Miles Apart (The Not So Bad Boys of Rock Book 2) (8 page)

“He’s
in L.A., one of my crew was going to cover for me, but they’re not ready to
deal with something like this. This is major, Sebastian. I know you’re
disappointed, I am too, but please try to understand.” She pleaded. Even in my
saddened state I tried my best, I knew she couldn’t help what had happened.

“I
know,” I sighed, deeply, forcing myself to smile through my frustration. “It’s
fine, we’ll do it some other time. I’m good. Go do what you’ve got to do and
just call me later.”

“I’m
so sorry, baby. Thank you. I’ll call you tonight, I promise. I love you.”

“I
know. I love you too.” I pressed end before sliding my phone across the
counter. Now I just needed to find something to do with myself for the next two
days, trying to somehow keep my mind off what I was missing. I leaned forward,
snatching my phone back up. It only rang once.

“Hey
man, you feel like going skydiving tomorrow?”

CHAPTER
EIGHT

“Yes! That was freaking awesome!” I yelled over
my shoulder at Dek, throwing my fist in the air for good measure. We had just
landed in Interlaken Valley after skydiving through a section of the Alps. This
time we’d gone up in a helicopter, seeing the snowcapped peaks of Mount Eiger
and Mount Jungfrau, before jumping at 14,000 feet.

“Awesome
doesn’t even begin to describe it. That was insane. We’ve got to do that again
before we leave. Helicopter jumping is wicked hot.” He replied breathlessly,
still shaking from the adrenaline. He looked around the valley before bending
to collect his chute. “This area is beautiful.”

“Yeah,”
I replied. “I sure wish Brooke could have made the trip.” I crouched down,
gathering the nylon material between my fingers. “It’s a shame she missed out.”
I shook my head, not willing to allow that heaviness to kill the rush I was
currently feeling.

“You
wanna stick around, maybe grab a bite to eat?” Dek asked, sidling up next to me
as we made our way to the extraction crew waiting on the edge of the valley.

I
took one last look around before answering. “Sure, we’ve got nothing better to
do. Besides, I’m so hungry my stomach thinks my throat’s been cut.”

We
loaded our gear in the back of the van and took our place in the middle row of
seats, asking the driver for a recommendation on a restaurant.

“It
depends on what type of food you’re in the mood to eat.” He glanced over his
shoulder, taking in our appearance. We weren’t dressed for fine dining, and
frankly I wasn’t in the mood for champagne and caviar. I wanted bar food, the
greasier the better. I knew it wouldn’t sit well with me later, but right now I
needed something that made me feel better, even if it was temporary.

“Any
good bars around?” I inquired, shrugging a shoulder at Dek’s questioning glare.
“I’m not going to drink anything.” I muttered, quietly. “I just want a good
burger and fries.”

“Yeah,
we’ve got plenty of those.”

“Just
pick one and drop us off, please.” I sat back in my seat, giving a terse nod to
Dek.

“You
sure about this?” He spoke out of the corner of his mouth.

“Yep.”
We rode the rest of the way in silence. He watched me through narrowed eyes,
while I sat there trying my best to keep my mind occupied.

“That girl over there
appears to be checking
you out.” Dek smirked, tipping back his glass of soda and crunching down on
chunks of crushed ice. It hadn't gone unnoticed that the guys had stopped
drinking around me since my stint in rehab. I'm sure they indulged when I
wasn't around, but having them forgo it in my presence helped take the sting
out of my loss. Yeah, after all this time it still felt like a loss. Even
though I knew my head was clearer, and I was a much better person without the
booze, I still craved it from time to time. I suppose that is the case with any
addiction.

“Seems
I can’t take you anywhere.” He shook his head. I turned slowly, peeking over my
shoulder at the girl in question.

“Not
bad,” I raised a brow, nodding in her direction. “Looks like she has a friend.
Must be your lucky day.” I bit my lip, forcing back the laughter. He always
gave me a hard time about getting all the girls, but I could rarely recall a
time when Dek didn't have a woman tagging along. A few moments later we were
joined by the two young women, around our age, both dressed in tight jeans and
low-cut T-shirts. My heart may have belonged to someone else, but I was still a
man, and I had eyes. These girls were cute, with curves in all the right places.
I smelled trouble with a capital T.

