I Saw You (26 page)

“But—” I silenced her with a quick, harsh kiss on those bee-stung lips.

“Let me be your partner….business associate. This isn’t about me stepping on or saving the day. It’s a sound investment, babe. You’ll be making
me
money.” Behind us the waves crashed on the shore, and at a distance, I could almost make out the low thrum of a conga being played. Arianna looked up at me from beneath her long lashes, searching for whatever she needed to make up her mind. I gave one final plea. “Let me be your other half.”

My girl smiled and reached up to tap her pointer finger on my bottom lip. “Yes.”

“Yeah?”

“Fuck, yeah.”

Fingers cupping the back of her neck, I pulled her closer to me, at the very edge of her seat. “Thank you.” With that, I kissed her once more. This time in gratitude; for me it felt like the final wall on her behalf had crumbled.

Suddenly, she pulled back and away from my pouted lips, a saucy grin on her face. “But…”

“What?” I grunted, pissed at being denied her taste.

“Silent. You are invisible.”

“Done.”

“That easy?”

“Shut up and kiss me.” And that she did, in between infectious giggles and my hands, merciless tickles.

Long distance relationships sucked
hairy balls.

There was no other way to describe how much I hated the fact that she was in Miami, while I was stuck on the west coast. Meeting after meeting that never ended, the rechecking of all travel equipment and our instruments. Tour manager wanting to make sure all parties understood what was expected and what the band needed in terms of privacy.

Security going over emergency drills and some combat training.

A woman running toward you wasn’t hard, but a male fan could be unpredictable. People sometimes forgot that we were as human as the man walking down the street. Let us piss in peace. Let us eat without a piece of paper being shoved in our face. Let me motherfucking drink a bottle of water without being almost tackled so some asshole could sell my spit on eBay.

It’d been ten days since I returned home, and I missed her terribly. The anonymity she gave me in those few days had been heaven. No one bothered us. Her family treated me as if I were one of them.

No cameras.

No autographs.

No fucking paps following behind me while throwing insults at my head. Everyone’s a fan, but money rules the world. Couple grand for my insulting or flipping them off was worth making my life hell at times.

“You’re worth it,” Slim whispered in my ear while I pushed into her. Back in our private little hideaway, I worshipped her, our clothes being discarded the moment we stepped inside the spacious room. “I love you, Cheesy. Every part of you.”

Her words and scent surrounded me—a cocoon of bliss.

“Fuck, I need you. Can’t breathe when you aren’t near.” I growled my truth against the side of her neck, my lips skimming the soft skin before biting down. Not hard enough to break skin, but enough that when we left the day after tomorrow, she’d feel me. I wanted every cell in her body to recognize my touch. That a simple memory of my time with her would make her crave the more I was ready for.

Get wet for me.

Yearn for my kisses, touch…cock.

Slow and with determined strokes, I brought her closer to the edge. Each withdrawal from her tight heat brought on that strange sensation in my chest. Not quite pain, but I felt the loss I’d face in less than fifty hours. Fuck, I didn’t want to be away from her.

Not for long periods of time.

“Baby,” Slim mewled beneath me, her hips arching up to meet my every thrust. Arms bound above her head, I had her at my mercy. Could do with her as I pleased, but it was the blind trust she had in me that had the muscles in my stomach tightening. “So close. Need—”

“I got you.” My lips hovered over hers while I picked up my pace, swirling my hips on each downward stroke. Massaged her swollen clit against my pelvic bone. Fucking her deeper, taking each moan into my lungs and savoring the taste of her breath. “Let go, Slim. I got you.”

Her back arched, and walls locked down, my words and final thrust tipping her over the edge. My come and her juices mixed, spilling out of her and down my balls, the room bathed in our combined aroma. A heady concoction I’d bottle and take motherfucking everywhere with me.

“Yo, Chester,” Mike interrupted my flashback; he came into the recording booth and dumped a rather heavy-looking package in front of me. “Delivery from Florida.”

Knew what it was without having to open the stack of papers: formal purchase agreement through Arianna’s lawyer for our new club: hers and mine. Business collaborators in her latest adventure. My girl was thrilled to have found the right building, and at a lower cost than expected.

Two blocks from one of the busiest streets in the highly coveted beach district. The owner wanted out of a bad deal. Lost money, and his venture tanked before he could take off. Slim took it off his hands for ten thousand lower than the asking price. Cash on hand deal.

