Whisky Moments

by Bowie, Emily

  She steps in, looking around at all my junk that is now neat but makes the place look like it’s bursting at the seams.

  “How did you enjoy the wall of reporters out there?” I pluck at my stings before I continue. “But you being here shows you care. Check on her yourself.” I nod toward her bedroom. “Let me know if you think she needs some peace and quiet, since y’all didn’t believe me.”

  My head goes back down like I don’t give two fucks, and my fingers tingle, with the need to escape this house. If I thought me driving across the states wouldn’t add extra pain for Camilla, I would do just that. I’m not used to hearing the word no, and I hate it. I’ve had years of everyone caving to my demands, and “no” doesn’t sit well with me anymore.

  Mindy steps around me like I’m some disease sitting on the couch. It only intrigues me. Camilla must’ve been talking about me to her. They both have that “I hate you” vibe going on.

  Twenty minutes later, Mindy is back, staring down at me with her arms crossed. I ignore her, continuing with my music like she doesn’t exist.

  “Okay, she can go, but I’m coming, her manager—”

  I cut her off right there. “No. No entourage. This is for her to get away, to relax. She can’t do that with all her groupies around.” I watch her pursed lips twitch, not knowing how to handle me. “You already know Three Rivers would be good for her or you wouldn’t be here.” Placing my guitar down, I sit back, reflecting her pose back onto her.

  “One week.” Her eyes portray she’s still not sure about me.

  “When does the jet take off?” I smirk, loving that I won this argument.

  “No jet. Small plane, but at least it’s private. I’ll forward the details to Dick.” She begins to walk out like our business is done.

  “No.” She turns around to look at me, annoyed I’m still arguing with her. “Tell me the details. Dick won’t be with us either.”

  Shaking her head, she exhales. “Whatever.” She picks up her phone and her fingers fly over the screen till I hear a chime from my cell. Looking down, I see it’s our itinerary.

  “Thank you.”

  She rolls her eyes, never acknowledging I said thanks.

  Heading into Camilla’s room, I silently pack for her, making sure to mess with her by packing her sexiest panties, bras, and sleepwear. I set them on top so they’re the first things she’ll see.

  Hoping to make some of the people move off her lawn, I have Dick Instagram an old picture of me in Nashville with a location of the picture. A few of them leave, thinking I already snuck out, while the majority stay, waiting on Camilla.

  It takes less than an hour before Dick and I load Camilla in the car and the two of us are on her private plane.

  I wouldn’t call it a “small” plane as Mindy had. Camilla gets to lie down in a huge recliner that could act as a bed, while I sit on a couch watching TV. The plane fits about six people with better ease than first class on a commercial plane. There is no bedroom, only a few other regular seats and recliners.

  This plan is a solid A-plus for me.

  CHAPTER 23

  Snuggling deeper into a cloud of fluff, I smile, loving how cozy I feel right now. My eyes start to flutter open to a bright blue sky that looks incredibly clear, with a beautiful white frame and curtains surrounding it. I swear I can smell a marshmallowy-vanilla scent. Closing my eyes, I inhale the light fragrance. My eyes open one at a time, realizing I’m not at home.

  Sitting straight up, I wonder where the heck I am. Panic begins to climb through me as I look around the room until my eyes land on Rhett, who’s sitting on a fold-out chair, hunched over, his elbows resting on his legs as his hands hold his head up. My heart immediately slows, and relief hits me in the gut.

  “What did you do, Rhett?” I ask slowly, still trying to take in my surroundings.

  “You look better. Less exhausted.” His demeanor shows me that he knows I was talking out of my ass, and clearly, he wants answers I have no intention of giving him. My life is private for a reason.

  I flutter my lashes, looking at him. “Why, Rhett Steele, are you trying to say I look beautiful?” I sass him.

  Standing up, he takes up most of the small but adorable room. He has that brooding personality perfected.

  “I think you are always beautiful.”

  I search him for teasing, only to see none. I don’t know how to take this intense and extremely serious Rhett. It makes me squirm and feel uncomfortable.