“Hi.”
They gushed, in unison. Giggles erupted soon after. “You guys aren’t from
around here, are you?” I did a quick survey of the other male patrons, non of
which sported tattoos or piercings of any sort, and chuckled softly.

“Afraid
not, sweetheart. We just finished jumping out of a helicopter and landed here
in your lovely town.” I laid it on thick, fighting off every urge I had to tell
them to get lost. I wasn’t in the mood to be chatty. The usual rush I enjoyed
after a jump quickly disappeared after they’d approached our table.

“Mind
if we join you?” The brunette asked, not bothering to wait for an invitation as
she slid in beside me. Her friend made herself comfortable next to Dek, maybe a
little too comfortable, as I watched him noticeably squirm to inch away from
her.

“So,
how’s it going ladies?” I asked, giving Dek a look that said ‘just roll with
it’ before turning my body to face my new friend.

“Oh,
it’s been a pretty uneventful week, but things are starting to look up.”
Brunette winked at me. “I’m Mia, and this is my friend, Julia.” Julia gave a
small wave, I returned it, smiling my largest forced smile.

“It’s
nice to meet you, Mia. You too, Julia.” Dek countered.

“Yeah,
it’s nice to meet you both. I’m--” I began.

“We
already know who you are.” Julia gushed, barely containing her enthusiasm. I
silently prayed they wouldn’t create a scene.

“Don’t
worry, you’re secret is safe with us. We wouldn’t want everyone to know that
you’re here, then we would have to share you.” Mia cooed, inching closer, which
by now meant that she was practically in my lap. By now our thighs were
touching, actually they were pressed tightly together. I reached for the back
of my neck, pressing firmly on the knot that was beginning to form as my
discomfort level slowly began to creep up. This was certainly not the way that
I wanted to spend my post-jump evening. I needed to think of a polite escape
plan, and fast. Being this close to another female made me slightly
uncomfortable, and aroused, which in turn made me feel incredibly guilty. I
pulled away, my body tensing with both dread and longing. There was no denying
it, I missed my girl, and Mia was here in front of me. I had to admit that once
I’d taken a good look at her I found her to be very pretty.

“Ease
up, baby. There’s no reason to be nervous around me.” She spoke softly, placing
a warm hand on my forearm. “You know, you’re not the first famous musician to
come through these parts. Let me guess, you two just finished jumping out of
that chopper, thought the town was quaint, and wanted to check it out up
close?” My mouth gaped open at her directness, not to mention her accuracy.
“Don’t look so surprised. We’re used to it. This area is known for bringing in
your kind. Just last month we met the drummer of another American band. Most
men find the women around here to be very hospitable.” She purred, placing strong
emphasis on the word ‘very’. Then, she took my hand in hers and wrapped it
around her shoulders. I sat there in stunned silence.

“Okayyy.”
I pulled back, coming to my senses. “Listen, we’re not looking for that kind of
hospitality. We were just hungry, for food.” I stated, careful to emphasize
that last part. “I think we’re going to head out. Dek, you ready buddy?” The
look in his eyes told me all I needed to know. Hell, we should have left the
minute they sat down, maybe even sooner. We made to stand, hoping they would
take the hint and move out of the way. Hell, if Mia didn’t offer to budge I
wouldn’t hesitate to use force. Her aggressive behavior brought back far too
many memories of my years of drinking and picking up strange women. I needed to
get out of here, and fast.

“I
wish you’d stay, we were just starting to get acquainted.” She smiled sweetly,
which did nothing to mask her true intentions.

