No, another, more stubborn voice replied. Then he would win.
So it’s a game? the first voice taunted.
Of course not, the second voice commended. But if it is, I want to win.
You’re losing your rationality because of this man, Holl, the first voice said. You better be careful.
Face it, the second voice put in. If you don’t straighten up, you’re doomed by way of Tommy Nye.
Chapter 11
A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts, and for a moment, she was sure it was Tommy.
“Let me guess,” a voice began, “Tommy said something ridiculously stupid, used one of his witty repertoires, or maybe both …” The inflection of Drew’s voice changed, leading her to believe he smiled. “Even though I can’t see you through this door, I’m going to assume that by the look on your face it’s the latter option.”
“Well, you’d be correct,” Holly murmured. She got up and opened the door, her face softening upon seeing Drew standing in front of her. “I just don’t understand it though,” she continued. “I’m usually not this … flustered when I hear statements like that, but he manages to just … just say the right things that infuriates me to no end.”
Drew chuckled knowingly, and beckoned her to the bus’s makeshift living room. “Yeah, Tommy has a knack for that. Without even intending to, he crawls underneath somebody’s skin and stays there for a good, long portion of time.”
“Trust me,” she replied, re-crossing her arms over her chest, “he has not crawled under my skin.”
“I’m afraid he already has,” Drew said with a smile. The two took seats on the couch. “It always happens with the girls he like. He seems charming and attractive, and maybe even romantic, but then he says something—the wrong thing—that, well I don’t know, pisses her off. She then damns his name, promises she’ll never let herself fall for him, blah, blah, blah. But it’s all the same song with a new singer. They always fall for him, they always sleep with him, and he always leaves them.” He paused, allowing everything he had just relayed to her sink in. Surprisingly, she had yet to argue with his claims. Instead, she processed everything silently, deep in thought. “If I may be so bold … what, exactly, did he say?”
Holly let out a sigh through her nose, glancing over at the man from the corners of her eyes before looking back down at her fallen hands, now resting casually in her lap. “I can’t remember how it even came up,” she began, “but I asked him if the reason he brought me on his tour bus was because he wanted to sleep with me and he said yes.”
Drew let out a long, contagious set of chuckles. “Well, what’d you think he was going to say?” he asked her, once he collected himself. “If Tommy’s anything, he’s honest. Hell, anyone would know he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to sleep with you. If I was in your position, I’d take it as a compliment.”
“Why would I take that as a compliment when he’s wanted to and has slept with many other women besides myself?” Holly asked, her brow pushed up as she regarded him expectantly. She watched as Drew fell into a state of silence, puzzled and yet thinking of how he was going to respond. Holly smirked, triumphant, though it didn’t necessarily make her feel any better.
“Ah!” he said, thrusting his finger into the air as an epiphany crossed his mind. “I know why. Because he’s never actually invited a woman to go on tour with him. I can’t promise you he’s not going to, uh … indulge in everything his groupies will offer; he is a man, after all. But just know that whatever happens, you are his first woman onboard.” He stood up and then leaned down before squeezing her shoulder. “Will you be all right?” he asked, genuinely concerned.
“I feel as though you have calmed me down,” Holly said slowly, feeling herself sigh. “Substantially.”
“Well, good.” Drew patted her once on the back. “I’m going in my room. If you need to talk, you know where I’ll be.”
Holly smiled at him, but said nothing, and simply felt herself relax against the couch as Drew walked into his bedroom.
As it had since meeting him, her focus went back to Tommy Nye, the reason for her simmering anger. However, now that her anger all but disappeared after her discussion with Drew, she was left with … emptiness, and she decided she didn’t very much like it. It would appear that nearly eight hours on this bus, and her rationale was being challenged by odd feelings, inexplicable anger, and this loneliness she had never really felt before. Yes, she had been alone before, and enjoyed the serenity it brought, but she had never felt like this. It was probably all of Nye’s doing. She had never felt this way before him, and she didn’t like that a man she barely knew did these things to her, or at least gave her cause to feel them.
And yet … the man was ridiculously beautiful, a fact even she could not deny. But it was his charm, the mischievous sparkle that was the light that filled his green eyes, which caused his whole face to smile with such happiness, anyone within his direct radius could not help but smile in return. It was his charm that made him above-average when it came to beauty, and it was his charm that would be her impending downfall.
Well, then. She would have to find a way to make herself immune to him, especially when she knew that logically, he could not feel what she may start to feel for him for her in return. At least she could foresee these feelings, and because of that, she would be able to prevent them from happening. Yes, she would do that. It was so simple. She would just not like him in that manner. She could do that.
“You know,” a voice said from in front of her, so close to her that she could feel his breath touching her face. She didn’t realize she had been dozing until his voice filled her senses and she slowly opened her eyes, coming in contact with familiar, pale green eyes. “We gave you a room. No reason for you to be sleeping on the couch. Unless, of course, you prefer the couch. Whatever suits your style is fine with me, though things may be a bit awkward if anyone walked in while you were changing or something.”
