by Blair Grey
“She totally does. Drives me crazy sometimes,” Mia said, shaking her head.
We finished up breakfast, then I glanced at my watch, surprised to find that it was already early afternoon. I supposed it made sense. I’d been pretty tired after the drive, and I was sure that Mia had been as well. Combine that with a make-out session and breakfast in bed, and here we were.
“I should probably get to the clubhouse,” I said, kissing Mia on the temple.
“And here I thought you had plans to keep me in bed for at least half the day.” Mia sighed.
I looked pointedly at the clock. “Pretty sure I already have,” I said. We both laughed. “And anyway, I thought you were going to the beach.” I handed her the car keys. “I can walk. Why don’t you take the car?”
“Perfect,” Mia said. “Can you sunscreen my back before I go?”
I groaned. “You’re really trying to make sure that I don’t ever make it to the clubhouse today, aren’t you?” I joked. But once she had changed into her swimsuit, I dutifully slicked my hands across her warm, tanned back, making sure I got every spot good. “All right, you’re all ready to go,” I said.
“And so are you,” Mia teased, pressing back against me.
I laughed, pushing her away. “Minx,” I told her. “There will be plenty of time for that later tonight. After dinner.”
I headed to the clubhouse and was surprised to find everyone sitting around in there having drinks when I got there. “What is this, some kind of party?” I called out from the doorway. “And if so, why the hell wasn’t I invited? I’m still an honorary member, aren’t I?”
Everyone turned to look, and a few people cheered. Landon looked shocked to see me, but his surprised look soon turned into one of glee. “Hey!” he said, giving me a hug. He was closely followed by Neil.
“The hell are you doing here?” Neil asked. “We don’t have some new problem that I haven’t heard about, do we?”
“Nah, Ray probably got sick of him back in Las Cruces and figured this was a way to get Braxton off his hands,” Landon joked, his eyes twinkling.
“Oh no,” Neil said, shaking his head. “We agreed that when we were through with the Mambas, we were all squared up. I don’t owe him anything. He can’t just pawn unwanted members off on me.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “Dicks, all of you,” I declared. “Now who’s going to get me a beer?”
A little while later, a beer in hand, I headed outside with Landon. “Seriously, what are you doing here? Not that I’m not glad to see you,” Landon said, a concerned look on his face.
I shook my head. “I’m not in any trouble,” I told him. “And I didn’t come here to drag you back to Las Cruces or anything like that.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I’m trying to tell you,” I grumbled. I just didn’t know how to say it. But finally, I took a deep breath. “Do you remember Mia? She’s that leggy waitress from Sunshine.”
I really hoped Mia hadn’t had a crush on him. And I especially hoped that he hadn’t had a crush on her.
But Landon’s brow furrowed, and I could tell that he didn’t really remember her at all. Finally, he shrugged. “I mean, vaguely,” he said. “You know I’ve never picked up like you did.”
I laughed. “That’s for sure,” I said. “Anyway, she got into a bit of trouble back in Las Cruces. I was over there one night, and some guy had broken a window in her car while she was at work.”
“Okay,” Landon said slowly. “I would have thought in that case, if you were interested in her, you’d be there protecting her. Unless you came here to ask me to help you with it? In which case, I’m a little confused. You can’t protect one girl on your own?”
I gave him a look. “Don’t be an ass,” I told him, but my voice held no venom. “Nah, there was another busted window, at one of the Red Eyes businesses. Ray decided that it was probably better for Mia to just get out of town for a little while. I volunteered to come with her.”
Landon snorted. “You volunteered to come with her, you mean,” he guessed. He paused. “This isn’t like you, though, is it? Road-tripping with a girl. Spending more than a night with her.”
I rolled my eyes. “This isn’t the first time I’ve slept with someone for more than one night,” I said.
“But it’s not usual for you,” Landon said. “Especially that you volunteered to leave town with her. I know you were itching to get back. What, do you actually like this one?”
