by Maxa,L. P.
The thought of seeing Lexi again had me all mixed up. I’d known her for ten years now; I’d loved her for just as long. Of course I missed her, but being here, living this easy life on the water… It was peaceful. I didn’t have to watch her love Dash. I didn’t have to see her eye fuck him side stage. I didn’t have to watch them start a family. I wasn’t the odd man out. Here, I was just me. And for the last three months, that had been more than enough. When the sun finally disappeared, I lay back on the sand and closed my eyes.
Seventeen. Driving one state over to visit my older sister while she was away at college. My first taste of total freedom and I freaking loved it. I drove with the windows down and the radio blasting the entire way. I drank enough Red Bull to kill a coke addict. Some guys thought it was lame, but I loved my sister, we were close. And I missed her so much this last year. When she’d called two weeks ago and told me to come see her, I’d almost cried tears of joy. But I didn’t. Because, you know, I’m a dude. I parked outside of the apartment she shared with some girl named Lexi, grabbed my duffel then hiked up three flights of stairs to get to her door.
“Luke!” Amy threw the door open and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I missed you so much, little brother.”
I winced as I hugged her back. She was only two years older than me and I hated when she called me little. “I missed you too, Ams.”
“Get in here, come meet my roommate Lexi.”
She dragged me inside. Amy had met Lexi while they were living in the dorms. As soon as freshman year was over, they moved into an apartment near campus. Neither one of them willing to return home for the summer. Which was why I’d driven six hours for a visit. When Lexi walked into the room, my jaw hit the floor. I’d never seen anyone as beautiful as her.
“Hey, I’m Lexi. It’s so nice to meet you. Amy talks about you all the time, Luke.” She held her hand out.
Luke and Lexi. Had a nice ring to it. “Hey, what’s up? Nice to meet you too.” I put my hand in hers, squeezed enough to show her I was a man and not a little brother.
“Amy tells me you’re a really talented drummer and that you’re in a band. That’s badass.” She took her hand from mine, because I still hadn’t released it.
“Yeah, I’m okay I guess.” It made me uncomfortable when Amy bragged on me. It was great that she was so supportive, but the limelight wasn’t my favorite place to be. My band was full of kids I grew up with, but we were pretty good. When I could get them to put their dicks in their pants long enough to practice.
“Well, girls love musicians, so keep it up.” She winked.
“Do you like musicians?”
She smiled and my heart stopped. If being a musician was what it took to get this gorgeous girl to give me the time of day, I’d play until my hands bled.
Chapter Five
Luke
Two weeks later I was on the second leg of my flight to meet up with the band in Nashville. By no means was I ready for this tour. Not because I didn’t love the new album, not because I didn’t want to promote it. No, it was because, once again, I was going to be surrounded by my family. Surrounded by couples so in love it sort of made you want to puke. I was going to have to spend day in and day out watching my best friend get mauled by my bandmate. I was going to see Lexi’s adoration for Dash in every glance and every touch they shared. And it was going to fucking suck. Not to mention the fact that I’d have to make up some stupid-ass lie about what happened between me and my “girlfriend.” I leaned my head back against the seat and let out an irritated groan. Maybe I could hire an escort or something? Just pay someone to act like my girl during the tour and then stage a big breakup. Although lies like that never seemed to work in any of those romantic comedy movies my sister liked.
“Sir? Can I get you something to drink?” I rolled my head to the side and took stock of the woman standing next to me. The flight attendant on this stretch of my trip was much younger and much more attractive than the one on the last. And by the way her eyes were raking over me, I could tell she’d be up for some mile-high fun. I’d joined the club on my flight to Costa Rica, but I’d be down to add some more miles. Maybe I could talk her into pretending to be my girlfriend for a few days too?
“Scotch on the rocks, gorgeous.” I winked then she strutted off to get my drink. Lexi hit the nail on the head when she called a couple of weeks ago. I’d become a manwhore over the last three months. I mean, I was a whore. I had a condom on my dick so often I thought seriously about just never leaving the house without wearing one. It would have saved me time in the long run. I’d never really seen the appeal in nailing a new chick every night. It’d never been part of my “thing.” Until now. I was making up for lost time and having a blast. Distraction. That was the key to my new and fun lifestyle.
