“There she is!” Pops waved me over and promptly belted out the lyrics to Aerosmith’s “Angel”. What he lacked in skill, he certainly made up for with enthusiasm.
“This is pure gold,” the guy with the phone said, hysterically typing once Pops finished his performance.
“How are you feeling?” I gently took the hand Pops held out to me, mindful of his IV lines.
“I’m great, Angel.” His words were slightly slurred, his eyes half-closed.
“It’s Anna.”
“Nope,” he said making the end of the word pop. “You’re Angel now.” He raised my hand and kissed the back of it.
“Pops is known for his nicknames,” the lone woman of the group said. “You might as well get used to it.”
I went along with it because, really, what did it matter? After tonight I would never see any of them again. That realization came with an unexpected wave of sadness. Maybe it was the intense circumstances that had brought us together, or the relentless loneliness taking its toll on me, but I was hesitant to leave them. And that was completely ridiculous. I knew better than to get attached to anyone, especially so quickly.
“I have to go but wanted to see that you were alright,” I told Pops, forcing myself to stop delaying the inevitable.
His expression sobered as he stared right into my eyes. “Not today.” He pulled me down for a fierce hug. “Thanks, Angel.”
“Not today.” I stayed close to whisper into his ear, hiding the sudden, irrational tears stinging my eyes. Personal contact had been so limited during the past few months that I found myself getting sappy over a simple hug.
Rising back up, I was stunned to be passed from one person to another for more hugs and words of thanks. My already frayed emotions continued to unravel. Only sheer determination kept me from embarrassing myself. Jaxon was last. I waited to take my cue from him and expected to receive a quick dismissal. Instead, he wrapped me in his arms tighter than anyone else, our embrace lasting much longer than a casual thank-you would dictate.
As predicted, we fit together perfectly, and I may have gripped him a little tighter too. Strength radiated from him as his hard edges fit against my softer curves. The exchange was overwhelming in the best possible way, evoking something I hadn’t felt in a long time: security.
Without being obvious, I inhaled deeply to soak in his scent right from the source. Damn, he smelled good. When the scruff on his face gently scratched my cheek, I curled my fingers, fisting his t-shirt to keep from sinking them into his jawline.
“I owe you an apology.” His quiet admission was meant for my ear alone. “A few, technically.”
The low, heartfelt tone sent a warm rush to my heart. Needing to maintain my limited control, I stepped back and shrugged off his words. Nope, not going there. I wanted to forget the whole thing and ignore all of the bad feelings that had floated to the surface earlier. Jaxon’s brows creased in frustration, but he didn’t push the matter.
“She rode in the ambulance with Pops, so I offered to drive her home,” Eli announced. “I’ll be back with the van.”
He made it sound so casual, and I appreciated him letting me keep my pride. I waved a final goodbye, capturing the memory in my mind’s eye. My time with them was over, no matter how much I wanted to prolong it.
Jaxon pulled a set of keys from his pocket. At the last moment, he fisted his hand around them. “I’ll drive.”
Chapter 4
Anna
The shrill ringing of my alarm literally made me want to weep. I had just closed my eyes, so it couldn’t be time to get up already. Rolling to my side, I fumbled in the dark for my phone. Damn. The glow from the screen banished any hope I had for more sleep. On the plus side, my face was plastered to the jacket on my pillow. I inhaled greedily, ignoring the voice in my head calling me a creeper.
Standing in my room late last night, early this morning really, I realized that I had forgotten to return Jaxon’s jacket. Since my room had been too warm to wear anything more than my usual sleep shorts and t-shirt to bed, I’d opted to place the jacket on one side of my pillow. Just smelling it again evoked a strange déjà vu feeling of absolute bliss and a vague sense of strong arms wrapped around me. Though I couldn’t recall anything specific, I must have dreamed about him. The desire to roll back over and escape into that dream world nearly outweighed my sense of responsibility. But reality had me dragging myself out of bed and turning on the light.