I paused, debating lying. But I knew that he would see right through me. “Yeah, I like her,” I admitted gruffly. “We’re not dating or anything. But I was thinking that maybe the four of us could go to dinner tonight? You and me and Anne and Mia.”
“Sounds like a double date,” Landon said, giving me a knowing look.
“It is not,” I told him. “I just figure that dinner together might jog your memory, since you obviously don’t remember her.”
Landon laughed. “Sure, sure,” he said.
“How are things going with Anne anyway?” I asked. “You two are still together, right?”
“Of course we’re still together,” Landon said, rolling his eyes. “I would have told you if we’d broken up. Hell, I probably would be back in Las Cruces by now.”
I laughed. “Fair enough,” I said. I wanted to tell him that I missed him, but that sounded like such a wimpy thing to say. Like something Grant might say. No, I wasn’t going to tell him that I missed him or that part of me definitely wished he would break up with her and come back home.
I was happy for him, I really was. And there was no reason to tell him that I missed him. He already knew that anyway.
22
Mia
Almost as soon as Braxton left for the Red Eyes clubhouse on Thursday, I started digging through my bag for something to wear for dinner that night. I was kicking myself for not bringing something at least a little nicer. Not that I thought he was going to take me someplace fancy. This wasn’t a date or anything like that.
I made a face, thinking about what he had said earlier. About how he hadn’t told Landon about this thing between Braxton and me because of course, it wasn’t a thing. It wasn’t a relationship, so it wasn’t worthy of mention. And I knew it was true; I just hated the way that he had said it. I didn’t know why it had rubbed me the wrong way, but it definitely had.
But I wished I had at least a skirt or something that I could wear out. Instead, all I had were jeans and shorts. I hadn’t packed thinking that I was going to end up going somewhere with Braxton. I had just packed thinking I was going to end up living out of a suitcase for a week or two, as long as Ray thought that it wasn’t safe for me to be there in Las Cruces. And jeans and shorts didn’t wrinkle like dresses and skirts did, so that’s what I had.
Now, though. I wanted to make a good impression, even if this wasn’t a date. I had told Braxton that I was going to spend my day at the beach, but really, I needed to go shopping.
I didn’t go overboard, but I did find a nice flowy red-and-white striped dress that fit me well and hugged my curves. It would work with the black sandals that I had brought, and I could throw on my teal cardigan with it if the temperature dropped as the night wore on. Perfect, I thought.
I went to the beach for the rest of the afternoon; then I came back to the hotel for a shower. Afterward, I left my hair in flowing waves down my back, even though normally it drove me nuts to comb out the knots that inevitably formed when I didn’t pull my hair back.
It was worth it, too, to see Braxton’s eyes when he got back to the hotel and saw me in the bathroom putting on eyeliner. He groaned. “Jesus, do we actually have to go to dinner?” he asked.
I laughed. “You’re the one who made a point of saying that we wouldn’t do anything until we got back from dinner,” I reminded him.
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing that Landon isn’t normally very chatty,” he growled, grabbing me by the hips and pressing against me, brushing my hair to
my side so that he could kiss my neck.
I turned in his grasp, giving him a quick kiss. But then, I pushed him away. “Go get dressed,” I said. “If I’m dressing up for tonight, you’ve got to match me.”
Braxton laughed. “Done,” he said, turning and immediately went to his bag to pull out a shirt and a pair of nice jeans.
We headed out to dinner, and I was surprised at how comfortable it was, from the moment that Braxton introduced me to Landon and Anne. I supposed it made sense: I knew that Landon and Braxton were close, and I knew that Anne was close to Landon. And I was close to Braxton. So it only made sense that it felt like we were all old friends.
But I had never expected it to feel this easy.
“So what’s going on back home?” Landon asked Braxton. “Any troubles with Red Eyes?”
