Miles Apart (The Not So Bad Boys of Rock Book 2)

by Rhonda James

  “Okayyy.” I pulled back, coming to my senses. “Listen, we’re not looking for that kind of hospitality. We were just hungry, for food.” I stated, careful to emphasize that last part. “I think we’re going to head out. Dek, you ready buddy?” The look in his eyes told me all I needed to know. Hell, we should have left the minute they sat down, maybe even sooner. We made to stand, hoping they would take the hint and move out of the way. Hell, if Mia didn’t offer to budge I wouldn’t hesitate to use force. Her aggressive behavior brought back far too many memories of my years of drinking and picking up strange women. I needed to get out of here, and fast.

  “I wish you’d stay, we were just starting to get acquainted.” She smiled sweetly, which did nothing to mask her true intentions.

  “Sorry to disappoint. Maybe some other time.” I replied, doing my best to maintain a professional demeanor. A nasty write-up in the tabloids was not something I needed right now. We made our way to the door, pausing to pay our waitress, before bolting out onto the parking lot. Both of us too stupefied to speak. We headed down the street, waiting nearly ten minutes before a taxi picked us up. It wasn’t until we were settled in the backseat that Dek finally spoke up, having remained mostly mute throughout the whole fiasco in the first place.

  “What the hell just happened in there?” He shook his head in disbelief. “I thought for sure she was going to sink her hooks in you before we made it out of there. That was close.”

  “Yeah, too close. I can’t remember the last time something like that happened. Man, did we ever fall for that type of come-on? She was intense. Pretty, but intense.” After another moment spent reflecting on the conversation, we busted out laughing. I laughed so hard my sides hurt. “Well, I wanted to forget about my miserable love-life. I think it’s safe to say that we've officially achieved that goal.”

  We kept laughing all the way to the hotel. As we rode up the elevator, he gave me a side-ways glance.

  “You going to tell Brooke about this?” He asked causally, already knowing the answer.

  “No. Definitely not. If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather just try and forget it.” I groaned, inwardly.

  “No argument here. Let’s just pretend like it never happened.” He gave a pained smile. “I’m just thankful there weren’t any press junkies there.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Brooke~

  My body ached all over. I’d been in bed for the past two days, barely able to function. I was positive that I had the flu. I had been coughing, and had a sore throat. It’d taken every ounce of strength that I had to get up and make my way to the bathroom. My staff knew I was sick, but other than that first phone call, I hadn’t spoken to anyone since. I barely recalled falling asleep last night, having tried hard to stay up in case Sebastian had tried to call and say goodnight. We hadn’t spoken since I’d called to cancel my trip. I was supposed to call him that night, but the day had gotten away from me and when I’d arrived home that evening I collapsed into bed. Maybe he was angry with me, he hadn’t been very understanding at the time of the call. I couldn’t blame him, I knew he was looking forward to our getting to skydive together. After that day spent talking with the authorities and the insurance company, I spent another hour trying to convince Max that everything was under control and the restaurant was still functional. The next morning I woke up feeling miserable.

  My doorbell rang shortly after noon. It took awhile, but I was finally able to reach the door, making sure to check the peephole. It was Reid, and he was holding a brown paper bag. I opened the door, slowly.

  “I come bearing gifts.” He held up the bag in front of him, making his way around me to gain access to my apartment. “Oh, sweetie, you don’t look so good.” He grimaced, raising a hand gingerly to my forehead. “You feel pretty warm. Have you taken your temperature?” He guided me over to the sofa, easing me down and throwing a blanket over my legs.

  “No,” I replied, hoarsely. “It took everything I had just to get up and answer the door. I’ve had to force myself to use the bathroom. I think I may even be a bit dehydrated.”

  He moved quickly and deliberately, gathering supplies from the kitchen. When he came back he had a bottle of water and a bowl of chicken soup, which he set before me on the table.

  “You need to eat something, try to regain some strength. Here’s some Ibuprofen.” He held out his hand and I offered an open palm for him to drop out three pills. He smiled warmly as I swallowed them down with a big gulp of water.

  “Thank you. How did you know I was sick?”

  “I stopped by the restaurant. I hadn’t seen you walking home, or in the building, so I wanted to check on you. Victoria told me you’ve been out for a couple of days. You should have called me, I would have helped take care of you.” He settled in beside me, careful not to get too close. After the shower incident, and me basically throwing him out of my apartment, we had talked things over and he agreed to respect my relationship with Sebastian. He’d said he would rather have me as a friend than not have me in his life at all. I felt I could live with that arrangement.

  “That was really kind of you. Thank you. I honestly haven’t felt well enough to do anything, even the thought of pressing buttons on the phone seemed too much.” I sighed, already feeling tired and ready to head back to my bed. “I’m pretty tired.”

  “Here, let me help you.” He moved to help guide me to the bedroom, taking great care as he tucked me in. “Sleep now. I’ll hang out in the other room for a bit before I head across the hall, just to make sure you don’t need anything.” I nodded, closing my eyes and curling up on my side. Sleep came quickly.

