Chapter 9
Mal
I’d never been accused of being the swiftest kid in school, but even I clocked Saylor’s demeanor change when gambling had been brought up over lunch. That, plus her comment last night about a ‘degenerate gambler ex’ confirmed my suspicions about him.
Did he slap her around when he lost? How long had it been going on for?
I was proud of her for ending it. But I really didn’t like the mental picture it’d given me. Or how she locked up as she got lost in her memories. Would she be okay when she went home? Would he be waiting for her?
Of course he would. I mean, look at her.
As we walked down the beach hand in hand, our hips bumping into each other, I took her in.
Her blonde hair tousled in the breeze, her long legs showed off in her skimpy shorts that she’d apparently made herself, and her t-shirt molded against her firm tits that I wanted to taste again. She was the complete package.
“You wanna walk for a bit?” I asked, swinging our hands sillily.
She didn’t even crack a smile. Or say a word. She just nodded and walked along with me, lost in her thoughts. Probably worrying about what was waiting for her at home.
I didn’t have jack shit waiting for me at home. I didn’t even have a dog since I was on the road so much. And that might be changing now.
Usually we took a month or two off after the tour ended to recharge then would get back into the studio. Or at least booked a few boutique shows—award shows, ritzy birthday parties, a music festival—something. Leif had always been pushing for more visibility.
But the end of this tour has been suspiciously silent.
The only reason I could figure was that he was lining up his own ducks to go solo.
Which left me where exactly? A forty-two-year-old guitarist with no band.
What was I going to do with my life?
Saylor tugged on my hand. “That was a mighty big sigh. What’s going on?”
“Just wondering what I’m doing with my life.”
“Ah, so just the usual existential crisis then. Gotcha.”
“Yeah, no biggie.” I laughed.
She laughed with me. “Same.”
“Fuck, I can’t believe we’re here—” I pulled away to gesture at the gorgeous beach we were standing on and the beautiful blue ocean stretching out in front of us. “And we’re being such sad sacks.”
“You know what would cheer me up?” Saylor asked with a naughty smile.
My dick flexed under my shorts. “I have an idea, but you tell me.”
“Sandcastles!” Saylor shouted, raising her arms over her head and wiggling her fingers. Which consequently made other parts of her wiggle.
I looked up from her swaying tits to give her an incredulous look. “Wait, are you serious? We’re finally fucking and you wanna build sandcastles?”
The glee leached out of her expression, and her body sagged. “Oh.” She shook her head. “I mean, no, of course not. That was totally a joke. Ha ha. Um, let’s go back to my private pool. We can—”
“I’ll go see what equipment they have on hand. I’m sure Jone can rustle something up for us.” I turned back the way we came, tossing over my shoulder, “Find us a good spot. Preferably sandy, not too rocky, and no logs.”
Saylor grinned and saluted. “Aye aye, Captain.”
“I thought we agreed on Daddy.”
She squinted. “I think that should stay in the bedroom.” She gestured to the beach around us. “It’s a little icky in the wrong context.”
“Noted.” Sandcastles and Daddy. I shuddered. I got the ick too.
But a thought at the back of my mind nagged at me. A dim mental picture of a blonde little girl, running around on the beach, splashing in the water, and calling me daddy.
But that was crazy.
I was an aging rock star. Not daddy material at all.
* * *
After an afternoon of sandcastles, another naughty shower, and a nap—twined together in Saylor’s bed with zero naughtiness—Saylor and I headed for the dining hall for dinner, holding hands and enjoying the evening air.
Unlike this afternoon, our silence felt comfortable.
Companionable, even. Easy between us since we’d spent so much time together.
Sand crunching under our shoes was the only sound until Saylor piped up, “So what’s the wildest thing that happened on tour?”
I laughed. “Seriously? Do you not remember what happened last time you asked that?”
“You’re not in danger of choking now.” Saylor gestured at the empty beach around us. “And for the record, I answered your reciprocal question, so you owe me.”
“Yeah well I’d rather pay in a different way. And wait, you only asked that question to make a point about how I was prodding into your life about—you know.” I gestured to my cheek. “And considering your answer was a non-answer, I don’t owe you jack.”
“Wait, give me a second; I’m trying to map out your reply in my head.” She tilted her head and gave me a teasing look. “So are we back to tit for tat again?”
“Yeah, but new rules. I show you my tats and you—”
“Evening, Eva. Justin.” Saylor drove her elbow into my stomach as she greeted the couple walking up behind me.
“Hey.” Eva grinned, her eyes darting between me and Saylor. “We missed you two on the falls trip. Did you find something better to do?”
“Eva,” Justin hissed, tugging his wife’s hand. “That’s none of our business.”
Eva shrugged, her overly made-up face sparkling in the tiki-torch lit path. “I just think it’s sweet how the two singles on the island are falling for each other. Almost like a reality show. Although come to think of it, I feel like I’ve seen you before. Are you a reality star, Malcolm?”
I shook my head. My smile felt so plastic. Brittle. “Sorry, Ava, no. No reality fame here.”
Justin sighed. “Everyone looks like a celeb to her. I swear she spent the whole flight over convinced there was a rock star on board.”
Saylor choked and tried to cover it with a cough.
I struggled to hide my smile. I thought they hadn’t been on our flight since they’d arrived after us but on the same day.
“I heard the flight attendant!” Eva exclaimed. “She said the guitarist from the Long Licks was on our flight. You just weren’t pushy enough to get us past her and into the first-class cabin. It’s not like all ten people up there needed their own bathroom. Ridiculous.”