“Nah, things have been really easy lately. I told you about certain things earlier.” He glanced over at me, and I knew he was talking about the window incident. Ugh, he had probably told his brother that I was nothing but trouble. He didn’t know about Darren, but he sure did know about the busted window in my car.
But then I realized that he had probably needed to explain why he was even here. I knew that I was the main reason behind this surprise visit after all.
Braxton continued, though, “Actually, Ray’s been getting me to work with Grant since you’ve been here. It’s been going pretty well. We went on a mission together earlier this week, and he was ready to punch the guys out before I even was.”
Landon gave him an unimpressed look. “You say that like it’s a good thing,” he said.
“Isn’t it?” Braxton asked, but I could see from the way he was grinning that he knew exactly what his brother was going to say in response.
Sure enough, Landon rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You were always too quick to fight,” he said. “If this guy is even quicker to fight—”
“You know that Grant isn’t, though,” Braxton protested. “He’s still a total pussy. So for me to hold off, even when it’s clear to him that we have to fight, don’t you think it shows that I’m, like, maturing or something? Maybe now that you’re not here, I’ve stepped into your role, and he’s stepped into mine. I have to do the planning now and everything.”
Landon laughed, but I could tell he was proud of his brother. “I’m sure Ray knows what he’s doing,” he said. “So how long are you two planning to be here anyway?”
Braxton shrugged. “I don’t really know,” he said. “Until Ray thinks it’s safe for Mia to come back, I guess. Should be at least a week. Maybe two.” He grinned at his twin. “It’s not a problem, having us here, is it?”
“Of course not,” Landon said, rolling his eyes.
“But you’re staying in a hotel?” Anne added. “You should have called ahead, and we could have made the guest room up for the two of you.”
Braxton snorted. “First of all, I wanted it to be a surprise,” he said. “But second of all, I do not need to get used to hearing what Landon sounds like when he’s about to come. And given how quiet he normally is, I assume that he’s quite the screamer. Isn’t that how it always goes?”
There were laughs around the table. I sat back, watching them continue to banter with each other. They were so different in so many ways, but I could tell, watching them, just how close they really were. And even though I wasn’t in a relationship with Braxton, that meant a lot to me.
A guy who was close with his family could never be the kind of asshole that Darren had been, especially since we had broken up. I believed that right down to my core.
“You guys have to come see us again before you leave town, however long you’re going to be here,” Landon said as the evening was winding down.
“Yeah, for sure,” Braxton said. “I’ll definitely let you know once we’re leaving.” He glanced over at me. “Not to sound like an ass, but I’m prepared to stay here until we’re sure we’re not going to have to deal with the drama back in Las Cruces.”
I knew that he’d had a couple drinks over the course of the night, and I also knew that I wasn’t his girlfriend. There was no reason to expect him to fight for me. God, I was such a bitch for drawing him into this thing with Darren to begin with. But something about the way that he said it made me deflate a little. It made me feel hollow inside.
He didn’t want to deal with drama, and I couldn’t help feeling that with Darren as an ex, I was nothing but drama. As much as I might hate that, it was the truth. And there was no way for me to fix it, especially not from here. I hoped that Darren would quit being a nuisance, though.
I knew Braxton and I weren’t in a relationship, but I didn’t like to think of all the reasons why he might want nothing to do with me in the future. And Darren was definitely one of them.
I couldn’t tell Braxton about Darren, I realized. Better that he just didn’t know. Hopefully, Darren would get the hint, like he always seemed to, and quit coming back to bother me. We could return to Las Cruces soon, and this would all be over.
No drama. That was all that I could hope.
23
Braxton
“So what are we going to do today?” Mia asked me as we lay in bed on Friday morning. She traced her fingertips across my chest, and I could tell from the thoughtful look on her face that she was already trying to come up with plans of her own. But I was quicker than she was.
Before she had a chance to suggest anything, I flipped her over so that she was on her back, staring up at me. “Well, I was thinking that we might stay in bed for the whole day. With me kissing my way over your body. Except for when I dragged you into the shower to fuck. Or pushed you up against those windows that you loved.”
