Chapter 3
CURTIS
I stopped and stared, my mouth falling open. He came. The guy from the music shop. Just as unassumingly cute as I remembered, biting his lip as he shot me a cautious look.
Tom cleared his throat, amusement dancing in his eyes. “I’ll leave you to it. Have fun.”
When he disappeared, I stepped closer to the guy, a smile spreading across my face. “You came.”
From the way he’d run out of the shop, I hadn’t thought I’d see him again. But here he was.
“Yeah…well.”
He shrugged. “A stranger in a music store invited me to watch his band play. I had nothing else planned, so I thought I’d check it out.”
“Yeah? What did you think?”
“You were good. Really good. I…it’s different from the music I usually listen to, but I liked it. You were good.”
“You already said that.”
Closing the final bit of distance between us, I leaned against the side of the van, trying to act casual, even though my heart was pounding.
“Yeah, well, I meant it. And…”
He audibly inhaled, his chest rising with the movement. “I wondered if you wanted to celebrate a successful show by letting me buy you a drink?”
My smile widened. “I’d like that.”
He grinned, relaxing, and then held out his hand. “Yeah? Maybe we should start by exchanging names. I’m Jaxon, or Jax, if you prefer.”
My breath caught in my throat as I curled my fingers around his, his palm warm against mine. Fucking hell, I shouldn’t have been this affected by a simple handshake. “Hi, Jaxon. I’m Curtis.”
Releasing his hand a little reluctantly, I inclined my head towards the door. “I need to finish packing up our equipment, but if you don’t mind hanging around, I’ll be free in about twenty minutes. The pub’s closing, but there’s a bar not too far from here with a late license.”
“Need any help? I’m stronger than I look.”
Raising his brows, he flexed his biceps. “See?”
I laughed. “Okay. Come on. I’ll introduce you to the others.”
Somehow, we’d managed to find seats in a tiny, hidden corner of the busy bar, which was a miracle, considering it was the weekend and we were in central London. Even better, we were seated on a small loveseat that was not designed to hold two grown men, which meant we were plastered together, Jaxon’s thigh a hot, delicious press against mine. My pint was gathering condensation on the table in front of us, but I ignored it for now, far more interested in the guy sitting next to me.
“So,”
I began. “When we met, you mentioned you were going to be here for a while. Based on your accent, I was thinking you’re American, but I guess I shouldn’t assume…”
I trailed off, hoping he’d volunteer some information about himself. I didn’t want it to seem like I was interrogating him, but it was always a bit awkward at first, getting to know someone completely new.
He sighed, staring into his drink as he traced patterns in the condensation on his glass. “Yeah. I’m American. And British. My dad’s a Brit, and I have dual citizenship, but this is the first time I’ve been here since I was a little kid. I was…uh…living in New York City until recently, but I decided I needed a change, and here I am. As for how long I’ll stay, I don’t know for sure, but I like it here. I needed…a break, I guess, and my dad has an apartment in London he uses for work, so it was as good a place as any.”
I nodded. “That makes sense. What did you need a break from, or is that too personal? Sorry—tell me to back off if it seems like I’m prying.”
“You’re not.”
His lips kicked up at the corners. “Believe me, having someone want to get to know me and not just assume they already know me is a novel experience.”
What did he mean by that comment? I didn’t have time to think about it because he continued to speak.
“I needed a break from…life, I guess. A career change. A chance to experience something new and different. Like a, what’s it called…a gap year? I never had the chance to backpack around Europe, so this is my substitute.”
“That sounds good. I never took a gap year, either, but I always thought it sounded fun. One of my friends went backpacking across Southeast Asia and then on to Australia and New Zealand. To tell you the truth, I was a bit jealous, seeing all his updates. The furthest I’ve managed so far is Greece.”
Lifting my pint to my lips, I swallowed a mouthful of cool cider. So good. I was the band’s drummer, not a singer, but I always ended up singing along with the setlist, and a chilled cider was the perfect way to soothe my throat after a gig.
“You’ve never been to the US?”
Jaxon turned his head, and our eyes met, and the intensity of his gaze made my breath catch in my throat. Fuck. He really was so hot.
Holding his gaze, I placed my pint glass down. “Not yet. But maybe I could take you sightseeing here, and then you could return the favor one day. Or repay me in another way.”
His eyes widened, and then, after a long moment where I held my breath, he smirked at me. That smirk did things to me. Things that weren’t appropriate in a public place, but fuck it, you only lived once. Before he could respond, I leaned forward, sliding my lips across his, and kissed the smirk right off his face. He gasped, but then his hand came up to curl around the nape of my neck, and he opened his mouth to me.
