We listened for another hour, all the while I obsessively checked my phone, before three very familiar people walked on the stage.
“Whoo hoo! Pearberry!” Jade yelled. A bunch of people in the crowd turned to look at us.
I laughed and joined in with the cheering. It was really fun to know a band that almost no one had even heard of.
They didn’t start with an introduction. They did what a lot of artists had been doing and jumped right into one of their songs. I remembered it from when they opened for Maddox.
Afterwards, Ava started to talk. “Hey everyone! Hope you’re all enjoying yourself today—or really tonight.” She stopped for applause. “We’re Pearberry. I’m Ava, this is AJ, and Jimmy is our newest member.”
I expected her to break into a song, but instead it was Jimmy’s turn to talk. “Hey, everyone. It’s amazing to be here.” He also stopped for applause. “We’re going to play a new song next. It’s one I wrote about a girl I can’t have now, but will have later.”
Jade nudged me. “I wonder who he’s talking about.”
“Chase should be jealous.” Kyle teased.
I ignored them both.
Jimmy had a surprisingly good voice, and if the song was any indication, he was also a good song writer. I actually preferred it to the rest of the Pearberry music, although I wouldn’t have admitted that to Ava and AJ. As his intro explained, it was all about imagining being with someone you couldn’t have. There was an edge to it that left you wondering if the singer knew how inflated his dreams were, and that no one could live up to those imaginings. Maybe I didn’t give the guy enough credit.
He finished the song, and then he went and ruined it all. “Oh, and if anyone’s wondering, that’s called Cara’s Song.”
AJ took over and they finished off their set. The crowd seemed to love their sound, and I was so excited for them. As weird as Jimmy was, the girls were pretty cool.
I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket and grabbed it, picking up immediately when I saw Chase’s name. “Hi!”
“Hi! I’ve been trying you forever. Where are you?”
I glanced around, looking for some sort of telltale sign of where I was.
Noticing the confusion on my face, Kyle gestured for the phone, so I gave it to him. “Hey, it’s Kyle.” He paused and smiled. “Yes, that same one, and I’m holding you to those tickets.” He laughed. “Okay, we’ll be over there in a few.”
He hung up before handing me my phone back. “I know where he is.”
I bounced up on my toes. “Oh my gosh, I could kiss you right now.”
“Yeah… probably not the best time since we’re about to see your boyfriend, but if Jade here wants to do it for you.” He wriggled an eyebrow and laughed.
Jade kissed him on the cheek. “That’s the best you’re getting.”
“I’ll take it.”
I trailed behind Kyle as he meandered toward the stage. The crowd was dense, so it took some work to even stay together.
I saw Jessa first. She’d dyed a strip of her hair blue, and it was the kind of neon blue you couldn’t miss. As I picked up my pace to get closer, Chase looked up.
He made it over to me first, lifting me up by the waist and twirling me around. “Finally.”
I grinned. “I know! My phone’s getting lousy service.”
“In other words, I shouldn’t let you out of my sight the next few days or I won’t find you again.”
“Pretty much.”
Chase put me down and turned to my friends. “Nice to see you again, Jade.” He gave her a light hug. “And Kyle, man, I owe you.”
Kyle shook his hand. “No. I was just standing up for a friend.”
“I’m glad Cara has friends like you then.”
“Cara, Jade.” Len pulled us both into a hug together. “How are my two favorite sorority girls doing?”
“We’re doing great.”
“Nice to see you both again,” Zack said. “I’m supposed to apologize for calling your tits nice, Cara. But it’s still true, so I don’t see the point.”
I smiled, willing a blush away. “That’s okay then. Let’s forget you ever said it.”
Chase tightened his arm around me.
“Don’t look up,” Jade whispered.
Chase heard her. “Why are you telling her that?” He glanced around just as the Pearberry’s came into view.
Jimmy’s eyes lit up when he saw me, and I buried myself into the crook of Chase’s arm while trying to hold in a groan.
“Wait. That guy? You’re hiding from him?” Chase pulled me closer.
“Did you hear that song he sang?” Jade looked anywhere but at me.
“I did actually. It was pretty good.”
“Did you catch the title?” she continued.
“Yeah, it was Cara’s Song. It made me think of—wait. Why are you hiding from him? Was that song about you?”
I groaned louder.
Of course, that’s the moment Jimmy reached us. Ava and AJ had stopped to talk to other people a ways back.
“Hey, I was hoping you made it.” Jimmy ignored everyone and everything else—including the fact that my boyfriend had his arm around me.
“Yeah, Chase is playing…” I tried to give him a very strong hint to tread carefully.
“What did you think? The girls were cool about mixing it up and letting me write a few songs. I needed to share my madness, you know? That’s what music’s about, right? Opening up, and sharing it all out.”
“Yeah. True.” I really wanted him to walk away. So far Chase hadn’t said anything, and I wanted it to continue that way.
This seemed to encourage him. “You look great, by the way. I think green’s a really good color for you. It works better than the pink you always seem to wear.”
Chase broke his silence. “Dude, stop talking to my girlfriend that way. What she wears isn’t your business.”
