Only The Beginning (Rockin' Country)

by Briscoe, Laramie

  “Shut the fuck up, man.”

  “No, he’s right.” Hannah rubbed her hand along his thigh this time, trying to calm him down. “I can stand up for myself, but I don’t because usually other people do it for me. But yeah, Ashton Coleman is the biggest dick to ever walk the planet.”

  Garrett couldn’t help but watch her mouth as she formed the word. Hearing it come out from between her lips was doing things to him that he didn’t want to look at too closely.

  “That’s so good to hear, because my last girlfriend was totally in love with him,” Chris told her. “She had his poster up everywhere. I hated that douchebag.”

  “She probably slept with him. Everyone else did,” Hannah said before she could stop herself.

  “Ohhhh,” she heard as all the guys hit Chris on the arms, in the stomach.

  “That was harsh, Hannah.” Chris held his stomach where Jared had hit him the hardest.

  “I’m so sorry,” she apologized. “I meant that more as a dig on him than on the women he cheated on me with.”

  “He cheated on you?” Bradley asked.

  “Yeah.” Her tone was clipped, and it was obvious that she didn’t want to talk about it, but one thing she didn’t know about these guys was the fact they gossiped like old women. “He sure did.”

  “He’s crazy.”

  “He’s a douchebag.”

  “I hope you cheated on him with someone else.”

  “He really is a dick.”

  The last phrase came from beside her, and she smiled up at Garrett. “Thanks, you’re right, he is. I appreciate the support, guys,” she laughed as she took in everything they had said.

  Pulling up to the valet parking at the bar, Bradley turned around. “Well if you’re with Garrett, then you’re one of us, and we take care of our own. Welcome to the family.”

  * * *

  This bar was like nothing that Hannah had ever seen before. It was decorated in shades of black and red, and heavy metal played over the speakers. People sat in groups at tables along one side of the room, while the other side held a large group dance floor.

  “We’re going up here,” Garrett said into her ear as they took some stairs and arrived at what she figured was a VIP area.

  It overlooked the whole bar and she stepped up to the railing to have a glance. Some people noticed her and pointed at her. She smiled and waved as pictures were taken. It was only when she went to turn around that she noticed Reaper had come up behind her as well.

  “What do you want to drink?” He had to lean in close to be heard over the loud bass of the rock beats.

  Water wouldn’t do with this crowd, so she told him the one drink she liked. “Crown and Coke.”

  “You like the hard stuff?” Surprise was evident on his face.

  “Not everything about me is goodie-two-shoes. I have my moments,” she said as she stood on her tiptoes to reach his ear.

  “I’d like to figure out how to get to those moments,” he flirted with her.

  She had taken her jacket off when they entered the club, and he trailed his fingertips down her bare arm. “Hopefully, you’ll find out one day.”

  Hannah watched as he went over to the private bar in this area and placed their order. Taking a deep breath, she smoothed her dress down her thighs to calm her nerves. These guys had been wild in their younger years, and she hoped that they had calmed down enough that she could hang with them. If she couldn’t hang with them, she wasn’t sure she had a future with Garrett. She plastered a smile on her face when he walked back over towards her, drinks in hand.

  “You look hot standing here with the lights of the club behind you. It’s like you’re starring in my very own music video,” he told her as he handed her the drink she had requested.

  Wanting to fortify herself, she took a gulp from the glass. “I don’t know how to flirt back with you,” she admitted. “You’re much better than I am. I’m so far out of my league with you, it’s not even funny.”

  “You aren’t out of your league, you just need to relax.”

  He pulled her over to the table, and they had a seat. She sat back, crossing her legs, and listened to the group. There was never a dull moment in their conversation, and she had a hard time following along. They were close, and there were a lot of inside jokes that she wasn’t privy to, but she was still having a good time nonetheless.

  “So who’s your friend that I always see you with?” Jared asked when there was a brief lull in the conversation.

  “My friend?” She was genuinely confused.

  “You know, that blonde that’s always hanging around with you. I’ve seen her in the background all the time.”

  “You mean Shell?” She raised her eyebrow in surprise.

  “He’s talking about the one that was in your car the other day, so I think you said that was Shell?” Garrett confirmed.

  “What do you want to know about my friend for?”

  “She’s kinda cute,” Jared grinned over at her.

  Hannah leaned into Garrett, her lips touching his ear. “Is he serious right now?”

  Lazily he leaned back against the seat, pushing his arm in between her and the seat. His hand rested softly against her hip bone. “You never know with him. Why don’t you bust his balls about it?”

  “Why would I give you my friend’s number? I’ve read womanizing stories about you in the tabloids. Are you crazy?”

  “Damn, man,” Chris laughed, putting his drink up to his lips. “She’s got you there.”

  A blank look overtook his face before he took a drink from his own beer. “That was a long time ago,” he argued. She’d obviously inadvertently hit on something that pissed him off.

  Garrett stiffened next to her before talking. “She’s just joking, you know that, right?”

  Jared got up from where he sat and stood next to the two of them. “Don’t talk shit about me unless you know me, and honey, just because you might be laying on your back for him doesn’t mean you know me.” He took off, walking towards the main level of the bar.

