Begin Again (17 page)

She left her hair down in loose curls and
wore just a hint of bronzer and clear lip gloss. She was just putting her ID, money, and lip gloss in her wristlet when she heard the front door open.

“Babe, you ready?”
Dylan’s voice drifted down the hall.

“I’m coming.” She walked down the hall into the living room.
“So how do I look?” Journey gave a little twirl in front of him.

“My god, you
’re stunning.” Pulling her close, he kissed her lips softly. “This outfit is going make me beat some asses tonight, isn’t it? Guys are going to be checking you out and then I’m gonna have to put them in their place.”

Journey smacked his chest playfully and laughed
. “Oh shut up, they will not. Did the kids act okay when you left?”

“They were practically pushing me out the door.
Mom had Abby already helping with snacks and Joey was helping pick out movies. They didn’t even seem to care when I said I was leaving.”

She pulled away and patted his cheek
. “Don’t feel bad, honey, whenever the kids go to Nan’s, as soon as we walk through her door they’ve already forgotten about me.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the
door. “Let’s go, sugar.”

She followed him out to his truck and admired him
along the way. He was wearing dark blue jeans, which showed off his nice, tight ass and a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of black boots. His hair was slightly messy, but it just made him look even sexier.

They were meeting the others at a steakhouse up in Hilton Head and then going to a club owned by one of their friends.
Comfortable silence filled the cab of the truck as they drove along. Dylan reached out and grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers with hers and pulling it to his lips, kissing it softly.

A little bit later they pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. Dylan
, being a true gentleman, came around and helped Journey out of the truck. She smiled when she felt his arm wrap around her waist, pulling her in close to his body. She inhaled and could smell the woodsy scent he wore and was tempted to stick her nose in his neck. They walked inside and the hostess, who was undressing Dylan with her eyes, came up to them with menus.

Dylan stopped her before she even spoke
. “We’re meeting others here and I can see them.” Journey smiled inside because he paid no attention to the woman.

When they reached the table the others stood up. Hugs, kisses and compliments were exchanged between Bellamy, Stacy and
Journey. The boys even kissed her cheek as well. Dylan pulled out her chair for her, putting her right next to Bellamy. She and Luke were such a pretty couple. Journey noticed that Luke was always touching Bellamy. Whether it was holding her hand, touching her back or leg and kissing her, there was always some part he was touching. She noticed that when they got really touchy-feely, both Dustin and Dylan would turn away. It must be hard to watch your best friend and baby sister together.

She could see the slight baby bump that Bellamy was already sporting.
She was positively glowing, and it made her a little envious.

“Journey
, I knew that dress would look great on you. What did my brother think?”

The waitress came at that moment and Journey ordered a vodka tonic.
When she left, Journey turned back to Bellamy and felt her cheeks heat up. “Uh, he loved it.” She felt Dylan at her back, kissing her shoulder.

“You bet I did,” he added.

After everyone ordered, she learned a lot about everyone as they talked and shared stories. She learned that Bellamy used to follow Luke around everywhere when she was little. Dylan was the troublemaker; he had a quick temper and fought all of the time. She looked at him and could see that. She shook her head and knew that they were going to be dealing with that when Joey was older.

She shared what it was like having a musician for a father and a mother who was always singing.

“I was the only one who didn’t get the musical gene.
My momma always told me it didn’t matter what kind of song I sang, I always made it sound like a country song. I tried every instrument I could, but could never do it. That’s okay, though, because I’m good at other stuff.”

Dylan looked at her and smiled
. “Yeah, you are.” Everyone laughed and Journey slapped his chest.

“You hush, mister!”
she playfully scolded him.

When their food came everyone was quiet as they ate.
Her filet was cooked perfectly. She caught herself as she moaned with a bite of scalloped potato in her mouth. She was taking a drink of her water when she felt Dylan’s hand on her thigh. Clearing her throat, she looked around and thankfully no one was looking at them. His thumb was rubbing small circles on her inner thigh. Her pulse picked up as his hand started to move up the inside of her thigh.

“So Journey, what was Joey like as a baby?” Stacy asked from across the table.

Oh god, she was going to have to try and talk as Dylan stroked up her thigh. “Um, well, he was a good baby. By the time he was a few weeks old he was only getting up once in the night.” His fingers brushed over her pussy and she began to moan, but quickly covered it with a cough.

“Are you okay?” Bellamy asked, leaning towards her.

“I’m fine. I just have something caught in my throat.” Journey reached under the table, grabbing Dylan’s hand.
She tried to shove it away, but he’d just chuckle softly and shake his head.

After dinner they decided to head to the club that their friend, Reggie
, owned. The place was called Allure and wasn’t far from where they ate dinner. On the way there, Journey called Ruth to check on the kids. Joey was asleep on Charlie’s lap in the family room and Abby and Carrington were eating popcorn and watching a movie on the living room floor. She thanked Ruth again for keeping the kids and hung up.

“Are they getting along okay?” Dylan asked as they pulled into the parking lot.

“Oh yeah, the girls are watching a movie and Joey’s asleep on your dad’s lap. I was so worried that the kids were going to be hyper for them. I’m having such a great time already tonight.” She grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze. Dylan shut the truck off and then got out, coming around to help her out. He wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to the others.