He was out and we were in within forty-eight hours.

Tiny mogul was a pitbull on a mission, and he couldn’t resist and obliged. Over the phone in a conference call, I got to witness her in action. Hard as steel and wanting to bend her over the nearest available surface, I listened in to the negotiations.

“Is this the building paperwork?” Mike, more than our head of security, was a friend. Was aware of this venture and applauded my branching out. The guys were thrilled and wanted to throw a massive inauguration. Ashley wanted me dead and thought I was being used.

With her, there was just no way of winning.

“Yeah.” Looking at the clock on the wall over his head, I cringed. “Got to head out. These need to be read, signed, and faxed back tonight.”

“But it’s your birthday, man. You’re supposed to be out tearing the town a new asshole?”

“Nah, not this year.” Shrugging, I stood from my stool and grabbed the packet. “My girl’s not here and I’m not in much of a celebrating mood.”

“Thought she was flying in today?” Mike walked with me out of the room and down the two flights of stairs to the ground floor. I knew he wanted to say more, but out of respect didn’t.

“Trust me, she’s pissed. Her contractor pulled a preliminary inspection of the building, and she has to be present, as does the current owner. She’s stuck and wanting to punch the motherfucker out.”

“What about the guys? Where are they?”

Before I could respond, Cris appeared beside me and threw his arm over my shoulder. “Right here and about to kidnap this fucker, per strict orders.”

“Who?”

“Ashley.” Tex grunted, his face pinched tight as if saying her name pained him. Then he smiled, the weird asshole. Something was up, but life kept getting in the way of our much-needed talk. “Now hurry up so we can get you drunk and happy.”

“Not happening.” That shocked me—as far as I knew, my best friend hated me. “Calling Slim in a few and then I have to—”

“That shit can wait, fuckface, and she will understand,” Cris interjected while Rick grabbed the papers from my hands. “Move it.” One hard shove and I walked out with the bunch of asses I called family.

I Saw You...

Fucked up.

Blitzed.

Holy shit; I was drunk.

Four times I stuck the key in the hole, and nothing. Not since my first time have I had so much trouble finding a small orifice. It was those assholes’ fault; couldn’t they have brought me to the door?

And fucking Ashley with all the drinks.

Jesus, I was going to hurt in the morning.

Stumbling in, I made it to the foyer and noticed a light—low and coming from my dining. One foot in front of the other until I crashed into the entrance table in the middle of the room, I fell on my ass and with me a heavy vase met its fate.

“Son of a bitch,” I grumbled while scrambling up on unsteady feet. Slow, and with precise movements, I made it further into my house. I swayed, but didn’t stop until I was just in the archway that led into the formal dining.

“Nice to see you didn’t need me to celebrate.” Ari spoke between sips of what looked to be wine. Could be? Not sure of anything at that moment. What I did want more than anything was for her to be here. In the flesh.

“Are you really here?” I heard myself talk, but don’t remember saying the words.

“Happy birthday, Cheesy.” Slim stood from the table, and what met my eyes made me groan. Silk. Short. The woman was nude except for a small apron and heels in the same red color. She walked around to where I stood and took my hand in hers, letting me feel that she was here. With me.

Traveled all afternoon and early evening to surprise me.

“You came,” left me on a small whisper while I surveyed the room. Romantic dinner, burned-out candles, two bottles of wine—one already empty—and a small gift box next to my covered meal.

Fuck, I was an asshole.

Son of a bitch, I was going to be sick.

“Let’s get you to bed, Mr. Greene. You’re not looking so hot at the moment.”

I chuckled, and the room spun. “Please.”

I Saw You…

Sunlight filtered through my opened curtain and roused me from sleep—somewhere where the world didn’t hate me and I could breathe without wanting to puke. Getting shitfaced wasn’t fun in my twenties, and it was much less now. For the first time in years, I felt my age.

Turning over for the bottle of water I kept on my nightstand, I was met with that coconut smell Arianna used in the Bahamas. Sweet goddamned addiction that caused me to violate the poor girl—take her hard and fast while her family was down the beach playing in the same water. Waist deep and covered by the vast blue, I’d pulled her miniscule bikini bottoms to the side and plunged in, her moans barely contained by my lips.