Jimmy finally looked at Chase. “I’m just letting her know she looks nice. She should wear green more.” He rolled his eyes.
“Nice to see you, Jimmy.” I hoped he interpreted the statement for what it was—a goodbye.
“It’s always a pleasure to see you, Cara. Do you think I can get your number? I’d love to get together sometime.”
“Are you fucking serious?” Chase released me, and stepped in front of me. “Please tell me this is a joke.”
“What?” Jimmy looked up at him with a completely deadpan expression.
“What?” Chase stepped toward him. “You just asked for my girlfriend’s number in front of me.”
“Would you have preferred I’d have asked when you weren’t around? Considering I live in the same city as her, and you’re very rarely there, that could be arranged.”
“Do you want me to hit you? Is that it?”
I searched for Ava and AJ. They needed to get Jimmy before he got hurt or got their group blacklisted. Chase seemed to hold a lot of influence with this scene.
Jimmy shook his head. “No.”
“Don’t ask for her number anytime. It’s not available to you.”
I wasn’t used to Chase in the role of the boyfriend trying to keep other guys away. I liked it. He’d stood back, until Jimmy pushed things too far.
“What if she wants to give it to me?”
Chase looked at me. “Do you want to give him your number?”
“Nope. Sorry. As you are well aware, I have a boyfriend.”
Chase pulled me back into his arms. “I understand your fascination, but she’s not available.”
“But she will be eventually.”
“What makes you say that?” Chase’s words surprised me. Was he trying to say he thought we had a serious chance of staying together long term?
“Jimmy, you should go.” I was all about taking care of myself now.
“If you want, but I’m serious about the green thing. If it’s okay, I might buy you some more green clothing. You don’t seem to have much in your wardrobe.”
He shrugged. “I’ve seen you other times.” Then he ran off before anyone could say anything.
“Did that guy just admit to stalking you?” Kyle asked.
“Why? You going to push him for her too?” Jade laughed.
“I think Cara can take care of herself with him, but man he’s a weirdo.” Chase rubbed my back gently. “How am I ever going to sleep again?” He buried his face in my neck. “Are you a magnet for this stuff?”
“I attracted you, and you’re normal. Well, at least you’re weird sexy.”
He turned me around in his arms. “Well, this weird sexy guy of yours needs you.” He brushed his lips over mine. “I’ve missed you so much it hurts.”
“I feel the same way.”
“Get a room, guys.” Jessa finally walked over. “Preferably after the show. I don’t feel like explaining to the crowd why the lead singer in the headlining band disappeared.”
Chase groaned. “Just a few more hours.”
“Did you tell her where she’s sleeping yet?” Len grinned. “There’s still time to find a room somewhere, so out of concern of my brother not getting any, I thought I’d make sure she knew.”
“Uh, what’s he talking about?” I tugged on the corner of Chase’s shirt.
“I thought we’d do something fun.” He ran his hands through my hair.
“Fun?”
“We’re camping out tonight. Not near everyone else, don’t worry. There’s a quieter area I know about.”
“Camping out? As in sleeping in a tent?”
“Uh huh.”
“And you expect me to do anything with you outdoors?” I released his shirt.
“See, man, I told you.” Len seemed very proud of himself.
Chase eyed me a little bit nervously. “You really don’t want to?”
Then I laughed. I had to. “I’ve been camping before. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Len.”
“Really? You’ve been camping?” Len eyed me skeptically.
“Uh huh. My dad’s into it, and since I’m an only child, we did lots of those father-daughter bonding camp out things.”
Jessa smiled. “See, I told you she wasn’t prissy, Chase.”
“Oh yeah? Is that why you wouldn’t bet with me on it?”
Chase turned to Len. “Wait what? You were betting on whether she’d sleep in a tent?”
“Looks like I won.” The drummer smiled. “Nice tits and she can handle the outdoors. Nice choice, Chase.” Then he looked at me. “And that cancelled out the apology.”
“It’s fine. I’m just going to take it as a compliment.”
There was something so normal about hanging out at the festival. I didn’t feel out of place. I actually felt just as comfortable as I would have if I’d been at a frat event. I guess the old saying is true: it’s the people you’re with, not where you are that makes the difference. If someone had told me I’d have enjoyed standing around in an open field with thousands of people, I would have told them they were crazy, but I had a smile on my face the whole time.
We listened to more acts, and Chase took us over to the VIP tent to introduce us to some of the other bands. We were going to have enough Sleeping with the Band segments to span into the next semester. I had a drink and enjoyed every minute of watching Chase in his element. The fact that he was one of the bigger names was immediately obvious, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was more concerned with making sure my friends and I were part of the conversation.
Finally, it was time for Chance of a Lifetime to go on, so I hung back with my friends to watch. Chase came to life on stage. I hadn’t seen him perform live since the night I discovered who he was. But this venue was bigger—the crowd more excited, and the few months had helped launch the group further into the lime light.
As they took the stage, the crowd erupted with cheers. Girls screamed Chase’s name—telling them they loved him. It was like he was a rock star, and I guess in some ways he was. That thought sobered me. Maybe I was enough now—but the bigger he got, the less he was going to want me.