***

Dylan stood at the bar with his brother and Luke to get drinks. The girls were sitting on a half circle couch by the dance floor. His sister and Stacy had done a great job including Journey. When they walked in, Dylan could see the stares directed in their girls’ direction. He didn’t like guys drooling over his woman, but he knew that she only had eyes for him.

They had been there for a couple of hours and the place was filling up. Once their drink
s and beers were ready, they carried them back to their seats. He sat down in his spot in between Journey and Stacy. Pulling Journey into his side, he leaned down, kissing her neck.

“Are you going to come out and dance with me?” He grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. “We’re going to go dance
,” he told the others.

He led her to the dance floor
, and once they were in the middle of it, he grabbed her right hand in his left and put his other hand around her waist. He used to hate that his mom made them learn how to dance, but at times like this he was grateful for it. Journey fit against his body perfectly. They were made for each other, and the more time they spent together the more he was falling in love with her. Walking away from her the first time was the worst mistake he ever made. It was one he never planned on repeating.

As he twirled her around the dance floor
, Journey had the biggest smile on her face. From one song to the next they danced, until they were ready for a little break. He watched her take a healthy sip from her drink. She wasn’t drunk, but he could tell she was feeling good. Bellamy obviously was the only one not drinking. She even offered to take everyone home if they wanted to drink more.

His brother declined, not wanting to deal with picking up their car in the morning.
Stacy’s parents were bringing Violet home around ten, so they didn’t want to be hung over. When Dylan finished his beer, he was probably going to have one more, then switch to water.

“I’m going to the ladies
’ room. I’ll be right back.” Journey kissed his cheek and then stood up. Stacy and Bellamy joined her and he watched the three of them walk away.

“So Journey seems to be fitting in just fine with our girls,” Luke said from the other side of Dustin.

“They’ve been really great including her in stuff and having the kids over for play dates. It means a lot that y’all have accepted her.”

“Why wouldn’t we? She’s great, Dyl. Mom and Dad are crazy about her and the kids.
Hell, you’ve seen Abby with Dad. They’ve become buddies since she had her surgery. We’re happy for you and can see how happy you are with them.”

Bellamy came back over, sitting next to her husband.
His baby sister looked beautiful. This pregnancy she was already more relaxed, though he knew she was on medication to help with that. This was going to be their last baby. She hated that she had to be medicated, but her anxiety was so high the further her pregnancy went along.

“Where are the other two?”
he asked.

“They went
to the bar to get another round of drinks.”

He and his brother immediately turned and looked toward the bar.
He watched as two douchebags walked towards their women and he and his brother got up and walked towards them. The closer they got he could see Journey was uncomfortable with their attention. When they reached them, Dylan wrapped his arms around Journey’s middle. “Get the fuck out of here,” he told the two men. Thankfully they listened and walked away, moving on to the next group of women.

“Thanks, baby.” Journey kissed his lips as she turned in his arms.
The lights had been dimmed and the volume of the music had gone up a little. Dance music started pumping through the speakers and when they got back to the table the girls decided to go out and dance. The guys all moved closer together as they watched their women on the floor.

The dance floor was filling up quick
, but the girls stayed in their line of sight. He couldn’t take his eyes off Journey. Even though she wasn’t the best dancer, she was having a great time. The girls were dancing and laughing with each other. Other woman had been trying to get their attention, but none of them were interested. They had everything they wanted right there in front of them. Some song that was clearly about sex came on and he decided to join his girl on the floor.

He wrapped his arms around her waist
and began to move with her. The little tease turned around, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pressed her body against his and his cock immediately got hard. She gave him an innocent look and ground herself against him some more. He let his arms slide down her back, his hands landing on her ass. They moved together to the music, ignoring everyone around them.

Dylan wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and kissed her.
She opened to him as his tongue entered her mouth, her tongue dueling with his. His leg moved in between hers and she ground down on it, whimpering into his mouth. He knew they were probably making a spectacle of themselves, but he couldn’t help it. He pulled his lips away and moved them along her jaw up to her ear.

“
When we get home tonight I’m going to fuck you so hard. Do you want that, baby? Do you want me to be rough or do you want me to be gentle?” He smiled at her moan. “Come on, tell me.”

Her breath was stuttered in his ear
. “R-rough, please.”

“I like that answer.
We’re going right now.”

Journey didn’t argue as he pulled her off of the dance floor.
They went over to where the others were back to sitting. His brother the jackass was laughing his ass off.

“We’re leaving.”

All four of them could be heard laughing as he walked away dragging Journey towards the exit of the club. They were silent until they reached the passenger side of his truck. He lifted her off of her feet and he felt her legs wrap around his waist. He had her back against the door as he attacked her mouth. She made him so hungry for her, he could hardly stand it.

He stopped when he heard people walking their way.
“Let’s get out of here before I get us arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior.” Dylan felt her chuckle against his neck. He stepped back, opening the door and helping her inside. He went around to his side, hopping in quick.

Neither of them spoke as sexual tension filled the cab of the truck.
They were ten minutes from his place when he felt her hand on his thigh. At first she didn’t move it, just sat it there. It didn’t take long before it started to move slowly up his thigh. He knew she could feel his muscles start tightening under her hand.

“Darlin’
, you’re playing with fire.” His voice sounded rough in his own ears.