Assure Her (Assured Distraction Book 1) (8 page)

While they chowed down on their individual choices of lunch fare, the group talked about getting on the road. KeeMac filled them in on what he had learned about Chandler’s life. She was glad he did because she didn’t want to go through it all with them individually.

“We’ve got us a Juilliard-trained band member, huh? No one would ever expect that when this bunch of misfits get on stage,” Ryan winked in her direction. Chandler laughed at his humor, and she was sure that his fun personality and easy-on-the-eyes looks meant they would get along great during their time on the bus. She was already enjoying this time learning about each member in a more personal way before they left. Ryan’s hair and fashion choices definitely made the most of his good looks but his mild country drawl was the very hot icing on the cake. She didn’t know where he was from originally but she doubted he had actually lived in Austin the entire time.

The afternoon went by quickly, and by eight they were all beat. Even taking short breaks for a Monster didn’t help after everything they had covered on their first day of rehearsals. When Cash wandered into the rehearsal room and looked them over, he could tell they were drained. “How did the day go? Any comments or requests?” They all mumbled rude comments in his direction but he laughed at their responses. He knew they had put in a long day since he had been checking in with Peri and she was giving him reports on their progress.

Chandler noticed that Keeton seemed to stick pretty close to her and spent most of their breaks with her. He made a point to ask her about the music each time, but then he would continue talking to her until the break was over. She learned how the band got to where they were, and they even talked a little about his life outside of music. She was happy to get to know him better and thought he was doing a really great job of making her feel like a welcome addition to the band.

Before they could leave at the end of the day, Cash gave them their marching orders, “Go home. Get some rest and pack your bags. You can bring most of it here tomorrow, and I’ll see it gets on the bus. Remember, you have a small amount of extra personal space on the bus, only a little space under the bus and even less space in your bunks. Don’t over pack or you’ll be sleeping with it. Be back here in the morning by ten. We can go over any last minute ideas or continue rehearsing as you need to and then you all will have the evening to yourselves.” There was more grumbling from the band as they dragged themselves out the door.

They each went their separate ways when they reached the parking lot, and Chandler continued toward the sidewalk to catch the bus across the street. When KeeMac spotted her waiting on traffic to cross, he called to her, “Hey! What are you doing?”

“The bus I need stops on the other side, down the road.”

“Chan, we are going to practically the same spot. I’ll take you home.”

“I don’t want to impose. You probably have places to go on your last night at home.” She was happy to be staring at him from behind her sunglasses so she could look all she wanted without him noticing.

“I’m worn out. I’m going home to hang in front of the TV for the rest of the night, watch baseball, eat pizza and drink beer. You live less than two damn blocks from me, I can take you home. Why didn’t you tell me last night you needed a ride over here this morning?” The glare he gave her was almost intimidating. “Riding the bus can be fucking dangerous, you know.” He had already made his way over to where she stood.

“I’m used to riding the bus or taking taxis. I’ll be fine. Thanks, though.” Chandler didn’t feel like she needed to explain herself to him but she did. She glanced at her watch and knew she needed to get to her stop if she wanted to avoid waiting thirty minutes for the next bus.

“I’m taking you home.” He was following close enough now that he was glaring down at her when she turned around and looked up, since she was almost a full foot shorter than him.

“Really? What gave you the idea that you could tell me how to get around Austin, or anywhere, for that matter? I’m sick of this princess BULLSHIT! I am an adult, I can make my own decisions, and I won’t take orders from anyone EVER again!” She stood her ground against him with bravado she didn’t really feel.

He inhaled deeply, his eyes closed. When he opened them again, his smirk had returned to his face. “Miss Chatam, it would make me so happy if you would please allow me to escort you home. I do not want to worry about you being on the bus at night with anyone who might see your beauty and wish to cause you harm.” Then he bowed gallantly to her then looked back up, full-smirk, and winked at her.

The request coming out of his mouth was so formal that she couldn’t help but smile back at him. And, he had said ‘please’ this time. She had to give in even though she didn’t really want to.

