Bad Nymph

by Jackie Sexton

  “Uh huh,” Sierra nodded. “Plus he knows everything about you so you don’t have to worry about weird dates.”

  I let out a humorless laugh. As if things between us hadn’t gotten completely weird anyway. “On the other hand, Trent has been giving me insane mixed signals and on top of that, he’s engaged. I’m already a home wrecker and I’m not feeling too good about it. I mean at this point I’m just hoping to still have a relationship with him at all, much less a romantic one.”

  “Okay, and Aamir?”

  I sighed, trying not to be overwhelmed with all the different things I was feeling. I wished I could explain my true fears to Sierra—it was weird keeping so much from her. “Aamir is great. He’s sweet and considerate and keeps showing an interest in me for whatever reason.”

  “Because he likes you,” Sierra groaned. “Why can’t you get that through your head?”

  “I don’t know. I guess it’s hard for me to believe. But at least he’s consistent.”

  Sierra bit her lip and looked away from me.

  “What?” I asked, her expression making me nervous.

  “I just hate to admit it, since I love Trent and I love you but...well, I think we both know that going with Aamir makes a lot of sense.”

  “Really?” I said, lifting my head and feeling a sense of dread fill my stomach. I didn’t want to betray Trent. Of course I loved him and the thought of everything we could be together. But clearly he found me or the situation defective, and I was pretty desperate for a means to forget about it.

  But there was also that strange feeling in the parking lot. The one that made me wonder if he was even human.

  “Yeah, definitely,” Sierra nodded. “I mean, think of it this way. After a relationship like the one you had with Jason, the last thing you need is to be strung-along by someone you really care about. Even if he doesn’t realize what he’s doing to you...it’s just not fair.”

  “You’re right,” I said, exhaling slowly. I was trying to wrap my mind around it, understand the the possibilites with Aamir, but I just couldn’t. After two days of knowing him, I felt like I was being asked to jump off a cliff with him. It was just insane.

  But potentially wonderful.

  And hot. Oh so hot.

  Before either of us could say another word, the lights dimmed and the crowd cheered, several fists raised in excitement as the boys came out on the stage. They opened their set with a bright, upbeat tune, and Sierra and I danced and sung along, moving our feet to Nick’s steady beat. The guys looked like they were having a good time too. Making eye contact with each other, grinning and playing their hearts out. It was awesome. Tears came to my eyes as I realized their wasted potential.

  ‘This isn’t the end. It’s just a detour,’ I reminded myself, Nick’s words ringing clear in my mind. Sierra grabbed my hand as they played their last song, and we screamed and squealed at the top of our lungs, acting like The Beatles were onstage instead of our good friends.

  “Good night, Atlanta, you’ve been awesome,” Trent said, waving his guitar with a warm glow around him. He was so blissfully happy, and in that moment so blindingly beautiful, that my heart simply stopped beating. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I realized that I could never make him that happy.

  ‘You’re making the right choice,’ I told myself as I watched Trent’s wide and long back, covered in a layer of sweat that brought his shirt to his skin, disappear into the darkness of backstage.

  A small line formed and Sierra and I chatted with the cool people who wanted to buy Bad Moon CDs, encouraging them to stick around and talk to the band members themselves. I was midway through a conversation with a sweet sixteen year-old with pink hair when I heard someone call my name behind me.

  It was Aamir, a bouquet of deep red roses in his hand. He held them out to me and I almost fainted.

  Because that was it. It was the one thing no guy had ever done for me, and I secretly always wanted. A thoughtful romantic gesture in a handful of petals.

  He had me completely.

  I jumped up out of the tin chair and whipped around, pressing my body against his and crushing the roses between us. I pulled away immediately, the sharp sting of the thorns pressing through my blouse.

  “Great,” I mumbled. So much for my dramatic, movie scene moment. Aamir laughed, resting the roses on the table behind me and pulling my body towards his. Every movement was in slow motion as I felt my head press against his warm chest, his arms reaching around my waist, and my fingers sneak around his shoulders. It was all so delicate yet alive, thrumming through my limbs and creating a small ache.

