23. Lennon
Chapter 23
Lennon
Pack A Bikini
I woke to an empty bed. It wasn’t an unusual way to start the day.
Griffin was restless on a good day, but after sharing all that with me the night before, I wasn’t surprised he split.
Part of me wanted to split too. Last night showed me that we weren’t playing anymore. The pain had been so potent in his eyes. The betrayal of all of his friends in one way or another had been too huge.
And I didn’t want to be another thing to hurt him when I left.
Do you really want to leave?
I’d been avoiding Richard’s calls for weeks now. It was everything I wanted, everything I’d worked for.
I draped my arm over my eyes.
What was I without Daphne’s?
It had been the goal of my life for over ten years now.
A strumming guitar dented my existential crisis, dragging me out of my spiraling thoughts.
I sat up, the sheets tangled around me, as the notes pulled at me.
Not a record, but Griffin.
I slipped out of bed and grabbed one of his Henley shirts instead of my own clothes. I needed something of his on my skin. I stopped in the bathroom to take care of business and groaned at my image in the mirror.
“Not good, girl.” I gently prodded the purple bruise that climbed from my cheek to my hairline. I found a bottle of Advil in the medicine cabinet and swallowed three after I brushed my teeth.
I padded out to the living room and found him in his music loft. From my vantage point, his massive, bronzed shoulders made my mouth water. Evidently, a man and an acoustic guitar were now on my list of sexual chocolate.
I wasn’t mad about it.
Ipaused, not wanting to interrupt him. The melody was a sad one. His hair fell forward, the curls even longer now. They softened the angular lines of his face as he plucked at the strings.
No pick for Griffin.
Nope, he used the tips of his fingers—the result being the tiny callouses that played along my skin as perfectly as those strings. The melody was full of longing, dragging me ever closer to him.
I didn’t even realize it until I was at the stairs, leading to the dining area. Silently, I made my way up the ladder to his domain. He was so immersed in the music that he didn’t hear me.
When he finally looked up, surprise lit his green eyes followed by a smile that warmed me from the inside out.
He rested his arm on the body of the guitar as if they’d been created to fit together. “Morning.” He stood, setting the honey and fire-colored guitar in the stand before he lifted a hand to gently touch my face. “Time for more peas.”
I covered his hand with mine. “It’s fine.”
“When do you work next?”
“Wednesday. Hopefully, I’ll be able to patch it up with makeup by then.”
“So, you have four whole days off?”
“One-track mind.”
He laughed. “I was thinking maybe we could get out of here for a few days.”
“We just went somewhere two weeks ago.”
“Yeah, it was an overnight.” He stepped into me, sliding his arm around my waist. “Show me your bar.”
Startled, I tried to back up. “Why?”
“Because if it’s part of you, I want to see it.”
“I…” At a loss, I didn’t actually have words. “Okay.”
He grinned. “Good. I’ll take care of the details; you go get whatever clothes you need.”
Excitement and trepidation hummed under my skin. Seeing it would make it real and seeing it with Griffin made it complicated.
I lifted onto my toes and kissed him. “Thanks.”
Before I could think about it too hard, I hurried down the ladder and to go get dressed.
When I came out, Griffin was on his phone. “Our flight is at 3:20.” He glanced up. “Think we can swing it?”
I checked my phone, finding a few texts from Annette and Bells. “Plenty of time. Kain and Bells invited us to dinner.”
Griffin sighed. “Figures he finally makes an offer.”
“We don’t have to go.”
He crossed to me. “Absolutely not. This is more important. Kain isn’t going anywhere.” He brushed his thumb along my bruise. “This still looks gnarly.”
“Thanks.”
He laughed and dropped a quick kiss on my cheek. “Take some meds.”
“Already ahead of you.” I dug my keys out of my pocket. “Want me to pick you up?”
He shook his head. “We’ll take my truck. Can’t have your princess Jeep in the parking garage.”
I snorted. “She’s been through worse but sounds good to me.”
“Okay, I’ll pick you up in a few hours. I’ll text when I’m on the way.”
I was about to slip away, when he dragged me in for a hot, head-spinning kiss. “Pack a bikini.”
“Who says I have one?”
“You have one.”
I grinned. “Maybe. Telling me to wear one will get you the most matronly one I have.”
