Sean (14 page)

“Yeah. Do you want anything before bed? A drink or a snack?”

“No, thanks.” She stopped drawing and snuggled in even closer. It felt heavenly and we dozed off immediately.

***

“Sean,” she whispered. I opened my eyes to find Brynn standing above me with a huge smile. “C’mon, you gotta see this.” She pulled me up and handed me a blanket. I draped it over my shoulders and brought it around to cover the front of myself as she had done with hers.
I followed her onto the porch and to the east side. Her face shone as she pointed to the pink glow along the horizon.

I stood behind her, wrapping my blanket around the both of us as she leaned against the porch railing. “It’s beautiful,” I said. She nodded and sighed. We watched as the sun rose and shot rays of light through the morning sky and down over the green plains. It really was the most majestic I’d seen and it gave me goose bumps.

“Thank you for waking me. That was an inspiring way to start the day. What are you doing up so early anyway?” I knew she wasn’t an early riser usually.

“I got up to use the bathroom and was surprised it was still dark outside. I looked out the window and saw it. Wow… that was gorgeous.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as the sun s
hone on her face. “Do you run?” she asked.

Before I knew it we were eating bananas and stretching. I followed her lead as she jogged through the campground. I didn’t see anyone else up except for
a couple of employees who were working on various things. Brynn’s ass was teasing me and I almost tripped twice because I was looking at it instead of where I was going. She ran through the parking area and started up a hill. It was quite the climb, but when we made it to the top, I knew exactly where we were.

“This is Sunset,” I told Brynn. “Ethan planted these three little trees while Gia was in treatment. They represent the three babies she miscarried.” It was beautiful.

“That is so sweet,” she said. “Maybe we shouldn’t be up here. I feel like we’re in their private place.”

“It’s okay. Gia said she wanted me to see it. When I picked up the car yesterday she showed me the things he’d done in the house. He built her a meditation room.”

“He really loves her,” she said. “You can tell by the way he looks at her.”

“Yeah, I know. She really loves him too, lucky bastard
.” I stared out over The Lock.

“I’m gonna head back and shower,” Brynn said. By the time I turned around
, she had quite a head start. I never caught up to her, and by the time I entered the cabin, she was already in the shower.
She’s fast.

The bathroom door was shut
, so I knocked. “Do you want some company in there? I should clean your stitches.”

“
It’s okay. I’m almost done,” she said.
Hmm…that’s odd.

“Is everything all right? Brynn?” I tried to turn the handle but it was locked.
Very odd.

“Yes. Everything
’s good,” she answered.

I figured she just needed a moment and reminded myself again that I was supposed to be in pause. She spent most of her time alone, so I was sure she needed a break once in a while and she hadn’t had any time alone for days. I had to back off a little. Go slow. I heated some water for tea and found something on TV.

Forty-five minutes later the bathroom door opened and I took a double-take. I leaned over the back of the couch and whistled. She’d made her transformation into the sexy vixen that I now knew she really was behind closed doors and she was HOT. Her short, ripped jeans rode low on her hips and her tight black shirt hugged her breasts before it ended abruptly right above her navel, which sparkled with the piercing. Her shirt was off the shoulders, hinting that she was bra-free, and her erect nipples confirmed it. Black and silver bangles covered half of her left forearm and big silver hoops were almost hidden in her bouncy blonde locks. Her eyes were smoky, sexy and smoldering.

“Thanks.” She smiled as she dropped her black ankle boots at the door.
I watched as she made her cup of tea.

“I was thinking maybe we’d get some real breakfast before the concerts start,” I said.

“Tea is good for me until lunch.” I didn’t like that answer, but I knew her eating habits were something she was working on and off-limits for discussion.

“Okay.” I gave her a kiss as I walked by. “I’m gonna shower.”

I tried to look as rock-star-ish as I could with my ripped Levi’s and Kid Rock t-shirt, but I felt like I was no match for my date, who would undoubtedly turn a lot of heads out there. I put a load of product in my hair and mussed it with my hands, over and over, but I was feeling out of my league.