Saylor became seriously interested in her sandal strap. I was just trying to keep my laughter off my face. I guess someone had recognized me after all—the flight attendant. Clearly not Eva. Or Saylor.
Justin rolled his eyes. “You know they never let people through that curtain barrier. Can we go eat now? I’m starving. I missed lunch.”
“Yes, dear.” Eva sighed. “I swear all this one ever thinks about is food.”
“See you guys in there!” Justin hollered as he left us and his wife behind to hightail it to dinner.
“Justin! Wait for me! Sheesh!”
Saylor, fortunately, waited until they disappeared further up the path before letting the laughter fly. “Oh my god.”
I sighed. “What? Some people just really like food, okay?”
“You know that’s not what I’m laughing about. You realize you might’ve been able to talk her into the mile-high club? Did you see the way her eyes sparkled when she said guitarist?”
I shook my head and followed in Justin’s path—leaving my woman behind. “She’s not my type. Never would’ve happened.”
“I can’t tell if I should be flattered or not.” Saylor panted as she caught up to me.
Fuck me. I couldn’t help but smile. “Definitely flattered.”
Later that night as we were eating dinner, Samu came up to our table totally apologetic about leaving us behind on the falls trip.
“And to make it up to you both, we’d like to comp you a private beach picnic tomorrow,” Samu offered.
Saylor’s eyes lit up. She’d no doubt read the brochure about the island’s amenities displayed in every room. And I’d never done the private beach picnic.
“Sounds good.” I smiled at Saylor.
She grinned back. “What time?”
She was cute when she was being all eager.
“We’ll meet at the dock at eleven tomorrow morning and take you by boat. You can snorkel in the bay—it’s totally private—have lunch just the two of you, and we’ll be back to pick you up at three.”
Four hours on a totally secluded part of the island?
“Sign us up.” I reached across the table to hold Saylor’s hand.
She smiled bashfully back at me.
We walked back to our rooms in companionable silence. Dinner had been delicious. The company great. I kinda felt like I’d known Saylor for forever. Most of the time I completely forgot about our age difference.
I wondered how she’d slide into my life back home. I might have a lot of free time on my hands when we got back.
Shit, what was I going to do with my life?
I blinked and suddenly we were standing at the base of the stairs leading up to Saylor’s treehouse bure.
“Everything okay?” Saylor asked with a head tilt, concern twisting her eyebrows.
“Yeah, just thinking about home. I might have a lot of time on my hands soon, and I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do.”
She squinted. “I thought we put the kibosh on that thinking with the sandcastles.”
“I can’t help where my mind wanders.”
“Well, that sounds like a problem for Future Mal to figure out. We’re staying in treehouses on an island in Fiji. How about you try living in the moment?”
“Sometimes I think you’re way too wise for your twenty-whatever years.”
“Twenty-two years, thank you very much.”
I winced. When I was twenty-two, I’d been making stupid decisions—sleeping with groupies and getting talked into ass tattoos. Damn, that made me feel old. So very, very, old.
Is that what I was for Saylor? Her poor decision ass tattoo—only she was sleeping with a washed-up rock star instead? Fuck.
Why did that bug me so much?
“Uh uh,” Saylor tsked. “There’s that face again. You’re getting all grumpy. Not very sexy.”
“Yeah, I don’t know if I can do sexy tonight. It’s hard to turn off my mind when I’m mentally spiraling like this.” I sighed. I might need to call my sponsor.
“That’s too bad.” She pouted exaggeratedly then shook her head sadly. “Because I was feeling sexy tonight. Guess it’s just going to be me and the collection of toys my bestie packed for me…”
“Toys?” I perked up.
Saylor tipped her head. “A whole suitcase full of them, practically. Paige was insistent. Said I needed to take care of me while I was here. I have vibrators, some flavored lube, and more that I haven’t even seen yet.
Paige bought out a whole store, I think.
I don’t even know what some of them do.” She sighed.
“Sounds like I need to dig into the bag since you’re not up for the job. ”
“I’m up for the job. Who said I wasn’t up for the job? What are we doing down here when you have a cornucopia of sex toys waiting for us?” I grabbed her hand and all but drug her up the stairs. “Let’s go.”
She laughed as she let me guide her to her treehouse.
When we got to the top, I bounced on my toes like a kid waiting on Christmas morning. “Where’s the bag? I wanna see it? Show me!”
Saylor cringed. “God, I don’t know where I got the brazenness to even tell you about it. I mean, it sounded like a good idea at the time, but standing here now…”
I tugged her toward me and brushed the hair out of her eyes.
“Look at me, baby.” I waited until she did.
Her baby sky eyes looked so uncertain and kinda freaked.
I softened immediately. “Nothing is going to happen here tonight that you’re not enthusiastic about.
If you don’t want to dig into your perverted sex bag, we won’t. Simple as that.”
“But you were so excited…”
“And I’m still excited.” I pushed my hips into hers. “He’s happy every time he sees you, I promise.”
She bit her bottom lip and still looked unsure.
“And you can change your mind anytime. All you gotta do is say ‘get out.’ And I don’t mean that as a safe word or whatever. I’m not into the whole ‘no means yes’ thing. You say no and it stops. End of conversation.”
She nodded. “I did change my mind.”
I dropped my arms from around her and took a step back.
“No, I don’t mean about that—about you. I meant about the bag. I want to go through it with you. If that’s something you still wanna do…”
“Oh, I sure as hell do. It’ll be like the best Christmas ever. Let’s do this!”