Cadence (Ruby Riot Book 1) (12 page)

“You should. Come and sit with me.” He indicates the direction we came from.

We walk back to the restaurant, side by side, and Jax wraps his little finger around mine in a cute gesture that shouldn’t be a surprise after his treatment of me so far today. As I sit and eat my sandwich, Jax watches.

“You’re pretty damn awesome, Tegan Hughes.” He takes a drink from his beer and adds, “And I think I’m heading for trouble.”

“From Bryn?”

Jax wipes a crumb from the corner of my mouth. “From both of you.”

Chapter Fifteen

TEGAN

The following day, I avoid Bryn’s scrutiny and take a bus into the city. I toyed with the idea of visiting museums but a Spanish friend I met in Indonesia recommended I visit Parque del Buen Retiro if I ever found myself in Madrid. Fresh air and peace appeals more than the indoors today, so I head to the Parque.

Following a couple of hours wandering through the trees, nodding hello to fellow visitors, I sit on the stone beneath the monumental lions close to the lake. Boaters cross the dark blue water, their voices and laughter carrying across the quiet surrounds. I could’ve lost myself in the oasis of calm for hours, amongst the history and beauty that’s a welcome change from the weird world of rock bands and tours. But the craziness from two nights ago encroached on my thoughts and for the first time in weeks, in the midst of the winter sunshine and the tourists sharing my day, I suddenly felt disconnected and alone. Sure, I travelled on my own last year but I always met up with new people to share experiences.

The night of the party shook me more than I'm willing to admit. Sometimes emptying your mind of everything allows thoughts in you don’t want.

I head back to the hotel to update my blog and check out my friends’ lives on social media. My Instagram following has skyrocketed since I posted a candid picture of  Blue Phoenix rehearsing in Lisbon, my feed filled with comments demanding more behind the scenes pictures and gossip. A picture of Jax I took on my phone when he was on stage the same night has a lot of shares, and pleas from fans for other shots. When I read the comments about Jax, including what more than a few people want to do with him, I smile to myself. If only they knew the guy had kissed me.

I itch to tell my friend Phoebe about the kiss. We’ve shared all our secrets since high school, but what if the kiss yesterday was all that happens? Jax could change his mind and decide anything apart from a friendship would be too complicated to deal with. How embarrassing if I spilled to Phoebe about Jax when he isn’t really interested. I'd look like an idiot. So, no, I’ll wait and see what happens.

Jax and I’ve exchanged several playful texts since yesterday afternoon but haven’t seen each other today. Jax’s busy with preparations for the concert tonight and I’m spending some time as a tourist. We’ve arranged to meet after the gig, so I hope Bryn isn’t back to breathing down my neck. Maybe we can sneak away to a local restaurant and from any madness that could ensue. Somehow, I don't think an evening with Jax will be an ordinary first date.

****

JAX

Tegan’s night time job of selling merchandise means her evening ends later than mine. Thanks to the post-concert rush by fans to grab their souvenir shirts and other crap, I’m in the Green Room alone: showered, dressed, and waiting for a girl. I laugh at myself; look at me refusing a night with the groupies to spend time with a chick there’s no way I’ll have sex with. Not soon, anyway.

My phone beeps with a message from Tegan.

And so begins our secret meetings, because how can this be any other way at the moment? This is too soon to let anybody know – public or the tour. Especially not her brother. I’ll see how things with Tegan go. If this becomes more than one or two dates, I’ll deal with Bryn then. If this is disastrous or fizzles out, no harm done. He doesn’t need to know.

I’ll be up front with Tegan. I’m not interested in anything serious. Besides, if I mess Tegan around, then the serious will be the bodily harm inflicted on me by her brother. So yeah, I must really like her to even give this a go.

The black door creaks opens and I stand, eager to leave for somewhere less conspicuous. “That was quick.”

“What was?” Will heads into the room. “I’ve been looking for you! You coming?”

“Uh. Not sure.” I sit back down, glancing at the doorway.

“C’mon, man. Nate’s waiting. We’ve hooked up some chicks to come with us.” He waggles his eyebrows at me.

“Yeah. Not feeling great, man. Maybe I’m sick with what Ruby has?”

Will eyes me suspiciously. “Yeah? You scared of Bryn. Bryn’s fine with what happened at the party, you know? I don’t think he blames you.”

“I know. He spoke to me, even apologised for overreacting.”
About an hour after I kissed the girl he'd told me to keep my hands off.

“Good, the last thing we need is drama.”

“Mmm.” I look behind Will again, willing him to leave. “Sorry, maybe tomorrow?”

“Jeez, Jax, boring bastard. Fine, catch you tomorrow.” As Will heads out the door, he bumps into somebody and apologises. Tegan appears and Will steps back into the room too.

