"Yes," I squeal, lowering my hands back in the vehicle. I place my left hand over his hand on my thigh and give it a gentle squeeze. "I’ve never been to a music festival before. Come to think of it, I’ve never been to a concert before."
"Really," he asks me surprised.
"Yeah, my parents never let me go to concerts when I was younger, and by the time I hit college I was too focused on my studies. I always wanted to go to Chicago for a weekend and hit up Lollapalooza, but every summer something always came up."
He drifts his hand up a little higher on my thigh and gently squeezes, again. "So I'm popping your concert cherry?"
I blush at his insinuation and slap at his hand that's still resting on my leg, "I guess you are. Be gentle, please."
He groans from his side of the car and starts to caress and massage my inner thigh. "You can't say things like that, babe."
"But you can?" I ask him.
"Yes, I can, because it's what's expected of me. When you say it, all I can think of is you underneath me, and me fucking you until you're screaming my name so loud the neighbors can hear."
"But your nearest neighbor lives half a mile down the street."
"Exactly."
He removes his hand from my leg and places it on his lap. I take a deep breath, already missing the feeling of his hand on me. He knows what he's doing. He's always making sexual comments and references and touching me intimately. Two can play this game.
"Well, I guess I'm lucky we're just friends. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to say things like that to me either."
"How come?" He asks, his eyes are focused on the road in front of him.
"Because it might turn me on, my pussy might start to throb, my clit asking for attention, and my panties would definitely be wet."
I can't believe I just had the balls to say that to him, but he had it coming. He can't talk dirty to me and not expect me to give it right back to him.
Jared slightly swerves onto the shoulder of the road before correcting the wheel and getting back in the right lane.
"Alright, Billy, you've had your fun. Let's try to get to Santa Ana in one piece."
The rest of the ride is uneventful. I listen to the music coming from the radio while Jared swerves in and out of traffic. We make it to the festival around lunchtime and Jared finds parking close to the event.
We walk down the packed street lined with people of all ages headed to the festival. It's so crowded that I start to feel a little overwhelmed, but I'm put at ease when Jared holds my hand in his and we make our way to the entrance. We're given three different wristbands. One is for admission, one is for the V.I.P. section, and one is for alcohol.
The music is already blaring in the open space in front of us. We're in some kind of field that goes on forever. There's thousands of people already roaming the grounds. I see a group of preppy teenagers sitting on a blanket on the mowed grass; a family of four walks by us, the mother has her toddler daughter in her arms. I also spot a few bikers talking to two women only wearing bikinis.
"There's three different stages that the bands will be playing on all day. We just have to decide what bands we want to listen to and make our way over to the right stage when they play." Jared looks over at me to make sure I'm listening.
"I don't even know who's playing. We'll just listen to whoever you like and I’m sure I'll like them."
He tightens his hand around mine. "You're so laid back all the time, babe. I'm not used to having a girl be so... so uncomplicated."
If he only knew the thoughts inside my head, they're anything but uncomplicated.
We head over to one of the stages off to the left side of the entrance. I'm surprised at how close we are able to get to the stage, but when I look around I realize most people like to hang out a little farther back or walk around the festival grounds while listening to the bands. There are tents lining the perimeter of the festival filled with food, alcohol, and merchandise.
Jared starts to move his head to the music and I listen intently. I've never heard this song before. I'm not even sure I've heard this band before, but I move to the music because the band is pretty good.
Jared bends, cupping his hand over my ear so I can hear him. His lips brush against the sensitive skin of my lobe as he speaks.
"Right now it's a lot of local bands playing, hoping to get their break. By mid afternoon there will be more mainstream bands, and tonight will be the headliner. They're keeping tonight's band a secret, but a buddy of mine told me it's The Red Hot Chili Peppers."
I love them!
I turn to look at him and our lips brush against each other. I didn't realize he was still bent down. I forget what I'm about to say as my eyes are drawn to his lips. His perfectly kissable lips.
"I..," I force my eyes to look up and into his. "I love The Red Hot Chili Peppers."
He smiles at me and stands up straight. His arm wraps around my waist and he pulls me in front of him. My back is to his chest as he wraps his other arm around me and lowers his chin to rest on my head.
I know it's just a sweet gesture from Jared and we're just friends, but I can't help but hope he feels more. Brock wasn't big on public affection, but Jared seems to love it, and we're not even dating.
We sway to the music and I lower my arms to rest on his. The band plays a few covers and then an original song before leaving the stage so the next band can perform.
"Thirsty?" Jared asks me. I'm still in his arms and his lips are at my ear, always at my ear.
"Very," I respond, moving out of his hold. He takes my hand and we walk to the tents. Jared buys a beer, but I get water. Being out in this heat is making me thirsty.
A group of giggling young women approaches us near the beverage tent. It takes me a second to realize why they're so giggly.
"I watch you all the time, Brandon. I subscribe to your website and visit it almost every day."
"It's true, I go over to her house and we watch you together sometimes."
The women talk over each other, each demanding Jared's attention. He's polite, even when one of the girls gets a little too hands on.
"Can I have your autograph, Brandon?" The girl who subscribes to Jared's website asks.
