Arizona Skies: The Muse (28 page)

He shampooed and conditioned my hair, then washed my body quickly. I stood there with my eyes closed; just enjoying the attention
he was paying to me. It felt good to let the water run down my face and over my body. The shower was refreshing and helped clear some of the fog out of my head. I realized I liked having him take care of me; it made me feel loved and cherished. “OK, out you go,” he said, shutting off the water and wrapping a towel around me. Standing in front of me, he bent my head to dry my hair. I felt like the floor was moving and lost my balance. I grabbed on to his thighs to steady myself, with my head resting in his groin. I heard him chuckle as he carefully dried my hair and reached for the comb, holding me with one hand as he combed through my long tresses.

Feeling like a child, I stood there helplessly, letting him tend to me. He dried my body and sat me on the edge of the tub while he quickly dried himself off. Then he picked me up and carried me to the bed, sitting me down on the edge. The last thing I remembered was flopping backward into the soft mattress. Everything went black.

Jesse

O
ur day on the island was perfect. We did the pampering and relaxing, just being together. I waited for her in the dining hall that night. I could have waited for her all night, anticipating every time the door opened that I would see her beautiful face smiling at me. When she finally walked in, my heart jumped at her beauty. She had on this short, blue dress, looking like an angel. I was anxious to get my hands on her—this feeling was not going away. What the fuck was I going to do in two days now that I’d confessed my feelings for her? I was a fucked-up mess, but I put on my brave face, smiling brightly at her as she tucked herself into my arms. This was her special spot against me, tight and warm next to my heart, right where she belonged. Our dinners on this ship had been amazing, and since we were part of the entertainment, we got extra-special treatment
from all the staff. A couple waitresses had been flirting, but none of them compared to my Bailey. I’d smile sweetly at them as I held my girl tight. Our reception at the Green Room had been out of this world, only fueling our need to take our band on the road after our first album comes out. My confidence and my creative side had kicked into high gear; I was cranking out a new song a day. John was beyond happy with my writing talent back in full swing, sending daily progress reports to our producer. He even taped two performances to play back to him once the cruise was over. My life was finally back on track.

We decided to go dancing and just let loose tonight; wild and crazy was the tone of the night. I noticed that Bailey was drinking more than usual, but knowing she was surrounded by friends, I decided to let her have fun. We’d been sad and melancholy all day, so tonight we decided to party. Everyone was having a good time; even John got up and danced with us. He was a built son of a bitch, but he stayed true to Natalie as women approached him for a dance. I admired his loyalty to his girl, finally understanding it.

Bailey was a little unsteady on her feet, but I knew the dancing would help burn off some of the alcohol she’d drunk, so I held on to her and let her go. I remembered so many times I’d had too much to drink that I could hardly navigate, but my friends always took care of me. It was a blessing to have such good friends that cared about me even when I was a complete asshole to them, which now I regretted.

Bailey signaled that she needed to go to the ladies’ room so I followed her as she weaved her way toward the bathrooms. She stumbled, landing in this man’s lap, who immediately started groping her. That catapulted me into action. I grabbed her, pulling her up on her feet as I slapped his hand off her thigh. He grinned like an idiot—big mistake. I lost it.

Waves of anger radiated off me as I grabbed a hold of his shirt. He tried to look innocent and blame Bailey. I kicked his big fucking foot out of the aisle and doubled up my fist furious at him. I pulled my arm back to take a swing, but my arm was grabbed and
held by Keith. I looked up to see John with his massive arms folded across his chest. Scott and Keith were beside him. They had formed a semicircle around us, all staring at the asshole in front of me. He looked at each of the guys and backed right down, making some lame excuse about helping Bailey. I let go of his shirt as he quickly left the bar. Bailey was four shades of green and excused herself as she ran into the bathroom. I knew that look, having been there a few times myself. I asked Shelly to check on her.

“Keith, thanks, man. I was about to teach him some manners.”

“I know, and that piece of shit wouldn’t have been worth getting into trouble over,” he said, patting me on the shoulder.

“I know, but he put his filthy hands on Bailey,” I said, blowing out some pent-up steam. I was still hopping mad, thinking about his hand on her thigh.

“I saw the whole thing; he deliberately tripped her,” John said.

“I just hope I don’t run into that fucker on this ship. I won’t be responsible for rearranging his face,” I threatened.

We waited patiently for the girls. Shelly came out first, announcing that Bailey was sick, and we should call it a night.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” John said as Bailey emerged from the bathroom looking pale. I immediately put my arm around her to get her out of the noisy bar and into her quiet room, carrying her as fast as my feet would take me down the stairs to her door. She wasn’t navigating very well and had trouble getting her keys. So, I took over retrieving her key and carried her to the bathroom for a shower. I held her up so she could brush her teeth, then stripped her and somehow managed to get her into the shower. She was being playful with me, making me laugh at her cuteness. I got her washed and dried and made her drink some water with two aspirin before putting her to bed. No sex tonight. I wanted her to remember every minute of our lovemaking, not be in a drunken fog. She fell backward on the bed and was out cold. Even drunk, she was a breathtaking beauty. I pulled her up on the pillow and covered her. I turned out the light and crawled in next to her.

Sixteen

Bailey

I
woke in the morning all covered up and tucked into Jesse’s front, with his arm protectively around me. There were two aspirin and glass of water on the table by my side of the bed. I slid out from under his arm to sit up and drink the water; my mouth felt like the Mojave Desert. I quietly got up to head into the bathroom for more water, drinking it all down. Brushing my teeth, I felt better than I thought I should as I crawled back into bed with him. I didn’t go back to sleep; I just lay there trying to remember if I did anything stupid last night to embarrass myself.

“Morning, sweetheart; how do you feel?” Jesse asked, opening his eyes.

