Gus (Bar 28 Book 1)

by JJ Harper

  “August, tell me. Do you want to continue with your education?” Dad asks firmly.

  I pause and think hard before answering. “Yes. It would be amazing. But I don’t think I should.”

  “Nonsense. Now another question and I don’t want you to think this time. Do you want to live with Max?”

  “Yes.” I gasp at how easily that came to me.

  “Then go and talk to him. It’s not fair to keep him shut out,” Mum says.

  “And call your professor. Don’t be silly about this. You need to know where you stand right now before you can make any plans.”

  “Okay, I’ll do that. Thank you for listening.”

  “We will always listen to you, August.”

  “Then when will you ever learn to call me Gus.” I laugh, lightening the moment.

  “Probably never. Get over it. We love you. So go and do those things. We can talk to you later.”

  “I love you too.”

  I end the call. They’re right. I take a deep breath and find the number for my professor. It rings a couple of times. Then she answers. “Professor Lindon.”

  “Er, hi, Professor, it’s Gus Andrews.”

  “Gus!” she exclaims. “You must be psychic. I was about to email you. Congratulations, Gus. You’ve been accepted.”

  “Bloody hell! I-I mean, thank you,” I splutter as a laugh breaks loose.

  “You’re very welcome. Look out for your email, Gus, and congratulations.”

  I manage to say goodbye without making even more of a fool of myself. I fire off a WhatsApp to my parents with a great big I GOT IT and a ton of emojis. Now I need to talk to Max.

  “Here he comes, Max. You don’t have to pine any longer.” Sawyer scoffs as I approach the bar. Max spins around. He drinks me in like it’s been days, not hours, since we were last together.

  “He’s only messing with you, Max,” I tell him when Sawyer teases him again. “Ignore him. He’ll get bored.”

  “I wasn’t sure if you’d come in before your shift.” Max sounds wary. He moves out from behind the bar. “I’m so happy to see you. I’ve missed you.”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry I had to shoot off this morning, but I’m all done for the day now. Can I talk to you?”

  “Are you okay? Is there something wrong?” Always the worrier.

  “No, I don’t think so. Do you have time now, or should I wait until tonight?”

  “You’re not breaking up with me over what I said?” A frown is deeply etched in his forehead. I run my fingers over the furrows, smoothing them away.

  “No, Max, my love. I’m not breaking up with you.” I kiss his worried lips.

  “Okay, that’s good.” He sighs, exhaling a long breath. “Come on, then. We can go to the office and kick Jonas out.” Hand in hand, we walk down the corridor, and Max opens the door.

  “Jonas, we need some privacy. Can you go to the bar for a sec?”

  Jonas’s gaze darts between us, then lands on our joint hands. “Sure, but don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He scuttles out quickly and closes the door behind him.

  “If you don’t want to move in, Gus, then just tell me. I know I was stupid to mention it, even though I’ve wanted to ask you for weeks.”

  “I do want to, but there’s a but. I’ve been accepted to do a Masters degree next year.” He opens his mouth, but I hold up my hand before he can say anything. “This means being a student again. And I want to do my PhD afterwards. The Masters will only be another year, but the doctorate will be probably four. It’s likely I get a stipend for that one, but it wouldn’t be as much as I could earn after graduating now.” I ramble on, needing to have it all out.

  “Which means if I move in with you, I won’t have any money to pay for my share. That’s why I hesitated. I won’t live off you, Max. You’ve worked so hard for so long to get where you are, and I don’t feel it’s fair on you to have to be the main earner while I stay the perpetual student.” I flop back into the chair by the desk.

  “Is it my turn now?” he asks drily. I nod and make a zipping motion over my lips. “Good. First, you are amazing, Gus. You should be proud of yourself. I am, and I can imagine what your parents are thinking. Well done, baby.” He gives me a long sensual kiss that makes my toes curl. “Next, I didn’t ask you to move in to pay half of my bills. I want you to live with me because I love you. There is no one else I’ll ever want to be with. And it doesn’t have to be immediate. Take your time to decide. We are together every night, Gus. You have a toothbrush in my bathroom. I have one in yours. And I’m sure I found a pair of your jeans in my washing basket this week. You’re slowly moving in anyway.” He laughs when I shake my head.