He’s behind Tegan and points at her, mouthing “No. Really?” I stare at Will as he holds his fingers to his head and imitates firing a gun.

“Have fun, kids!” he says. “Your secret is safe with me!”

Tegan watches Will go before turning to me. The soft brown hair that touched my face when I held and kissed her is loose across her shoulders, and I fight against walking over and letting go of my restraint I held onto last time.

“Do you think he’ll say anything?” she asks.

“Nah. Nice tee,” I say with a smile and point at the Ruby Riot tour shirt stretching across her delicious looking tits.

Tegan twists the lanyard she’s wearing around her fingers, biting her lip in a deliberately coy gesture. “Oh yeah, I’m a full-on Riot groupie.”

“Good to hear it.”

As I approach, Tegan’s eyes widen slightly. Is she expecting me to kiss her again? It would be easy to close the door and see what happens because that’s what I usually do.

But Tegan isn’t what I usually do.

Maybe later.

Reining in the thoughts, I lean in and kiss Tegan gently on the mouth. Tegan presses her lips against mine; but when I place my hand against Tegan’s head to draw her closer, she puts a hand on my chest.

“So, where are we going tonight?” she asks.

I step back, running my fingers along her cheek. “Somewhere quiet. Not somewhere anybody else we know might go.”

“Somewhere close I hope because I’m bloody starving after working this evening. Who knew selling t-shirts could be so exhausting?”

I point at myself. “Hello? I worked tonight too.”

Tegan catches my hand and squeezes. “You call that work? An hour and a half of flouncing around on stage with a guitar?”

Happiness surges that Tegan is back to her old self, the same edge of snark but with a softness in her eyes as she looks at me. In response, I take Tegan's arm and pull her close so she can’t move. “Be quiet,” I say quietly.

“Make me,” she whispers against my lips.

Again, the image of pinning her against the wall rushes in, but knowing my luck, Bryn will walk through the door. “Don’t tempt me,” I reply and release her.

When Tegan’s eyes glint and the corner of her mouth tips up, it’s apparent the teasing Tegan hasn’t left the relationship yet. Man, she turns me on and that’s going to be a big fucking problem.

Chapter Sixteen

TEGAN

The car that was supposed to take us back to the hotel pulls into a Madrid side street where we step out onto the narrow pavement. The brightly painted restaurant sign is lit in the dark, above the graffiti tagged on the wall.

“Nice job,” I hear Jax say to the driver, whose reply I don’t hear.

The large black car pulls away and my rock star date heads over and takes my hand. “This is a place for the locals. We won’t be hassled, but we could be ignored.”

“Don’t you feel like being ignored for a change?”

“I guess. As long as you don’t ignore me.” We duck through the open door and into the narrow venue. One or two groups are huddled around square wooden tables and I almost trip over a large greyhound lying on the floor between the doorway and the marble bar.

The man behind the bar looks quizzically at us as he breaks his conversation with the middle-aged couple sitting at the counter. At this point, it’s obvious neither Jax nor I can speak Spanish, so I nudge him.

To my relief, the restaurant owner grins. “A table?”

“Please,” I reply.

He sits us at the back of the room; but there’s no chance of hiding in the shadows, large round lights run along the ceiling brightly illuminating the cosy space. We order tapas and a bottle of red wine. When all we receive is a cursory glance from the locals frequenting the restaurant, I relax. Our earlier worry that stepping outside the hotel together would end in a barrage of media interest ebbs; I don't think these people are Ruby Riot's demographic.

Jax has dispensed with his t-shirt and jeans uniform tonight, dressed in a dark blue, cotton shirt, the top buttons undone, and the green stone pendant he wears hangs against the top of his toned chest. Jax is talking to me; but for a moment, I’m transfixed by his mouth, and the fact I’ve never looked at him long enough to appreciate how he looks as good in reality as in the photos. The twins are covered in piercings. I’m glad Jax hasn’t spoilt his model-looks with bars of metal through his skin.

As I pick at the stuffed artichokes on my plate, Jax pokes something on his.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“Is this part of an octopus?” he whispers, nose wrinkling.

“Haven’t you eaten octopus before?”

“No!” Jax pushes it toward me and points at another item. “And is that the world’s smallest burger?”

Laughing at him, I take a bite of the offending food from his plate and he stares at me. “Eww!”

“Not very exotic in your tastes?” I ask.

“Not food, no.” He arches a brow and I shake my head at him. “What?”

“You’re missing out. Try it.”

“I don’t think so!” Jax tops up our glasses of wine.

I continue to smile to myself as we eat, more relaxed with Jax than I expected.

“This is different,” remarks Jax, sipping from his wine glass.

“I like it. Quiet. Unpretentious.”

“I meant me and you. You haven’t tried to out-snark me once in the last hour. You’re confusing me!” Jax reaches across the table and traces a finger along the back of my hand setting goose bumps along my spine.