“Sorry
to disappoint. Maybe some other time.” I replied, doing my best to maintain a
professional demeanor. A nasty write-up in the tabloids was not something I
needed right now. We made our way to the door, pausing to pay our waitress,
before bolting out onto the parking lot. Both of us too stupefied to speak. We
headed down the street, waiting nearly ten minutes before a taxi picked us up.
It wasn’t until we were settled in the backseat that Dek finally spoke up,
having remained mostly mute throughout the whole fiasco in the first place.

“What
the hell just happened in there?” He shook his head in disbelief. “I thought
for sure she was going to sink her hooks in you before we made it out of there.
That was close.”

“Yeah,
too close. I can’t remember the last time something like that happened. Man,
did we ever fall for that type of come-on? She was intense. Pretty, but
intense.” After another moment spent reflecting on the conversation, we busted
out laughing. I laughed so hard my sides hurt. “Well, I wanted to forget about
my miserable love-life. I think it’s safe to say that we've officially achieved
that goal.”

 
We kept laughing all the way to the
hotel. As we rode up the elevator, he gave me a side-ways glance.

“You
going to tell Brooke about this?” He asked causally, already knowing the
answer.

“No.
Definitely not. If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather just try and forget
it.” I groaned, inwardly.

“No
argument here. Let’s just pretend like it never happened.” He gave a pained
smile. “I’m just thankful there weren’t any press junkies there.”

CHAPTER
NINE

Brooke~

My body ached all over. I’d been in bed for the
past two days, barely able to function. I was positive that I had the flu. I
had been coughing, and had a sore throat. It’d taken every ounce of strength
that I had to get up and make my way to the bathroom. My staff knew I was sick,
but other than that first phone call, I hadn’t spoken to anyone since. I barely
recalled falling asleep last night, having tried hard to stay up in case
Sebastian had tried to call and say goodnight. We hadn’t spoken since I’d
called to cancel my trip. I was supposed to call him that night, but the day
had gotten away from me and when I’d arrived home that evening I collapsed into
bed. Maybe he was angry with me, he hadn’t been very understanding at the time
of the call. I couldn’t blame him, I knew he was looking forward to our getting
to skydive together. After that day spent talking with the authorities and the
insurance company, I spent another hour trying to convince Max that everything
was under control and the restaurant was still functional. The next morning I
woke up feeling miserable.

My
doorbell rang shortly after noon. It took awhile, but I was finally able to
reach the door, making sure to check the peephole. It was Reid, and he was
holding a brown paper bag. I opened the door, slowly.

“I
come bearing gifts.” He held up the bag in front of him, making his way around
me to gain access to my apartment. “Oh, sweetie, you don’t look so good.” He
grimaced, raising a hand gingerly to my forehead. “You feel pretty warm. Have
you taken your temperature?” He guided me over to the sofa, easing me down and
throwing a blanket over my legs.

“No,”
I replied, hoarsely. “It took everything I had just to get up and answer the
door. I’ve had to force myself to use the bathroom. I think I may even be a bit
dehydrated.”

He
moved quickly and deliberately, gathering supplies from the kitchen. When he
came back he had a bottle of water and a bowl of chicken soup, which he set
before me on the table.

“You
need to eat something, try to regain some strength. Here’s some Ibuprofen.” He
held out his hand and I offered an open palm for him to drop out three pills.
He smiled warmly as I swallowed them down with a big gulp of water.

“Thank
you. How did you know I was sick?”

“I
stopped by the restaurant. I hadn’t seen you walking home, or in the building,
so I wanted to check on you. Victoria told me you’ve been out for a couple of
days. You should have called me, I would have helped take care of you.” He
settled in beside me, careful not to get too close. After the shower incident,
and me basically throwing him out of my apartment, we had talked things over
and he agreed to respect my relationship with Sebastian. He’d said he would
rather have me as a friend than not have me in his life at all. I felt I could
live with that arrangement.

“That
was really kind of you. Thank you. I honestly haven’t felt well enough to do
anything, even the thought of pressing buttons on the phone seemed too much.” I
sighed, already feeling tired and ready to head back to my bed. “I’m pretty
tired.”

