by S. Cruz
We ended our set with cheering and screaming. I jumped down from the stage, looking for Bailey. Shelly said she went to the bathroom, so I waited in the hallway for her, worried out of my mind. I saw those tears in her eyes when I sang Broken, I was worried that she was going to walk away from me.. When she came out with her red eyes, I reached for her and to my surprise she let me hold her. My heart was beating so fast as I asked her what was wrong.
“Why are you crying?”
She told me that my song made her cry. Blowing out a breath of relief, I took her hand to walk back to our table, which was surrounded by women. When we stepped into the room, they rushed me, trying to separate me from her. I held her hand tight, not wanting to let her go. I was used to this, but she was not. She tried to pull away, but I locked my grip on her hand.
I smiled, appreciating all the compliments from the women. I couldn’t see Bailey but kept a tight grip on her hand. Finally, the crowd started to leave, and I pulled her to my chest, needing her close. Thirsty, I grabbed the beer the waitress handed me with a sexy smile, ignoring her as I took a drink. Bailey nestled into my chest. I knew she was intimidated by all the attention I got, so I tried in my own way to reassure her that I was with her and nobody else.
I wanted her desperately, but Scott had informed me earlier that she was a virgin. I was shocked.
“What!” I’d said, pacing back and forth with that bomb he’d just dropped on me. “I can’t believe it, this can’t be true.”
“Yep, Shelly gave up the goods last night after I fucked her senseless,” he chuckled.
“I can’t fucking believe it. She’s sweet and shy, yeah. But a virgin! What the fuck am I going to do now?” I said, frustrated as hell.
“Um, dude, take it slow…or maybe get her drunk…or…”
“Shut the hell up, Scott,” I snarled at him.
“Hey, don’t take it out on me. I thought it was important that you know that little bit of information, man,” he said, looking bewildered at my outburst.
“Yeah, I guess I’m glad you told me. Scotty, sorry I yelled at you. I just never in a million years figured she was that pure. I fucking don’t know how to handle this situation,” I said, sitting on my bed with my head in my hands. “What the fuck!”
“She likes you man, even Shelly said she’s talking about you all the time. Give her a chance to get to know you better, you know take your time,” Scott smiled.
“I have a fucking hard-on every time I’m near her. I can hardly hold it together as it is. Now I’m afraid I’ll fucking scare her away! She’s pure Scott don’t you get that? Damn I don’t know how to handle someone like her. I’ve never…ever…been in this situation before. I always go for the women with experience, I don’t want to be someone’s first! But the feelings she brings out in me, I can’t fucking resist her. I don’t want to walk away from her, she has this hold over me I can’t explain.”
“Um…well man, you could give yourself a hand job before you meet up with her, take the edge off,” Scott said, trying to help.
“Yeah, and as soon as I lay eyes on that body, I’ll be stiff as a board again,” I sighed.
“Yeah, I saw her body today. Man, she’s every man’s wet dream,” he said. I glared up at him as he squirmed. “Just sayin,” he smirked.
“Not helping, man. I’m way out of my element here.”
“Just take it slow, let her trust you first,” he said.
“Yeah like you did with her friend,” I chuckled.
“Well I wasn’t her first,” he smirked.
“Obviously, you should have seen Bailey blush when you two went at it that first night,” I told him. “I should have known it then, all the signs were there, but I just figured she was shy, not completely innocent. I never even considered that she was a fucking virgin!”
“Sorry man,” Scott said putting his hair behind his ears as he watched me try to come to terms with that little tidbit about Bailey.
“Fuck it, I’ll just have to walk around with blue balls,” I said. It was difficult, because her body was smoking hot.
“Well, somebody’s got to do it, man; might as well be you,” he smirked. I looked up at him, and the smile disappeared off his face.
“You’re right, I can do this Scott. I can be tender and gentle with someone as sweet as her,” I said trying to convince myself. I’m certainly having a lot of firsts with this girl, I thought.