  She was shocked. No one had ever talked to her like that before in her life.

  “I’m really sorry about that,” Garrett told her, grinding his back teeth together. He wanted to rip his best friend apart with his bare hands.

  “Not your fault. I told you I wouldn’t hold anything he did against you, but I will tell you he makes me nervous.”

  Garrett made a mental note to have a conversation with him later.

  “Sorry I asked.” She leaned over to the group. “Didn’t mean to be such a Debbie Downer.”

  Chris took a drink from his bottle again. “Don’t worry about it, he’s different. You never know with him. He’s not going to ruin our good time, so don’t even think about it. I’m about to go find me a woman,” he stood up and flexed his arms.

  She couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. She thought that maybe she had ruined their night and that had scared her. If there was one thing she wanted, it was for these guys to like her.

  “You didn’t do anything. Seriously, none of us know what will set him off. You can’t be careful of something you have no idea about,” Garrett assured her.

  Glancing around, she saw that they had been left alone at their table. “Glad that I didn’t ruin it, but it looks like everyone left us alone.”

  “Good,” he said, turning around so that they faced one another. “They were imposing on our alone time,” he shouted over the loud music.

  “So what do you want to do?”

  “First, I’m gonna take this shot, and then I think I’m going to do something that I’ve thought about doing since you climbed into the backseat with me.”

  Hannah watched as he tipped his head back, swallowing the liquid in one gulp. Her eyes watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he pushed the liquid past his throat. “That shit’s strong,” he said as he set the shot glass down on the table.

  Now what was he going to do? He had taken the shot, and now
he looked at her with the strangest glint in his eyes. She had a moment before he buried his hands in her hair and pulled her mouth to his. This kiss was different than the one from before. This time he coaxed her lips open, lightly running his tongue along her bottom lip. The promise it held was enough to keep her coming back for more.

  Chapter Twelve

  * * *

  “We’re heading out guys. Keep the car, we’re gonna take a cab,” Garrett told the rest of them as he helped Hannah up and put his arm around her.

  “Bunch of wusses!” Bradley heckled as they turned to leave.

  Garrett flipped him the bird as the two of them walked out the exit door. He had already asked the bartender to call them a cab and was pleased to see that it was waiting for them as soon as they stepped out onto the curb. Also outside was a line of people waiting to get in.

  “Reaper! Harmony!”

  People called out to them as he popped the back door of the cab open. Hannah was nice enough to turn and wave at everyone, he did the same. Carefully, he ushered her into the cab and told the driver where to take them. His phone buzzed in his pants, and he took it out, holding it very close to his eyes.

  “Are you okay?” she asked as she saw him holding the phone so close to his face.

  He blushed. “Something I haven’t told you about me. The reason I wear those sunglasses on stage?”

  “Yeah?” She had always thought it was part of his onstage persona, but apparently this was something a little more personal.

  “They’re prescription. I can’t see for shit.”

  Hannah laughed. “Are you kidding me? I wondered why you always wore them. You don’t wear anything else?”

  “Every once in a while I’ll wear contacts, but I have astigmatism, and they hurt after a while. I thought that going to the bar; it’d be a bad idea because if there’s smoke in the air, they hurt worse.”

  “So you haven’t seen me at all tonight? You have no idea exactly how I look?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

  “No, I took them out while we were driving to the club. It was dark enough in the SUV that you didn’t see me. But I didn’t have any solution, so I just threw them in the cup holder. Now I can’t see, and I’m getting all kinds of notifications. I think one is from my Mom too, damnit.”

  She giggled so hard she had to grab her stomach. “This is crackin’ me up.”

  “Seriously? Me not being able to see is this funny to you?”

  “It’s just that,” she bit her lip and scooted over closer to him so that he could see her, “you’re this badass guy who looks like he could kill somebody if they looked at you the wrong way, and you’re telling me you can’t see. Do you wear glasses at night? Like real glasses?”

  “Yeah,” he sighed. “I do have regular glasses, and I’ll be putting them on as soon as we get back to the suite. I’m starting to get a headache.”

  “It’s cute,” she told him, running her hand along the back of his neck. “Really.”

  His shoulders shook as he blew out a deep breath. “So much for looking like a badass, huh?”

  “If it makes you feel any better, old-timer, I have glasses for when I read.”

  He glanced over at her, his mouth wide open. “Old-timer? Oh my God, you’ve hurt me so much.” He held his hand over his heart. “You aren’t that much younger than me. Damn, Hannah.” He shook his head.

  “I’m sorry,” she apologized as she wiped at her eyes. “That was mean and I’m sorry. You’re still sexy, even if you can’t see me.”

  “Oh yeah?” He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “There, I can see where your lips are now,” he whispered as he dove in, brushing his lips against hers.

  * * *

  “So how do I look?” Garrett asked as he walked down the stairs and into the living area of the suite.

  The two of them had headed in different directions when they arrived. She’d gone to one bathroom and removed her makeup, putting her hair up in a ponytail. She debated on which pair of pajamas to wear. At Victoria’s Secret she had purchased sweatpants and a tank top as well as a nightie. Hannah had debated with herself for more than ten minutes about what she should wear. In the end, her insecurities won out, and she put the sweat pants and tank on, cursing herself the whole time.