  He doesn’t break eye contact, feeding off my new emotions.

  “Where are we?” I can’t keep looking at him, needing to take a break by glancing out the window again.

  “What the hell did you let Mindy give you to make you pass out like that?” He answers my question with a question.

  I wonder if there is a carefree side to him? And I don’t mean the fake media one he’s perfected while he plays the role of Nashville’s heartbreaker country star.

  “Mindy knows I’m with you?” I’m foggy on the last day or two. I hope it hasn’t been more than that. I remember going into the hospital and being scared as shit, Rhett picking me up, and then the rest is only like half-memories that don’t fit together.

  “You look like you’re hurting less. Can you stand?”

  I move my torso, and I do feel better. It’s tender, but not that same pain I recall once all my numbness wore off. Now I remember Mindy in my bedroom, saying something about my plane. Standing up, I test my body out and only then realize I did what he asked when I see the shit-eating grin.

  “How long do you plan on keeping me captive?” Looking my body over I’m still in the same clothes I went to the hospital in, making me sigh with relief.

  “Camilla, why were you there? You scared the hell out of me. I didn’t know what to do.” His eyes search mine so intensely, looking like he cares. It makes me want to tell him, to ease his mind, but I can’t. It’s a secret I promised to keep to myself. It’s not that I don’t trust him; he is one of the few I feel like I could. The thought catches me off guard. I would have never said that a week ago.

  If he keeps looking at me like that, I will pour my heart out to him. I have to get away from him, to have space to think clearly. Dashing out of the room, I race down the stairs, looking over my shoulder and checking to see if he’s decided to follow me. The door hasn’t moved, allowing me to slow my steps as I reach the bottom of the stairs. Turning, I see four sets of strangers’ eyes blinking at me like I’m some crazed person.

  “Um, hello?” It comes out like a question as I freeze midstride. I force myself to place down the one foot that was up so I’m standing straight. There are no pounding steps behind me, and I realize Rhett won this round. He’s probably upstairs laughing at me.

  “Camilla.” The older woman gets up from her chair and hugs me. I stand there, my arms by my sides as she embraces me like I should know who she is. I’m confused and feel like an idiot for not recognizing her.

  “All right, Ma,” Rhett’s voice rings behind me. He must be on stealth mode. I didn’t even hear one clunky step from him. He puts his arm around my shoulders “Everyone, this is my girlfriend Camilla.”

  I’m taken aback at his words. It’s on the tip of my tongue to refute it and fight him that I’m not his girlfriend.

  “Camilla, this is my family—Ma, Dad, my sister Shay, and her husband Luke.”

  They all look like lovely people, and I don’t have the heart to tell them otherwise now. Which brings me to my next question.

  Why the hell did Rhett bring me to his family?

  *

  Camilla’s eyes widen and her mouth gapes as she’s taken by surprise. I can see her wanting to lash out at me, and then my ma hugs her once more. Whatever she was going to say dies on her lips while looking at me, confused.

  “Hello, everyone,” she says, pinching my side. Her fingers digging into me as she hugs my middle with one arm. “Sorry we never met when we first arrived,” she continues.

 
“You met us.” Our attention is brought down to Shay’s oldest son Connor, who is five.

  I look back to Camilla, who looks about ten shades of pink and is lost for words. She looks up to me for clarification. “I was just testing you.” She smiles at him. “How could I forget such a handsome face? Clearly, you don’t take after your uncle here.” He laughs before climbing up on Shay’s lap.

  “Hello?” The door opens, and in walk my brothers Brax and Kellen.

  “Rhett saves the day again,” Kellen calls out, coming over to shake my hand. It looks like my lawyer did the trick.

  “I swear Officer Rhodes is always looking to pin something on me, if not our family.” He goes to hug Ma before taking a seat. “I just want a cold beer, put my feet up, and hear some good old guitar around a fire.”

  “Camilla, my brothers Brax and Kellen,” I introduce, not realizing it was going to be one big happy family so early.