"Sure," Jared says kindly.
I watch as the woman fishes through her purse for a pen and hands it to him. Then she grips the top of her shirt and lowers it, exposing the tops of her breasts.
"You can sign either one. Your choice." She smiles at him, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously. To my surprise Jared gives her a fake smile and quickly signs her breasts before excusing himself and pulling us away from his fan club.
"Um, Brandon," I say mockingly, twirling a strand of my hair around one of my fingers. "Can you sign my tits?"
Jared laughs and I'm happy I'm able to change his mood. "For you, Billy, I'll do anything."
We continue to walk around the festival grounds. Several of the tents have companies advertising their services. A few of the tents sell jewelry, and there is one big tent with merchandise from all the bands. The very last tent is for face painting and temporary tattoos. It's geared more towards the children who attend the festival, but I want to get my face painted, too.
"Let's go there," I say enthusiastically, pulling on Jared's arm.
"You want to get your face painted?"
"Yes, and you're getting yours done, too."
"Oh no, no way."
"Please..." I say, puffing my lower lip out to pout like a child.
He doesn’t say anything at first, but then his beautiful smile takes over his face.
"I'll make you a deal. I'll get my face painted if we both get to pick what the other one gets, and where it goes."
I was planning on getting a flower or maybe a heart on my shoulder, but this could be fun. I'll get to pick what he gets on him, so I can make it really silly.
"You've got a deal."
We walk over to the tent just as the woman finishes painting ballerina slippers on a y
oung girls cheek. She looks over at us and is not happy to have to paint adults, but when she looks over at Jared her expression changes. Her cheeks turn a light shade of pink and she starts to giggle under her breath.
Jeez, does every woman on the planet know who Jared is?
"Can we go next?" I ask.
"Sure," she says shyly, not even looking in my direction. Her eyes are completely focused on Jared.
"I know he's gorgeous, but could you focus here?" I'm annoyed by all the attention he gets because he's so good looking.
She looks at me and apologizes. "I'm sorry, but he's... he's... Brandon Boner."
Oh. My. God. Am I the only woman who had never seen porn before? I thought porn was supposed to be a taboo topic, but it's apparently not in California.
I look over at Jared and he seems embarrassed. "I am Brandon, but today I'm just out with my girl, trying to enjoy good music."
His girl, I love that we're so close.
"I understand. What can I get for you?"
I look over at Jared expectantly. His eyes do an appraisal of my body, trying to find the area that he wants painted. He’s got a lot to choose from because I’m baring a lot of skin. I’m wearing a pair of black denim short shorts and a cream see-through, low cut, sleeveless blouse. I have a tank on underneath, but it's low cut, too, so the top of my cleavage is on display. He can literally paint my legs, arms, chest, neck, or face.
His eyes stay on my chest before he turns to the lady working the tent.
"We're going to do the face paint." He walks over to me and his hands come up to my breasts as he talks to her. "I want a sentence displayed across her tits."
His fingers touch my skin and my body instantly reacts to his touch. My nipples get hard and I know he can see it through the thin material of my tank.
"Put a star here," he says grazing his finger on the top right side of my breast, near my armpit. "I want the words 'Jared's tits and only for his pleasure' across here." He drags the tip of his finger across the top length of my chest until he gets to the other side, "and end the sentence with another star."
He looks up from my chest and over at the woman whose mouth is open, and I swear I can see drool coming from the corner of her lips. She closes her mouth and pulls herself together.
"I can do that," she says and gestures for me to take a seat.
"Jared-"
"You said anything, this is what I want," he says determined.
"Alright, but payback's a bitch."
★★★
"This is so juvenile. Let me wash it off."
Jared's been complaining the entire afternoon. Everywhere we walk someone points and laughs at him or just stares at my breasts. After we finished our lunch of burgers and fries, Jared insisted we head over to the V.I.P. section because it is more secluded.
We're sitting on padded folding chairs in a large air-conditioned tent at the side of the main stage. The V.I.P. area only seats about fifty people, but we have a private bar tender and a spread of appetizers and desserts.
"You shouldn't have had this written across my breasts then."
Jared mocks me from earlier and puffs out his bottom lip in a pout, "But I like your tits."
He's so adorable when he's playful like this.
A group of men, around nineteen or twenty, walk into the tent and immediately spot Jared.
"Dude, that shit's hilarious," the one in the backwards baseball cap laughs out. His friends join in laughing and I can’t help the giggle that escapes my mouth.
"You think this is funny?" Jared whispers harshly to me. "I have an image to uphold."
"Right, as my bitch."
The guys overhear me and start laughing again. Jared deserves it. After what he had put on my chest, I feel like retaliating by putting the words "Billy's Bitch" on his forehead isn’t that bad.
"They think Billy's a guy."
"So..."
"So last time I checked, I'm not gay."
"And last time I checked, I'm not Billy, but you insist on calling me it so that's what I had put on your forehead."
The one with the baseball cap steps up to Jared, "Wait, she's Billy? Damn, okay then. I'd be her bitch, too."
This causes Jared to laugh at his own expense and he turns to whisper to me, "You're lucky you're cute."