  I didn’t know why, and there was no apparent reason, but he wanted me. More than as a piece of ass, more than even, the way I wanted him. He wanted me, and dammit if I was going to let the one good thing that could happen to me get away.

  “I’ll go with you,” I said into his chest, gripping my fingers into the small of his back.

  “What was that?” he grinned, pulling back to look me in the face.

  “I’ll do it. I’ll be Fun Aim’s manager.”

  He pulled me into him harder, and I could feel his heart beating against my ear. It was beat to a new beginning, and as I recognized it, my heart burst with a new melody.

  Chapter Two

  I sat in the backseat of Fun Aim’s brand new van, my hands shaking between my knees as I realized what was about to happen. The vehicle dipped out onto the bright side street, moving away from the hostel where Sierra was standing in the front lawn in her PJs, casting me a final wave.

  “Everything okay?” Aamir asked me, taking my hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

  “Yeah,” I said, giving him a small smile. What I was doing was shitty. I knew it, but I let Sierra convince me otherwise. I was good at that, letting other people influence me. My mother had always said that since my dad left I became weak that way, but I denied it, angrily asserting that I was an independent person.

  As if. That’s why Sierra was going to break the news to the guys. I couldn’t even say goodbye as we hung out in the backyard of the hostel, dipping our toes in the pool and munching on hotdogs and throwing back some beer.

  Sierra was the one that suggested it. She even noticed that Trent was avoiding me, and while she said it was “total bullshit,” she agreed that telling him about my plan would only piss him off further.

  “Besides, you don’t have to answer to anyone,” she told me before climbing into bed.

  Except that I totally did. That’s why I was running away with my tail between my legs.

  I sighed and felt Aamir’s grip tighten on my hand, his fingers sneaking into the crevices between mine. I looked down at our hands, his dark skin contrasted against my milky white fingers. I could loose myself in that comfort for now. He didn’t know about my long list of flaws—yet.

  The members of Fun Aim were really nice so far, and I repeated their names in my mind, trying to make them stick. The roadies were twins named Austin and Matt, who were sitting in the first row of seats behind the driver. Zac was the drummer, the blonde guy that I had met at the party. AJ was their bassist, and Gita was their lead guitarist, a tall, quiet girl with intense blue eyes and exotic features. I was trying hard not to stare at the perfect sheen of her black hair in front of me. She looked like she could be an actress she was so beautiful, but the serious kind, the kind that starred in foreign movies and were too good for tabloids.

  I wanted to ask questions, like how far away Athens was and how they liked the tour so far. But being in the presence of so many new people made me feel kind of awkward and shy, so I pressed my face against the window and took a nap since I hadn’t slept too much the night before. When I awoke, a quaint row of pastel-colored buildings neatly pressed up against each other passing us by, surrounded by street lamps and long-armed, vibrant green trees.

  “Finally,” Zac sighed in relief. Aamir chuckled and told AJ, who was driving the van, where to turn for the hotel. I tensed, suddenly wonderin
g how the sleeping arrangements would work. I cursed myself for neglecting to think about it. It had been comfortable with Bad Moon, because I knew them better, but most of these guys were complete strangers to me. Hell, Aamir was almost a stranger.

  We arrived at a cute building that I couldn’t believe was a hotel, called the Oconee Bed and Breakfast. It looked like an English country home from a movie. It was just far too adorable—I couldn’t imagine that it cost any less than an arm and a leg to stay in one of the rooms. Inside wasn’t any less charming. There was antique furniture and vases in the sitting room, and paintings from colonial times up on the wall. There was a neat fireplace with a stack of cut logs in a metal basket. I wanted to melt at its quaint perfection.

  The woman behind the desk was older, and was wearing a plain dress and had her hair pulled back in a long, gray braid. Aamir went up with information on the reservations, taking care of what I remembered would soon be my job. I was too taken by the atmosphere to pay attention, however, so I was caught off guard when Aamir handed me a key.

