“We’re not—”
“She makes me look good,” I say, while scribbling my name on a napkin, my attention focused on Natalie watching me.
“You’re both amazing! Thank you. Thank you.” She grabs the napkin and then drops some cash on the table, but I hand it back to her and grab her bill.
“It’s on me to show my appreciation for your support.”
“Oh, wow! I’ve always seen you getting in fights at concerts and wondered if you’d be a dick in person. I’m so glad to find out you’re not. You’re the complete opposite. I’m not disappointed at all. Just another reason RISK is my favorite band, so thanks for being a good guy and not ruining my love for the band.”
After the girl walks away, I smile at Natalie and we head back to our spot at the bar where our food is now waiting for us. “That was nice of you to offer to take pictures for her. Looked like you were having fun.”
“I was. It made me happy to see you with a fan; just like the other night at the gas station. You’re good with them.”
“I have to be. They’re good to me. If it weren’t for them, I’d be nothing. RISK would be nothing.”
She shakes her head and grabs a wing. “You could never be nothing, Madden. Don’t ever think that.”
Her comment has me feeling good inside, and I can’t help the smile that takes over as I watch her relax with me. Natalie is good for me. I like the person I am when I’m with her, and truthfully, I’m already dreading giving her back to my brother soon. Not that she’s anyone’s property, but I know once we’re back we won’t have moments alone like we did in the woods or here at the bar.
“Are you having fun here?” I ask after a couple of beers.
“I am,” she says, looking around the bar that is starting to fill up. “With work I never get a chance to just sit back, enjoy the silence, and think. There’s always too much shit going on. It can get overwhelming at times, and it makes me wish I had said no when offered the management position. Things were so much…”
“Easier?”
She nods and takes a sip of her beer. “Yeah, but sometimes easier isn’t always better. Paying rent was a struggle before, and now I live comfortably and can provide for myself without worrying if I’m going to overdraw my account for food before payday. If my car breaks down and I have an unexpected expense to pay for, I’m prepared.”
“Why don’t you and my brother live together?” I’ve wondered this for a while now. Two years together with hardly any time to see each other and they still choose to live apart.
“I don’t know. I guess we’ve just never discussed the possibility of living together. It hasn’t crossed my mind much to be honest. We both have so many other responsibilities to deal with just the idea of moving seems overwhelming.”
“I don’t think so.” I finish off my third beer and hold it up, letting Myles know I need another. “I couldn’t see myself not living with the girl I was in love with. Especially if we hardly see each other living apart. It makes sense to want to spend every free minute you do have together.”
“Yeah,” she whispers, seconds later. “You’d think so.”
“What if my brother asked you?”
She laughs as if it’s the funniest thing ever. “To move in with him?”
“What’s so funny about that?”
“Me moving in with him is the last thing he’d ask me to do right now. Did you know that I sleep at my place at least two nights a week, per his request, so we don’t disturb each other’s sleep routine? I don’t think he’d survive us sharing a bed every night.”
“My brother is seriously fucked up. I’d want you in my bed every night if you were mine. He’s crazy for wanting otherwise.”
She stares at me for a few seconds before turning away. “I’ll take another one too, please.”
“Want to go back soon?”
“I don’t know. I’m sort of enjoying this.”
“What? Being alone with me?” I ask, just to tease her.
“What if I am?”
“Then I’d like that.”
“Would you really?” she asks, her eyes curious as she tilts back her beer.
“I wouldn’t say it unless I meant it, so… yeah.”
She looks away and clears her throat.
“You don’t have to feel awkward about that, Nat. It’s okay to enjoy each other’s company. It’s not going to make you any less committed to my brother. It’s not like you’re going to fall for me before this trip is over.”
“Which is exactly why I agreed to come. You and I would never work.”
“Why’s that?” I turn her stool around so that she’s facing me. “What makes you so sure that the two of us wouldn’t have ended up together instead had you not been dating my brother when I first saw you?”
“What? I don’t know.” She laughs nervously and downs the rest of her beer, before setting the empty bottle down. “Is that a serious question?” she asks when I keep looking at her.
“Yeah. I’m a little curious. Tell me just for the fuck of it.”
“Because it’d be too hard not to see you every day.”
“What if you could?”
She laughs. “That’d be impossible.”
“What if I said I only want to tour two months out of the year and bring you with? Then what?”
“You’d do that for a girl?”
“I’d do everything for a girl I care about.”
It takes a few moments before she finally says something. “Then she’ll be one lucky girl once you find her.”
The bartender pops over, interrupting our moment. “Another round?”
“Yeah. We’ll take another.” I grab the beers that he slides our way. “We’ll be over by the pool table.”
“Sure thing, man. I’ll transfer your tab to Mia.”
“Perfect.” I toss a twenty down for him and nod at Natalie. “Up for a game or two of pool?”
“I’m not that great, but sure.”
“Doesn’t matter. Tonight is just about us having fun. If you don’t sink a single ball in, that’s fine.”
She laughs. “I’m definitely down then.”
I offer to let her break, but the balls barely move, so I let her take another shot and she sinks in a three.