“Gia called,” Brynn said at the door. “She invited us over for breakfast.”

“Do you want to go?” I opened the door.

“Sure.” She shrugged, like she didn’t really care.

“Okay. Just give me a couple more minutes.” I put my hands on the sink and looked in the mirror.
Seriously? I’ve never, ever stressed about how I looked before! What’s wrong with me?
Brynn appeared in the mirror beside me.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing.” I smiled. She raised her eyebrows. “It’s stupid.”

She turned me to face her. “Try me,” she said.

I sighed. “I don’t look good enough for you.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head out of confusion. “Huh?”

“You’re so definitely ‘all that,’ and I’m…just this.” I held my hands up.

Her face softened and she smiled richly. “Jesus, Sean, you’re one of the best looking guys I’ve ever known. I thought so the first second I laid eyes on you at the treatment center.
You’re like, I don’t know, who’s that guy all the women love, in the movies?” She snapped her fingers as she tried to think of his name. I was smiling by then, after what she’d said, and it didn’t matter who it was, because she said I was one of the best looking guys she’d ever known, and that was all that mattered to me.

“Thank you.” I kissed her. “It really doesn’t matter, as long as you think so.”

“I could help you with your look for today…if you’d like.”

I nodded. She looked me up and down. She circled me, stalling behind me for a while.

“Don’t sell yourself short,” she said. “Your ass
is
‘all that’ in these jeans.” She slapped it.

I chuckled. “You’re asking for it,” I told her.

“Am I?” She leaned over in front of me and put her fingers through one of the rips in the jeans and yanked it apart even further. My body jerked and it was surprisingly erotic. She did another on the other leg. She pulled a couple of the white threads so they were hanging down under the hole. She grabbed my black belt and ran it around my waist through all the loops. When her fingers touched my skin it sent heat through me and I wanted her to stop dressing me and start undressing me. She buckled me and tucked just the front of my shirt down my jeans behind the buckle. Fuck, she was close to my erection, but kept working. She reached in her suitcase and brought out a black and white handkerchief. She hopped her little ass up onto the vanity and folded it before she reached up and put it on my head, over my hair and tied the back. She smiled. “Fuckin’ A,” she said.

I looked in the mirror. The handkerchief looked like a do-rag, the way she’d folded and tied it. I liked it. I wore one sometimes when I worked out, but never thought I’d wear one on a date with a gorgeous woman. The jeans looked better, not so new, and the
belt and shirt tuck was genius. I grabbed her as she sat by the sink. I put my hands on her face and kissed her. I sucked her tongue and lips as I pulled her hips tight against me. “Thanks for the make-over, it turned me on.”

“I noticed.”
She didn’t seem nearly as excited as I was. I decided to back off with the come-on.

***

“Good morning!” Gia greeted us at the door. She looked amazing, as usual. When she hugged me, I had to take a deep breath of her scent.

I kept Ethan company in the kitchen while Gia showed Brynn around.

“How’s that jet lag this morning?” Ethan chuckled.

“Better. How were the concerts?” I asked.

“Really good. Everything went smooth, too, considering the crowd we had.”

We made small talk until the girls joined us. “Ethan, Brynn got a piercing last night,” Gia squealed. Ethan whistled when he saw it.

“It’s very sexy,” Gia said. “If I were younger, I’d get one.”

“Hotness, if you want one, you should get one. It doesn’t have anything to do with how old you are. Besides, you have the body of a twenty-
five-year-old anyway,” Ethan told her and kissed her. She glowed as she looked into his eyes. It was like Brynn and I weren’t even there.

Gia made mimosas and we sat down to eat. Brynn took a tiny piece of bacon and a tablespoon of scrambled eggs. She didn’t say much as Gia, Ethan and I talked. She’d been pretty much to herself since our run and I hoped it wasn’t something I did. I tried to get her into the conversation.