  “It’s not the same, Max, and you know it. You haven’t said anything about me studying for the next five years. How do you feel about that?”

  “I’ve been terrified that you’d be moving away from me in the summer. That you wouldn’t be able to work around here. You staying here makes me really fucking happy. Move in when you’re ready, baby.”

  “I love you.” I card my fingers through his hair as I hold his face to mine. “So fucking much.”

  “I love you too.”

  It’s the last lecture of the term, and I’m running late thanks to a certain man insisting on blowing me in the shower. I make it just in time and spend two hours trying to concentrate when my mind is on other things. I need to call my parents and tell them we won’t be coming home for Christmas. Finally, the lecture ends, and I’m up and out of my chair and through the doors before the professor has finished his sentence.

  I pull my phone out of my pocket, scroll through my contacts, and bring up home.

  It rings a few times. Then my mum answers. “Hi, Mum, how are you and Dad?”

  “We’re good, August. Although I’m getting the feeling that you’re going to tell me something that could change that.”

  “Yeah, it’s about Christmas. We’re not going to be able to make it. It’s too busy here, Mum. We can’t leave the bar two staff members short.” I hold my breath, waiting for the sigh of disappointment. I count down from ten in my head, and it comes when I reach five.

  “I can’t say I’m surprised, August. In fact, your father now owes me twenty pounds.” She lets out a little laugh.

  “What?” I’m confused.

  “It’s no surprise, dear. You love Max, and you want to spend Christmas with him. I bet with your dad that you’d say you wouldn’t come home.”

  My dad’s deep laughter in the background makes me realise I’m on speakerphone. “I can’t believe I have to pay up, August. That’s so unfair,” he fake grumbles as he pretends to be pissed off.

  “August, you’re old enough now to have Christmas away from home if you want to. It would be nice to see you both again soon, though. Maybe you could get away for a day or two before the term starts again.”

  “I’ll see what I can do, Mum. I’ll speak to you soon. Love you both.”

  “We love you too,” my mum says and ends the call. That went better than I expected. Now I need to get ready for Max coming over.

  It’s seven thirty. Max is due anytime now. Still, the knock on my front door startles me. The butterflies wake up and start the rapid flutter of their wings, making my heart beat faster. I rub my damp hands down my thighs and answer the door.

  “Hey, baby.” He gives me a kiss. “Wow, you look good.” His eyes run over my body, dilating. I’m dressed almost the same way I was when we first met—black jeans, my boots left undone, but not the leather waistcoat. I’ve swapped it for a black wide-mesh satin, tight-fitting T-shirt. My recently pierced nipples are visible, something that drives Max wild. I’ve even done my make up the same way. He gulps.

  “You like?” My voice is already husky with desire.

  “I really fucking do.”

  “Let’s go, then.” I pick up my bag, step outside, and close the door behind me.

  “Have I missed something? Are we going out? I thought we were staying
at my place.”

  “We are. I felt like glamming up tonight.” I grin. “How’s your day been?”

  “Long and boring. I had to be at the bar all afternoon. I’ve only just left. Jonas had someplace he needed to be.”

  “Oh, poor baby, I’m sure I can think of something to make you feel better.” I run my hand over his arse and give it a squeeze.

  “Hmm.” He hums. “I like the sound of that.”

  The drive to his place doesn’t take us long, but it’s still far enough to make my stomach tighten as my nerves rachet up another notch. Max parks, and we both get out at the same time. He takes my hand and rubs his thumb over mine.

  “I hope you’re not too hungry because with you dressed like that, I have other things I want to do before we eat.” He kisses my neck on the soft spot below my ear that he knows makes me shiver.

  “I can wait.”

  I hold my breath when he pushes the door open and stops. “What the fu—” He swivels around.

  He’s speechless, as am I. Damn, Jonas has done a good job. In the hallway, tealights create a dimly lit path along the floor. The soft flicker of the lights makes it look more Christmassy than the decorations we’ve put up.