He grabbed my ass. “And you’d still be a smoke show in it.”
I laughed as I pushed him away and headed out the door.
The trip to my place took a little longer than usual with the sun shining high in the sky. It was a perfect Sunday for a drive. I was tempted to take off my hard top, but it was more trouble than it was worth since I’d be gone for a few days.
When it came to April, the rain came in mean whenever it wanted. I settled for windows down and my tunes up. Mumford & Sons blasted out as I traveled the winding road to my apartment building.
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, adding to the excitement about going to see what could be the future home of Daphne’s. I was cruising along when suddenly a black motorcycle crawled up my ass.
It was a crotch-rocket style. Instead of slowing down, it revved its engine enough that I heard it above the wind and my radio.
“What the fuck?” I slowed down to let them pass me, but whoever was driving just slowed down only to catch up again and practically kiss my bumper.
I tapped my brakes, hoping to let them know to back off before something happened.
I glanced in my rearview, but I couldn’t see anything but someone hugging the bike in a low crouch with a jet-black helmet.
A horn blared and I swore as I swerved just before I drifted into oncoming traffic because of the tight turns on this part of the road.
The motorcycle buzzed by me, a hair away from the oncoming car and mine. I slammed on my brakes and fishtailed, skidding onto the side of the road.
“Asshole.”
I could see it was a woman, or a damn skinny dude, but there was no tag on the back of the bike.
Heart thundering, I lifted a shaking hand to my face.
The car in the other lane kept going, leaving me alone on the shoulder.
I collapsed against my headrest while Mumford & Sons ramped up with piano and drums blaring. I snapped off the radio and took a deep breath.
Motorcycles always made me nervous, but that was some reckless garbage.
I took a few deep breaths to even myself out before pulling back onto Mitchell Drive. Luckily, it was only a mile from my apartment.
I parked, and on my way to my building, I saw a motorcycle.
Surely, that wasn’t the same one.
I paused, surprised it was a Ducati. Not exactly a cheap ride.
Annoyed, I strode up the walkway to the front doors. Inside the common area, the familiar black-clad driver—a woman—was sitting near the window, helmet still on. Now that she wasn’t blazing by me, I noticed she was wearing leathers with a hot pink stripe down her leg.
“Unbelievable.” I could feel her eyes on me as I stalked to the elevators. I glanced over my shoulder. “Got a problem, asshole?”
She tipped her head, but there was nothing but a glossy black face shield looking back at me.
The doors to my elevator opened and I hustled in.
She gave me the creeps.
Why the hell were people so fucking weird? Did she think she was funny?
My phone buzzed in my pocket, distracting me from the jackass. I pulled it out, my belly jittering at the name on the display.
“Hi, Richard.”
“Finally. You’ve been dodging me, Lennon.”
I sighed. “I haven’t made my decision yet.”
“The deal isn’t going to be on the table forever.”
“I know.” I played with the zipper on my jacket. “I’m actually heading down to Miami today to take a closer look at it. Your photos and videos were great, but I need to get a feel for it.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I can be in Miami on Monday if you want to talk more.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for being patient with me.”
“Oh, I’m not.” Richard’s smooth voice was cool. “I want to work with you, Lennon, but I have plenty of projects in play. If you aren’t interested, just say so.”
“I am.”
“Are you sure?”
No. I wasn’t sure about anything.
“Just give me until Monday night.”
“I can do that. But that’s it.”
“Understood.” I toyed with my necklace as I stepped off the elevator. “I’ll make my decision by then.”
“Good. I’ll talk to you then.”
The phone went dead, and I shoved it in my pocket.
Evidently, I didn’t have until the summer to make my decision. And maybe it was for the best. Waffling about it was only making me crazy.
My brain was whirling as I took a shower. At the very least, I’d make sure this trip was the best it could be for me and Griffin. If it came to it, I’d make sure the taproom was staffed before I gave Kira my notice. The taproom ran like a well-oiled machine at this point. They didn’t truly need me.
Truthfully, I needed it more than they needed me.
And that was never more apparent than right now.
While my hair air dried, I dug into the back of my drawers and found a bronze bikini. If he wanted a bikini, he was getting one. I picked out a black one, as well, along with a few soft dresses that were perfect for my carryon.
Regardless of how this turned out, I would make sure we had one amazing trip.