“I don’t need to defend myself against you.”

“Good.” He closes his hand around mine and continues to poke around at his food.

The restaurant owner drags a wooden chair across the tiled floor and sits with a nearby group, their voices rising in chatter and laughter. As time passes, Jax relaxes more; but whenever the restaurant door opens, he looks around sharply.

“How do you cope with being famous?” I ask.

“Don’t really think about it. I guess we’re only half-famous right now. After these few weeks touring with Phoenix, we’re back to reality until the album is finished and released.” He grins. “So I can’t give up the day job just yet.”

“You have a job? I thought you were studying. Or did you stop?”

“Me? No. I’m studying at UCL, a year to go, so hopefully the album will be big and Ruby Riot can be my day job once uni is over.”

“Somehow, I can’t imagine you in a lecture theatre.”

“Hmm.” He loads his bread with dip . “To be honest, you won’t find me in lectures much. Too busy with the band.”

“Why bother then?”

He shrugs. “Beats getting a job. The parents think I need a back-up plan. I don’t. Ruby Riot is going to be as big as Phoenix one day.”

He’s serious; and having witnessed them perform, I agree they’ve a good chance with the right management. “You guys are bloody amazing live.”

“Yeah, I know.” I poke him. “Hey, if I didn’t believe in us, why should anybody else?” He pushes the bread into his mouth and winks.

Barriers finally down, we chat. Jax is fascinated by my travels, even though I hate boring people with the stories; and I’m equally eager to hear his tales of Ruby Riot’s history. Once, he touches on a story involving girls but quickly shifts the conversation in a different direction. This uncomfortable reminder of the man I'm dealing with doesn't shift with it.

A bottle of wine later, Jax tips his head and studies me. “Thanks for coming out with me tonight.”

“Thanks for being you with me tonight, not the star.”

“When I’m sober, I’m a great guy.”

“And when you’re drunk?”

“Corruptible.”

“I bet you’re the one doing the corrupting.”

His eyes shine. “Maybe one day you'll find out.”

“If you're lucky.” The look we exchange clearly says that's what we both think. I sigh and pick at the food on my plate. “What do we say to Bryn?”

Jax shifts in his seat. “Bryn? We don’t have to say anything. I had a taste of what I’m in for the other night and, man, he’s scary.”

“Yes, you’re not the first he’s warned off, and I doubt you’ll be the last. Bryn means well, but I can look after myself.”

“It kind of puts pressure on me though.” Jax pulls his hand away and drinks. “Like this - between us - has to be a forever thing.”

I choke on the wine in my mouth. “Jesus, Jax. First date. Calm down.”

Jax’s shoulders relax. “Right. So it’s okay to just see how we go?”

“Like any ordinary people on a first date, yes.”

“We’re not ordinary people though.” He leans forward and whispers. “I’m Jax Lewis and one day everybody is going to recognise me. A lot of people already do.” Jax glances around the quiet restaurant while I suppress a laugh. Every now and again, he flips from normal guy into the one people are building him up to be. Jax in love with the fame.

“I’m Tegan Hughes and I don’t care. If you start to believe your own hype, I’m not sticking around. So let’s go into this with honesty.”

He sits back again. “Into what?”

“Us. I’m not looking for a serious relationship, and it’s clear you’re not. I haven’t decided whether I want to see you again yet.” I give him a smile to indicate I’m teasing. “But if I’m with somebody, I don’t date other guys and would expect you to do the same if this becomes a regular thing between us.”

Jax smirks. “No problem, I’m not into guys.”

“You know what I mean! And by ‘date’ I mean no sex with other people either.”

“Other people? So you’re saying that sex is on the agenda for us?” he asks in a low voice. No way is he getting an answer to that, or the satisfaction of making me blush. “Well, while we’re going into this with honesty, I’d like to say I’ve pictured you naked and I’m looking forward to the day I see how much better the reality is.”

Two can play at this game. “How many girls have you screwed recently, Jax?”

“Wow. Right. Define recently.”

“Six months.”

“Ah. Um. One or two.” I raise a brow. “Or three or four.” He huffs. “A few.”

“Keep your hands off other girls, and I’ll consider it.”

“Whoa, Tegan, seriously? I don’t usually discuss this stuff on a first date. This conversation is very… like a contract. Do you want me to sign something here?”

How do I tell Jax I need to have this conversation to paint a picture of exactly what I might fall into? He’s right, normally a first date is ‘see how it goes’; but with the scrutiny that no doubt will hit us –in public and in private – I have to hold the cards. My self-control around this guy wavers each time we’re alone; hell, I’m sitting with him in public and all I can think about is getting my hands on his naked skin. Common sense lingers around the edges of my lust and I can’t shut it out completely.

“Just being honest,” I say and flash him a smile.