Holly narrowed her brown eyes into his, refusing to be affected by his close proximity. Tommy Nye was sitting on the edge of the coffee table that rested in front of the couch, his elbows resting on his knees and his arms relaxing in the space between his legs. His torso was tilted forward, which was why he was so close to her.
“Is that supposed to be the infamous Nye charm?” she asked him, raising one cool eyebrow.
“It’s supposed to be,” he said, shrugging one shoulder almost lopsidedly, giving her a half-smile. “But I take it it’s not exactly working after the whole beach thing, huh?”
“Listen, Tommy,” she began, wondering why he was smiling when she merely just said his name, “I wanted to apologize to you. I know that I asked for your honest answer, and to be honest, I should have expected something like that coming out of your mouth.”
“Yes,” he agreed, nodding once. “You should have. It’s not my fault you’re exceedingly attractive.”
Holly gave him a dry look. “No hitting on me, please,” she said, trying to mask her discomfort by glancing away before locking eyes with him once more. “I’m supposed to be your psychologist. We’re supposed to have a professional relationship.”
“Oh, but you look so cute when you blush,” Tommy teased, flashing her that disarming charm smile.
Don’t slip, don’t slip, don’t slip …
“Be that as it may,” she said once she had cleared her throat, “you will have to find a way to gain control over yourself while I am on this bus. If this is too much for you, feel free to let me know and I will leave the bus and fly back home.”
“I have a question.” Tommy’s expression was serious. She regarded him suspiciously but perked her brow, indicating that he could go on. “What if …” Here, he leaned closer to her, staring pointedly at her lips before pushing his eyes up into hers. His nose was so close to the skin of her cheek, he could feel her warmth radiating off of her skin. “What if you come on to me?”
“It’ll never happen,” Holly answered
, dropping her voice as she cocked her head so that now their lips were close. “But if such an occasion does occur, Mr. Nye,” she continued, her voice taking a sensuous tone to it, though the reason for it was beyond her control, “I suggest you take full advantage of the opportunity because I can guarantee you it will never happen again.”
“Is that so?” Tommy asked, not even bothering to hide the fact that he was blatantly staring at her lips.
“It is,” Holly said, and then stood up abruptly. “So,” she turned and began to head to her room, “good night.” With that, she slipped into her bedroom and shut the door behind her, pointedly ignoring the smirk clearly etched on Tommy’s face.
Chapter 12
The next morning, Holly woke up early, as she normally did. Her back was slightly sore due to the fact that she wasn’t used to the bed, but once she stood, she stretched and pushed any uncomfortable feeling off of her. She yawned, and took a long look out the window after drawing the blinds. They were on the freeway of some sort, probably on their way to Arizona. She rubbed her eyes and ran her fingers through her wavy hair before opening the door and heading into the lounging room. She saw Victor, the licensed psychologist that would be signing off her hour sheet eating what appeared to be burned toast. Gnawing on her bottom lip, Holly made her way over there, keeping her eyes steady on the man. From their last meeting, she gathered that Victor didn’t like her, nor did he seem to respect her. While that might have offended some people, Holly could understand where the man was coming from, and wanted to hopefully change his mind about her.
“Good morning,” she murmured, taking a seat across from him. Victor acknowledged her with a dignified nod, but kept his brow perked, indicating that he felt obligated to acknowledge her, and that was the only reason why he was doing so in the first place. “How are you?”
“It’s seven thirty in the morning,” Victor said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I’m tired.”
Holly wasn’t quite sure how she was supposed to respond to that, so she chose to study the man in hopes of getting a feel for him. He was tall, probably about six feet, with distinguished features for a man in his late fifties. His sapphire blue eyes were hidden behind spectacles, and his lithe frame was already adorned in a navy blue suit, despite the early hour. Holly took in his stature; his posture was impeccable and he had a snobbish sort of air about him. Those eyes of his were intricate, judging, and as he chewed, his small mouth was closed. Crumbs seemed to be afraid to litter themselves on his face and clothing. However, there was something that bothered Holly about him, something that seemed sort of … off. It took her a moment for her to realize what it was, but when she did, she smiled triumphantly.
“May I ask you a question, Mr. …” Suddenly, Holly became extremely embarrassed because Tommy had never provided her with his last name. When she looked up at Victor, she could see the impatience clearly written on his face, and he even made a sort of snort. She clenched her jaw, and swallowed, forcing herself to push forward. “Why don’t you shave?”
The question took him off-guard, and he let a surprised look take over his features. “Excuse me?” he asked her, his mouth slightly agape.
“I’m sorry,” Holly said, maintaining eye contact with him, “but you dress sharply, your hair is intricately in place. It’s seven in the morning, and you already look presentable. And yet, there are whiskers decorating the lower half of your face. For a man so put together, it strikes me odd that you don’t take the same time to shave.”
