got faster. Aveline smiled. Her very own mood detector right under her head.
“And that stopped you because?”
Greer captured her exploring fingers and brought them to his lips. “Because we are on a tour bus and as Jason informs me, there are no secrets here. I’m horny as fuck right now-”
“You’re welcome,” she broke in with a laugh.
“Oh don’t sound so mellow, little miss.” He nipped at her fingers. The feeling shot straight through her. Greer turned his head so he could whisper in her ear. As the warmth of his breath met her skin she had to close her eyes and hold in a groan. “I’m not the only one,” he said kissing her neck. She hummed in approval. “Or do I need to go searching for evidence?”
He could search her all day long…and night. If he needed some help she would even pitch in and aid his hands in their search toward the elastic waistband of her shorts.
“As much as I fucking want to be in you, we need to wait.”
Huh? “I’m confused.”
Greer tilted her chin up. “No secrets, remember? The guys can basically hear everything we do back here. I don’t want them hearing how you cum on my tongue or the moans you make as I slide my cock into you. That’s all mine.”
Aveline didn’t need any of those things, she was so close just at his words. If he said cock one more time she might lose it.
“So, we are going to wait until tomorrow when we have a real room and no extra ears. Then we can spend the whole day in bed for all I care. Hell, I might need that long just to take the edge off.”
“Yeah, ok,” she said in a breathy whisper. He ran a finger over her lips and quickly replaced it with his own. The kiss was quick but hard.
“Now, tell me honestly. Are you having fun?”
He laid back against the pillows, letting her rest her head back on his chest once again. She had to take a minute to pull all lust filled thoughts back inside and tuck them away for later. There was no need to work her up like that just to take away her toy.
“I am. Rob was right, I needed this weekend more than I realized. It’s been too long since I had a day just for me.” He began to draw circles on her back. It was less sex and more soothing. She sighed and settled in. “None of this is what I expected but it’s been really great so far.”
“I wish I would have told you sooner, but it was really nice not having to be the country star. It’s funny, when I was younger all I wanted was to be this guy. The fame, the money, the music was all I dreamed of but now that I have it, I can appreciate what everyone else has. Walking out in public becomes a novelty. It’s less glamorous and more annoying. I mean, you saw it when I picked you up at the airport.”
“To be fair you didn’t try very hard to be inconspicuous. A hat and sunglasses when you always wear a hat and sunglasses is not a disguise. And the limo was fun but it caught attention.”
He paused his circles. “Yeah, you’re right. I hadn’t thought. I just wanted to see you.”
Aveline kissed the skin where she laid. “No worries, I liked it. That was my first limo ride.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
That must had fulfilled some caveman instinct in him because he picked back up with the circles. “What else haven’t you done?”
“That’s a loaded question,” she laughed.
He kissed her head. “In a purely innocent way, what else haven’t you done that you want to do? Where haven’t you seen?”
“Uh, everywhere.” Aveline had been to the states neighboring North Carolina but it didn’t go much further than that. “I’m insanely jealous that you get to travel the country and see all there is to offer.”
“It’s not really like that. I see the stadiums and the radio stations, occasionally a landmark or an attraction but mostly it’s arrive, unpack, sound check, concert, backstage publicity and then pack up and we are on to the next place. The bigger we get, the more liberties we can take on tour but until now, we haven’t wanted to rock the boat too much with demands and shit.”
There was something else to that statement and she had a guess at it. “And because of Nix.”
He sighed. “Yeah, and Nix. He caused a lot of trouble early on. I think the label is glad he pulled a poof. Now they don’t have to deal with his bullshit.”
“But it’s hard on you guys. I mean, Sawyer looks like he’s breaking in half.”
“He is. Nix and him were close. Closer than my brother, Jamie, and I ever were. And we’re twins,” he said in a dry laugh. “Ask me, I think that ‘twin thing’ is a bunch of bullshit.”
Aveline remembered him mentioning once about his brother. It was pretty obvious he didn’t like his brother and didn’t want to talk about him. “He’s in prison, right?”
He nodded. “Yep. He’s getting out next week. I’m sure I’ll get a call needing money or some shit.”
“And you’ll help him,” she said trying not to think his pout was cute but it really was. She kissed his chin. “You wouldn’t let family struggle even if they deserved it.”
He caressed her face, losing the pout and looking much more loving. “You think you know me so well.”
“I do.”
“Mmm hmmm,” he mumbled and cuddled her closer.
Aveline’s mind finally felt at peace enough to drift off. Greer didn’t say anything else and she felt his hand go lax on her back. It took maybe five minutes for the steady thump of his heart and the gentle sway of the bus to lull her to sleep.
Chapter Seven
Even though they had all just woken up, everyone looked like they were ready for bed on the ride over to the hotel. Months of touring, with very few breaks, was taking its toll on them. They had four days off coming up in three weeks. As much as they all loved touring, they loved going home just as much.
Jason and Sawyer had to be drug from their bunks in order to go check in at the hotel. Rory had woken up at his normal, ungodly hour of seven-thirty and then proceeded to drink all of the coffee they had left. They were all looking forward to the moment they could fall onto a real mattress and not wake up just because Rory was bored and awake.
The bus had arrived at some point in
the early hours. Greer hadn’t noticed since he was dead to the world cuddled around Aveline. Normally he wasn’t one for sleeping through the night with a woman. He would always get hot, then become uncomfortable and the way they wanted to lay with him, made his arm fall asleep. All around, it was a miserable experience. But not having Ava in his arms all night, when she was right there, was also not an option.
“Thank fuck,” Jason said as they pulled out front of the hotel. “Wake me when it’s time to go on.”
“Hate to burst that bubble of yours but we need to go do sound check.” Sawyer had his head leaned back and his eyes closed. Up until he spoke, Greer had assumed he fell back asleep.
“What? No. Make Rory do it. Or better yet, the chatty love birds over there.” Jason glared at Greer and Aveline. “Talking till two a.m., really?”
“Because you fucking some girl is any different? At least Ava wasn’t screaming ‘Jason, oh fuck me, Jason. Yeah, do me Baby. Yesssssss!’” Greer let out a very fake orgasmic scream.
“Don’t be jealous,” Jason said with a grin. “And she could be.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Ava, who laughed at him.
Jealous of that? Hell no. He preferred the real thing. Greer didn’t need a girl stroking his ego with a fake orgasm. “No secrets on a bus, remember,” he said into her hair when she shot him a surprised look.
“I guess so,” she murmured back.
Sawyer had cracked a smile at Greer’s rendition of a groupie but otherwise had stayed silent. “They have to go be charismatic on the radio.”
Jason grinned. “Oh right. You two kids have fun. Sound check isn’t for what? An hour?”
Sawyer opened the door and crawled out. “Yeah, so we have time for a short nap.”
“Fuck yes.”
Greer really wished that he had asked to switch with someone. At least at sound check Aveline could see the behind the scenes crap but a radio interview was boring. Same questions, same “So excited to be here,” answers. It was times like this he wished he had a normal job so he could call off sick and spend the day in bed…with her.
Chance (Rusted and Reckless Book 1) Page 7