“Fuck,” I moaned low while my hand lazily stroked my engorged length. My head pounding didn’t stop me from touching myself in her memory. Few more strokes, and my balls tingled. If only my body would cooperate, I’d find her and…

Arianna was here.

Not a figment of my imagination.

Throwing my legs off the side of the bed, I found a new bottle of water and a pain reliever, both with the seal in place and not the generic brand I usually kept. Even with money, I wasn’t a snob. Didn’t need everything I used or touched to be name brand.

Popping three of the pills, I took a long pull from my water. Didn’t stop until all its contents were gone and my thirst quenched. Cotton-mouth feeling was a bitch.

And then I crawled to the shower, trying not to jostle my stomach. Usually I’d sleep it off, but not with my Slim here. Itching to see her, to spend some time together, would be putting it mildly.

Being sick was a no-
no
.

Inside the bathroom, I turned the water as hot as I could stand it and stood beneath the spray. Just let it soothe my aching body. It was a chore to lather and rinse, my arms feeling like jelly each time I raised them. Ten minutes of standing under the spray, two minutes of scrubbing, and another five to rinse off.

Shower done, I felt semi-human and hungry. Sweat pants on with nothing underneath, I went in search of food and Ari.

Didn’t have to search far; she was in my kitchen sitting at the bar, engrossed in whatever she was reading on her tablet. A half-eaten bagel on a plate and her untouched cup of coffee were placed aside on the marble top. I watched her while she read, her eyes constantly moving over the page.

Her facial expression grew harder the longer I stood there, hands flexing, balled around the tablet screen. She’d break the device if she kept it up with the same force.

“You okay?” The absolute fury in her eyes told me it was the wrong thing to say.

Without saying a word, she pushed the tablet across the counter, her hard eyes locked on mine. I didn’t understand what was going on, but I had a gut feeling that I didn’t want to look down. Nevertheless, I did, and then fucking closed my eyes in both annoyance and because my head began to pound.

Rock’s Royal Couple Celebrates Front Man’s Birthday.

Below was a picture of Ashley, her arms wrapped around my neck and her lips pressed against my cheek while they brought out a huge cake. We were smiling, eyes glazed with all the alcohol we consumed.

Fuck.

Pictures of us in various poses with the group and in some, snuggled in a corner booth. Various bottled were strewn throughout the table top—from whiskey to vodka and other shit in between. Looked bad, but she had to know I’d never do anything to jeopardize us.

“I can explain.”

“I’m all ears.”

“I’m all ears.”

Sweat formed on my brow. Things could go south quick, if they hadn’t already. The now stoic expression on her face didn’t give anything away. To be honest, it unnerved me.

“Ashley,” I began and paused. Noticed how Ari’s eye twitched at the mere mention of her name. Fuck, I needed coffee for this. Walking around the island, I pulled a cup from the cupboard across and filled it to the brim. No sugar or cream. Black.

“Don’t have all day, Chester.” Not Cheesy, no sweetness in her tone. We’d already begun on the wrong foot. Few sips of the piping hot liquid, and I was as ready as I’d ever be.

I took a seat, three away from hers, and watched her for a second before she sighed. “She threw me a surprise party for my birthday. Industry people, some media, and some of our closest friends were all there. Thirty people in total.” A barely perceptible nod was the sole indication I had that she’d heard me. “Won’t deny I drank a lot. Fuck, the pictures prove that much, sweetheart.” Arianna bristled at the term of endearment, and I chose to ignore it. “It was like old times, and I enjoyed myself. For the first time in days, I didn’t miss you.”

Her eyes snapped toward mine so fast, I thought she’d get whiplash. Then they narrowed. “So this is my fault?”

“No.” I held my hands up in supplication. “No, it’s not like that.” Everything within me begged me to go to her. Hug her to me. Ease her hurt, but at the moment her expression was murderous, and I loved my balls too much to place them in danger. Instead, I gave her a warm smile before continuing. “Didn’t mean it that way, baby.”

“The how did you?” she hissed through clenched teeth. Her phone beeped then and she grabbed it, typed something into it, and hit send all without taking her eyes off me. “Explain.”

“You were supposed to be here…”

She held her hand up while shaking her head. “You asked to be involved in the nightclub. Begged. Don’t you dare hold the fact I had to be a responsible business owner over my head…I knew this was a bad idea,” she muttered under her breath, but I heard her loud and clear. Sad green eyes looked at me with a resigned expression in them. Slim was giving up. “Matter of fact, don’t sign the papers. I don’t need your money.”