My current home consisted of a rollaway bed in the supply closet at the back of the motel’s housekeeping building. There was no window in the small room, and I tried not to dwell on my depressing surroundings. Two shelf-lined walls were filled with cleaning supplies making the air reek of detergent. Not the pleasant, fabric softener scented kind of detergent. This was the disinfecting, industrial stuff.
Since the outer room housed the large washing machines and dryers, there was no air conditioning in the small outbuilding. It went from hot and sticky during the day to warm and muggy at night. While I could handle the warmer temperatures, the humidity was stifling. A portable fan was my only hope of being comfortable enough to sleep, though I hadn’t truly had a good night’s sleep since I’d been there. The rollaway bed had the thinnest mattress known to man atop metal support bars that were akin to getting a massage from Edward Scissorhands each night.
Stumbling down the poorly lit sidewalk, I made use of the shower in the bathroom by the pool. After scrubbing off the hospital funk, I dressed in the ugly housekeeping uniform that mimicked scrubs. The dark green pants and hideous floral top matched the motel’s tropical décor, which hadn’t been updated since the motel opened forty years ago. At least I’d remembered to throw my laundry in the dryer before going to Waves last night, so I had clean underwear. Hooray for me. I could already tell that today was going to be all about small victories.
Habitually going about my morning, I headed to the main building to set up the continental breakfast in the motel’s small common room. The free meal that came with the added responsibility was usually enough motivation to get out of bed early. Today, not so much.
With no real appetite, but sluggish after only three hours of sleep, I grabbed a banana and a cup of coffee though I barely tolerated the stuff. Trying to stay proactive, I filled a to-go box with an orange, a packaged bagel, and some single-serve containers of peanut butter and jelly. I was nothing if not resourceful, and now I would have something to eat if I got hungry later.
Taking a few minutes for myself, I sat at one of the tables on the pool deck to enjoy the sunrise. For fifteen minutes each morning, I soaked in the tranquility that only the ocean could bring. Daylight was just beginning to overtake the dark inky sky as a bright orange glow rose on the horizon. With the sound of water crashing onto the shore and the smell of salt in the air, sunrise was my favorite time of day here. Another new beginning.
Once the caffeine kicked in, I took one last deep breath and reluctantly gave up my peaceful view to stash my food back in my room. Though I wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed, I began stocking both housekeeping carts. Just as I finished, Tanisha, the other housekeeper, arrived.
“Good morning,” she sang, much too chipper for the early hour. But I couldn’t hold it against her. She was a great co-worker, even though this was a second job for her and she had no real love for the place. Oftentimes, we commiserated together.
The job itself was tolerable while the husband and wife who owned it were a completely different story. They were overly gracious to guests and acted like they owned a five-star resort. It was a two-star motel, at best, that was poorly maintained, with threadbare carpet and outdated furniture.
Worse, Bryce and Beverly treated their employees like crap. Beverly reminded me of Mrs. Hannigan from the old movie Annie while Bryce just gave me the creeps. He had greasy, slicked-back hair, beady little eyes, and smelled like beef jerky and cheap aftershave. Gross. More than once, I’d caught him staring at my ass, and he liked to inv
ade my personal space whenever possible. He’d even made a few subtle advances, giving me even more reason to settle my debt as quickly as possible and get the hell out of there.
Since then, Tanisha had insisted we team up to clean the rooms and stay together for my protection. The last housekeeper had quit suddenly, making Tanisha wonder if Bryce had been the reason. Either way, we weren’t taking any chances, which suited me just fine.
My situation was delicate, in more ways than one. Yes, my debt would be paid off in two weeks, but if I couldn’t afford a bus ticket, I would still need a place to stay and a means of income.
Getting back to Chicago was imperative to keep my plan on track. I was determined to get there despite everything working against me. The end of nearly eight years of part-time classes and late-night assignments was in sight. Thankfully, my classes this semester were all online so I had managed to keep up through digital textbooks and video lectures using my phone and the computers at the public library. It had not been easy, but seeing the finish line gave me the extra incentive I needed to persevere. Now graduation was just four weeks away.