“Brynn and I ended up at Sunset this morning when we were out for a run,” I said. I smiled at her and squeezed her thigh.

“It’s beautiful,” she said.

Ethan told her about it and what it meant to Gia and him. Brynn smiled and nodded as he talked. She finished her second mimosa and I could tell she’d loosened up a bit, although she was still pretty quiet.

We all helped clean up and Gia and Brynn made themselves another drink. “I’m going out for a smoke,” Gia said. She was buzzed.

“Can I bum one of those?” Brynn asked. It surprised me. I’d never seen her smoke or even smelled it on her.

Ethan and I followed them out and the three of them lit up. I watched Brynn. She seemed quite comfortable with it. Obviously it was something she had experience with. She sat on the ground and watched the smoke roll as she exhaled. It made me want to have one, but the few times I’d tried it, it made me cough terribly. I’d look like a fool, not confident and sexy, like her.

The four of us hung out all day. Ethan showed us backstage and took us in the VIP bar. We watched concerts and drank a lot. Dana and Trey joined us for a couple of hours and she apologized to me for the gay remark on Friday night. It was no big deal and I told her so. Brynn stayed pretty low key all day, yet she was receptive to me and seemed to enjoy holding hands and kissing me when I initiated it.

We had one more concert to go and I knew I’d better get something to eat if I planned to last that long. I
was worried about Brynn since she hadn’t eaten much for breakfast and she’d been drinking all day, but she seemed to be holding her own. Just as I was about to ask her, some dude walked up to her and put a backstage pass around her neck. She looked confused for a second, but then seemed to recognize the guy.

“The guys spotted you earlier and would like to say hi,” he told her.

She nodded. “Okay. Can I bring my boyfriend?”

He looked at me and laughed. “I don’t think so, Angel.”

“Do you mind?” she asked me. “They’re friends of mine, from Sashay.” Yes, I minded! I minded a lot; of course I didn’t tell her that. Who was I to say who she could and couldn’t talk to? I didn’t like the idea of her going alone, though.

“Uh…” I started.

“I’ll go with her,” Gia said. Thank god!

The dude liked that idea as he looked Gia up and down. “My fiancé owns this place, so I wouldn’t make any sudden movements if I were you,” Gia told him. He looked less excited then. I chuckled and Ethan gave her an approving nod.
The girls took off and I had a bad feeling.

“Don’t worry,” Ethan said. “I’ve got a lot of crew back there. They don’t put up with any bullshit from the bands, and neither does Gia.”

I nodded. “I gotta eat something,” I told him.

We got some subs and sat at a picnic table near the backstage exit. I wanted to be right there when the girls came back.

“You know I own this place, right?” Ethan asked with a grin. “And as my friend and guest, you have all access. That dipshit can’t tell you where you can and can’t go.” He was amused that I’d overlooked that little fact.

“Way to back me up out there,” I told him.

“Hey,” he chuckled, “I didn’t know if you wanted to be that kind of guy. I mean, if it were a different situation, I’d have said something, but it’s safe for the girls. If it would’ve been the VIP bar, then no, the girls wouldn’t be in there without us.”

We finished eating and made small talk for a while before Ethan got a text from Gia. As he read it to himself a grin slowly spread across his face and he glanced up at me.

“What?” I asked.

“Uh…I think we’d better find us a clear view of the stage. The concert’s about to start.” He stood and grabbed our garbage.

“I’m gonna wait here,” I said. “If the concert’s starting, the girls will be coming out.”

“Trust me. You’re gonna want to be front and center when it starts.” He was still grinning. I didn’
t like what was happening, but I followed Ethan as he led me through a door and back out onto a path that ran the length of stage. Right in front of the stage! Ethan nodded toward the gate that separated thousands of screaming people from the path we were on. The security guy pulled it open just far enough for Ethan and me to get behind it. I was sure the people who’d stood there for hours just to have a couple of guys get ushered in front of them were pissed, but no one said anything. They just made room.