  “For your room,” he said.

  “My room?” I blinked at him, confused by his choice of words.

  “Yeah, you’re in room 5. It’s right next to mine and Zac’s.”

  “I have my own room?” My jaw dropped. I couldn’t imagine paying for something like that. It just didn’t make economical sense in the long-term.

  Aamir laughed. “Yeah, did you think we were going to put you out on the street?”

  “No but—” I started.

  “Listen, we have it in our budget to take good care of our manager. You’ll know soon enough, anyway,” he said, giving me a reassuring pat on my shoulder.

  I looked at him skeptically, but nodded. I didn’t think Fun Aim was that big, but then again, what did I know. They obviously could afford roadies, after all. I followed the crew upstairs, trying to contain my giddiness as we walked up the old staircase with a snow white railing. The room was so adorable that it took my breath away.

  “Do you like it?” Aamir grinned, coming up from behind me.

  “That would be an understatement,” I laughed, taking in the bright quilt and the old wood furniture painted over in white. The window, flanked by soft, gauzy curtains gave a precious view out onto the river. I walked over to it and took a deep breath before drawing them, the light too strong for my tired eyes.

  “Should we go get the equipment?” I said, suddenly remembering that I had a job to do.

  Aamir gave me a quizzical look and then laughed. “No, Matt and Austin will take care of that. You just worry about getting settled and I’ll give you all the passwords to our social media whenever you’re ready.”

  “Oh,” I said, trying to process the concept of not having to move things around. It all seemed too good to be true. “Well, you could just show me now...if you’re ready that is.”

  “Sure,” he said, grinning at me. My heart jumped up into my throat, and I remembered why I was doing this again. Because he drove me wild with just one look. Because I wanted to have someone who wanted me for once.

  I pulled my bags in with Aamir following behind me, and settled my things down next to my bed. I extracted my laptop from my backpack, trying to act casual and professional about the ordeal as he pulled his own laptop out of his suitcase.

  “You can go put your stuff in your room first, if you want,” I said, realizing how demanding I must seem with a small blush creeping on my face. “I didn’t mean to make you drop everything and—”

  “Bailey, relax,” he said. My name on his tongue was intoxicating, heady like a sip of dark red wine. “You don’t have to try with me. I already like you, just be yourself.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, shooting my gaze down to the floral rug on the floor beneath my feet. “I guess I’m just having a hard time understanding that...since we don’t really know each other at all.”

  Aamir sat down on the bed next to me, leaving a small but tempting amount of space between us. Too close for acquaintances, but too big for lovers. “I don’t mean to come off as strong, but the moment I saw you I felt like I had known you forever.”

  “What does that mean?” I laughed humorlessly, both afraid and intrigued by his words. I wasn’t the kind of girl to believe in love at first sight. It just didn’t make sense to me. How could you know someone through experiencing them with just one sense?

  Although we certainly had experienced each other with all five senses. I shivered at the thought.

  “I know it sounds insane, and I can understand why you’re questioning me but...” he sighed, as if at a loss for words. “There was something about the look in your eyes as you were trying to get the equipment out of the van...determined, like you just don’t back down when you’ve set your mind to something. And you’re strange outfit, like you just didn’t care about what anyone thought...and of course, you’re just beautiful...” for the first time I thought I saw a little peak of shyness on his face as he cast his eyes down to his hands.

  “That’s...insanely sweet,” I murmured. “But I think you misread the signs a little. I’m weak and fickle, and probably care way too much about what other people think.”

  Aamir looked back at me, studying me carefully before saying anything. “Forgive me if I sound rude, but you’re wrong. I don’t know you as well as I’d like to, but I know what I saw. And the way you approached me at that party...you’re just so fearless, and passionate. I know there’s a lot I don’t know about you, but I want to,” he said, his tone dropping as his eyes softened. “If you’ll let me.”