That presented another problem: I had gotten behind on my tuition payments. The school’s business office had already called to inform me that I would not receive my degree and would not be eligible to participate in the upcoming commencement ceremony unless my balance was paid in full. People often said that money couldn’t buy happiness, and I supposed that was true. But it could damn sure solve a lot of problems.
I’d been officially on my own since I was eighteen, though I’d taken care of myself for much longer. At times, it felt as though I would always struggle to pay for rent and food in the same month. Now all of my hard work was about to pay off. So as eager as I was to be free of Bryce and this motel, I couldn’t burn any bridges just yet.
The morning passed in a blur of routine activity. The motel was fully booked, thanks to the music festival, but with only two of us to service fifty rooms, we had to hustle. While my body worked on autopilot, my mind constantly wandered back to Jaxon. Despite all of the anger and accusations he had thrown my way, my body still wanted him in a primal way. I couldn’t explain it, proving just how screwed up my judgment was. Every single guy I ever dated had cheated, lied, or somehow used me. Still, I went back for more. Being stranded by Karl was a hard lesson, and I needed to change my ways. Soon. For now, I would continue to indulge in the harmless fantasy.
My mind continued to drift, wondering where Jaxon was staying and what he was doing. Random thoughts about the others filled my mind too. How was Pops feeling? Did Eli like to surf? Were they in town for the music festival or just on vacation?
As Tanisha and I were changing the sheets in one of the rooms, I told her all about the events from last night, leaving out the secret fantasies and my jacket fetish.
“Then what happened?”
“Then Jaxon and Eli drove me back here.”
“And?”
“And what? It was a short drive, and I was half asleep. Besides, it’s not like I could invite them back to my room for a drink. I was too embarrassed to even let them walk me to my door!”
Tanisha released a long-suffering sigh. “It’s too bad.”
“What’s too bad?”
“He could have been your Prince Charming.” Having fallen madly in love with her husband, Tanisha was a hopeless romantic.
I burst out laughing. “More like Shrek. He was certainly cranky enough. Besides, I’m not looking for a man to rescue me. I can take care of myself.” I fluffed the pillows and smoothed the wrinkles from the thinning bedspread. “However, I wouldn’t turn down a fairy godmother to make life a little easier.”
Tanisha grabbed her feather duster and waved it over my head like a magic wand, making both of us laugh.
“I may not have magical powers, but Karma owes you. Big time.”
“Well, tell Karma to hurry up.”
The drone of the vacuum had my eyes glazing over as I moved it back and forth across the carpet. I was so sick of cleaning up sand. It was always there, in every room, every day. It was tracked in on shoes, clung to towels, and stuck to sweaty bodies. It lined the bathtubs and dusted the carpets. It was a never-ending battle.
Still, I hadn’t argued when Tanisha offered to take our overflowing laundry cart back downstairs to start the washing machines. We were due for our lunch break right after this room, so I would meet her there as soon as I finished. Sadly, my break only lasted thirty minutes, not enough time for me to catch some sleep. Some people could take a quick power nap and wake up refreshed. When I tried, I always felt like my brain had been short-circuited, which was what had happened last night at the hospital. Being woken up by the nurse after accidentally drifting off, I had been disoriented and felt worse than if I’d just stayed awake.
Back and forth, I swayed as the vacuum worked. The reminder of last night had my head filling with thoughts of Jaxon, imagining myself wrapped in his arms, moving to the music as we watched a band performing on the stage at the festival. My mind conjured more images of the night progressing into a more intimate setting and what he would feel like rocking against me in slow, rhythmic movements.
Though our meeting had started off rocky, I had gotten a glimpse behind the gruff exterior as the night progressed. So as my daydream played out, I focused on the nicer version of him that had driven me home and offered to walk me to my door. The memory of sexy tattoos on his muscular arms had me longing to explore them. They also made me curious to know if there were more hidden underneath his shirt. And what else I would find if I peeled it back. Though it had been frustratingly brief, I could still feel the strength of his arms around me. What would it feel like to be in his arms for an entire night?