  “No shit.” Kellen shakes his head. “Where are my manners?” He gets up and comes over with Brax to say hello as they both hug her.

  “Rhett is always going on about how much he looks up to the two of you,” she lies, probably trying to gauge all of us. I’ve never spoken about them before. I try to keep my personal life private.

  “Now we all know you’re lying,” Brax says to her while slapping me on the back, chuckling.

  “How long are you staying in town this time, Rhett?” my dad breaks through, adding tension to the room. He still holds it against me that I left everyone.

  I look at him. I have two hundred different ways I want to respond. I can’t breathe at the ranch but come home because we’re all family. I wanted a different life than you, and that is okay. I’d come home more if I felt welcomed. Why haven’t you ever visited me? Does it matter how long I stay?

  Instead of all that, I shrug while smiling right at my father, hoping it will annoy him as much as his question has annoyed me. “Depends on how much rest I get.”

  Camilla tries to step away—feeling the tension, I’m sure—but I keep her in place. I need her. For the first time, the thought occurs to me that maybe I needed her here for me. A buffer between my family and me until my family accepts me for me.

  CHAPTER 24

  My family welcomes Camilla with ease, making me wish I got the same type of treatment. Watching them all interact from the outside makes it seem like they have known Camilla her whole life. She no longer shies away. All it took was a couple hugs from Ma, and Camilla stepped perfectly into the girlfriend role.

  I half expected her to run back up the stairs, since she wasn’t dressed and hadn’t showered in two days. Every woman I have ever known would have fled after seeing my whole family down there. They would’ve re-entered an hour later looking perfect.

  I liked that she didn’t fuss. Not that she needed to. She looked beautiful anyway.

  “I’m sorry my family crowded you as soon as you woke up,” I tell her, opening the door to Nelly’s.

  It’s still early, making the place vacant for our taking. I place my hand on her back, leading her toward where the dartboards are located in the back, alongside the pool table.

  “That’s what girlfriends are for, right?” She turns into me and our eyes connect. It makes me wonder what she sees when she looks at me. I can see questions in her eyes and half expect her to start firing them off at me.

  Glancing down at her, all I can think about is how damn gorgeous she is right now. My favorite look on her is this dressed down casual appearance. Her lips are naked, making me want to taste them.

  She peers up at me through her long, thick lashes, and those whisky eyes urge me to get drunk off of them. She feels it too. I watch as her eyes dilate, becoming darker, luring me in, making me believe I need a sip.

  Slowly, I tilt my head closer to hers, enjoying the way her breath picks up. I resist the desire to grab hold of the back of her neck to pull her into me for a hard kiss, one that allows her to feel all of me. I consider kissing down her neck instead, knowing I may not be able to stop kissing her if I start.

  My hand moves from the small of her back to the middle, tugging her in tighter, waiting for her to tell me to fuck off. As soon as I feel her perky tits against my chest, I take what I have wanted, what is mine.

  My lips press to hers, her tongue darting out to give me permission. She tastes like Bubbilicious, the kids bubble gum flavor.

  I can hear myself growl into her mouth, wanting more but trying to stay a gentleman. My hands frame her face as I pull away, and I swear I hear her whimper from the lost connection.

  “Well it looks like we have two new love birds,” the waitress interrupts our moment, making me clear my throat as the two of us take a seat.

  “I’m Becca, and I’ll be your server today.” She grins, looking from Camilla to me. It makes me wonder if she knows who we are. It must be written on my face, because she continues, “What can I get you, Rhett and Camilla.”

  “I’ll take a Coke.” I look to Camilla for her to place her order.

  “Iced tea, please.”

  “Will you be playing darts?” she asks us.

  “Yes, thank you.” I place my hand on Camilla’s. This is what fake boyfriends do, right? I have never had a real girlfriend outside my school years. Not that Camilla and I are a real thing, but we need to play the part while in public.

  *

  “The whole goal of darts is to hit the board,” Rhett instructs, coming up behind me.