  I know I don’t have the best self-esteem, and it’s a bad sign when you throw yourself away to flattery, but damn if I’m going to pretend his slightly formal way of speaking and his rose-colored glasses weren’t totally turning me on right then.

  So of course, I couldn’t help but relent to the strong tug of his arms as he wrapped them around me and seized my lips against his, curling them into a soft, delicious kiss. I could feel the burning desire grow deep within me, creating a soft curve in my back that pulled our bodies horizontal onto the bed. I snaked my hands into his hair as he kissed me, the soft tendrils of his hair between my fingers almost as delicious as the sting of his hot mouth.

  Then I felt it—a stinging bolt like I had felt in the parking lot, but this time it was deeper, hotter. I should have been afraid. But it was seductively electric, and I wanted more.

  I ran a hand down his hard back as he moved his mouth to the corner of my lips, pulling my skin into his warm folds as he made his way down my neck. I closed my eyes, relishing in the scorching trail his lips left behind and the unyielding muscle beneath my fingertips. I smoothed my hands on his back and slid them down, greedily pressing them beneath his shirt, emboldened by the touch of his warm flesh in my palms. Every moment was like a decade of fire, bursting through skin and scorching paths of yearning.

  Aamir pulled away, his mocha eyes searching my face, running over my lips, nose, brows. I held my breath, a tremble in my hands as he watched me, looking for something. Maybe he was seeing the real me. The coward. Maybe he would run.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured. He lifted himself up and pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his washboard abs and russet pecs. I felt like I could stare at the peeks and valleys of his body forever, losing myself in the defined edges of his muscles, the bend of his soft skin over hardness.

  “So are you,” I breathed, unable to comprehend what he saw in me. He extended a hand, lifting me up with him, so that I stood mere inches away from his god-like body. He brought his hands down to the hem of my shirt, slowly, seductively, edging the fabric up over my navel, resting his curled fingers on the dipped skin of my waist. Still shaking with desire, I brought my own hands up over my head, watching him as he knelt down before me, kissing the strip of flesh just above my pants.

  He brought my shirt up an inch at a time, just above the press of his lips as he made his way upwards. I felt the sway of yearning consume m
e, strengthening between my thighs as he brought my shirt overhead, dropping it in the space between our feet.

  “Wow,” he murmured, bringing his cupped palms over my breasts, pressing up against the pink fabric of my bra. I closed my eyes, sinking into his touch, desperate for the moment our bodies would tangle and merge into one another. He brought his hands around to my back and undid the clasp, letting the garment fall down the slope of my shoulders. I brought my own hands up, peeling it off and revealing to him my large swell of breasts, the pink nubs going hard under his gaze.

  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, smiling as he opened his lids again, taking in my generous mounds with an intoxicating smolder in his eyes.

  “I have secrets, Bailey,” he said by way of warning, bringing his mouth to the nap of my neck. His bare chest pressed against mine, the heat flowing between us alive and curling in my core. He reached his hands around my back and kissed me tenderly, pulling away to meet my gaze.

  “I want you to know that before we get too far ahead of ourselves.”

  The tone in his voice was laced with something hard, something dangerous. I felt a thrill shoot through me, tempting me with fear.

  I nodded slowly. “I think it’ll be okay,” I said, giving him a look that said how much I thought I knew.

  “Okay, Bailey.” There he went, saying a name again. Killing me slowly with his irresistible charm. “Because at this point, I can’t turn back.”

  No sooner had he said the words, and I was done for.

  I pulled him into me, the crush of our bodies producing a spark that ignited the raging fire within me, begging to have every inch of his skin against mine. He kissed me frantically, moving his mouth down the length of my neck, running his tongue and teeth against my collarbone like he couldn’t rest until he had all of me. I moaned, throwing my head back as he moved his hands down the curve of my back, gripping the plush of my ass into his strong hands.

  Inside I was burning—it was painful, like nothing I had ever felt before. But it was divine.