“I guess that means I’m solids?”
“You can be anything you want to be. Just sink in any ball you have your eye on. No fucking rules right now. We both deserve it.”
“Okay. Well if that’s the case, then I think I’ll take this one right here.” She smiles and hits the eight-ball in that happens to be right in front of the corner pocket. “Does that count?”
“Sure.” I nod. “Keep going until you miss.”
“I might just win if you keep letting me choose which ball to hit in. Then what?”
I lean over her shoulder and whisper in her ear. “Then I’ll congratulate you and we’ll play another game.”
“How many games are we going to play?”
I smile against her cheek. “As many as you want.”
The flash on someone’s phone has my attention going to the back corner of the room where a group of four guys is hanging out doing shots.
“That’s going to end up on the internet. Think my brother will see it?”
She stiffens below me for just a split second before relaxing and taking her shot. “Well, if he does, then maybe he’ll question why he was such a dick to let me go in the first place.”
I back away when she misses her shot. “Do you want him to question why he let me take you on this trip?”
She’s silent for a moment, watching as I sink a few balls in, before finally saying, “I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe I become a little more pissed the longer I’m here.”
“Why is that?”
She grabs her beer and takes a gulp. “Because the longer I’m with you, the easier it is to see why you’re easy to fall for. He knows you better than anyone else, and yet, he let me go anyway.”
I
’m not sure if what she just said is the beer talking or not, but my heart races in my chest anyway. “Yeah, he did. Maybe he’ll regret it after seeing us together on social media and start treating you better.”
“Maybe,” she says softly. “Or maybe it’ll be too late.” She said the last part so softly that I barely heard it. I’m not sure if she meant for me to, so I keep it to myself.
“Can we get next game?”
Two of the guys from the table taking pictures of us join us by the pool table, pulling my attention from Natalie leaning over the pool table. “Sure, man. No problem.”
“Damn,” the second guy mutters under his breath, his attention focused on Natalie’s ass. “That’s one fine ass. I noticed it from across the room.”
I try my best to ignore his comment, but the moment he licks his lips and adjusts his dick, I swing out, hitting him across the face. Apparently, I’ve had enough beer for my reckless nature to come out.
He stumbles back and grabs his jaw. “What the fuck! Did you see that?” he asks the bartender. “The fucker just hit me. He thinks that just because he’s famous he can go around punching people. You all see that?”
I get in his face after tossing a handful of cash down on the pool table. It’ll be more than enough to pay for our drinks. “Next time keep your comments about my girl’s ass to yourself.” I reach my hand out. “Let’s get the fuck out of here, Nat.”
“Yeah, you better get the fuck out of here. Unless you want my friend here to beat your ass and then call the cops. You don’t just come around here swinging at people.”
Natalie pulls my arm when I attempt to confront the piece of shit. “Let’s go, Madden.”
“Yeah, listen to your girl, Madden. Your band isn’t here to back you up. Go on now. Walk away.”
“You, shut the fuck up!” Natalie seethes. “We’re leaving.” She pulls my arm again, and only because I don’t want to end up in the back of a police car I let her lead me outside before I lose my shit completely.
“What the fuck?” she says once we’re alone by my truck. Her chest is quickly rising and falling as she looks me over. “What was that about? Why did you hit that guy? You could’ve gotten arrested, or worse, those guys could’ve hurt you, Madden. There were two of them and only one of you.”
“It was nothing. I just had a few too many beers.” I toss her the keys. “You good to drive?”
She nods. “Yeah. But first I want to know why the hell you risked your ass in there. Tell me the truth. That wasn’t just having a few too many beers.”
“That asshole grabbed his dick while eyeing your ass. That’s why I punched him, Nat. And I don’t give a shit about getting hurt. That doesn’t bother me. I can take a few punches. He’s just lucky I walked out when I did.”
She swallows, her eyes meeting mine. “You punched him because he was looking at my ass?”
“He wasn’t just looking at it. He was imagining it in his hands and the fucker had a hard-on for you. He deserved to be hit.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” she says quietly. “I could’ve handled him. And besides, it’s not your job to beat guys up for looking at me wrong.”
“Well, my brother sure as fuck doesn’t find it to be his job. One of us has to do it.”
She runs a hand through her hair in frustration, before turning away. “Let’s just get back to the cabin and forget this ever happened.”
“I’m sorry.” I open the driver’s side door for her. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m an asshole and I wish I could take it back.”
“Fine. I accept your apology.”
“I mean it, Nat.”
I help her into the seat. She looks at me while shoving the key into the ignition. “I do too.” She flashes a small smile. “You did get that fucker pretty good.”
“Yeah, I did.” I smile and shut the door, before jumping in myself. “Let’s just go back to the room and chill and watch TV. It’s been a long day of pretending for you.” I say once we pull up at the cabin.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Natalie
When we pull up at the cabin I consider taking him up on his offer and going straight to the bedroom to hide away for the night. That would be the easy option for me, but instead, I motion for Madden to follow me around back.