“Um, I think you’re in my seat, sir.”
I looked over, an irritated scowl forming on my face due to the fact that someone called me sir. Did I look forty? In a shitty enough mood to ask—I was feeling horny and confrontational—I turned my head, ready to let it rip, but when I took in the girl standing next to me, I was rendered somewhat speechless. She appeared to be a few inches shorter than me, thin, with long blonde hair straight as a board and hanging almost down to her waist. Huge green eyes, a nice-sized rack, and a timid smile. She belonged in a Catholic schoolgirl uniform, not the ripped blue jeans and skull-covered midriff-baring shirt she was wearing. The sun streaming through the small oval winds backlit her and made her look like a goddess. She was absolutely stunning. “Uh, I, what?”
She held her ticket out so I could see, “You’re in my seat. I have the window. I always make sure I book the window. I am terrified of flying. Petrified actually. And I book the window so that, um, I can control the shade. I have to keep it down, and if I don’t I’ll have a panic attack.”
She was obviously nervous; she was wringing her hands together and shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Even with her anxiety clearly written on her face, I had to actually shut my eyes for a second to make myself stop staring at how pretty she was. Now, beauty aside, I still didn’t want to switch her seats. Me three months ago? I would have hopped up and apologized for my mistake. Then flirted with her and asked her out to dinner. Me now? Not so much. A pretty face wasn’t going to make me bow down. Not today, gorgeous.
“Sorry, sweetheart, I always book the window too. So you must be mistaken.”
I watched as the cute smile and kind eyes disappeared in a flash. She reached out and plucked the ticket that I’d stuck in the seat pocket in front of me, quick as lightning. “Nope. Sorry, sir, it looks like you are the one that’s mistaken.” Her babbling had switched from soft to snappy in the blink of an eye.
We stared at each other, neither one of us backing down. For such a sweet-looking girl, she had moxie. The flight attendant came back with my scotch in her hand and a flirty grin on her face. I perked up and leaned closer, wanting to make it clear that I was interested if she was offering. She smiled before she tapped the seat stealer on the shoulder. “We are preparing for takeoff, I need you take your seat please, miss.”
I raised an eyebrow and waved my hand toward the aisle seat. “Go ahead, miss.”
The blonde’s eyes narrowed; she reminded me of Dylan. Like she was trying to kill me without touching me. And then, all of a sudden, she busted into tears. “I’m…so sorrrrryyy. But I, uh, my dog just ate my cat, and then—” She hiccupped. “It made him so sick that he died too.” She put her face in her hands. “And now, I have to fly to my stepmother’s funeral, even though she never liked me, and this older gentleman is sitting in my seat and he yelled at meeeeeeee,” she finished on a wail.
The sexy flight attendant rubbed her hand up and down the crying chick’s back, a look of concern where her meant-for-me flirty smile had been moments before. “It’s okay, don’t cry, okay? I’m going to get you some ginger ale and a cookie.” She looked up, meeting my eyes. “And you, what’s wrong with you? Get out of her se
at. Asshole.”
Guess I wouldn’t be getting head in the bathroom after all. Nor would she want to do me any favors by being my fake girlfriend. That sucked, pun intended. I got up and maneuvered my body into the aisle so the distraught girl could sit down. She kept her head in her hands, sobbing quietly. The flight attendant placed a cookie and a can of soda on what used to be my tray table. “There you go, sweet girl, let me know if you need anything else.” She shot me another mean look before she walked away.
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I may have hardened my heart, but I wasn’t so tough that a girl crying wouldn’t affect me. “Hey, look, I’m sorry about earlier.” I cleared my throat. “And about your cat and your dog and your stepmother.” Damn. This girl had had a rough fucking week.