  Over the course of the next two days I was fed and medicated by a very doting Reid. He faithfully showed up before he left for work, and then again in the evening when returning home. I had yet to talk with Sebastian, and honestly I had been too sick to give it a second thought. Around nine-thirty on the fourth evening, just like clock-work, Reid tapped on my door. By this time I was feeling much better, and I surprised him by answering the door before he could knock a second time.

  “Whoa, you look much better my friend. I’m really glad, I was starting to worry about you.” He came in, immediately settling on the sofa. “I checked with Victoria today and things are running very smoothly in your absence.” He gave a smile, knowing I had been nervous about it. “Yes, everything was still standing and the food that I saw leaving the kitchen looked amazing. Although, I am sure they will be much happier under your leadership.” He added, picking up on my sensitivity of not being needed.

  “Well, I must admit that even though it stings to know they can function without me, it’s nice that things won’t fall apart once I return back to the states.” I took a seat on the opposite end of the sofa, facing him.

  “So, this is definitely a temporary gig?” He sighed, softly.

  “Yes Reid, it always was. I have a life back in California. At least I think I do.” I whispered.

  “Everything okay between you two?” A few weeks ago if he had asked me that question it would have been followed by a smirk. Tonight, that wasn’t the case, obvious concern filled his handsome face.

  “I think so. I was supposed to spend a few days with him in Switzerland and then the fire happened. I got sick right after that and we haven’t spoken since I told him I couldn’t see him. Honestly, these past few days I haven’t felt much like chatting. You could attest to that.” I laughed. “This whole relocation has put quite a strain on our relationship. We had just gotten settled in together in California when this opportunity came up.”

  “But he had to see that it was something you couldn’t pass up, right? I mean, this is every chef’s dream, coming to the rescue of a world famous chef and restaurateur.” He defended.

  “Yeah, I know, and I do believe that he would have supported me. I just wasn’t completely honest about my leaving. I took the position without discussing it with him first, and then I waited a few days before telling him and he heard it
from someone else while everyone we loved was there to celebrate his birthday.”

  “Wow.” He gave a low whistle, hollowing out his cheeks as if pondering the gravity of my words. “I can understand why he would be upset about that. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you shouldn’t have taken the job. But, I can see where that would cause some trust issues.”

  “Exactly. We’ve been trying to get past it but I can’t help feeling like there’s something holding him back. I know he harbors a strong dislike for you.” I punched him lightly in the bicep and reached for my phone. “Maybe I should call him, try to smooth things over again. I swear, I feel like that’s all we ever do anymore. We never used to fight.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “I love him with all of my heart. I’m just not sure how we’re going to make it through the next seven months.”

  “Call him.” He urged, patting me on the hand. “I’m going to take off. It’s obvious that my work here is done. You are upright and on the mend.” He kissed the back of my hand. “I must go now.” He stated, dramatically. As I walked him to the door the phone rang in my hand. I swiped my thumb across the screen, not looking at it first, before saying goodbye to Reid.

  “Bye Reid, thanks again for everything. I don’t know what I would have done without you this week.” I shut the door, bringing the phone to my ear. “Hello.” I answered.

  “Well, isn’t it nice to know that in my absence you have Reid there to take care of you. Seriously Brooke, it truly warms my heart to know that he’s there hanging out in your apartment with you.” Sarcasm dripped heavily from each spoken word. I breathed deeply before responding, knowing how he must be feeling given previous circumstances.

  “Hello to you too, Sebastian. It’s nice to know you still care enough to call.” I responded, flippantly. I moved to get comfortable on the sofa, fearing we could be in for a long conversation. I was determined to not let his anger rile me up, I had just begun to feel better.

  “You mind explaining to me what he was doing, and just exactly what it was that he did to make you feel better? Please explain, because being this far away really makes my mind think all sorts of things.”

  “Sebastian Miles! That’s enough. I’m not sure what it is that you are suggesting, but you know me better than that. For your information, I have been very sick the past four days. I’ve been bedridden and Reid has been taking care of me, and not in the way you are assuming. He has been checking up on me, giving me medication, making sure I drank plenty of fluids, and had something to eat. I was in pretty bad shape.” I stated, calmly.

  “Babe, I had no way of knowing. I am so sorry.” He apologized.

  “Yeah well, you never called, so.”

  “You could have called to let me know what was going on.”

  “I told you, I was too sick. I could barely move, Sebastian, picking up the phone was not my top priority.” I groaned inwardly. “Why do we always do this? We’re always fighting lately.”

  I heard a long sigh on the other end. I could just picture him with his hand running through his hair and chewing on his lip ring. Something he always did when he was under stress or having a tough conversation. We both knew each other so well, almost better than we knew ourselves. We’d loved so much over the past nine months, even through the difficult times, and the thought of not having him in my life hurt my heart deeply.