“That would be very nice of you, Keeton McDonald, if you would escort me safely home.” She decided to play along and return an equally formal reply but she couldn’t keep the cheerful grin off her face. The guy sure did know how to diffuse a girl’s short temper; she had to give him that. And he did it with humor.
Keeton MacDonald had charm. Oh God, he’s a ladies’ man. You are, aren’t you, Keeton? You are going to be trouble...

He laughed out loud. “No one ever calls me Keeton any more, and I can’t ever remember someone saying I did something nice. Don’t tell anyone, or you’ll ruin my rep.” He gave her another playful wink then took her hand and led her back to his motorcycle.

She looked at him like he had lost his mind. “You are expecting me to ride on that thing, in Austin traffic? You’ve lost your mind. I’ll take my chances with the bus crazies.” She turned back toward the bus stop just in time to watch it take off. Now she would have to wait for the next one.

“Get the fuck back over here, Chandler. We can get there without getting on the interstate. You’ll be fine. Trust me.” All she could think was:
famous last words, dude
. He put the helmet on her head and tightened the straps under her chin.

She looked around his bike. “What are you going to wear if I have your only helmet?”

“I have another at home. I’ll start bringing it so we’ll both have one when we need it. But this time, I’ll just be extra careful.” He gave her The Smirk. She was beginning to believe that he pulled that look out to get his own way.

“Yeah, so, if I ever get back on here, I still want you to be extra careful. Actually, I want you to be extra careful any time you’re on this thing. You realize I don’t have a clue how to do this?” Her mother would have a stroke on the spot if she saw this happening.

“It’s simple,” he threw his leg over the bike and took his seat, “put your foot on the peg, throw your leg over, scoot up as close to me as you can get and hang on to me. Most of all, relax and enjoy it.”

She did as instructed, and then he reached behind him and grabbed her behind the knees and pulled her toward him, sliding her ass along the leather of the seat until her legs were snug against his hips.
Oh my.
Then he grabbed her hands where they were resting loosely on the sides of his waist and wrapped her arms tight around his body, overlapping her hands at his belly, and pressing her breasts against his back.
There’s no way he couldn’t feel that, because she surely could... oh my.
It might have been a casual touch for him, to have a woman’s arms and legs wrapped around his body, but for her the feeling of this man between her thighs, was sending shockwaves to her core.

The motorcycle roared to life, and then he kicked it into gear and they entered traffic. Her fear level shot to the top of the scale. Each move the bike made caused them to rub against each other, and she was hyperaware of the electricity that jolted her system. She wondered if this was how all motorcycle rides were, because, if so, then she was beginning to understand the appeal. Trying to simply breathe, she turned her head to the side, pressed her cheek to his back and prayed the entire way home.

Keeton was in Hog Heaven. He liked the feel of her wrapped around him. He just laughed to himself at how rigid she sat behind him. Her small hands stayed in place the entire ride as if she was afraid to move them. He knew she was petrified, but he loved it. Getting around in traffic and parking in this city was so much easier on the Harley. He hoped she would get used to it, because he could certainly get used to having her wrapped around him. The sparks were definitely there. He couldn’t decide if this was a good or bad thing, considering the close confines they were about to find themselves in.

Despite arriving at her house unscathed, her legs were trembling when she tried to climb off. Clinging so tightly to her driver the whole way had fatigued and cramped her muscles and she barely had the strength to climb off, let alone stand. She handed him the helmet, curtsied shakily, and with the same formal language from before the

ride, thanked him for the adrenaline rush, “Thank you, kind sir, for seeing me safely to my humble abode.”

Keeton laughed at her again. “You know, you could get back on and go to my place and join me for pizza and beer. I might even be able to scrounge up a bottle of wine.”

“I don’t know, Keeton. I’m pretty tired. Today was another long day. Maybe I should say goodnight now.”

“Oh, come on Chan, live a little. Two motorcycle rides in one day would give you some exciting events to write about in your journal.”