Even over the loud music, Jade seemed to sense the shift in my mood. “You okay?”
“He’s going to be famous.”
“He’s already pretty famous,” Kyle supplied.
“Thanks. Needed that,” I shouted over the music.
“What are you worried about? That he’s going to move on or something?” Jade asked, leaning in close.
“Yes.” It felt good to finally admit my fear out loud.
Jade shrugged. “But that could happen with anyone—whether it’s a famous person or just a frat guy.”
“Thanks.” Sometimes I just needed encouragement. Aaron had really done a number on my confidence, and I was only beginning to see how deep the damage went.
“Just enjoy the rest of the show.” Jade linked her arm through mine. “Chase is rocking it tonight.”
She was right. He was doing incredible, and despite the crowd, his eyes still kept falling on me. This was one of those times where my mom would tell me to muster my confidence. I’d sabotage a good thing if I couldn’t hold it together.
Chapter Twenty
Chase was right that we weren’t camping with everyone else—or rather that we weren’t camping with the general festival goers. We were, however, camping near the rest of his band as well as Kyle and Jade. They’d packed some extra stuff in case they decided to stay the night, and they ended up needing it.
We piled into Zach’s van which has been the go-to vehicle for Chance of a Lifetime for a few years. It sounded like it was going to be exchanged for a tour bus next time around. I wondered how they felt about such a big change.
Zach parked in a dirt lot, and we all pulled out our stuff.
“Can I get that for you?” Chase offered to take my backpack even though he was already wearing a pack and had our tent and everything.
“No, I’m fine.” I appreciated him asking to be nice, so I didn’t give him a hard time about insinuating that I couldn’t handle wearing a backpack.
When everyone else stopped to set up their stuff, Chase gestured for me to continue. “Let’s get a little bit of privacy.”
I glanced at Jade and Kyle illuminated by moonlight and flashlights. They seemed perfectly happy with the evening’s accommodations. I really had to give it to Jade. She was proving to be way more resilient than I would have thought. I guess that’s the thing about people. We always assume their true personality is the one they show you, but sometimes all it takes is moving them to a new situation and a whole new side comes out.
A little further into the clearing Chase stopped. “How’s this?”
“It’s great.” I took off my pack and got to work helping Chase with the tent.
Fifteen minutes later, we had everything inside the tent. I ducked and followed Chase inside.
He zipped our two sleeping bags together into one bigger one. I giggled. I couldn’t help it.
“What?” He turned to look at me.
“Nothing. This seems funny somehow.”
“Funny?”
“Yeah. Like we’re teenagers or something.”
He moved toward me. “Well, technically you are still in your teens.”
“For another month, and you’re definitely not.”
“Nope. I’m robbing the cradle. I need to enjoy the last few weeks of being able to say I’m sleeping with a nineteen-year-old.”
“This might be your last chance. I mean, I doubt you’ll be back before my birthday.” I gave him a coy smile.
“In that case.” He was on me in a blink of an eye, tackling me down on top of the connected sleeping bags. “I need to enjoy the experience.” He turned off his flashlight, sending us into darkness.
He slowly pulled my t-shirt over my head, and I shivered in anticipation. I’d missed having his hands all over me. He moved to my bra next, tossing it before
letting his hands and mouth settle on my breasts.
So distracted by his attention, I didn’t notice him unbutton my jeans until he was already sliding them off.
“Aren’t you going to get undressed too?” I asked in the darkness.
“Isn’t that your job?”
I reached up, searching for him in the dark. I pulled his t-shirt off, and then moved on to his pants. He was kneeling, so he moved to pull off his own pants. He stilled my hand when I went for my panties. He wanted me to save those for himself.
He slid off my underwear slowly, like he was savoring the moment. “Would it blind you completely if I turned on a light right now?”
“Why would you need to do that?”
“Because I need to see you. Touching you is amazing—but I want the visual. Just a glimpse.”
“But won’t that mean people could see through the tent?”
“Who’s here? We’re so far from everyone else.”
“For a few seconds.”
He didn’t reply. Instead, he turned on his flashlight and fixed the beam on my body, carefully avoiding my eyes.
In a strange, probably kinky way, it was hot having him watch me, illuminating me in that light. I watched his expression, watched the way his breathing changed.
“I will never get tired of staring at you. You’re so beautiful, it’s unreal. I still wonder how I got so lucky.”
“Funny, I was just thinking about how you have so many options.”
“Options?” He switched off the light, sending us into darkness again.
“Of girls.”
“I only want one, so that doesn’t mean anything.”
“I hope you’ll be able to say that in a few months.”
“Why? Are you nervous that I’m going to change?” He lay down next to me, gently running his hand down my arm.
“Yes.” It was so easy to be honest in the pitch blackness.
“Things might change for my music, but that doesn’t mean it changes anything for us. I’m crazy about you, Cara. And if we’re all about honesty tonight, I might as well lay it all out there.”
“Lay what out there?” I shivered again, but this time it was with nervousness.
He pulled me into his arms. “I’ve fallen in love with you.”
The Hazards of Sex on the Beach Page 17