Five
Bailey
I didn't hear any noise coming from shelly's room and wondered if she had made it back. I Knocked on her door jut to make sure, but she didn’t answer. I went to my room and crashed, falling into a restless sleep, dreaming about Jesse and all those women clawing at him. The next morning I was startled awake by pounding on my door. Bolting out of bed, I opened my door to Shelly pushing her way in and flopping down on my bed.
“Good morning,” I said, stretching and yawning.
“Bails, we’re dating rock stars,” she grinned.
“I know. Where have you been?” I asked.
“I spent the night in Scott’s room,” she said, patting the empty place on the bed for me to join her.
“Oh, OK,” I said as I crawled in next to her.
“This trip is turning out better than I ever imagined,” she said, rolling to her side to face me as she propped her head up with her hand.
“I’m so glad we did this; I’m having a ball. But I dread to think about leaving when the cruise is done,” I said.
“I know, but let’s not focus on that right now. Let’s go to the spa and get spoiled today.” She had way too much energy this early in the morning.
“That sounds nice. Jesse and I are spending the afternoon together,” I said, sitting up.
“Scott said he wants to see a movie. This morning they’re working on a new song Jesse wrote. Scott said he’s been writing like a madman ever since he met you,” she grinned.
“Really! He hasn’t said anything to me,” I said, surprised.
“Apparently you’re his inspiration. The guys are thrilled he’s writing songs again—I guess he’s had a very long dry spell.”
“That’s so sweet. Jesse was amazing last night, wasn’t he?” I said, swooning as I stretched back out on the bed.
“Yes, he was; the whole band was amazing,” she said, lying back on the pillow next to me.
“Scott is a very talented musician.”
“He told me he plays six instruments; his whole family is very musical. His mother is a music teacher.”
“It was fun to watch him up on the stage, jumping around.” I chuckled at the memory.
“He’s so funny. He really gets into the music,” she laughed.
“They’re a great bunch of guys; I enjoy hanging out with them,” I admitted.
“Yep, Bails, I guess we just officially became groupies,” she laughed. “Scott told me he was shocked that Jesse hadn’t taken you to bed yet—usually he’s the first one to get laid. But I explained that you’re a virgin, and then he respected the fact that Jess was taking his time with you.”
“What? Oh my God…Shelly, you didn’t! I’m so…embarrassed! You told him I’m still a virgin,” I flew off the bed in shock. My best friend gave up my most intimate secret, just like that. “Damn it that explains why Jesse has been treating me with kid gloves. Scott must have told him after you blabbed your big mouth,” I said, mortified, remembering how fast he had left me last night. “I can’t believe you did that!”
“Scott was impressed that you’re still pure. He said Jesse cares about you too much to push you too fast. He’s afraid he’ll chase you away. Isn’t that sweet? He really cares about you, Bailey! Come on, get dressed; let’s get beautiful.” She sat up and looked at me. Just like that, our conversation was over. She dismissed the subject like it was nothing and was on to something else. I was still processing what she had just said, angry at her for revealing my private secret to her boyfriend. She brushed it aside like I wasn’t supposed to be u
pset.
“I need a shower,” I said, stomping into the bathroom and slamming the door a little harder than I’d intended. How was I going to face him? I was positive that Scott had told him; that explained everything. “Why was my virginity so damn important to Shelly that she had to tell everyone?” I said, pacing. Oh my God, I’m so embarrassed. A man like Jesse has got to be so experienced and I’m not, how could my best friend do that. I took a deep breath to calm my frayed nerves. I wanted to ring her neck, but I knew she didn’t do it maliciously. I took a quick shower, putting on minimal makeup and my hair into a ponytail. She’s my best friend, I told myself as I opened the door with a forced smile. She looked up at me with a sheepish smile, I knew she felt bad, but damn her. She took my hand and led me out my door to hit the spa for a seaweed wrap, waxing, massage, and facials.
As we relaxed in the whirlpool, I felt refreshed, pampered, and polished. I had to let this go and just deal with it.