“It’s cool.” She lifted her head, wiped her eyes, and picked up her giant chocolate chip cookie.
She smiled and raised the shade to look out the window then shut it back down quickly. Absolutely no trace of sadness or distress in her pretty green eyes. What the actual fuck? “Are you kidding me right now?”
“What? Did you want some? You can have half.” She broke her cookie into two pieces and held one out toward me. When I didn’t take it, she just shrugged and took a bite out of each piece. “Suit yourself, it’s delicious.”
“Are you insane? What was that show you just put on? Was any of that true?”
“Of course not. Geeze, could you imagine if it was? Talk about a bad day. Well, except for the part about my stepmother. I wouldn’t miss her.” She hung her head and took a deep breath. “That was a horrible thing to say. I’d miss her.” She was silent for a minute then shook her head. “No. I stand by my original statement. I’d be fine never having to see her again.” She looked over at me, smirk back in place. “You were in my seat, and you were being a dick about it.”
My jaw dropped to the floor. She played me, she played the flight attendant, and she looked damn pleased with herself. Plus, she might actually be crazy if her rambling was anything to go by. “What in the hell is wrong with you? Who does that to people?”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh please. Like you’ve never acted a certain way to get what you wanted? You’re a dude. I’m sure you’ve played on girls’ weaknesses to get them into bed. Act and say whatever it takes to seal the deal? It’s the same thing. You had what I wanted, and I did what it took to get it.”
I reached across her and raised the shade all the way up. It was juvenile, I know. But she’d pissed me off. “You’re evil.”
“Be careful, sir, your double standards are showing.” She slammed the shade back down forcefully and glared in my direction.
“For the record, I do not have to lie or spin any sob stories to get chicks to hop in my bed.” I was in a band, that shit sort of took care of itself.
“Whatever you say, sir.” Every time she called me sir I flinched.
“How are you doing, honey?” The flight attendant was back, checking on my infuriating, lying flight companion.
I watched with fascination as the girl’s eyes instantly welled with tears again and her smile turned sad. “I’m much better, thank you so much.” When the attendant left, the tears vanished.
This girl would give Lexi a run for her money. I was somewhat impressed, but hell if I’d tell her that. Why was I always surrounded by crazy? Was I being punished? “Did you escape from a mental hospital? Do I need to call someone?”
She took a big swig of her ginger ale and turned toward me. “Look. I am a nice person, I really am. But I refuse to let people walk all over me, okay? I tried to be polite. I asked you pleasantly to please move. And what did you do? You were condescending and rude. So I stood up for myself.” She set her drink down and let out a quick sigh. “This is a long flight, and I hate being on planes. So can we please just call a truce?” She held her hand out. “I’m Harlow.”
Reluctant to make friends with the wicked pixie sitting next to me, I had to admit she was right. It was a long flight, and I already had enough to worry about. Besides, who wanted a crazy person as an enemy? “Luke.” I warily put my hand in hers and she smiled. And just like that she seemed to transform back into the innocent beautiful girl I thought she was when I first saw her. I found myself needing to know more. She intrigued me. “Why are you headed to Nashville?”
Harlow removed her small hand from mine. “I don’t know anyone there, and I need a break from my life.”
If anyone understood a break from life, it was me. “How long are you staying?” I wasn’t asking because she was hot and I wanted to bang her. Nope. Not. At. All. She was nuts. I didn’t need to have sex with a crazy person. I was just curious.
“I’m going to stay a few days and then head up to New York to see my dad.”
“And your evil stepmom?” She nodded and then started wringing her hands together again once the flight crew started going over safety precautions.
I understood a fear of flying; it wasn’t my favorite thing to do either. But Harlow looked like she was about to pass out. “I always think it’s funny when they do these safety talks.” I chuckled. “Like your seat floaty is going to save you if we go down, right?” Her eyes went wide and her skin got really fucking pale. Crap, I guessed making jokes about crashing wasn’t the best thing to do. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have, uh, I was just trying to make you laugh. Distract you or something.” Smooth, Luke.