“Here,
let me help you.” He moved to help guide me to the bedroom, taking great care
as he tucked me in. “Sleep now. I’ll hang out in the other room for a bit
before I head across the hall, just to make sure you don’t need anything.” I
nodded, closing my eyes and curling up on my side. Sleep came quickly.

Over
the course of the next two days I was fed and medicated by a very doting Reid.
He faithfully showed up before he left for work, and then again in the evening
when returning home. I had yet to talk with Sebastian, and honestly I had been
too sick to give it a second thought. Around nine-thirty on the fourth evening,
just like clock-work, Reid tapped on my door. By this time I was feeling much
better, and I surprised him by answering the door before he could knock a second
time.

“Whoa,
you look much better my friend. I’m really glad, I was starting to worry about
you.” He came in, immediately settling on the sofa. “I checked with Victoria
today and things are running very smoothly in your absence.” He gave a smile,
knowing I had been nervous about it. “Yes, everything was still standing and
the food that I saw leaving the kitchen looked amazing. Although, I am sure
they will be much happier under your leadership.” He added, picking up on my
sensitivity of not being needed.

“Well,
I must admit that even though it stings to know they can function without me,
it’s nice that things won’t fall apart once I return back to the states.” I
took a seat on the opposite end of the sofa, facing him.

“So,
this is definitely a temporary gig?” He sighed, softly.

“Yes
Reid, it always was. I have a life back in California. At least I think I do.”
I whispered.

“Everything
okay between you two?” A few weeks ago if he had asked me that question it
would have been followed by a smirk. Tonight, that wasn’t the case, obvious
concern filled his handsome face.

“I
think so. I was supposed to spend a few days with him in Switzerland and then
the fire happened. I got sick right after that and we haven’t spoken since I
told him I couldn’t see him. Honestly, these past few days I haven’t felt much
like chatting. You could attest to that.” I laughed. “This whole relocation has
put quite a strain on our relationship. We had just gotten settled in together
in California when this opportunity came up.”

“But
he had to see that it was something you couldn’t pass up, right? I mean, this
is every chef’s dream, coming to the rescue of a world famous chef and
restaurateur.” He defended.

“Yeah,
I know, and I do believe that he would have supported me. I just wasn’t
completely honest about my leaving. I took the position without discussing it
with him first, and then I waited a few days before telling him and he heard it
from someone else while everyone we loved was there to celebrate his birthday.”

“Wow.”
He gave a low whistle, hollowing out his cheeks as if pondering the gravity of
my words. “I can understand why he would be upset about that. Don’t get me
wrong, I’m not saying you shouldn’t have taken the job. But, I can see where
that would cause some trust issues.”

“Exactly.
We’ve been trying to get past it but I can’t help feeling like there’s
something holding him back. I know he harbors a strong dislike for you.” I punched
him lightly in the bicep and reached for my phone. “Maybe I should call him,
try to smooth things over again. I swear, I feel like that’s all we ever do
anymore. We never used to fight.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “I love him
with all of my heart. I’m just not sure how we’re going to make it through the
next seven months.”

“Call
him.” He urged, patting me on the hand. “I’m going to take off. It’s obvious
that my work here is done. You are upright and on the mend.” He kissed the back
of my hand. “I must go now.” He stated, dramatically. As I walked him to the
door the phone rang in my hand. I swiped my thumb across the screen, not
looking at it first, before saying goodbye to Reid.

“Bye
Reid, thanks again for everything. I don’t know what I would have done without
you this week.” I shut the door, bringing the phone to my ear. “Hello.” I answered.

“Well,
isn’t it nice to know that in my absence you have Reid there to take care of
you. Seriously Brooke, it truly warms my heart to know that he’s there hanging
out in your apartment with you.” Sarcasm dripped heavily from each spoken word.
I breathed deeply before responding, knowing how he must be feeling given
previous circumstances.

“Hello
to you too, Sebastian. It’s nice to know you still care enough to call.” I
responded, flippantly. I moved to get comfortable on the sofa, fearing we could
be in for a long conversation. I was determined to not let his anger rile me
up, I had just begun to feel better.