I could feel her body respond to me, her cheeks flushing and her hips shifting needfully beneath me. But then she laughed and pushed me away from her. “Come on, this is a vacation!” she told me. “I want to see some of Sarasota while we’re here. Anne mentioned some private beaches or something?”
“Yeah, there are some great beaches around here.” I sighed, rolling away from her. “I know some of the best from when I was here before.” I liked the idea of going to a beach with her, don’t get me wrong. I could already picture the way her eyes would light up when she saw this particularly beautiful secluded beach that I knew about. But at the same time, I didn’t want to get out of bed. I was serious about just fucking away the whole day. I wanted to see how much pleasure I could give her until it was too much for her, until all she could do was curl up in bed and focus on her breathing.
The truth was, it wasn’t even about me. Sure, I’d like to get off. But I really just wanted to give and give and give, until she couldn’t take any more. She was the first woman that I’d ever just wanted to pleasure the way that I wanted to pleasure her. I didn’t know what to do about those thoughts.
But she was set on going to the beach today anyway, it seemed. Oh well. Maybe that was for the best.
She grinned at me. “You’ll get to see me in a bikini,” she reminded me.
“I’d rather see you out of a bikini.” I huffed playfully, but I was grinning as well, unable to help it. I went to get dressed as Mia sorted through her bag.
Just as I’d expected, we had the beach pretty much to ourselves. Mia laid out our blanket in a good sunny spot, her toes wiggling in the sand. “This is beautiful,” she said. She laughed a little self-consciously. “I always think of sand like you have in the desert. You know, sharp and not too comfortable to walk barefoot on? I forget what nice, soft sand there is at some beaches.”
I grinned at her. “You must not spend enough time at beaches,” I said.
Mia shrugged. “I don’t really have the chance to vacation very often,” she said. “With work and everything, I can’t even remember the last time I took off more than two days in a row.”
I shook my head. “You work too hard,” I said seriously.
Mia laughed. “I know, but that’s why Candice loves keeping me around.”
“Uh-oh. Next thing I know, you’re going to moving out here, too, just like your brother,” Mia said.
I laughed. “Not a chance,” I said, shaking my head. I grabbed her hand. “Come on, let’s go get in the water!”
We splashed around in the water for a bit before returning to the blanket. “Brr, that water was cold!” Mia said. “I don’t know why, but I figured Florida’s water would be pretty warm.”
I snorted. “Yeah, the first time I went out here, I was pretty shocked,” I said. “I mean, it’s definitely not as cold as, like, San Francisco’s water. But it’s pretty crazy.” I sat close to her on the blanket, draping an arm around her shoulders, and she huddled into my warmth. I knew that she’d warm up fast with the sun beating down on us, but I wasn’t about to say no to a little cuddling, especially when the beach was deserted like this.
“You’re really lucky, with Landon,” Mia suddenly said, her voice soft. “I liked watching the two of you guys together at dinner last night. I mean, I’ve seen the two of you together before, at the bar, but I guess I was never really paying that much attention. I can tell that the two of you are super close, though.”
I sighed. “I don’t know,” I said. “I feel pretty unlucky at the moment. You know, he’s always been not just my brother, but also my best friend. And now he lives way over here in Florida while I’m still back in Las Cruces. I almost wish we hadn’t been so close.”
“Must be hard, having him live all the way over here. But it could be worse.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” I said. I paused, thinking about it. “The thing is, he’s just always been there with me. Through everything in my life. And that’s big. We grew up in the foster care system, and we bounced from family to family until Ray took us under his wing. The only constant in my life, really, was Landon. So I’m really happy for him, to know that he’s found Anne and that he is finding his place in the local Red Eyes chapter here. But at the same time, I feel like we’re drifting apart, and I’m just not sure what to do with that. I don’t want to lose him.”