My heart fluttered in my chest while my mind was completely lost to the images that my imagination had conjured. I barely registered the sound of the door clicking shut behind me until heavy hands gripped my upper arms from behind. Recognizing the ring on Bryce’s left hand, I stilled. Flipping the switch on the vacuum, the room grew eerily quiet.
Fending off unwanted advances from drunken patrons at the bar was nothing unusual. I’d become an expert at evasive maneuvers, avoidance, and firmly shutting down customers without embarrassing them. After all, the last thing I wanted was for my tip to suffer after putting up with them. But Bryce wasn’t a spoiled, drunken frat boy out with his buddies.
My skin crawled from his touch as I considered the best course of action. The timing of Bryce’s visit was too much of a coincidence. Knowing that he had probably been watching and waiting for the perfect moment to catch me alone had me treading very carefully. Tanisha had only been gone a few minutes, so I knew that I was on my own. After quickly weighing my options, I decided to play it cool.
“Hey, Bryce.” Casually moving to unplug the vacuum, I slid out of his grasp. Winding the cord, I remained hyper-focused on him and determining my course of action.
“Hey, Anna.” He prowled, moving to stand in front of me.
I eyed the door on the opposite side of the room. My best bet was to keep Bryce distracted long enough to get there or stall him until Tanisha got worried enough to check on me.
“It’s a good thing you stopped by.” The words nearly choked me as I forced them out.
“Really?” He reached, stroking a finger up my arm. I slowly moved to create some distance. Then took another small step.
I pointed towards the bathroom. Step. “There was a puddle under the sink. I think there’s a leaky pipe.” It was a total fabrication, but believable, and I was proud that my sleep-deprived brain had come up with it.
“Show me.”
“Sure.” Step. “I’m going to put the vacuum back on the supply cart first. I’ll be right there.”
A lecherous smile spread as he shook his head. “Come show me now.”
There was no way I was getting into an enclosed space with this man. I must have given away my intentions because he darted in front of me just as
I lunged for the door. Then he started caging me in like a predator toying with its prey. With every step he took in my direction, I retreated until my back hit the wall.
“Bryce,” I said firmly, filling my voice with a confidence I didn’t feel. “Get out of my way.”
“I don’t think so.” He braced his meaty forearm across my collarbone to keep me firmly in place. I tried pushing back, but it was no use. We both knew he outweighed me, and he smiled, enjoying my resistance. “You owe me.”
One of his knees crept between my thighs. Bile rose in my throat as the weight of the situation began sinking in. No matter how this played out, I was in serious trouble. The only way Bryce was getting what he wanted was with a fight, one that I knew I was unlikely to win. And even if I managed to get away, I knew it was no longer safe for me to stay here. Yet I had nowhere else to go. Either way, this was going to end badly for me.
Frantic to find an answer, my mind spun. Tanisha had once offered to let me stay with her, but their tiny house was already bursting at the seams. I knew very few people here, and no one else knew I was essentially homeless. Attempting to salvage my position at the motel, I tried to stay calm so I could reason with Bryce.
“I owe you money, and I’m working it off. As a housekeeper,” I specified.
“I can think of much better ways for you to work it off. Faster ways,” he offered, leaning in close enough for me to feel his breath on my cheek. “For example.” His free hand slid up to cup my breast. The insinuation hung in the air.
I gripped at his wrist, instinctively trying to stop him, but he fisted my flesh tightly, making me flinch.
“NO,” I said, loud and clear. “I am not having sex with you.” Desperation clawed at me as I tried one more time to persuade him to stop. “Please, Bryce. Let’s do this the easy way. You leave me alone, and I can finish my job without telling Beverly about any of this.”
Changing the Key: A Detrimental Rock Star Romance (Book 1) Page 4