“You
mind explaining to me what he was doing, and just exactly what it was that he
did to make you feel better? Please explain, because being this far away really
makes my mind think all sorts of things.”

“Sebastian
Miles! That’s enough. I’m not sure what it is that you are suggesting, but you
know me better than that. For your information, I have been very sick the past
four days. I’ve been bedridden and Reid has been taking care of me, and not in
the way you are assuming. He has been checking up on me, giving me medication,
making sure I drank plenty of fluids, and had something to eat. I was in pretty
bad shape.” I stated, calmly.

“Babe,
I had no way of knowing. I am so sorry.” He apologized.

“Yeah
well, you never called, so.”

“You
could have called to let me know what was going on.”

“I
told you, I was too sick. I could barely move, Sebastian, picking up the phone
was not my top priority.” I groaned inwardly. “Why do we always do this? We’re
always fighting lately.”

I
heard a long sigh on the other end. I could just picture him with his hand
running through his hair and chewing on his lip ring. Something he always did
when he was under stress or having a tough conversation. We both knew each
other so well, almost better than we knew ourselves. We’d loved so much over
the past nine months, even through the difficult times, and the thought of not
having him in my life hurt my heart deeply.

“I’m
not sure what’s going on, babe. Being apart is wearing on me I guess. I thought
by now we would be together. I guess I foolishly envisioned you traveling
alongside me during this tour. I just want things to be like they were before.”

“I’d
like that too. I would give anything for you to look at me the way you used
to.” I said, softly. I felt a lump starting to form in my throat, you know, the
one that lodges itself in place just before the tears start to fall.

“What
do you mean, like I used to? I look at you the same.” He defended.

“No,
not really. Not since I was dishonest with you. Now you look at me with love,
but its guarded, like you don’t completely trust me.” I brushed away the tears,
fighting like hell to not let him hear me crying.

“Honey,
I’m sorry you feel that way. Let me assure you that I am still completely and
madly in love with you. It’s insane how much I love you. It’s just really hard
for me, you know. I'm over here, thinking about you, remembering how good your
skin feels against mine. The taste of your lips. It’s on my mind every damned
day. Meanwhile, you’re over there, living your life and doing what you love,
and that’s cool. I just hate knowing that you’re doing that while living next
door to another man who is there for you when I can’t be. You two share the
same career. He understands things about your life that I will probably never
fully comprehend. Believe me, I know what it’s like to have a friend that
shares your passion. I spend most of my time with three of them.”

“Baby,
you have nothing to worry about with Reid. We’ve had a long talk about this, he
and I. He knows that we will never be more than friends, and he is okay with
that. He was incredibly kind and nothing but a gentleman this week. I can
assure you that you are the only man I care about. The only one I love. If we
are going to survive this separation there needs to be some trust and
understanding. In all fairness, I have no idea what you are doing out there on
the road. But, I do trust you. I need you to trust me, completely. Can you do
that?”

This
was incredibly important to me. Even though my choice to withhold important
information had been a poor one, it was never done with ill intentions. I would
never consider cheating on Sebastian, and I didn’t think for one moment that he
would do something like that behind my back. If our love was going to have any
chance of survival, we first needed to re-establish trust.

“Yes.”
He replied, after some hesitation. “I can do that. I want to do that. For the
record, honey, it’s not that I don’t trust you. I’m just afraid of getting
hurt. I jumped into this thing with you with both feet. I’m buried here.
Without you in my life, I wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. I’ve told you that I
want to spend the rest of my life with you. I’ve never said that to anyone
other than you. It’s always been you.”

“I
promised myself that I wouldn’t cry.” I sobbed pathetically. “I just miss you
so much. I thought this would be easier, being apart. I don’t care how badly I
wanted this, I am miserable without you. I ache for you. I need you to know
that.”

“I
hear you baby. I ache for you too. Soon. We’ll be together soon. I promise.” He
whispered. And my heart filled with hope, because during the short time we’d
been together there was one thing I had come to learn. Sebastian Miles always
kept his promises.