Catch Me (36 page)

“How old did you say Melody was?” Nick asks when I stop in front of an American Girl store.

“Four,” I say, smiling proudly.

He smiles back. “That’s a cute age.”

“It is.”

“My friend has a son that’s five, he’s cute. I don’t see him often but when I do it’s always a fun time,” he says.

“When was the last time you saw him?”

Nick shrugs. “Couple of months ago when I went to his birthday party.”

“Cute,” I say with a smile, trying to picture Nick at a kids’ birthday party.

“What was the theme?”

“Pirates,” he says, his eyes twinkling as he looks down toward my feet.

I laugh and fish through my purse until I find one of the coins Melody gave me. I take one out proudly to show him, as if it was a lost treasure that I found. He frowns and laughs when he realizes what it is.

“Those were at the party,” he says.

“Of course they were,” I say, matter of fact. “Golden Doubloons. You can’t have a pirate party without them.”

Nick drops my hand and turns his body to mine and I mimic his movement.

“What?” I ask curiously.

“Do you want kids?” he asks.

I raise an eyebrow. “Isn’t it a little too soon for you to ask me that?” I joke.

Nick raises an eyebrow back at me as he walks forward, moving me until my back is on the glass of the store. “You think so?” he asks, his voice low as his eyes flicker between my eyes and my lips, effectively making my stomach coil. When he does that I just want to pull him to me and beg him to kiss me.

I nod my head slowly, breathing heavily now. “Yes,” I whisper.

“Let’s go over the things you think it’s too soon to talk about then,” he suggests, his mouth dangerously close to mine. “Kids?” I nod. “Moving in together?” I nod. “Marriage?” My stomach flops in excitement when he says that, and I nod. A smile tugs his lips. “Hmm … so I assume you’re on the pill,” he says, making me frown and my eyes widen in realization.

“Yes,” I whisper, wondering why he didn’t ask me this before.

“It doesn’t matter to me,” he says, his voice a whisper against my lips, so close yet so far.

“Why not?” I ask, my heart strumming loudly against my chest.

He smiles against me. “We can’t talk about that,” he says.

I close my eyes and bite down on my lip. He totally got me. When I flick my tongue out to wet my lips, it hits Nick’s and he groans, grabbing my face and finally kissing me. When he’s made sure that we’re both breathing heavily and can’t take the lack of oxygen, he lets me go and we continue walking.

“Charlotte,” I murmur, looking at one of the dolls on the storefront. “That’s a nice name.”

I always notice names. I think because mine is uncommon, I’ve always been slightly intrigued by the more “normal” names. Not that it matters, I’m sure I’ll end up naming my kids weird names anyway when the day comes.

Nick tilts his head and smiles. “What other names do you like?”

“Hmmm … for a boy I like Jorel,” I say.

Nick stops walking and makes a face that makes me laugh.

“What? You don’t like it?” I ask, laughing.

“It sounds like a cleaning product,” he comments.

“It does not!” I say, slapping his shoulder playfully. “I bet Isaac would like it.”

Isaac is into comic books, much like Hendrix, and I know for a fact that Superman’s dad’s name is Jorel.

Nick scoffs. “Isaac’s a nerd. And yeah, it does sound like a cleaning product.” He adds, mimicking a female voice, “You have a stain on your shirt? Oh, spray some Jorel on that, it’ll take it right off.”

I laugh at his impersonation and the face he makes as he says it then put my hand in his again as we continue walking.

It does sound like a cleaning product. Damn him.

I’ve had so much fun with Nick that I haven’t given much thought about Shea’s performance last night, but when I do, my heart breaks a little.

I’m stirred awake from our nap by pounding on our door, followed by shouts from Shea calling out my name. Nick stirs beneath me, muttering for him to shut the fuck up, and pulls me into his chest again, cradling my head on him as if he were carrying a baby. Placing a kiss over his heart, I untangle myself from him and sit up.

“Don’t go,” Nick groans sleepily.

“I have to,” I respond, brushing my lips against his. “I’ll be back soon.”

He turns over in the bed as I get up to look for something to wear. I pull on a pair of sweats that I brought just in case I decided to work out and a loose T-shirt over my head. Pulling my hair up into a ponytail, I make my way toward the door.

“Brooklyn, please open the door,” Shea says as he pounds on it once more.

Rolling my eyes, I open it and stand beside it as he walks in. He’s wearing a black T-shirt, camouflage cargo shorts and Jordan flip-flops. He walks to the couch and plops down on it, ruffling his hair nervously without looking at me. Assuming he’s not going to leave any time soon, I let the door shut close and make my way over to him, crossing my legs as I sit on the couch across from him.

He lets out a breath, wiping his face roughly with both of his hands and looks at me, his muddy green eyes no longer glazed over with intoxication. “I’m so fucking sorry, Bee,” he says, swallowing loudly.

I shake my head, biting the inside of my cheek to contain the emotion that’s threatening to come back. “That was an asshole thing to do,” I whisper brokenly. “And you know what, Shea? I don’t even fucking care that you hurt me like that. But what about Nick? Did you ever care to stop and think about what he might have been feeling? He’s your friend too.”