  While she waited on him, she started the fireplace and got comfortable. It was warm by the time he walked down and faced her, modeling his glasses.

  “You look distinguished,” she told him honestly. The wire-rimmed glasses gave him a little bit of a Clark Kent/Superman vibe.

  He laughed when she told him so. “I’d much rather have a Bruce Wayne/The Dark Knight vibe.”

  “Why does that not surprise me?” she grinned, moving her feet so that he could sit next to her on the couch.

  “I am who I am,” he shrugged, checking his phone as it went off. “Hell, it’s my mom. If I don’t answer this, she’s just going to keep calling.”

  She waved her hand that she was fine with it and grabbed her own phone, she had a ton of notifications from the picture she had posted with him before going out for the night. Reception seemed to be pretty good among both her and his fans. There were quite a bit of new followers on her Instagram, and she had a couple of private messages on some of her accounts. One of them was from a Marie Thompson. She wondered if this woman was related to Garrett. To the side, she could hear his conversation; she would have to ask him later.

  “Hey mom.” He smiled indulgently over at Hannah, making a talking motion with his hand.

  “What?” he asked, holding the phone away from his ear. “Where’d you hear that from?”

  Hannah couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation, but she could tell his mom was giving him an earful.

  “She’s here with me right now. Trust me we aren’t shacking up at the moment. Right now I’m on the phone with you. You’re cockblocking my game.”

  Hannah smacked him in the arm. “I can’t believe you just said to your mother.”

  He laughed, putting his mom on speaker phone. “She’s used to me, right mom?”

  “Unfortunately, I am used to you. I take it this is Harmony?”

  “Her name’s Hannah. I thought I told you that,” he told her, holding the end of the phone up towards his mouth.

  “You might have, but let’s be honest, son. You tell me a little bit of what you want me to know and then a lot of BS. I have to figure out what’s the truth and what’s not.”

  “What can I say?” He looked over at Hannah. “She knows me so well.”

  “Hopefully, I raised you with some manners,” his mom quipped over the phone.

  “You did, I promise. Hannah, this is my mom, Marie Thompson. Mom this is Hannah Stewart, better known to the world as Harmony.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Hannah grinned, even though the other woman couldn’t see her. She scooted over to sit next to Garrett. “Question, did you just friend me on Instagram? I have someone by that name who sent me a notification tonight.”

  “I did, it’s the only way I can seem to get pictures of my son. I think he’s posted more with you in the past few days then he’s posted for the last year. I hope you don’t mind.”

  Garrett interrupted. “She likes to think she’s social-media savvy.”

  They ignored him. “It’s fine; you can friend me on whatever you want.”

  “Be careful what you tell her. She’ll be sharing pictures of me as a baby on Throwback Thursday. She has no shame.”

  “No matter how old you are, Garrett, you’re my baby,” Marie told him through the phone.

  “If you don’t need anything else mom, we have an early day tomorrow. I’d like to get some shuteye.”

  Hannah blushed involuntarily, she couldn’t help but think about what getting shuteye would include. They would be sleeping in the same bed. It made her just the least bit uncomfortable mentioning it in front of his mother. With Ashton, they had never spoken about anything like that in front of ot
her people. They were never affectionate or posted any kind of pictures of each other. He always had to appear to be the single country singer turned movie star. Now she could see exactly what she had been missing. A real relationship was so much different than what she was used to, and Garrett wasn’t threatened by anything. He wasn’t scared to let others know how he felt. He really was who he was, and you either liked it or you didn’t.

  “Alright, the two of you have a good time tomorrow. Garrett, you better be on good behavior, and Hannah, I can’t wait to get to know you better.”

  “Me neither,” Hannah piped up from where she sat next to him.

  “I will be, Momma. Love you,” he told her, his finger over the end call button.

  “Love you too,” she told him before he disconnected.

  “Do you always hang up on her?” Hannah pointed to the phone. “That’s not nice.”

  Garrett defended himself. “Either you hang up on her or she hangs up on you. She doesn’t say ‘bye’. You’re still sittin’ there talking, and then you hear a damn dial tone. It’s become a game now. To see if I can hang up on her before she hangs up on me.”

  “What if she has something else to say?”

  “She’ll call back; she’s had to do it before. It’s just kind of how we are.”

  “That’s so funny. You compete with your mom to see who can hang up on each other first.”

  He lifted his shoulder up in a shrug. “Sometimes I’m just happy to get her off the phone. She was on good behavior tonight because you’re here.”

  “Are you going to be on good behavior because I’m here?” She couldn’t believe she had just asked him that question, couldn’t believe that she flirted with him now, even though she hadn’t been able to before.

  “I don’t want to, but I think I should.” He grabbed her hand and held it against his leg. “And that’s the truth. I don’t think you’re ready for what comes with me.”

  “What does that mean?” she asked, enjoying the feel of his fingers as they made patterns on the palm of her hand.

  She watched as he ran his tongue along his bottom lip. “I’m an intense kinda guy. I think someone like you will have to be eased into my bed,” he told her honestly.