Across the Miles (The Not So Bad Boys of Rock #1) (27 page)

“You look amazing, same as always,” I declared. “What are you doing out here on this bench by yourself? When I walked up you looked really sad, in fact, you still do. Is everything okay baby?” I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her in close, not wanting any more distance between us.

“This is where it happened, four years ago tonight,” she said quietly, she didn’t need to elaborate, I knew what she was referring to, and my initial response was to draw her in closer. “This is where the officer carried me to
after he pulled me away from the wreckage. I watched everything from this spot, almost as if I were watching it in slow motion.” She shook the image from her mind and shrugged her shoulder. “It doesn’t matter now, I have you here with me, I don’t want to focus on the past. I just need to put it behind me. It’s just that every year I like to acknowledge that he did exist, that he did matter to someone. That he mattered to me.”

I took her hand in mine, covering it completely with both palms. “Brooke, I’m probably the only person in your social circle that understands what you are going through right now; you don’t have to bury it just because I’m here. Baby, he was a part of your past; he’s part of the reason that you’re the woman you are today, a woman that I love with all of my heart. I don’t expect, or want, you to forget him. It’s okay to grieve your loss, I won’t get my feelings hurt by that, you loved him once. All I ask is that you love me now.” I looked down into her eyes and saw the smile, just below the surface, begging to fill her tear-stained face.

“What did I ever do to deserve you?” she whispered, laying her head on my shoulder.

“I ask myself that same question every day. I’ll tell you what, why don’t we just stay here a while, allow yourself all the time you need to process whatever it is you need to work through, and then when you’re ready, and only then, we’ll head back to your place and work on catching up.” I stroked her face and watched a small smile forming there, then leaned back against the bench and cupped her small body tightly against mine.

We sat there together on the bench, neither of us speaking until she turned to me and announced that she was ready for me to take her home. As we stood to leave, I grasped her chin between my fingers and kissed her
passionately on the mouth. I felt her melt into me as her warm lips opened up to mine, allowing my tongue access, and I couldn’t hold back the moan as her tongue matched the movements of my own. She wrapped her arms around my neck, burying her hands in my hair, pulling me deeper into the kiss. When we broke apart we were both breathing heavily.

“I know you mean for me to take you to your place, but I would love nothing more than for you to say that to me and be referring to the home we share together one day.”

“Oh my gosh, Sebastian, that was beautiful.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Brooke~

I couldn’t believe he was really here, and that he had flown all this way to surprise me, I almost wanted to pinch myself to be sure that it was actually happening. When we arrived back at the apartment, I opened the door and saw a flurry of movement out of the corner of my eye, just on the other side of the sofa. I turned to Sebastian and tried my best to hold back a giggle.

“I think someone’s with Jade,” I whispered into his ear.

“I think that might be Dek,” he whispered back, a little louder, causing both Jade and Dek to pop their heads over the back of the sofa.

“Hi,” she squeaked.

“Hey kids,” Sebastian teased, “I leave you alone for a few minutes, and this is what you do?” He admonished them playfully, tisk-tisking them with a click of his tongue. “Kids” he looked at me, throwing his hands up in the air, “what can you do?”

“Give them some privacy,” Dek muttered, causing Sebastian to cuff him on the back of the head.

“I thought I told you to be on your best behavior,” he hissed.

“Who says I want him to be on is best behavior,” Jade quipped, making my jaw fall open, that was so out of character for her. I knew she had a mad crush on Dek, and I didn’t want to interfere with her happiness, so instead I a look that said ‘be careful’ and then tugged on Sebastian’s arm, encouraging him to follow me into my room.

“Come on, we’ve got some catching up of our own to do.”

“Oh yeah, we definitely do. Lead the way sweetheart,” he said, grinning devilishly.

We were lying side by side on the bed, our fingers intertwined, and Sebastian wouldn’t stop touching me, not that I wanted him to, but it was almost as if he couldn’t touch me enough. He used his free hand to gently stroke up and down my forearm, drawing random figure eight patterns and making me giggle as it tickles in the best way possible.