“That was fun,” I said as we walked back to our rooms to change so I could meet Jesse at noon for lunch. I put on white shorts and a little blue tank with a ruffle at the bottom, revealing just a little midriff. My hair had been washed and scented with this exotic conditioner, so I left it down. I had to suck up my courage and put on a brave face—after all, I had nothing to be ashamed of; I should be proud of my virginity!
When I opened my door, Shelly was standing there ready to knock. “Damn it, Shelly,” I said, jumping back. I swear she has super hearing powers. She was dressed in tan shorts with a short top that tied with strings, showing off her bare back. She was in high spirits, as usual, and chattered my head off as we walked up the stairs. I didn’t say much, just listened to her as we walked.
“Bails, you’re not mad at me, are you? I didn’t mean to let your secret out; blame it on the wine,” she chuckled. I could certainly understand that. “When Scott mentioned Jesse’s past, the words just slipped out of my mouth before I realized what I was saying. I’m really sorry,” she said, looking contrite.
“Well, I’ll admit I was mad and wanted to kill you. But I guess I’ll have to forgive you since you didn’t do it intentionally,” I shrugged.
“You know this is your chance, he’s incredibly hot Bailey and he’s into you girlfriend,” she said.
“I know, I have all these feelings when I’m around him; I have been upset that he hasn’t tried anything with me yet, so I think you’re right this is my chance. My shyness is fading and I really like him a lot Shelly,” I confessed. “I could do worse right?”
“So we’re OK then?” she asked, tentatively giving me a hug.
“Yeah, we’re OK. But now I have to go and face him.” I gave her a one-armed hug back.
“He respects you, Bailey! I give him a lot of credit—you saw those women last night falling all over him. He could have any one of them, but he hung on to you. She was right, he had women’s hands all over him, but he wouldn’t let my hand go. “Scott said he’s sick of one-night stands and is looking for someone special in his life, and he thinks you’re it!”
“How’s that going to work out, Shell? I live in Pennsylvania, and he lives in Arizona!” I said, shaking my head.
“I don’t know, but you can’t worry about that right now. I just want to enjoy every minute we have with them now. I don’t know what the future holds, so let’s go meet our guys and have fun,” she said, hooking my arm and pulling me up on deck. She marched straight for the restaurant with purpose. I loved it when she had her mind made up; nobody could stop her. She was definitely a force to be reckoned with.
I took a deep breath when we got to the doors of the restaurant. This was going to be embarrassing as my nerves kicked into high gear. I nodded as Shelly started to push open the door and we looked around for Jesse.
From out of nowhere, he appeared with a big smile on his face. I couldn’t help but smile back at him as he stood there dressed in cargo shorts with a green T-shirt, looking very hot and happy to see me. Scott was behind him, heading straight for Shelly and picking her up with a big whoop. He definitely was the loud one in the group. Liza was already sitting at the table with Keith and John.
“Hey, there’s my girl,” Jesse said, taking my hand as he led me to the table. I blushed, looking up at him as he pulled out my chair for me. He just called me his girl,” I thought smiling at him.
“I thought about you all night sweetheart,” he said pulling out my chair. “So, what did you two girls do this morning?” he asked as he sat next to me.
“We went to the spa for some pampering,” I said, smiling at him.
“Great idea; you should always be pampered, honey,” he said, kissing my neck. “Mmmm…you smell fantastic!”
“What did you do?” I asked.
“I wrote the lyrics for a new song; then we worked on the musical arrangement to go with it,” he said.
“Oh, how’s that coming?” I asked.
“Great, I think we’ll have it put together soon,” he said, tracing my jaw-line with his finger. I heard Shelly giggle and looked over to see Scott tickling her as she squirmed and laughed.
“Hey, can you at least act respectable out in public?” Jesse said, laughing at them.
“No problem, bro,” Scott said, holding his fingers up in a peace sign.
“He’s such a dick sometimes,” Jesse said, shaking his head.
“Yeah, but I’m loveable and damn hot; right, baby?” He smoothed back his long, blond hair as he smiled at Shelly.
“Damn straight, babe,” Shelly said, kissing his cheek.
