Chapter Ten
Iwish I could say that I’ve been waiting by the pool, hoping to catch a glimpse of Julia, but that would be a lie. I’m acting like a chicken and trying not to get caught by her because I don’t want to talk about everything that happened last night. My phone rings, alerting everyone of my presence close to a palm tree, and I quickly swipe my finger over it to silence the shrill noise.
“Yo?”
Evan, one of my band mates, sighs on the other line. “When are you coming back, man? Ryker is losing it, I swear.”
I scoff. It isn’t much of a surprise to me after the last couple years. Ryker used to be one of the guys that loved life and would party it up with the rest of us, but somewhere along the way that changed for him. He’s the more level headed one and I’m sure he’s been freaking out over everything that’s happened with me.
“What’s going on?”
“Well, things are starting to slow down after Mack managed to debunk the rumors of you and that woman. Ryker swears it’s still going to affect us negatively though, and you’re the only person I know who can calm him down.”
“I’m not sure when I’ll be back, probably another week or so,” I mumble, my eyes scanning the length of the beach in front of me as if Julia will pop up out of nowhere. “Things are a little interesting out here.”
Evan groans loudly, and a muffled voice echoes over the line. “Brent doesn’t know when to stop, that’s what.” He sighs into the phone and asks, “What could possibly be more interesting than practicing for our tour coming up?”
“You and I both know we’re going to rock the shit out of our tour, Ev. I can’t disclose any information, though.”
The truth is, talking to Evan about everything with Julia makes me feel somewhat dirty. I know going into this, it was supposed to be good fun, a way to help Julia let loose, but somehow, it’s become more than that for me. I realized that much after she left last night without so much as a word.
How much more? That’s the part I can’t quite figure out.
“Brent, I swear, you better not be making the same stupid mistakes you were at home. We don’t have time to focus on another story and fix your stupid reputation.” The growl from Evan is a surprise, the tone making my eyebrows jump in the air, and he clears his throat. “Just don’t want you making a fool of yourself, bro.”
Evan is a wild card in terms of bandmates. He has his moments where he’s fun, the life of the party, and does crazy shit, but there are moments like now where he’s levelheaded. I chuckle into the phone while watching the waves ahead roll over the bright white sand, then say, “I’m good, Ev, I swear. Don’t worry about me.”
“Wish Ryker would listen to that,” he mumbles.
I’m about to make a comment about my best friend, but a flash of blonde hair at the corner of my eye has me snapping my gaze to the left and I lock eyes with Julia standing next to Mallory. Mallory’s hands are flinging wildly in the air while she says something, but Julia’s only focus is on me, and I roll my bottom lip between my teeth in response.
I don’t know what this reaction has been to her lately, but it’s like I can’t get it to stop. Do I even want to? That’s the real question and not one I can confidently answer.
Julia snaps her attention to my sister and gives her a smile, one that doesn’t reach her eyes, and then a couple of guys approach the two of them. That makes my blood turn to fire in my veins and I wrap my fingers tightly around my phone, jaw clenched in response. “Uh, yeah, man. I gotta go.” Before Evan can try to keep me on the phone any longer, or convince me to make a call to Mack, I hang the phone up and keep my eyes on the men chatting it up with the girls.
My vision turns red when I watch the one with bright blue swim trunks grab hold of Julia’s hand, her eyebrows scrunching from the discomfort it must cause, and I rise from my beach towel immediately. I should probably keep my distance, but that’s not what I can think about right now. He’s touching Julia, and she’s mine.
The women are staring at the guys with wide eyes, not paying one bit of attention to me as I get closer to the four of them, and I clear my throat. Mallory rolls her eyes when she looks at me, likely wanting to make some kind of comment about me being there again, but she keeps her mouth shut because I’m sure the anger is evident in my eyes. I never was one to be able to hide my true emotions, and Mallory is all too aware of that.
Mallory tries to nudge Julia away from the guys, but the one in the blue shorts won’t let go of her hand even as he looks over at me with narrowed eyes. “You mind, dude?” He asks before scoffing at his friend with a shake of his and turning his attention back to Julia. “So, what do you say, cutie?”
God, could he be any more off-base with his flirting?
I steal a glance at Julia, making sure I keep track of her reactions to him, and she scrunches her nose at his question. “Uh, I’m actually here with my friend and would rather spend my afternoon with her. Thanks for the offer, though.”
The guy chuckles, and Julia hisses, causing my eyes to fall to where his hand is still wrapped around hers and I can tell he’s still gripping it tightly. I’m going to explode if he doesn’t get the hell off her. “Come on, just for a little bit. I could make it worth your while.”