  “I’m not sure what’s going on, babe. Being apart is wearing on me I guess. I thought by now we would be together. I guess I foolishly envisioned you traveling alongside me during this tour. I just want things to be like they were before.”

  “I’d like that too. I would give anything for you to look at me the way you used to.” I said, softly. I felt a lump starting to form in my throat, you know, the one that lodges itself in place just before the tears start to fall.

  “What do you mean, like I used to? I look at you the same.” He defended.

  “No, not really. Not since I was dishonest with you. Now you look at me with love, but its guarded, like you don’t completely trust me.” I brushed away the tears, fighting like hell to not let him hear me crying.

  “Honey, I’m sorry you feel that way. Let me assure you that I am still completely and madly in love with you. It’s insane how much I love you. It’s just really hard for me, you know. I'm over here, thinking about you, remembering how good your skin feels against mine. The taste of your lips. It’s on my mind every damned day. Meanwhile, you’re over there, living your life and doing what you love, and that’s cool. I just hate knowing that you’re doing that while living next door to another man who is there for you when I can’t be. You two share the same career. He understands things about your life that I will probably never fully comprehend. Believe me, I know what it’s like to have a friend that shares your passion. I spend most of my time with three of them.”

  “Baby, you have nothing to worry about with Reid. We’ve had a long talk about this, he and I. He knows that we will never be more than friends, and he is okay with that. He was incredibly kind and nothing but a gentleman this week. I can assure you that you are the only man I care about. The only one I love. If we are going to survive this separation there needs to be some trust and understanding. In all fairness, I have no idea what you are doing out there on the road. But, I do trust you. I need you to trust me, completely. Can you do that?”

  This was incredibly important to me. Even though my choice to withhold important information had been a poor one, it was never done with ill intentions. I would never consider cheating on Sebastian, and I didn’t think for one moment that he would do something like that behind my back. If our love was going to have any chance of survival, we first needed to re-establish trust.

  “Yes.” He replied, after some hesitation. “I can do that. I want to do that. For the record, honey, it’s not that I don’t trust you. I’m just afraid of getting hurt. I jumped into this thing with you with both feet. I’m buried here. Without you in my life, I wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. I’ve told you that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I’ve never said that to anyone other than you. It’s always been you.”

  “I promised myself that I wouldn’t cry.” I sobbed pathetically. “I just miss you so much. I thought this would be easier, being apart. I don’t care how badly I wanted this, I am miserable without you. I ache for you. I need you to know that.”

  “I hear you baby. I ache for you too. Soon. We’ll be together soon. I promise.” He whispered. And my heart filled with hope, because during the short time we’d been together there was one thing I had come to learn. Sebastian Miles always kept his promises.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Sebastian~

  We wrapped up our show in Paris last night and woke up in Belgium. The long days are beginning to wear me down. Somewhere between the endless rehearsals, bus rides, and lack of sleep, my patience is starting to grow thin. I love the performing, being up on stage is my happy place. Each stop we make has us performing three nights straight. We’ve been doing this long enough now to develop a rhythm of sorts. Rehearsals take place two hours after lunch, we show up two hours before call time to do a quick sound check, and the day before we kick—off the concert series Dek and I head out in search of some form of adventure. This week it was his turn to come up with something outrageous, and I was quite certain he wouldn’t disappoint.

  I was just stepping out of the shower when Travis called.

  “Yello.” I chimed, pulling out a greeting that we’d used all the time when we were teenagers. I’d been feeling pretty nostalgic of late, especially since my last conversation with mom.

  “Now there’s a blast from the past,” he chuckled. “What’s on your agenda for today, little brother? Got some time to spend with me?”

  “Always. What’s up?” I asked, cautiously. Ever since we’d left for the tour he’d been watching me carefully, as if constantly assessing me. I’m not sure if he was aware that I knew what he was up to, but he was my brother, and whether he like
d it or not I could read him like a book.

  “Not much, just thought it might be nice to spend some time together. You know, time off the stage. It’s been awhile since we’ve talked. You doing okay?”

  “Mom put you up to this didn’t she?” I asked, shaking my head even though he couldn’t see me. I knew they all worried about me. When I’d first met Brooke they had all been so relieved to see me happy and loving life. Now, with the constant strain on our relationship and the distance driving a wedge between us, I believe they’re all worried I may fall back into old habits.

  “No,” he replied, sheepishly. “Can’t a guy just want to have a little brotherly bonding time?”

  “Oh, is that what they’re calling it now?” I teased. “Yeah, I’ll meet you downstairs in ten.”

  We walked through the Galeries Royales, checking out a few stores but mostly just people watching. The French architecture was a sight to behold, complete with a glass roof and cast-iron fixtures throughout. Travis stopped in front of Le Marmiton and cocked his head toward the door.

  “You hungry?” He asked, moving toward the entrance. “I’m starving, and their menu looks good.”

  “I could go for some mussels.” I shrugged, hot on his heels as the scents wafting through the air permeated my nostrils and my stomach began to growl.