That first slide of his tongue against mine was electric. I reached out, gently cupping his stubbled jaw as we kissed, slow and deep and so fucking good. I never wanted it to end.
When we drew apart, he stared at me, his mouth open. “Wow,”
he said eventually, breathless, dragging a hand through his hair. “Yeah. Wow.”
Picking up his pint, he downed a third of it in one go, and I noticed his hand was shaking. For my part, I was feeling just as shaky as he was. That had been an incredible kiss. It felt like we’d connected in that moment, on a level I’d never experienced before. We didn’t even know each other, and I was reeling.
Picking up my glass again to give me something to do while I gathered myself, I cleared my throat. “I’m glad I didn’t misread the signs.”
“No, you didn’t.”
A disbelieving laugh fell from his throat. “I can’t believe that happened.”
“Me neither.”
I wanted to kiss him again, badly, but he still seemed a bit shaken up, and I didn’t want to push him for anything. Instead, I leaned back in my seat. “You said you needed a career change. What were you doing before? I’m still not sure what I want to do after I finish my degree. The dream would be to be the full-time drummer for the 2Bit Princes and to make enough money from it to live on, but the chances of that happening are probably one in a million, or something.”
Thanks to our close proximity, I felt the exact moment his entire body stiffened, right when I mentioned his career change. Fuck.
“Sorry. You don’t have to talk about it.”
He took a deep breath, and then his hand landed on my arm. “I like your tattoos,”
he murmured, his cheeks flushing as he adjusted his tentative grip, his fingers lightly stroking over my skin. “Uh…yeah. I’m not ready to talk about that. Not yet. Sorry.”
I placed my hand over his, and he stilled, his gaze flying to mine. “You don’t have to apologize. I just want to get to know you, but you don’t owe me anything, okay?”
“You’re incredible. So different from anyone I’ve ever met.”
His voice came out as a whisper. “I think…I think I’d like to kiss you again.”
“Yeah?”
Leaning in, I smiled. “I’m not going to stop you.”
We alternated between talking and kissing, our drinks forgotten, as I told him about my experience as a uni student, and he shared little crumbs of information about himself—things like his favorite colour, his star sign, a place in New York that did the best pizza he’d ever had in his life, the tourist spots he’d already visited in London. When I pulled my phone from my pocket to check the time, I was shocked to find it was almost three in the morning.
“Bloody hell. How is that the time?”
Jaxon glanced down at my screen and laughed. “I guess we were enjoying each other’s company so much, we lost track of time.”
His laughter died away, and he licked his lips, his eyes darkening as we stared at one another. “Want to continue this back at my place?”
I knew exactly why he was inviting me back to his, and it wasn’t to continue our conversation.
Instead of replying, I stood and tugged him to his feet. He laughed as I dragged him out of the bar and down the street.
“Hey, wait up. We’re going in the wrong direction. I think.”
I stopped, turning to see him grinning at me, his eyes sparkling in the glow from the street lamps. Fucking gorgeous. Pressing him up against the wall we were standing against, I dipped my head to his ear. “Sorry. Why don’t you show me the way?”
His body shivered against mine, and I heard his breath hitch. “I think I need you to show me the way.”
Drawing back, I stared at him, incredulous. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
The corners of his lips curved into a wry smile. “I’m saying I’m not all that experienced when it comes to…uh, men, and you seem…like you know what you’re doing.”
Fuck. I lowered my head again, kissing up the side of his throat as he pulled me closer. “I’m gonna take such good care of you.”
“Yeah,”
he whispered, grinding against me. It was so fucking hot, and I was rapidly losing the ability to think.
In between kissing and getting my hands all over him, I managed to say, “No pressure, either. Whatever you want.”
“Curtis. Fuck. I want you.”
The sudden sound of loud conversation close to us had us springing apart, panic flaring in Jaxon’s wide eyes. I stepped back, running a hand through my hair as I exhaled harshly, trying to compose myself. How had we both managed to get so carried away that we’d forgotten where we were? Not that I necessarily minded a PDA, and we were outside a gay bar that had seen way more action than our kisses, but Jaxon was clearly uncomfortable. The sooner we got back to his place, the better.
“Let’s go. How far is your place? Do we need to get a taxi? It might be quicker to get an Uber than wait for a black cab.”
He tugged his phone from his pocket, frowning down at the screen. His hair was falling into his eyes, and my fingers itched to brush it back. I shoved my hands into my pockets instead.
“Uber,”
he said. “It’s a lot further than I thought.”
Then, he glanced up at me, the nerves that had been there only moments ago melting away. Moving closer, he lowered his voice, shooting me a heated look from beneath his lashes. “Too far when all I want is to get you alone.”
I was in complete agreement. “Yeah. Uber. Now.”