Never Enough: A New Adult Romance (8 page)

“No, I mean to the showers,” she said, seemingly offended that I didn’t catch on.

I sighed heavily while Jonathan barked out a laugh. “I’m sure a few of the guys wouldn’t mind, but for the rest of us delicate folk, I’m going to have to decline.”

I grinned at him, loving how he handled Magg
ie’s ridiculous comment. He gestured toward the locker rooms. “I’m going to take a shower, but wait here. We’ll be ready to go in about twenty minutes.”

I nodded and he turned to make his way across the field. As I was watching him go, I could feel Damien
watching me. I resisted the urge to peek over at him. If he really wanted to discuss what had happened he could make it happen. I didn’t feel like putting myself out there again. It was his turn.

***

Maggie and I waited for Jonathan by the door of the locker rooms. I would have been more comfortable waiting by the bleachers or even at our cars, but Maggie had insisted. She claimed she wanted to make sure I had a chance to talk to Damien, but I had a feeling she wanted to sneak a peek at all the guys coming and going from the locker rooms. Sometimes she was such a guy.

Damien appeared first, his hair wet from water and the smell of soap drifting off his skin.
Dirty or clean, just being near Damien had my hormones spiraling out of control.

“Jonathan said you were going to pizza with us,” he said after an awkward
moment where I did the best to avoid his eyes.

“Yeah. Hope that’s okay,” I said finally meeting his gaze.

“It better be. I’m going if it’s okay with you or not,” Maggie nearly shouted.

“Look,
I don’t care either way,” Damien said, his voice trying but failing to sound casual. He sounded more peeved than anything. It was probably because I had ignored his text and refused to come home. It didn’t help that Nik had showed up with me to the game either.

He ran a hand through his hair and glanced over his shoulder. “Well, see you there,” he
said, swinging his duffle bag over his shoulder. I watched his biceps flex and how the tattoos lining his arm seemed to stretch with all those muscles. I bit down on my bottom lip and Damien’s eyes flew to my mouth. His eyes seemed to darken as he watched me lick my lips nervously. A loud noise behind us had Damien nearly jumping, his trance-like state disappearing. Before I could say anything, he turned on his heels and strode across the field.

“
He looks frustrated,” Maggie said quietly.

I
was going to admit that I was too, but Caden emerged from the showers. “I’m glad you came,” he said, wrapping his arm around me. “Maggie.”

Maggie nodded, barely acknowledging his presence, as she craned her neck in an effort to
catch a glimpse of the tattooed giant walking out of the lockers.

“Ah, Kyle,” Caden said, his mouth thinning into a straight line.

“Bro,” Kyle greeted before turning his gaze toward Maggie. “Heard you were coming.” The way he said that last word had me blushing. Maggie however just seemed turned on by it.

“Let’s get out of here before those two start dry humping on the ground,” Caden murmured in my ear.

I agreed. I didn’t want to see that.

***

The pizza parlor was crowded when we walked in. Known for the cheap beer, large pizzas and big screen TVs, it was a popular place for bikers, college students and sports fans. It was not family friendly, which meant I really didn’t fit in. In fact, I stuck out like a sore thumb. Maggie, however seemed to blend right in and even gave the bartender sass when he asked to see her ID.

Not that she was twenty-one, but still. I would have been too scared to even use my fake ID in a p
lace like this. So I ordered a Coke and while I waited for it to be filled, Damien strode over and stood behind me. I shuddered at his nearness.

“You don’t have to stick around. Jonathan will understand if you want to leave,” he said, his mouth much too close to my ear.

I turned my face halfway and nearly lost my breath when I noticed how close our mouths were. I bit down on my bottom lip out of sheer nervousness and watched as his eyes slipped down to my mouth once more.

“I’m assuming you want me to leave,” I finally said, squaring my shoulders.

“No,” he said, moving his head back an inch. “I just thought this isn’t your scene.”

“Well, it’s not, but Jonathan invited me and I thought it would be nice to come along.”

Before he could open his mouth to respond, I leaned in and said, “Don’t worry. Contrary to your belief that I do it often, I’m not here to get into his pants.”

His eyes narrowed. “I don’t think that.”

The bartender slid me my Coke and I wrapped my hands around the cool perspiring plastic. Turning around, I fully faced Damien. His dark eyes were watching me and he made no effort to move out of my way. I just stood there, soaking in the intense waves rolling off his body. When I couldn’t take anymore, I took a step to my right. At that moment, Kyle came barreling toward us, knocking me off balance. I tumbled forward, straight into Damien’s chest. My Coke splashed across his chest, but he didn’t even seem to notice. His hands grasped my waist tightly and my insides clenched in anticipation as he pulled me into him. Everything about him was hard and unforgiving and I wanted nothing more than to wrap my soft body around his. Glancing up, I saw him staring down at me, contemplation and something else I couldn’t identify in his eyes.

“You two, get a room,” Kyle said jokingly as he leaned his beefy arms on the bar top and glanced back at us.

Damien’s fingers flexed on my hips before he slowly slid them from my body.

I glanced down and saw my drink spreading through his fabric. “Sorry,” I said. Damien merely shrugged.

“It’s fine.”

The two of us just stood there awkwardly until Damien gestured to my now empty cup. “I’ll get you a new Coke. Go ahead and sit down. I’ll bring it to you.”

His sweetness surprised me, especially since I’d brushed him off last night. “Okay. Thanks,” I said, stepping around Damien and making my way over to where Maggie was sitting. Caden had placed himself across from her and his eyes were twinkling in amusement and something else I couldn’t quite define. I was surprised to see Maggie’s lips turned down in a frown.