  I wonder how I have such horrible aim. I swear I was trying for the small red dot in the middle. Holding the other dart in my hand, I begin to aim it up again, knowing Rhett hasn’t moved. I can feel him right there. It feels like he’s almost touching his chest to my back, making it hard to concentrate.

  I’m not used to this type of friendliness with him. Each time I lock eyes with him, I can see the question he wants to ask, which is what was I doing in the hospital. I had never considered I might have scared him. I never thought he would care.

  Rhett’s voice comes from behind me. “If you get this, you get to ask me any question. But if you miss, I get to ask you a question.”

  I can feel my body wanting to shiver at his closeness, feeling his breath on my neck, but I close my eyes and remove that emotion.

  “I just have to hit the board?” I clarify.

  He taps me on the ass, going back to our table as he replies, “Yup.”

  My hand moves back and forth as I aim before letting go of the dart. It lightly hits the corner of the circle, handing onto the metal wire for support. I watch it dangle, wondering if it’ll fall.

  “That counts!” I jump up, happy I finally hit the board. Going to him, my hands squeeze his shoulders. “What should I ask you?” I tease him. I think about going easy and asking a lighter type of question, but I know he would go for the hard ones if he got to ask his, so I don’t hold back. “Why the hostility between you and your father?”

  He shakes his head before looking at me. “Going in for the kill shot that quickly. I thought you would warm me up.”

  I shrug, not covering up my indifference. I don’t feel bad; he would have done the same thing to me.

  “I’m the firstborn, the one who should be taking over the ranch. He never believed that singing was a respectable career.”

  “Surely, he sees that you love what you’re doing and making millions.” I laugh, trying to make light of it.

  “He doesn’t see that. He sees a man who never comes home, and when his family needs his help, he’s broke with nothing to offer.”

  Sitting now, I take a sip of my iced tea, looking at him over my drink.

  “Why are you broke?” The man in front of me has had countless hits. That should never be a thing.

  “I was in it for a good time.” He takes a drink. “It’s just money. It can be replaced easily.”

  “Have you replaced it?”

  His lips purse while he shakes his head. “I gave it to my family, because they needed it more than
me. They almost lost the ranch, and when they did get it back, they had no money to fix anything up. With each royalty check that’s come in from your song, I’ve given it to them to help rebuild. I felt so shitty for not being able to help when they originally asked that I’ve made sure I can do everything in my power now to help out.”

  This is the most honest Rhett has ever been with me. For the first time since knowing him, he seems real, tangible, and not the heartbreaker Rhett Steele who walks on clouds.

  He stands up, taking his place in front of the circular board and hits right in the middle.

  “What were you doing in the hospital?”

  I want to tell him, but I can’t lower my guard. “Please don’t ask me that,” I plead, not recognizing my voice. “Ask me anything else.”

  When I think he isn’t going to back down, he nods, walking back to me. “All right, for now,” he states, making me sigh with relief.

  “Dare then,” he affirms with a gleam in his eyes. The way he’s looking at me causes flutters deep within me.

  Biting down on my lip, I think of my options, and I’m more excited for his dare than saying no.

  “As you wish.” I smile at him, trying to look unaffected.

  “As I wish?” He laughs as he says it like a question. “Why, Miss Black, I’ve never known you to be so agreeable.” He raises his eyebrow at me.

  I feel like he can see through me, making my heart race. For the life of me, I can’t rationalize to myself why I want Rhett Steele at this moment.

  He has that charming look that makes you feel like everyone and everything has disappeared from his view. In amongst that look, I feel wanted—in a sexual, “you’re fucking gorgeous” way. Then to top it all off, it all feels sincere. Like he likes me for me. Not because I’m famous, not because someone is telling him it’s a good PR move to be seen with me, but because of me.

  I like that he’s not afraid of my reputation and embraces it. I feel like he could stand up with me. Or maybe it’s the first time someone has done something incredibly nice for me, like make me get away from it all.