She looked at him strangely.
How did he know I still wrote in a journal?
She had been doing it for years.

Taking one look at her face, he knew what was going on in that mind of hers. “You actually write in a journal, don’t you?” Chandler gave him a shoulder shrug, feeling like she had divulged a secret she would have rather kept to herself.

“Now you have to come over so you’ll have a great entry to add about today.”

“I don’t write every day, just so you know. I only write in it when I feel like I have something going on that’s a big deal or something I want to remember.”

“Chan, you hurt me deeply. Are you saying that spending time with me is not a big deal to you?” He feigned a hurt look on his face trying to gain her sympathy.

She grinned at his theatrics and rolled her eyes at him. “I’m so sorry, Keeton. If it will sooth your fragile ego I’ll come over but only long enough to eat, then I’ll walk back home,” she answered, playing along like this was for his benefit, but she really did liked having a friend and he seemed to enjoy her company.

“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” he mumbled as she climbed back onto the bike and wrapped herself around him again.

––––––––

W
ow. Nice place, Keeton.” She was impressed that he would live in something like this. His home was actually a high-rise condo building just two blocks away, like he said. He led her through the beautiful lobby, waving to the security guard behind the desk as they passed.

“Yeah, I like not having to worry about too much.” Chandler knew this was high dollar for this section of Austin and wondered about he well the band was really doing, but didn’t feel like it was her business to ask.

When the elevator reached the tenth floor, he put in his code and opened the door and waved her in. “Home sweet home.”

“This is really something.” Her eyes immediately went to the view and she crossed to large windows facing the downtown skyline. In the distance, she could see the lit-up capital building and the tower on UT’s campus across an expanse of the city night. “You have an amazing view from here.”

“You should see it when the tower is glowing orange. I love knowing the Horns have won a game.” He was now standing on the warm hardwood floors, too, close enough to touch her. She got that same little tingle she felt when they were on the motorcycle together.
So, it wasn’t just because of the bike?

“Are you a big football fan?” She couldn’t quite imagine him decked out in burnt orange on game day.

“Hell yeah! How can you live in Austin and not get caught up in the fucking madness that goes on around this damn town on game day? There was a time I wouldn’t have missed a single game but we’ve been on the road a lot on weekends, so I’ve had to settle for catching the highlights. Look over there, to the right, “he said, pointing out the window toward the northwest. “You can almost see down into the baseball stadium, too. I abso-fucking-lutely love baseball. I walk over there to games all the time.” Moving behind her, he put his arms around her shoulders to turn her north and point toward the field. He stood there, both of them looking out at the city, his body close to hers from behind, with only his arms touching her shoulders. She became hyperaware of the inebriating male scent coming from him. It was a light woodsy scent, cologne or aftershave maybe, not overpowering, but enough to draw her attention.

“That’s great. I’ve never been to a baseball or football game. My parents weren’t sports fans.” Chandler’s tone sounded disappointed. She moved out of his seemingly casual contact to stand more in the middle of the room, feigning a look around the rest of the place. A little space seemed safer to her.

“Are you shitting me? That’s just sad, sweetheart. You’ve lived in Austin damn near all your life and have never seen the Horns play anything?” He seemed completely surprised. “We will have to fix this ASAP. Baseball season just finished up so we’ll have to wait until next spring.” He moved toward her again, motioning for her to have a seat on his couch.

Chandler looked at him, knowing that in a year he probably wouldn’t even remember her name. AD was headed for greatness, and she would only be on their radar for a short period of time. By this time next year he would be a rock star and she would be... well, who knew where she would be.

Sensing that she wasn’t into the close contact and he was having trouble resisting himself, he moved on. “You want to order from East Side Pies? It’s my favorite and they deliver.”

“Sure, I’m not that picky.” The look on her face told him all he needed to know.

“Let me guess, you’ve never had East Side? Damn girl, what did you do when you lived in Austin, hibernate under a rock?” He had the number on speed dial.