“See, man, I’ve still got it,” he said as he raised his arms in the air with a big smile.
Keith and Liza were kissing, oblivious to what was happening at our table. “Man, get a room,” Scott yelled to Keith across the table.
Keith held up his soda. “Later, man.” We all burst out laughing at them. Keith just went back to kissing Liza.
“What a bunch of clowns,” John said, laughing along with the rest of us.
“My friends,” Jesse said, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles with a smile. I had to admit, these guys were not boring. Other people in the room were chuckling too, enjoying the comedians at our table. We ate lunch, listening to Scott talk music tracks with John, collaborating on Jesse’s new song, I assumed. It was interesting to listen to them talk about notes, chords, and chorus. I figured I was witnessing their genius at work.
“Hey, guys, thanks for helping me put that song together today,” Jesse said to his friends.
“Yeah, well, we had to shut you up somehow,” Keith said, taking a drink.
“He wouldn’t stop talking about this song he wrote. So we all gave up our morning to help him with the music,” Scott said.
“You’re welcome, Jess. It’s good to see you composing again,” John said.
“Do you write all the songs?” I asked.
“Not all, but most of them I do. John and Scott help with ideas. I haven’t been inspired in a long time, until I saw you,” he said, smiling at me.
“Me? What did I do to inspire such talent?” I asked eager to hear what he had to say.
“You just stood there on the dock looking up at me, so young and beautiful and just like that, a song came to me.” He snapped his fingers. “I can’t seem to stop writing when I’m around you. I think I’ve found my muse,” he said, brushing back my hair with his dimpled smile. I’m his muse! I thought to myself.
“Bailey, you should know we’ve talked about kidnapping you to take you back to Arizona with us,” Scott chuckled.
“Really!” I smiled at him.
“Yep, you’re my inspiration, my reason to write again, baby,” Jesse said smiling at me.
“Will I get to hear this song you wrote?” I asked.
“Absolutely, we hope to have it ready to perform on our last night here. We still need to nail down the chorus, but it’s coming together quite nicely. I hope you’ll like it,” he said, stroking my cheek.
“I liked everything
you sang last night. I’m sure I’ll love it. I suppose that makes me a groupie now,” I said.
He started laughing. “Honey, you’re nothing like the groupies I’ve been around, and thank God for that!”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” I asked, confused.
“It’s all good. Bailey, you’re one of a kind, and you don’t know how damn happy I am that I met you,” he said, kissing my cheek.
“I’m glad I met you too, Jesse.”
“Mmmm…I’m glad to hear that. Let’s finish our lunch and go do something fun,” he said, drinking his soda.
“Yeah, I’ve had enough of this sappy stuff; let’s do it,” Scott said with a smirk.
“Is he always this expressive?” I asked, laughing at him.
“Oh, Bailey, he’s on his best behavior right now. It gets worse; believe me,” Jesse chuckled.
“I can’t wait to see that,” I said, drinking my soda.
“He’s a wild man but a musical genius,” Jesse said, taking my hand to help me up. “What’s it gonna be, folks: a movie, shuffleboard, swimming, or the casino?” Jesse asked.
“Let’s see that movie I’ve been dying to see, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Then we can hit the casino later after dinner,” Scott said.
“That sounds good to me,” I said.
“OK, movie it is,” Jesse said, leading the way out the door.
“Cowabunga, dudes,” Scott shouted, bursting through the doors and pulling Shelly along behind him.
“You guys go ahead; I can live without seeing karate-chopping turtles,” John said, laughing at Scott’s antics.
“You sure, man?” Jesse asked.
“Yeah, I think I’ll work on some chords for that new song, and I’ve got some manager stuff to do. I’ll catch up with you at dinner,” he said, walking in the opposite direction from us.
“OK, John, see you at six o’clock?” Jesse said. John held up his hand and disappeared around the corner.
“Looks like it’s just the six of us,” Jesse said as we followed Scott around the deck toward the movie theater.
“What does he mean by manager stuff?” I asked.
