Chapter 18
Nate
Ijam my phone back into my pocket after checking the time.
Again.
The car bringing Olive and Cade and the rest of the flight crew to the concert should be here at any moment. The second it gets here, Olive and I are going to have a conversation.
My mind wanders to the last few days. Besides having the best sex of my life with the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, I love being around her. She has this edge to her that I desperately want to wear down. A story behind her troubled, gorgeous eyes, and I want to know all about it.
The annoyance I felt a few mornings ago when I walked out of the bathroom to an empty room still swirls around in my gut.
The annoyance isn’t directed at her, exactly, just at whatever caused her to run from me.
Again. And to top it all off, she’s barely even glanced in my direction any time we’ve been near each other on the flight and at the hotel.
Ian walks up and joins me in watching Jenny go through her final soundchecks before retreating to her green room to get ready for the show.
“You want to tell me whatcha waiting for?” he asks, feigning nonchalance.
I cut my gaze over to him and scowl. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
He snorts a laugh. “Yeah, right. But just in case you really don’t know, you’ve checked your phone about fifty times since we got here.” Crossing his oversized arms, he asks, “Waiting on a text from a certain dark-haired flight attendant?”
“Technically, I was just checking the time.”
“To see what time she’s going to be here?”
I turn to him and mimic his stance. “Don’t you have something to do, somewhere else?”
“Nope,” he replies with a smirk.
The immature urge to roll my eyes at him takes over, but I turn back toward the stage.
“You know, you could just text her.”
I clear my throat. “I, uh, don’t have her number.”
“Rookie mistake.” Footsteps and voices draw both of our attention to a group approaching from the hallway. “Speak of the flight crew.”
I ignore Ian and lock my eyes on Olive. She looks breathtaking in a form-fitting skirt that hits her mid-thigh and a tight, black tank top that hugs the breasts I might be obsessed with.
I still remember how heavy they felt in my hands and how delicious they were on my tongue.
With my mind, I attempt to will her to look in my direction, but she keeps her head averted.
Is she purposely not looking in my direction? Or does she just not know we’re here?
Cade does notice us and nods in greeting. When he says something to Olive, I see her lips move, but I still can’t see her eyes. His expression fills with confusion before nodding at her in reply, and they turn down the hall toward the green rooms.
Emotions I don’t exactly know how to define flood my system at her obvious avoidance.
Just look back.
She doesn’t heed my silent plea.
“Damn, man, what did you do?”
Now that Olive is out of sight, I pivot to scowl at my friend. “Why are you such a fucking dick?”
Ian shrugs and smiles wide. “Kind of my thing, I guess.”
Sighing, I shake my head in frustration and stomp away from Ian to find somewhere else to wait for Jenny to be done on stage.
Fifteen minutes later, Ian and I escort Jenny to her dressing room to prepare for the show. I glance at the partially opened door to the green room where Olive and the others are hanging out for the night. My stomach flips when Olive’s sweet laugh tickles my ears.
I blow out a breath through pursed lips. If she thinks she gets to just blow me off, and I’ll let it go without pressing her for an explanation, she’s going to be in for a big shock.
Ian and I take up our posts in the hallway. Only being a few feet from Olive and not getting to talk to her or see her is messing with my mind.
My phone vibrating in my pocket snaps me from my stewing. When I pull it from my pocket, the name on my screen doesn’t make me feel any better at the moment.
“Hi, Pamela,” I answer with a sigh.
Ian perks up at my greeting. “Pamela? Tell her I say hi,” he remarks, a little too eagerly for my liking.
I give him a pointed look and turn my back to him.
“Is that Ian I hear in the background?”
What the hell?
“Is there something going on with you and Ian that I should know about?” I demand.
Pamela’s husky laugh comes through my phone. “Stop being dramatic, Nathaniel. Ian and I are just friends. I’m happily married, in case you’ve somehow forgotten.”
I grit my teeth at her use of my full name.
Both of my sisters know that I hate it, especially in that condescending tone.
I’m also thoroughly weirded out by their apparent friendship, which I had no idea about.
But I decide I have enough on my mind and don’t need to add to it.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I ask, “Is there a reason you’re calling? ”
“Are you coming home for Jack and Ella’s engagement party?”
Jack and Ella changed the date of their engagement party to the few days’ break we have in Jenny’s tour so that Ian and I could attend. “Yes, I’ll be home.”
“Good. You need to come over and see your nieces and nephews before you leave again.” Pamela and her husband, Cam, have two girls and two boys ranging from seven to twelve. They all love me, mainly because I act like a fifth child with them more than the adult that I should.
“I will. Is that all you need? To tell me to come over and see your kids?”
A noise of hesitation comes through the phone.
“What, Pamela? I don’t have time for this. I’m working.”
“Well…I just heard there may be a woman you’re interested in.”
I whip around and glare at the traitor I used to think was my best friend. He gives me a grin and a small finger wave.
“I’ll talk to you later.”
I mash my finger to disconnect, ignoring her voice still trilling through the phone. “Really, dude? You told my sister about Olive?”
Ian appears to be holding back laughter when the door down the hall opens.
My head whips up, ignoring the snort of amusement from behind me.
I take a small step down the hall before freezing.
The band that’s the opening act steps out from the room on the other side of the one Olive is in.
My growl of annoyance vibrates in my chest as I settle back into my sentry outside Jenny’s door.
Crossing my arms over my chest, my mind wanders to how differently today has gone than I thought it would when I woke up this morning.
Exhaustion is catching up with me. My body aches from standing in one spot for the last thirty minutes.
I haven’t gotten a lot of sleep the last few nights.