This is his time with his friends, and even though he offered to have an easy night away from everyone for my benefit, I don’t want him to miss out on time spent with his old friends. It’s not fair to him and I won’t do that.
“You sure you want to do this?”
“Yeah.” I wrap my arms around his neck because I know we’re within seeing distance of everyone now. “You don’t have a lot of time left with your friends. As much as I’d love to hide out and not have to play pretend every second of the day, I can’t and won’t be selfish. I’m here for you, Madden. Besides, you just punched some dude for me. I didn’t ask for it, but maybe I owe you one.”
“Fuck, my brother is an idiot.” He picks me up and wraps my legs around his waist, his smile widening as he grips my neck. “I believe that more now than ever.” His lips press against my forehead and my stomach fills with butterflies. “Thank you.”
“You owe me another cheesecake when we get back.” I tease. “The biggest one.”
“I’ll buy you ten.” He sets me down and whistles at Jake when he does a cannonball into the pool. “Nice one, dick!”
“Get the hell in, guys!” Seth holds up his drink, before tilting it back. “The water is nice and warm and we’re about to turn the party lights on.”
“Want to change first?”
I nod. “Yeah. You?”
He shakes his head. “Nah, I’ll wear my boxer briefs. Fuck it, right? Not like I haven’t already made a dick out of myself tonight.”
I think on it for a second and say screw it. I spend every day being uptight and thinking too hard. I’ve had a few beers and things between Madden and I are feeling good right now. I’m ready to just let loose and have fun. “Let’s go then.” I smile and walk backward, stripping his jacket off. “Who needs a bathing suit, right?”
“Fuck yeah.”
I barely wiggle his jacket free before he’s coming at me, picking me up. He’s jogging to the back with me over his shoulder, so I hold on tight, laughing as he sets me down next to the pool. “Your jacket. I dropped it.”
“I’ll grab it later. Drink?”
“Yeah. A beer will be fine.”
He winks and heads toward the cooler where Walker and Jake are playfully arguing about who did what last year.
“You getting in?” Jess questions from below me in the water. “Strip down and jump in. Madden will bring your drink to you.”
Alana is floating around on the flamingo, her eyes on Madden and the guys talking. Her watching him reminds me of how she kissed him this morning and it has me wanting to play my part hardcore right now.
“Yeah. I’ll be in in a second.” Before I can talk myself out of it, I walk toward Madden, grab him by the front of his hoodie, and pull him to me. “Kiss me.”
“What?” He looks surprised as I grip the bottom of his hair and stand up on my tippy toes. “You sure?”
“Yeah,” I whisper. “Do it before I change my—”
His lips come down on top of mine and my stomach does summersaults, goose bumps spreading across my skin. His kiss feels less forced than the last few times—more natural—and it has my insides going crazy as I kiss him back.
“Perfect,” I whisper when we break the kiss. “Is she looking?”
It takes a few seconds, but he finally pulls his eyes away from mine to look over my shoulder. “Yeah, she’s watching.”
“Then let’s get in and have some fun. Strip.”
He looks me in the eye and strips his hoodie off. “Damn. Remember what I said on the way here?”
“Don’t even go there.” I laugh and strip out of his T-shirt from last night. “This is just pretend with a friend.”
“Oh, so I’m a friend now?”
“Maybe.” I kick my jeans aside and jump into the pool, hearing him jump in right behind me.
“I like that.” He wraps his arms around me from behind and whispers beside my ear. “Just two friends having fun. We can do that, right?”
“Right.”
He spins me around, and instinctively I wrap my legs around his waist. It’s when his hands move around to grip my ass that I stiffen up. “Boundaries, Madden.”
“Just doing what comes naturally, Nat.” He squeezes my ass and bites my neck, causing my heart to jackhammer in my chest. “She’s still watching. I’ve got to treat you like you’re my girl. If you’re not going to fall for me then what’s the big deal?”
“There isn’t one.” I wrap my arms around his neck and glance over his shoulder at Alana. She’s pretending to be into whatever Jess is talking about, but I can tell she’s still paying attention to us. “If you go any further though… I’ll have to kick your ass.”
He laughs and moves his hands up to my lower back. “Is that a promise?”
“Yeah and I keep my promises.”
“I like that in a girl.” He brushes my hair behind my ear and runs his lips along my cheek. “You look beautiful today, by the way.”
I close my eyes, the feel of his lips on my skin causing my insides to heat. “You don’t need to compliment me to get me to play the part.” I open my eyes and lock them on his. “But thank you.”
“I mean it.” He grips the back of my head and rests his forehead to mine, his lips hovering just out of reach. The urge to kiss him has my breathing picking up. “All bullshit aside, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. I don’t need alcohol to say that either, so don’t even think it’s because of the beer I’ve had.”
His compliment has my chest feeling tight with emotions. “You’re a smooth talker, Madden Parker. I can see why all the girls fall for you.” With that, I swim out of his arms and over to where Jess is bouncing the volleyball back and forth with Seth. It seems like the safer option right now with how I’m feeling.
Reckless Rock Star (Cocky Hero Club) Page 18