Harlow closed her eyes real tight when the engines turned over and we started taxiing down the runway. “I’m really not crazy, I promise. I just, shit, flying is like torture to me, you know?” She wrapped her arms around her tiny waist and started to rock back and forth. “I get like this pretty much every flight. Except there was this one flight when I was sitting next to two nuns and I was really calm the whole time. I kept thinking, hey, I bet they’re praying. I figured if they prayed the whole time, we wouldn’t crash. Silly, right?” She took a deep breath then continued her panicked rambling. “My dad has a private jet. It’s dumb of me not to use it. I bet I’d feel much safer. But our relationship is complicated and I hate feeling like I owe him. Are you close to your dad? Do you have a wicked stepmother? You seem pretty normal, except for your minor bouts of asshole. I bet you have great parents. I have one great parent, my mom. She—”
I couldn’t take it anymore, so I shut her up by grabbing her face and sticking my tongue down her throat. She sounded like a lunatic, and coupled with the rocking back and forth? I couldn’t handle it. So I kissed her. And she shut up. But then I didn’t want to stop kissing her. She threaded her fingers through my hair. So I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her chest against mine. I angled my head, taking the kiss deeper. When she moaned, I wanted nothing more than to grab her slender body and put her in my lap. I wasn’t hard up, I’d had sex hours ago, but there was something about Harlow. Something about the way she tasted and the sounds she—
“Excuse me? You two are making the other passengers very uncomfortable.”
Chapter Six
Harlow
That flight attendant went from being one of my favorite people that day to the bottom of the list real fast. Luke jerked away from me when she’d come over and interrupted us. That wasn’t my first kiss, but it sure as hell was one of my hottest and no part of me was ready for it to end.
Luke sat up straight in his chair. “I’m sorry, I just, I didn’t really know how else to—”
“No. No, don’t apologize.” I touched my mouth then smoothed down my now disheveled hair with hopefully not noticeably shaky hands. “Thank you for the, um, distraction.” I took a deep breath and reached up to turn my air vent on higher. After that kiss? I was feeling more than a little flushed. I resisted the urge to fan my face. Luke was sitting next to me all calm and collected. He already thought I was nuts; I didn’t need to add anything else to that list. “Takeoff is always the worst part.”
Luke shrugged. “Yeah, I get that. No worries.”
We were both silent for a while,
both of us staring toward the front of the plane watching the crew begin the beverage service. I wasn’t great at silence. Issues from childhood, I’m sure. Besides, I needed to clear the sexual tension floating off me. I wanted to mount him. I swallowed. “Why are you headed to Nashville?”
He took a sip of his scotch. “Work.”
I nodded my head at his one-word answer. Luke was super handsome, like really freaking gorgeous. He looked like a poet/coffeehouse owner. But his ripped jeans and flannel screamed rocker. I was having a hard time looking at him now that we’d made out on an airplane. And I’d moaned like a cat in heat. That kiss had set my insides on fire, but I needed to seem as unaffected as him. I didn’t want this sexy jerk to think he had any control over me.
He tapped my leg with his finger. “So you’re just going to hang out around Nashville all by yourself? Do you have any friends in the area?”
“No, it’s just me. I mean, I like being alone, I like exploring and being on my own time schedule. I know people.” I know people? Who the hell said stuff like that? “Not in Nashville, I don’t know anyone in Nashville though.” I had friends all over the globe. Why did I just make it sound like I was a lost puppy? I’d specifically picked Nashville because I didn’t know anyone there. This man was making me act like a moron. I couldn’t have that. I refused to have that. Lock it down, lady. I started wringing my hands together and moving around in my seat.
“Do you always do that?” Luke shifted in his seat and turned his amused smile on me. “Fidget around like that?”
“I don’t fidget around.” I reached up and hit the I-need-a-drink button to signal the flight attendant. “I just have a hard time sitting still when I’m nervous. I tend to word vomit too.”
He chuckled. “I did notice the word vomit.” He looked me up and down. “I make you nervous.”