I lowered myself next to her and she exhaled slowly, as if to regain her composure. Caden leaned back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest, a smile lurking on the corners of his mouth.

“You okay?” I asked Maggie lowly. 

She nodded, forcing a smile on her face. “I’m going to go see if Kyle needs some help with those drinks,” she said, pushing herself up and walking away. I watched her go before shooting Caden a look.

“What’d you say to her?”

He shrugged. “Nothing she doesn’t know already.”

Before I could inquire further, Jonathan slid into the empty seat next to me.

“Hey,” he said
, turning toward me. “I hope this seat isn’t taken.” He brushed his hair away from his face and leveled those big blue eyes on me.

I shook my head
and said playfully, “Nope. Saved just for you.”

His eyebrows rose and the corners of his lips turned up.
“Don’t let Damien hear you say that.”

“What? Why?”

“I think you know why. You’re a smart girl,” he replied, taking a sip of his beer.

I had a feeling he was referring to
Damien feeling possessive of me, which made me wonder what Damien had told Jonathan about last night.

“You don’t drink?” Jonathan asked
, diverting my thoughts from backrooms and trembling limbs.

“No. I’m only nineteen.”

“Ah, Damien didn’t tell me that.”

“Damien’s talks about me?”

Jonathan peered at me from over the rim of his bottle. “Of course he does. I kind of feel like I know you.”

My cheeks flushed and I gazed at the table. “What does he say?’

“Now that, I couldn’t tell you,” he said mischievously and I felt my heart flip flop.

We sat in silence for a moment
, my mind trying to figure out what Damien could have said about me, before Jonathan turned toward me, his eyes serious. “You’re good for him. Don’t let him push you away.”

My eyebrows rose at his
unexpected comment. “Okay,” I said. It was all I could say when I had no clue what he meant.

Jonathan glanced over his shoulder and I followed his gaze. Damien was leaning over the bar, the back of his shirt riding up, exposing
his inked skin.

“He hides behind all those tattoos and those dark moods, but he feels deeply. Don’t let him convince you otherwise. He doesn’t do casual.”

Jonathan’s openness had me opening up as well. “I had a feeling, but he doesn’t talk to me. I mean we don’t really know each other that well.”

“
That’s a surprise,” Jonathan said before adding, “You just got to give him a chance to open up. He likes you. I can tell. If you don’t give up on him, it will be worth it.”

I swallowed and met Jonathan’s gaze. “I don’t give up easily.” I knew I looked like a pushover, but no one knew that obstacles I had to overcome to actually move out of my parent’s house. If I could do that, I could do almost anything.

“He’ll try like hell to push you away. He’s way too private and it drives everyone crazy.” Jonathan warned as he took another sip of his beer. “You have to fight for him but I like you, so I’m going to help you in any way I can.”

I was glad Jonathan was my advocate and wanted me with Damien, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to be the one responsible for pulling him out of the dark shadows that followed him around. I didn’t know if I was strong enough to hold both of us up. I could barely support myself
at the moment.  

“You okay?” Damien’s voice pulled my eyes up from the table.
He set a glass of Coke down in front of me and I wrapped my arms around the cool plastic.

“Yeah,” I replied, glancing over at Jonathan who was watching me intently. It was almost as if he were assessing me. I wondered if I had passed his test.

“What are you guys talking about?” Damien’s voice was suspicious. He eyed Jonathan who merely placed his arm across the back of my chair and took another sip of his beer.

“Just getting to know your girl,” he replied.

Damien’s cheeks flushed as he lowered himself across from me. His fingers tapped a rhythm on the beer bottle he was holding.

“I’m not his girl,” I explained, not wanting to hear Damien say it.
My response only caused Damien to frown.

“That’s not what it looks like from where I sit,” Jonathan replied casually, leaning back in his chair.

I chewed on the end of my straw nervously, feeling Damien’s eyes on me. I had a feeling Damien knew we’d been talking about him, but I wasn’t going to be the one to admit that. He took a sip of his beer, his eyes moving over my face. My gaze flickered back and forth between my cup and his dark, knowing eyes.

Jonathan merely watched us for a moment before turning to me and asking, “So I hear you play the cello
, Tempie.”

I nodded, happy for the distraction. “Yeah. I’ve been playing since I was six.”

“Damien said you’re good.”

I turned to look at
Damien and he glanced away.

“Well, if you’re as bad ass as he says you are
, I’d like to invite you to come jam with us. A few of our songs could really use a cello.”

My eyes widened. “Songs? Are you in a band?”

“Yeah,” Jonathan chuckled. “So’s Damien.”

“You’re in a band?” I repeated, not being able to understand how a fellow musician didn’t recognize another fellow musician. Could he get any sexier?
First rugby, now this. I was going to be powerless to resist him.

“Yeah,” Damien replied almost shyly.

My mind was being blown. I had no idea that Damien had an artsy side to him. I should have known with how brooding he was, but he never talked about this life, so I had no way of knowing. “What’s your name? Have I heard of you guys?”

“Silence and Sorrow,” Jonathan replied when Damien made no move to do so.

I furrowed my brow, trying to remember if I’d heard of them before. I hadn’t.

“I’ve never heard of you guys.”

“Yeah, well we’re local and not that big. We started playing, what? A year ago?”

Damien nodded. “Yeah, around then.”

“What do you play?” I asked Damien.

“The lead guitar,”
he replied.

I stared at him. It was like I didn’t know him at all. I just thought he was a
twenty-one year old guy who managed a coffee shop, not some musician who played rugby on the side. Jesus, I was so screwed.

“Yeah and he writes all the music,” Jonathan added
with a large smile.

My eyes widened
as my heart thumped away frantically in my chest. “Really? Why didn’t you tell me that?”