“She said no, or do you not understand that word?” I mutter while crossing my arms and straightening my spine. I’ve known to intimidate many people because of all the tattoos covering my body paired with my height and muscles, so I expect one of the guys to back down when I ask the question.
I’m surprised when the idiot groans and throws his head back. “Don’t you have somewhere better to be? Get out of here, dude.” He looks to his friend and punches his arm. “Can you believe this guy?” Meanwhile, the friend looks more uncomfortable by the minute as he darts his gaze between the two of us, and I smirk at the fact.
“No, actually, because you’re touching someone who doesn’t belong to you or want you for that matter. She’s told you no, and that should be respected.”
He smiles, then throws a wink in Julia’s direction. “She’s just playing hard to get, that’s all.”
Mallory snorts but otherwise doesn’t say anything. That’s not my style, though. “Or she’s trying to let you know, respectfully, that she belongs to someone else.” I take a couple of steps closer to the four of them, planting myself in the middle of their group, and glare at the stranger in front of me. “Now, take your hand off my girl before I make you.”
His smile drops, and in its place is a snarl. “Whatever, she’s not actually that cute anyway. Have fun.”
As the two guys walk away, Mallory tugs on my arm, and I look at her over my shoulder. She’s got a frown on her face, eyes darting between me and her best friend, then asks, “What the hell was that about? ‘Take your hand off my girl?”
I wave a hand in Julia’s direction and sigh. “Clearly, he wasn’t going to let her walk away; I had to think of something that would get him to back off.” That’s what I want to keep telling myself, but the truth is I didn’t like seeing another man’s hands on her when I just had them all over her last night.
When I look over at Julia, she’s got her hand clutched against her chest as she rubs the sensitive space where the stranger was holding it, and I walk over to her with my lips tipped into a concerned frown. “Julia, are you okay?”
She takes in a few shaky breaths, then nods with a small smile. “Great,” she says happily, but she notices the unconvinced look on my face and leans forward. “Really, Brent. I’m good.” Julia taps Mallory’s arm and hikes a thumb over her shoulder toward the trail that leads back onto the resort. “Can we just head back, maybe get something to eat? Not really feeling this anymore.”
I can tell Mallory was wanting to enjoy the sand and water, but she shrugs as if it’s nothing and says, “Sure, babe, whatever you want to do.” Before my sister walks away, she lets Julia walk ahead of her and leans into me to whisper, “Thanks for doing that. The guy was a total creep and not at all the type Julia would go for.”
“Guess I’m useful after all on the trip, huh?”
Mallory smiles and sticks her tongue out at me, something we used to always do as kids, then says, “Don’t get your hopes up on that, but you’ve redeemed yourself a bit.”
My gaze follows Julia’s frame as she walks slowly along the sand, trailing her bare feet in it slowly with each step she takes, and I peruse the rest of her body. She’s got this bright yellow bikini on that looks more sinful than the other one did, showing off every single curve she has, but I’m not sure she notices at times, and I have to bite back a groan that’s desperate to escape.
I watch the girls disappear around the corner, making sure those guys don’t decide to follow them now that I’m not there, then turn back to the ocean that’s crashing ahead of me. I’ve built this reputation as the bad boy in our band, but the truth is I’m much more caring and considerate than my fans give me credit for.
There’s nothing bad about me.
I help when people are in need, I’m loyal to a fault, and I wear my heart on my sleeve. That’s why I can’t trust what this situation with Julia is making me feel. I’ve been burned before when my feelings got more intense than they were supposed to.
There’s not one woman I’ve come into contact with who didn’t just want me for the fame and fortune that comes alongside me. Is there a chance that Julia is nothing like those women? Absolutely, there is, and I want to believe that about her, but what if this is a ruse to get part of my fortune? What if there’s something more manipulating and vindictive under her shy exterior that no one else can see? That I’ve been missing all these years of knowing her.
I’ll make myself go crazy if I keep having these thoughts, but it’s the one thing I can’t stop thinking about. I barely slept because of the same thoughts last night, wondering what I can do to distance myself from Julia after I’d just offered to help her. That would paint me in a bad light, and that’s not what I want to do.
What I want is something I can’t have, and that’s Julia moaning my name as I slam myself into her.
Everything about this situation is telling me I either need to be honest with her, or I need to run away as fast as I possibly can because neither of us are walking away unscathed.
How do I distance myself when I can’t keep myself from looking for her in a crowd of people?