Shea narrows his eyes at me. “Fuck him. He should’ve told me what was going on. YOU should have told me what was going on. I’m not fucking blind, Brooklyn. I see the way you guys look at each other. I hear the way you talk to each other. How long have you known him?”

I gape at him. “You introduced me to him!” I remind him. I’m not about to tell him about the bridge and about Nick’s brother. I don’t even remember Nick being there to begin with so I can’t count that as the first time we met.

Shea laughs, though it’s with little amusement, and then stops and furrows his eyebrows when he sees I’m serious. “You’re not kidding.”

I shake my head. “Why would I be?”

He shrugs. “I dunno. I just figured the way you act together …”

“Whatever. Even if I’d known him for years, which I haven’t, that doesn’t excuse what you did.”

Shea agrees, nodding his head. “I fucked up.”

“You did,” I say softly, beginning to forgive him for the little show he put on.

He moves over to the couch I’m sitting on and takes me into his arms. I lay my head on his shoulder when he squeezes me tight. “What about us?” he asks, his voice quiet.

“What about us?” I whisper.

Shea exhales, burying his face into my neck. “I don’t wanna lose you, Brooklyn. I can’t,” he says, his voice wavering.

“You won’t, Shea. Never,” I reply, picking my head up to look at him.

He nods, searching my eyes. “You promise?” he whispers.

“I swear it,” I whisper back, feeling my chest tighten as tears form in my eyes. I hate that I have to reassure him of this. I hate that he feels so alone in his life that he needs me, of all people, another lonely soul, to cling to. I hate that we couldn’t make it work because we were both too miserable to bring true happiness to each other.

Straightening out in my seat, I cup his face so that he’ll look into my eyes. “You’re my best friend, Shea. You can’t get rid of me. Haven’t you learned that by now?” I ask quietly.

His eyes glisten. “You’re more than my best friend, Brooklyn,” he whispers. “You’re family,” Shea continues, breaking the dam that was holding in my tears.

I lean in, hugging him tightly, unwilling to let him go. “I love you, Shea.”

“I love you more, BK,” he responds. “I’m sorry I can’t be more to you.”

My throat closes in at his words, making it impossible for me to speak, so I nod instead. Sniffling back tears, I let go of him and wipe my face quickly. “You weren’t meant to be more to me,” I say, my voice wavering. “But that doesn’t mean you haven’t been enough.”

He blinks rapidly, his lashes now wet as he smiles. “You always know the right thing to say.”

I smile back and tap his toes with mine. “I’m cool like that,” I joke, smiling brighter when I make him laugh.

“Well, you kind of have to be cool to hang out with me,” he counters.

“Stupid,” I mumble, shaking my head with a laugh, feeling lighter than I have all day.

Shea props his feet up on the table, crossing them at his ankles. “You missed my best fucking song,” he says. “It’s a new one. I just recorded it last week.”

“Oh yeah? How does it go?” I ask, laying my head on his shoulder and closing my eyes when he starts humming the beat of it. I drift off with a smile on my face as he croons to me about life, love, and forgiveness.

The next time I wake up, I’m balled up on the couch, and Nick and Shea are talking in the kitchen behind me. I stay still as I listen to them discuss songs they still have to record and smile, grateful that there’s no bad blood between them. Sitting up and stretching my arms over my head, I hear my phone ringing and get up to get it from my room. I shoot a glance over at Nick who smiles and winks at me, running his fingers through his ruffled hair. I let my eyes trail over his naked chest one time before blinking them away and heading into the room.

We decide to go out for pizza, just the three of us. Well, the three of us and two huge bodyguards, but still. After the initial awkwardness of the three of us being together and Nick claiming me by holding my hand the entire time, we end up having a good time talking about music and people they’ve worked with that I know. Shea tells me about the next part of the trip. The bus got in last night and will be leaving after the show tomorrow night, taking us to Berkeley for his next show. Nick will be touring with him until the record is finished, which he says should be soon, as long as they’re able to get three more solid songs. I agree to stay until they head to LA on Wednesday. I’ve wanted to see Allie anyway and check up on some things in regards to Fab, so it’ll be perfect.

The following morning I wake up in Nick’s arms again, breathing him in deeply as I cuddle into him. Picking up my head, I notice that it’s only eight o’clock in the morning and the bus isn’t leaving until this afternoon. I stand up carefully and walk to the bathroom, deciding that I should head to the gym today. I normally don’t work out when I’m on vacation, but I’ve been eating way too many good things and feel a little bit guilty over it. Standing sideways in front of the mirror, my gaze drops to my plump butt and I decide that I definitely need to do squats today. Once I’m dressed in my workout clothes and sneakers, I grab my purse, stuffing it with clothes so I can hit the showers in the spa when I’m finished and head out. I doubt Nick will be up early today. He and Shea stayed up way past the time I went to bed working on the album. I find my phone on top of the kitchen counter where I left it, frowning when I see a little note from Nick, which I’m assuming he left when he got back from the studio last night.