During the night I spent with Olive, after she fell asleep cuddled into my side, I stayed up entirely too long just admiring her and being grateful to have her with me.
Then, every night since, that image of her and the phantom feeling of her skin against mine haunt and tease me while I toss and turn.
Stretching my back, I let out a low groan. It’s times like these when I can’t deny I’m almost forty. I nudge Ian’s arm. “I’m going to take a lap and go to the bathroom.”
Ian nods and turns back to whatever he’s looking at on his phone.
I hurry to the bathroom and do my business, then step back into the hall.
There are a few workers scattered around, and the sounds from the opening band’s soundcheck are muffled this far backstage.
I’ve reviewed the layout enough times to know that the hallway circles back around if I head to the right.
I turn in that direction, needing to move my legs a little more before being stationary again.
After I complete one lap, I’m coming around for a second when a door in front of me to the right flies open, and out walks the object of my recently acquired infatuation.
Olive’s looking down, not watching where she’s going. Taking a small step to the right, I place myself directly in her path. Her head raises at the last minute, and the yelp that pops from her mouth battles with the sounds from the stage. I reach out, lightly gripping her biceps to steady her.
“Nate, you scared the shit out of me!” She takes a step back to dislodge my hands. I reluctantly let her go, but follow her steps.
She takes another step back.
I take another step forward.
Olive narrows her eyes at me and crosses her arms with a huff. “What do you want?”
I rear back my head and mimic her crossed arms. “Really? You have to ask me what I want?”
She raises her eyebrows in response.
Dropping my arms, I close the distance between us, my t-shirt brushing her crossed arms. “Okay, we can play this game.” I take a deep breath and release it slowly. “Why did you leave without saying goodbye?”
Blood rushes to my ears as her eyes fall closed and she wraps her arms around her middle.
When her eyes find mine again, the pain and conflict in them has my stomach clenching.
“Look, I don’t know if this is a good idea.
I have stuff going on. You’re trying to do your job.
Just seems like we’re just asking for this to end badly.
” As she drops her gaze from mine, I place two fingers on her chin and raise it to mine once again.
If she’s going to blow me off with lame excuses, she can look me in the eyes.
More pain flashes across her face, and then on a whisper, she continues.
“Nate, you need to forget about me and last night. It’s for the best.”
Like hell that will ever happen.
I bend down so I can stare directly into her gorgeous, tortured eyes. “So you mean to tell me you don’t want my lips or my hands on you…ever again?”
Olive brow furrows as her rough exhale puffs against my lips. With the hand not on her chin, I grasp her waist, and she sways into me before quickly stepping back out of my hold.
Her voice breaks when she says, “Nate, I can’t.”
Then she practically sprints down the hall, back to the green room.
With my hands on my hips, I drop my chin to my chest.
At least this time, she ran away from me to my face.
Progress.
Ian bumps my shoulder as he steps beside me. “You good, man?”
We’re standing in front of the stage, near the front row of seats.
I narrow my eyes as I watch Olive and Cade in the small VIP section roped off on the opposite side of the stage.
They’re talking and laughing with the rest of the flight crew and a few other people not with our group.
A sigh grinds past my lips. “Yeah, I guess.”
Frustration and anger tighten my chest. Any of the earlier fears and hesitations I felt about what happened to my parents happening to her have evaporated.
Now that I know how good we are together, the only fear I have is that one night is all I’ll ever have.
I’ll respect her decision if she’s simply decided I’m not the man for her, but my gut is telling me that there is something else going on.
Ian interrupts my thoughts when he says, “We have about twenty minutes left. You want to go coordinate exit plans with facility security?”
“Yeah, I’ll go talk to them.” I take a few steps to head backstage, when something catches my eye.
An obviously intoxicated man has his arm slung around Olive’s shoulder. I freeze for a moment to search for Cade, but he’s nowhere around the pair. When Olive leans back, trying to dislodge his arm, with an unmistakable look of discomfort on her face, I immediately change the direction I’m heading.
The man leans farther into her, his lips dangerously close to her cheek.
As I quicken my pace without sprinting, which could cause unnecessary panic and attention, my stomach flips as the man grabs her aggressively around the waist and pulls her into him.
She pushes against his chest to put space between them, and I’ve seen all I need to see.
Rage blinds me as I duck under the ropes and grab two handfuls of a t-shirt.
I yank him away from her, which isn’t difficult, considering his inebriated state.
“What the fuck?” the man yelps as I shift so that I’m between him and Olive.
“How about you keep your fucking hands to yourself?” I say through gritted teeth.
I toss him away from me. He stumbles but rights himself surprisingly quickly. “I wasn’t fucking doing anything she didn’t want.”
My hands curl into fists, and I take a step forward. The only things that stop me are a hand on my bicep and the man’s friends stepping in front of him and pushing him back. They mumble an apology for their friend as they usher him to the side farthest away from me and Olive.
A soft voice saying my name has me pivoting around to face Olive. “Are you okay?”
She takes a deep breath. “Yeah, thank you. I’m really sorry. I thought he was just being friendly at first.”
Not being able to stop myself, I reach out and run my thumb over the back of her hand. “You don’t need to apologize for that guy being a drunk idiot, Olive.”
She gives me a hesitant, sad smile, probably unsure of how I’ll react after our interaction an hour ago. “Guess you get to be my personal security tonight, too. Full disclosure—I can’t pay you anywhere near what Jenny pays you.”
I huff a laugh, appreciating her trying to make things less strained between us. “This one’s on the house.”
Her smile grows as I give her hand one last squeeze before turning away and leaving her, hoping nothing else happens while she’s out of my sight.