“Fuzzy,” I said, embarrassed that he’d had to take care of me.

He chuckled, turning me around to look at him. “You’re pretty funny when you’re drunk,” he smiled.

“I don’t feel funny,” I said.

“Awww…honey, don’t feel bad; you were cute,” he said, kissing my nose.

“I’ll bet; I’m really sorry, Jesse,” I said. “Can I make it up to you?”

“I’m sure I can think of something,” he said, wiggling his eyebrow with an evil grin, which got me laughing too.

“Honey, don’t stress about it; we’ve all been there at one time or another. I knew you were feeling sad all day; so was I. I’m not mad at you; I love you,” he said, kissing me sweetly. “Now stop fussing
and come here so I can show you how much I love you.” He took it slow, taking his time to make sweet love to me. What a way to start the day—Jesse naked in bed, loving me with every fiber of his being!

The familiar sound of Shelly pounding on my door finally got us out of bed. “Damn woman is a menace,” Jesse said.

“Hey, get your asses out of bed,” she yelled through the door.

“All right, give us a minute,” Jesse yelled back, throwing my big T-shirt at me and grabbing his clothes. I looked at the clock; it was eight o’clock already, time for breakfast. I looked at Jesse to make sure it was OK before I opened the door. She burst in all bubbly, dressed in a cute shorts set, plopping herself on my bed as I stood there and watched her make herself comfortable.

“I’m going to go change; I’ll meet you girls for breakfast,” Jesse said, kissing my forehead as he headed out the door.

“How are you feeling this morning?” she asked.

“It could be worse. I took some aspirin, and my headache is almost gone,” I said, picking up my clothing from last night.

“Well, let’s get going, chop, chop,” she said, swinging her feet back and forth while she waited for me.

“Damn, girl, don’t you ever sleep in?” I said as I ran a brush through my messy hair.

“No waste of half the day; haven’t you ever heard that the early bird gets the worm?” she said, twirling her blond hair around her finger. “Here, let me help.” She grabbed my brush.

“That’s disgusting and the dumbest saying I’ve ever heard,” I said.

“Are we a little bit grumpy today?” she asked, gently brushing my hair.

“No, we’re not grumpy, but keep it up, and I will be.” She handed me the brush, and I pulled my hair all to one side and braided it. “There, it’s out of my face,” I said, grabbing some clothing out of my drawer.

“My, my, did Bailey not get fucked last night?” she said, smirking at my bad mood.

“No, Bailey passed out,” I said, smirking at her. Then we both broke into fits of laughter, collapsing back on the bed. “Thanks, I needed that,” I said, feeling better.

“You ready? Let’s go meet our guys; only two more days,” Shelly said, addressing the elephant in the room.

“Shit, now I’m depressed,” I said, heading back into the bathroom and slamming the door. I took care of business, taking the time to put makeup on to look my best. I put on my shoes and headed for the door, anxious to see Jesse. “Come on, Shell; I’m hungry; let’s go,” I said.

“It’s about time,” she said, following me out. Those two guys were waiting in their usual spot. Jesse looked cool and calm, leaning against the wall with his ankles crossed and his arms folded in front of his chest, listening to Scott talk about music. Scott, who was always very animated, was talking with both hands to make his point, jumping around and laughing.

“Here they come,” Jesse said, unfolding his arms and walking over to me when I entered the room. “How’s my girl feeling?” he asked, kissing my cheek.

“Hungry,” I said, leaning into his arms to feel his warmth.

“Let’s get some food in you,” he said, walking me to the table where John was already drinking his coffee.

“Bailey, how are you feeling today?” John asked.

I put my head down, ashamed to look at him. “OK.”

“That’s good; we were worried about you,” he smiled.

“She was in good hands. I took good care of you, didn’t I, baby?” Jesse said, sitting next to me. I nodded, still embarrassed that they had seen me like that.

“Thank you for caring about me,” I said to John.

“Always, sweetheart,” John winked.

Our coffee was poured, and I dove right in, drinking the brown goodness as soon as it hit my cup. The waitress came back to pour me another cup and take our orders. My stomach was empty, and
now the coffee was sloshing around in there. I ordered French toast with strawberries and whipped cream, desperately needing food in my stomach. Jesse just smiled at me but didn’t say a word as he held my hand while we waited for our food. He kept me grounded. He didn’t judge me or pick on me.

I loved that about him. After inhaling my breakfast, I felt better and joined in on the conversation.

“So what’s the plan today?” Scott asked.

“Liza and I are spending the day together,” Keith said, kissing her.

Liza looked sad as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

“I’ve got some manager stuff to do and make the playlist for tomorrow night. I want all of you to be on that stage by two o’clock today for practice,” John said walking away from us.

“OK, boss,” Scott joked as John walked out the door chuckling.

“Let’s lounge around the deck and enjoy the ocean view for a while. I want to get some more pictures. Later we can go for a swim,” Shelly said.

“OK with you, honey?” Jesse asked, kissing my cheek.

“Sure,” I said, full and ready to spend the day with him. We walked along the deck hand in hand. Shelly took pictures of Jesse and me; then I took some of her and Scott. We chose double lounge chairs so we could snuggle together and settled in, talking about what we wanted to do later. Jesse and Scott talked about tomorrow night’s performance. Then Jesse told me about his sister and her family; it was obvious he loved his little niece and nephew. I realized how close he was with his family and admired that about him.

My family was a different story; I wasn’t comfortable talking about them. “My sister is a spoiled brat, and my father hates me,” I blurted out when Jesse asked me about my family. Shelly nodded her head in agreement. Jesse give me a sad look, kissing my hand.

“But her mother is a sweetheart,” Shelly said to Jesse.

“Yeah, my mother is great,” I admitted with a smile.