“Don’t.” Pushing my seat back, I walked the remaining steps over, turned her stool around, and forced her face up to meet mine. “I want to do this with you. Not once was I ever angry with
you.
Disappointed, yes, but never angry. You’ve been more than patient with me…my job. Ashley. The tour that’s about to start.”

“Seems like that’s all I’ve ever done. Be patient.” Pushing my hands back from her face, Arianna hopped down from her seat, squeezed by me, and dumped the rest of her untouched coffee in the sink. “I’m done being your second choice, Chester. Your behind-closed-doors girl.”

“What more do you want me to do? How do I show—”

“Fucking end it with her!” Slim slapped her hand down on the countertop, the thwack resounding throughout the too quiet house. “Brian sent you the press release; you showed it to me weeks ago. Why hasn’t it gone out? Why am I still hiding behind closed doors while you parade around town with her?”

“We haven’t found the right time, baby. Nevertheless, it’s coming; please, just give me a little more time.”

“No.” That one word broke something inside me. Nothing in the world had ever felt so wrong. Hurt.

“Ari, I...” tears rolled down her face; I’d lost her “...please don’t.”

“Haven’t done anything to you.” With a shrug, Slim came around and stopped in front of me. Standing up on the tips of her toes, she wrapped her arms around my neck. Brought me down to her level, where our lips touched and her exhale was my inhale. “Call me when I’m your only. When you’re a hundred and one percent sure that I’m what you want.”

Stunned, I just stood there while she picked up her bag near the island’s end. Didn’t move to stop her or make her listen. To understand there was no choice.

She would always be my only.

I Saw You...

Three days.

Seventy two hours.

Goddamned 2,160 minutes since she walked out my door.

It’d been motherfucking torture. Hearing her voicemail over and over again, being told to leave a message to a phone call she’d never return. Denied at every turn, even from her parents whom didn’t have much to say but, “Fix it!”

“Give her time, son,” Mom chided, her voice soft and held understanding. She’d been here for days now, arrived an hour after my girl left. Sent by her to watch over me in my hungover state; even when I hurt her, she took care of me. “Arianna needs to think about—”

“She’s done.” Saying it aloud hurt like a bitch.

“What did you expect?” Gone was the calm and soothing tone of just a minute ago. My eyes snapped to hers, my mouth opened, but before I could reply she held a hand up. “This was a mess of your own doing, kid. I warned you when you came to me with the idea that this could happen. Didn’t I?”

“Yes, but—”

“But nothing, Chester.” Pulling the chair out across from me, Mom sat down and let out a long and tired sigh. “You know I care about Ashley, son, but the girl has been in love with you for years. Since you were teens and you took her to prom. It was then she saw you as more. Problem was, she was not and would never be right for you. Not as a girlfriend, and much less a wife.”

“Why?” Mom arched a brow, her infamous
I’m going to kick your ass
look. “Let me finish.” She nodded and waved me on. “Not that I want her, but why do you think she wasn’t right for me? Why couldn’t she be the one?”

With a patient smile, she reached across the small patio table and grasped my hand. “Because you’ve never come alive the way you do for Arianna. So complete and without a care to who sees that vulnerable side, because all that matters is how she smiles at you. How she looks at you.”

“I love Arianna.”

“You do…” a squeeze to my fingers and then a pat to the top of my hand “…but you also fucked up.”

“Know that,” I mumbled under my breath.

“Do you?” Mom challenged. “Because from where I’m sitting, you’ve put Ashley’s feelings first, time and time again. A tear here or there, and you give in. Always have and she knows that, plays upon you doing just that whenever she’s wanted something.”

“What am I supposed to do? No matter who I choose, one of them will be hurt.” Pulling my hands from hers, I picked up my beer bottle and took a long pull. That’s how I spent the last few days; drinking and calling her. Nothing else around me mattered.

“If Ashley was a real friend, son, she wouldn’t put you in this position. Your relationship with the woman you love is sacred. Untouchable even by me, and I’m your mother. Her disrespect of that shows how much she values you.”

“That party was supposed to be an olive branch,” I said without looking up, my sole focus on removing the label on the bottle without breaking it.