“I still can’t believe that you’re really lying here on my bed, it feels like a dream, you know? I mean, I’ve dreamed about this for the last three months but I never really knew if it would ever happen,” I sighed into his chest.

“You’ve been dreaming about me,” he asked, pulling slightly away from me and cocking his head.

“Well, yeah, just about every night,” I blushed, burying my face in the softness of his shirt. He chuckled softly, and his breath warmed my skin.

“I’ve waited a long time to see you blushing,” he kissed the top of my head as his hand now brushed long strokes up and down my back. “For the record, I’ve
dreamed about this moment every night since I left you at the airport.”

“That was a hard day,” I admitted.

“One of the hardest of my life, I was afraid it would be the last time I saw you.”

I was floored by his honesty, not to mention flattered. I knew that we had shared a special bond while spending that week together, and since I returned home we have kept in constant contact, sharing heartfelt gifts and words of love, but hearing him tell me that he was worried that we may not see one another face to face is something altogether different. It’s hard to explain actually, I mean if you think about it I am just a young woman who spends most of her days in a hot kitchen with a bunch of sweaty men who banter back and forth endlessly. I’m happy with myself and my life, but I don’t feel particularly special. Then, there was Sebastian, a young attractive rock star that could probably have most any woman he wanted, he spends most days in a house that could hold at least ten of my apartments, or in a recording studio writing killer lyrics that will eventually make him more millions. He’s amazingly talented, sweet, and incredibly sincere, and in my eyes special is just not grand enough of a word to describe him. We were, by all accounts, worlds apart, yet here he was, lying next to me, kissing me, and telling me how much he loves me.

“Sebastian, please tell me you’ll stay with me tonight,” I whispered. “Now that you’re here, and I can finally touch you again, I don’t want to let you go.” Today had been hard, in more ways than one. Having him here somehow made it all better, and I wasn’t ready to let go.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” he replied hoarsely, covering my mouth with his, reminding me once again what I had been missing these past three months.

Sebastian~

Waking up next to Brooke is probably the best thing I’ve ever known, seeing her lying there on her side, her hair splayed around her sleeping face, her soft body pressed tightly against mine, it puts me at complete peace. I don’t think I moved all night, afraid of disturbing her and missing out on holding her all night. The chemistry between us is undeniable, just a touch of her hand makes my heart rate increase. Mom had always told me that when I met the one for me I would know, without a doubt. Lying here, next to this beautiful woman that I love with everything that I am, she was right; I do know. I kiss her tenderly, not wanting to wake her, and whisper another promise in her ear.

“One day, I’m going to make you my wife and then I can spend the rest of my life waking up to you like this.”

I hold her a little while longer before quietly slipping away and head into the kitchen, I smell coffee so I am assuming that Jade must be up already. As I round the corner, I hear her talking and realize that Dek must also be awake.

“Good morning sleepyhead, where’s the little missus?” he snickered behind his coffee cup.

“Keep laughing smartass,” I sneered at him. “For your information, the missus is still sleeping; she had a hard day yesterday.”

“Not to mention, the shock of her life last night,” Jade chimed in. “By the way, where did you end up finding her? Did you get to see the restaurant?”

“No, I found her sitting on a bench on Main Street.” I gave her a knowing look and her eyes immediately reflected realization.

“Oh crap, it totally slipped my mind yesterday. Damn, I knew that something wasn’t right with her when she left for work. Did she talk to you at all about it?” she asked, concern filling her voice.

“Yeah, she opened up a little more to me last night. It was important to her to be there, to honor his memory like that. You know, living with survivor’s guilt is incredibly difficult, unless you’ve been through it you have no idea. I just sat there with her and held her, let her take all the time she needed,” I shrugged.

“So, let me get this straight,” Dek started, “Brooke lost someone she loved in an accident too?” He looked at Jade and me, confusion clouding over his handsome face.

“Yeah, four years ago the man she loved was killed in a car crash on Main Street, he was on his way to pick her up from work. That very same night she was planning to accept his marriage proposal,” Jade said quietly.

“Whoa, you two are eerily connected, and you knew all of this Sebastian?”