  “Do you know about this?” He looks back at the entrance, then steps inside.

  I follow him until he stops in the living room. More candles are on the tables and bookshelves, giving the room a warm and cosy feel. I step past him and head for his bedroom. I’m sure Jonas will have got it right. And he has. Everything looks amazing. The white rose petals over the midnight-blue bedding give just the right touch, especially with the tall pillar candles on the dresser.

  Max’s lips land on my nape as he presses himself against my back. “What’s going on, baby?”

  I spin around in his arms and bite down on my lip, nervous now about how to say what I’ve been planning for days.

  “I wanted to say something to you. Well, two things actually, but now I’m worried that I’ve got this wrong.”

  “I don’t think you can say anything to me that would be wrong. I’m confused, though.”

  I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I decided to dress like this because the first time I came here, I didn’t stay because of this.” I point at my face. “So tonight, I’ve brought this with me.” I pull open my bag and bring out my make-up remover. “I’d like to keep it in your bathroom. In fact, I’d like to keep all my toiletries in your bathroom.” I pause. Here goes nothing. “The day I saw you in that bar was the start of the happiest part of my life. You complete me. You make my heart sing. I love you, Max. As in really head-over-heels, for-now-and-always in love with you. And I’d really like to move in with you. If the offer is still there.”

  Max stares at me, then around the room again, taking in everything, the candles, the petals, the champagne in the cooler by the bed. His mouth gapes open and closes like a goldfish. Then his eyes are back on me, glistening now with emotion. His chin has a wobble, and he swallows so hard it must hurt.

  “Nobody has ever done anything like this for me before. Fuck, Gus, I… shit! I love you. I love you so much. I’m a better person because you’re in my life. I want you here with me. I need you here.” He strokes a fingertip down my cheek to my lips and traces over the outline of my top lip. I flick my tongue out to lick the pad of his finger. A shudder runs through him as I suck the digit into my mouth. He pulls it out. Then with a devilish gleam in his eyes, he picks me up and throws me onto the bed. “You’re about to get so fucking lucky!” He laughs, then kisses me.

  Next up is Sawyer

  I think writing a book is 95% a solitary experience. As a writer, I pour out all the words the men in my head say to me. That’s the easy part. What’s difficult is the 5% when I hand over my blood, sweat, and tears to be critiqued by people I trust to tell me the truth – my beta readers. Thank you, Caroline, Vicky, and Scottie for not making me cry too much.

  After that, I send my baby to someone who, by chance, turned out to be the best thing since sliced bread - Tanja Ongkiehong, my amazing editor and wonderful friend. I trust her to pick through all the terrible punctuation and grammar and turn my musings into a story that makes sense.

  Finally, before the words are allowed to be released, they pass by the amazingly keen eye of Mildred Jordan.

  Then I let Jay Aheer design me a cover that makes me, and hopefully you, swoon.

  Lastly, I give it to you, the reader. I hope by then, I’ve made my crazy ideas become something you love, that the characters speak to you the way they do to me. If that has happened, then I can sit back, smile, and have a glass of wine before doing it all over again.

  Thank you,

  Jess

  If I have got it right, and you love what you’ve read, please consider leaving a review on Amazon, it really helps indie authors get seen. :)

  You will normally find her in the living room—typing away—with her dog, Maud and now the hopeless puppy, Siddiqi. As a hopeless romantic, JJ dives into her stories, always falling in love with her men, making sure they get the happy ever after they deserves, even if they do have to work hard for it.

  As a bona fide bookaholic, coffee-addicted, wine-drinking and swear-like-a-sailor type of girl, she has yet to work out how to act her age!! LOL. And she has no intentions of growing up or growing old gracefully.

  JJ lives in a small, very quiet, village in Lincolnshire, UK, with her husband and dogs, and spends all daydreaming up stories full of really hot men.

  If you like the book, please leave a short review. It really makes a difference to indie authors and it makes JJ smile.

  You can get more information about upcoming releases from JJ on her website:

  www.jjharper-author.com

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