Victor’s face was now unreadable, but he looked at Holly through new eyes. She wasn’t exactly sure, but it appeared as though the corners of his lips curved up, and for that fraction of a second, he actually looked friendly, even approachable. Before the man could respond, however, Tommy made his grand entrance. His dark hair was quite messy, even more than it normally was. While his eyes were dull due to sleep, that resident sparkle was still in there, waiting to be set aflame. He was wearing a dull, navy blue wife beater and light blue and white striped pajama pants. Nothing was on his feet as he padded over to the two, rubbing his eyes with his palm. Holly looked up at him, surprise written in her eyes as she took in his very, very broad shoulders and well-defined arms. The shirt left little to the imagination, and she realized that though this man wasn’t exactly the tallest person ever, he was incredibly fit and well-built. Immediately, she looked away and set her hands down flat on the surface of the table, trying to ignore the fact that Tommy was sitting down next to her.
For whatever reason, he leaned toward Holly so closely that his whiskers tickled the top of her shoulders, and he inhaled her scent deeply before pulling back and letting out a content sigh. “You smell good,” he mumbled, his voice ragged with sleep as he threw a lazy look over at her. “Not many women smell good in the morning, you know. But you smell good.”
Holly smiled tightly and chanced a look up Victor. Any sort of praise he had previously given her had all but vanished from the older man, and now his lips were pressed tightly together in a disapproving manner.
Tommy followed Holly’s gaze and he gave the psychologist a lopsided grin. “’Morning, Vicky,” he greeted, running his hand through his hair.
“How many times must I ask you not to address me as such?” Victor asked. He didn’t even bother to hide his annoyance as he stared intently at Tommy. If anyone else had been under such scrutiny, they might fidget, look away, or feel intimidated, but not Tommy. Tommy seemed completely immune, like a child who had little respect for any sort of authority.
“Don’t deny that you don’t like it, Vicky,” Tommy taunted as he smiled. His whole face smiled along with his mouth, and Holly watched him. It was hard to pull her eyes away from the man next to her. She never knew what to expect next with him, and she found she was quite fascinated and curious as to what might happen next.
“Yes, well,” the older man muttered, standing up and placing his dishes in the dish washer. With a curt nod, he headed out of the kitchen and into what Holly assumed was his room.
With the somewhat abrupt exit of Victor, Tommy placed his elbow on the table and cradled his cheek in his palm, his eyes blatantly staring at Holly. His dark eyes took in everything about her, be it her upturned nose, her sharp cheekbones, her full, kissable lips just begging to be touched. Before she even realized what he was doing, he reached his other hand up and cupped her cheek into his palm. She immediately tensed underneath his touch, but instead of letting her go, his strong thumb caressed the hollow of her cheek. Holly had no idea how to react; she knew she should probably push him away, tell him this was not supposed happen between two professionals, but something completely ridiculous caused her mouth to remain shut—she liked the way his skin felt upon hers.
“Your skin is so soft,” he murmured, leaning his head forward. He was so close to her that she could feel his breath on the curve of her neck.
“Are you trying to seduce me?” Holly asked, her voice just above a whisper as she turned her head so she could meet his eyes with hers. His long, round nose grazed the bridge of her own, as his dark eyes slipped behind his long lashes. “Because if you are, it’s not going to work.” With that, she stood up, causing him to lose his grip on her. “Do you take nothing seriously, Tommy?” she asked. “Is everything a game to you? Is everything funny?”
“If the world wasn’t funny, it wouldn’t be worth living in,” he remarked, leaning back a bit so his position was more comfortable.
“Do you realize that by you forcing bad jokes on everyone, you make their happiness vanish for a bit?” she asked him, perking her brows up in hopes to make her point. “Do you think it’s fair that to further your happiness, you have to take away somebody else’s?”
“You have to look out for yourself,” Tommy said, his brow furrowed as he replied somewhat defensively. “There is no one more important in this world than yourself.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Sorry, toots, but if you don’t put yourself first, who’s going to? You
can’t depend on anybody.”
“Oh,” Holly said, now in full realization of a portion of Tommy’s persona. “I get it. I guess I understand as well. You don’t have a wife or any children, I have no idea your relationship to your parents, your family. Judging from the members of your band, you’ve replaced at least two members with younger guys, and while you’re close to them, you don’t fully trust them, am I right? These young guys threaten your masculinity which is why you sleep with … what’s the term? Your groupies. It makes you feel young, strong, whatever.” She sighed through her nose and straightened up, suppressing a yawn. “Most women may fall for your games, Tommy Nye, but I’m not one of them. Drop me off at an airport if all you were looking for was sex. That’s fine. But you had better get it through your head if you want me to stay that I’m not your …” she paused, trying to figure out the correct phrase, “booty call. Right. I’m not a booty call.” And with that, she turned on her heel and headed back into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.
---
From his room, Victor watched the whole scene play out with an amused smile on his face. So this young woman was different after all, and quite perceptive. Judging from the look currently etched onto Tommy’s face, Victor suspected the man had no idea he could be that transparent.
Love's Back Pocket Page 6