“Yes Dek, she told me about it when she was staying with me, it was just another reason for me to love her. The way she handled her grief and how she allowed the pain to make her work harder and be a better person, she is an incredibly strong woman. Just being with her makes me want to strive to be a better person,” I replied, each spoken word dripping with pride.

“You make me sound like a saint, Sebastian. Surely, you must have found some faults in me by now,” Brooke teased, coming into the room with her face freshly washed and her hair piled loosely atop her head. She bent down to give me a quick kiss, and I took that moment to inhale her scent deeply, I had almost forgotten how pretty she was first thing in the morning. When she stayed with me we would wake up each morning and have coffee
together on the patio, and I haven’t been back out there since, knowing that it wouldn’t be the same if she weren’t there with me.

“Only a few, but nothing out of the ordinary.” I grunted as she plopped onto my lap, nearly causing me to spill my coffee.

“Ooh, now you have to tell me what faults I have. Come on, spill it Miles,” she poked me playfully in the ribs.

“Well, if you must know, you eat all the crispy fries off my plate when we go out to eat, you listen to Taylor Swift,” I scrunched my face up at her, “and you steal all of the blankets when we are sleeping.” She rubbed her nose over mine and slipped her hands under my T-shirt, working them over my lower back, and a low groan worked its way from my throat.

“Is that all? Surely, there’s got to be more than that,” she laughed deeply, hands still working their magic over my skin, and I shook my head again.

“Nope, but there are other things that you do, good things. You take off all of your pepperoni and give it to me when we order pizza, you like it when I carry you around…”

“Yes, and you like that too,” she interrupted.

“Hell yes, I do. Any way, as I was saying, you like it when I carry you, and I like it too,” I raised my eyebrows. “Your lips taste like strawberries, and you let me kiss you anytime I feel like it,” I inched forward and gave her a sloppy, wet kiss, just to prove my point, “and you let me fall asleep holding you in my arms.”

“Sounds to me like you’re one lucky S.O.B.” Dek quipped smartly, hitting the nail on the proverbial head.

“You know it.”

“Good grief, you do realize that I have to live with her
after you leave, stop blowing up her ego,” Jade replied, rolling her eyes and laughing, clearly not jealous of her best friend’s happiness.

“Jade, sweetie, I promise that I’ll only wear my crown when you’re not at home,” Brooke replied tartly, making all of us crack up. “So, what are your plans while you’re here? How long are you staying?”

“Well, we have to fly out Sunday evening in order to get back for an early rehearsal on Monday. I suppose we should find a hotel for tonight, we don’t want to put you out again,” I replied.

“No!” Jade shouted, probably a little louder than intended. “I just mean, we have room here. Dek slept in our empty guest room, and you’re probably settled into Brooke’s space. Just stay here again.” Her eyes pleaded with me to go along with her, and I couldn’t help but smile. The truth was, I wanted to stay, but I didn’t want to be presumptuous, last night had been different, there were extenuating circumstances involved. I looked over at Dek, who nodded inconspicuously in agreement, and I watched as his eyes danced over Jade’s face, clearly showing that he was very attracted to her. Then I turned to Brooke, not wanting to make a decision until I heard from her that she was on board with us staying another night.

“I agree, there’s no point in you leaving, we have plenty of room now that Stacy’s room is empty, besides, I just got used to waking up next to you, I’d kind of like to do it again tomorrow,” she blinked a few times and smiled coyly.

“Then I guess it’s settled, we’ll stay here, but I’m taking you all out to dinner tonight and then we can go somewhere fun afterward.”

“Bowling?” Dek’s mouth gaped
open as we walked
in the bowling alley. “Bowling is your idea of fun?”

“Um, yeah, duh” Jade smirked. “Have you ever been bowling?”

“Yeah, I’ve been, like once, and I don’t recall there being anything fun about it,” he complained as they attempted to find the perfect bowling ball.

“Then you obviously weren’t experiencing it with the right type of people,” Brooke purred. “Jade and I always have a blast when we go bowling.”

“I know I can’t wait,” I growled, slipping my arms loosely around her small waist, eliciting a girlish giggle from her freshly painted glossy lips.