I smile at his compliment and tap him gently on the nose, "You're easy on the eyes, too."
He winks at me and turns back to the group of men in front of us. His phone starts buzzing in his pocket and he ignores it, just like he has all day. I know who's calling him and I’m sure by the time we get back to the house Kelly's going to be pissed.
The men continue to hover around us instead of continuing on with the rest of their day. They stare at Jared and I instinctively know what's coming.
"Dude, I know you. You're that porn god... Brandon Boner. Man, I've watched a ton of your pornos. The chicks you bang are so hot. How can I get in the porn business?"
"We're not taking applications right now," Jared says dryly.
"You're a master at-"
"Guys," I cut the curly haired man off. "We're trying to have a fun time with no talk of work, could you knock off the porn talk?"
"Yeah, sure, anything for the porn god."
They sit in front of us in the tent, but for the most part leave us alone. A new band comes on stage and I instantly recognize the first song being played. It was on the top forty charts for almost a year.
"These guys are great."
Jared pulls me into his side and I wrap my arms around his middle. I close my eyes and let the music take me away. The smooth harmony of the lead singer is almost angelic compared to the harsh beats of the drums. It's a perfect combination of hard and soft, and it's no wonder why the song stayed at the top for so long.
One song leads into the next and I stay tucked into Jared's side, listening intently to the music. It's not until I feel Jared's chest stiffen underneath me that I realize something's wrong.
I open my eyes and look up at Jared's face. His eyes are glued on someone or something in the distance. He lets go of me and stands up with no explanation, as I hear another man's voice.
"What's going on, Jare? Long time no see." The man comes in and gives Jared a strong hug that lasts a couple seconds. I look back and forth between the two men, wondering what is so wrong that Jared stiffened up like that. They seem to be friends.
"I know. I've meant to stop by, but things have been crazy."
The man notices me, and smiles kindly before focusing back on Jared. "Is this your girl? Introduce me."
Jared looks even more uncomfortable than he did before. I get the feeling that he has no intention of introducing me to this guy. When he confirms this by not saying anything, I stand up from my chair and extended my hand to his. "I'm Autumn. I work for Jared... um, not in porn. I'm his assistant."
"I'm Kellan, Jared's would be brother-in-law."
I smile kindly back at him and it takes me a few seconds to catch his words.
What?
What does that mean? Would be brother-in-law? Was Jared engaged before? He said he didn't do relationships. My mind is going a mile a minute and I don't know how to process this fresh information.
"Mom and Dad were expecting you on Coral's birthday, but we all understand why you didn't make it. Mom got the flowers though and they sat on her kitchen island for like three weeks. Dad made her finally throw them out when fuzz started to form on the stems."
"I miss Bonnie and Derrick. I should come by more, I know that."
"I didn't say it to try to guilt you, man. We all know how busy you are."
"Thanks, Kellan." Jared sounds genuine in his gratitude. "So, what brings you out here?"
"My buddy won a V.I.P. package through the local radio station," Kellan points to the guy we were talking to earlier with the baseball cap. "I should go over there, but seriously Jare, don’t be a stranger. Mom expects you at Thanksgiving."
"I'll try, man. I promise."
Jared and Kellan hug one more time before Kellan walks over to his group of friends. I'm just staring at Jared, completely confused on who exactly that guy is.
"Let's get out of here," Jared mumbles, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the tent. He's walking at a rapid pace, which is too fast for my short legs.
"Slow down, Jared. I can't keep up."
He continues with his power walk until we've exited the festival. We walk past the first brick alleyway and Jared pulls me down it and shoves me against the brick wall. Before I can do anything, his lips are on mine.
He kisses me urgently. His harsh kiss is almost violent. His tongue presses against my lips until I'm forced to open and let him in.
"Jared," I pant. I don't understand where this is coming from.
His lips move from my mouth and create a trail of kisses across my cheek until his lips are at my ear. I can feel his erratic breath against my skin.
"I need you, Autumn. Please, let me have you right now, let me take you somewhere and make you feel good. I promise I'll explain everything afterwards, but I need to be inside you right now."
I don't know where this is coming from. He's made it perfectly clear the past few weeks that we can only be friends. I thought I knew him better than anyone else, but after seeing Kellan I realize I might not know the real Jared at all.
I ignore all the warning signs and the voice inside my head telling me not sleep with him. Jared needs me right now. In this moment I know his needs better than anyone. I know he's using sex to cope with whatever feelings he's fighting inside his body, and I'm going to help him cope.
"Okay, let's go."
Chapter Nine
I don't remember much of the last few minutes except that when we got to Jared's car, we didn't drive back to his house. Jared found the nearest hotel and booked us for the night.
He slides the key card through the door as his mouth sucks on my exposed neck. His smell is intoxicating and I'm surprised we even made it to the room. Jared pushes the door open and pulls me through it with him, his body and lips never leaving mine.
I'm sure it's a nice room, probably the nicest hotel room I’ve ever been in, but my eyes don't have any desire to look around. I want him more than I've ever wanted anything before in my life. My arms come up and under his shirt, taking the material with it. I pull it up and over his shoulders and head, tossing it on the floor.
Changing His Game Page 11