“Then ask yourself this…why wasn’t Arianna invited?” My eyes snapped up to hers. I hadn’t thought of that. “Once you have the answer, everything else will make sense. No more pussy footing around the subject. Lines will be drawn.” Mom stood up then and came around to kiss my cheek. “Think about it, Chester. Promise things will make sense again.”

Since when do we invite members of the press?

Why were there cameras allowed?

Mother of fuck.

Shit.

Son of a bitch.

As if a light switch had gone off in my head, all at once things became clear. Ashley wanted our pictures splayed all over the place; force my hand in retracting the statement due to be released in days.  Again, fuck.

Picking up my phone, I dialed her number once more. Rang three times before I got Slim’s voicemail. Not the regular. This message was just for me.

Quit calling me.

Three words that lit a fire under my ass. I’d never let her be. Move on without me.

Plan forming in my head, I sent a silent prayer before scrolling to the end of my list and dialing someone I’d hoped to never have to. Yuli, her best friend, could help me. We’d never met, but my girl loved her to pieces. Spoke highly of her at every turn.

If she loved her friend, she’d help me right this wrong. And I had the perfect way.

Dialing her number, I paced up and down the backyard around the pool, eating and cooking area, and through the ridiculous garden Mom planted while I was away on vacation last year.

“Hello,” a female voice answered. Higher in pitch than my girl’s, but I knew that Miami twang anywhere.

“Can I speak with Yuli, please?” Hoping I could charm the girl at least. I needed any and all of the brownie points I could get my hands on.

“Who’s this?” Not a “that’s me” or “how can I help you” anywhere.

“Chest—”

“You have some nerve calling me, jerk. After how you embarrassed Ari…broke her!”

“Please, I just need a few minutes. I need your—”

“I’m not helping you, idiot. This is the grave you dug, and I have no plans in helping release you. That girl loves you and you just…fucker,” she mumbled the last part under her breath before letting out an annoyed sigh. “Can’t, sorry.”

“Yuli, I love her.” Scratching the short beard I’d grown in the last week, I ignored her snort over the line. Instead, I paused to find the right words. “Call me anything you’d like, but never question my feelings for her. I’m a man who’s fucked up, I’m not denying my fault, but all I ask is that you listen. Hear my side, and then judge me.”

What sounded like a door being slammed shut came through her end. “Sorry, Chester, but I’m not getting involved or pleading your case to her. Ari is like family—my sister—and I’d never betray her trust.”

“I’m sorry I hurt her. More than you could ever imagine.” Mom signaled me across the yard, but I waved her off. This conversation was more important. “Look, I’m not going beat around the bush and lay out everything to you. I owe that to
her
, but I do need your help in one thing.”

“No.”

“Why not?” My tone came out harsher than I intended. “Sorry, I’m not angry at you…”

“Just the situation,” she finished for me. “I get it, I do, but I think you’re the one still a bit lost here. Take out the embarrassment you subjected her to; her entire family saw those pictures—and focus on the main issue. Let’s focus on the hurt and betrayal for a moment.”

“I’ve never betrayed her!” The plastic of my phone cover cracked from the pressure I held it under; I couldn’t afford to break it at the moment. Maybe after we hung up I’d fucking fling it across the yard and watch it shatter.

“Maybe not physically, but in the emotional aspect, you did. That girl continues to come first and holds the place the woman you love deserves. In Arianna’s—fuck that,” she snapped, and I had to pull the phone away from my ear a bit. “Any woman would feel the same. Used and kept as a secret. A convenient fuck when all she heard was your promises of shit that never happened. Second place and never to be seen, when she did everything she could to accommodate you. Show you the depth of her love for you.”

“I didn’t mean to do that.” What else could I say? No amount of explanations would make up for how I made her feel. How I let someone else dictate the path of our relationship.

Slim should’ve been my main concern always, and I was seeing that now.

“Deep down I know you do, but she’s my girl.” Correcting her at that moment wouldn’t have helped, so I bit back the retort. “Don’t know if you deserve her.”

Proverbial gloves were now off.

“Get her to my concert on Friday night, front row, and make sure you don’t tell her you’re coming to see us.”

“She’d never go.” Another sigh, this one coming off as if she was tired, but relenting.

“Ever heard the phrase
scream it from the rooftops
?”

“You’re not going to?”

“Make sure she never doubts me or my intentions again. Get her there.” Then I hung up, didn’t give her the chance to argue or deny my not-so-gentle request. Fuck it. This was war, and I wasn’t going to lose my prize.