Chapter Ten:
Braxton
“Braxton!” I hear Emerson screech and then she is charging at me like an angry bull.
“Good luck with that,” Geo jokes before walking away with the rest of the band.
“What is it now, Princess?” I ask Emerson in a slightly condescending tone. I’m still trying to figure out what the fuck Breigh is doing here.
“I can’t believe you!” she screams at me again and then pounds on my chest. “What do you have to gain, seriously?”
“You’re not making sense, Em. Maybe you should get some rest, and we can try this again later,” I reply, unable to stop the grin taking over my lips.
Her hand comes barreling at my face moments later before I’m prepared. She gets me good on my left cheek with a loud slap that stings. It’s in this very moment I realize that we aren’t joking around anymore.
“What the…?” I trail off, lost in the gravity of the situation. “What the fuck was that?” I finally string a full sentence together.
When Emerson’s blue eyes shift to meet mine, they are cold and uninviting. “Just leave me the fuck alone,” she growls in a predatory tone. “You’re my brother’s friend and bandmate, but that’s all you are to me. Don’t look at me, don’t talk to me, don’t even breathe in my direction. From here until the end of the tour, you are dead to me.”
My eyes widen from her words. You are dead to me. In all the time I have known her, Emerson has never been this angry with me. “What the fuck did I do?” I ask. I have a right to know why her panties are in a bunch.
“Don’t play dumb, Braxton. The pictures. I know you showed Cade pictures you took of Aiden and me without our knowledge. It was stupid of me to think that you and I could have any semblance of a normal friendship. You don’t think about anyone but yourself.”
The pictures… of course. I took the pictures when she first began hanging out with Aiden and had every intention of sharing them with Cade, but then we talked and I felt guilty, so I decided against it. What I didn’t bet on was Cade dropping his own phone and shattering the screen, leaving him to ask me to borrow mine. Who knows how he found the pictures, it’s just the fact that he saw them. “Come on, Emerson, do you really think I would betray you like that? Cade found the pictures on his own.”
Emerson scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Oh, yes, because that makes it any better! You still took the pictures, you pervert. Seriously, do you get off meddling in my life?”
I gape back at her, shocked at the low blows she’s dealing me. “Stop, Em, before you say something you’ll regret,” I warn her. Glancing around, I notice that we are the only two remaining outside. Everyone, even Breigh, has abandoned us.
She’s on something tonight. I don’t know what’s up her ass, but I think getting laid might actually calm her the fuck down. I know that’s what I’m going to do tonight after this shit storm.
Emerson looks me dead in the eyes, her face stone-cold. “This is over.” She points between us. “You and me, we don’t owe each other anything. When I see you, look the other way.” Her tone is threatening, and she glares at me for a few seconds longer before whipping her head around and walking past me.
I’m seething, but I have a show tonight and I need to focus. My band and the others we are touring with don’t deserve for me to blow it for them. So, I tune everything else out and focus on one thing at a time.
The hours blur together, and soon enough our set is over and I can relax. I don’t want to think about anything tonight, so immediately after packing up my equipment, I head to the bar and order a whiskey on the rocks. I down it a little too quickly, and find myself ordering another in less than ten minutes.
“Hi,” I hear a high-pitched female voice say from behind me.
I spin around and see Lauren, one of my regular flings out in California. She’s at every one of our shows with her half-Asian self, lightly tanned skin, and chestnut eyes. She’s shorter than five-five, but she’s got a killer body. Tonight, she’s wearing a pair of daisy dukes with a small little white tank top, paired with knee-high cowgirl boots. Yeah, she’s a ten.
“Hey.” I turn around and then pull her into a hug. “Thank you so much for coming out.”
She giggles rolling her eyes. “Oh, come on, Brax, when have I ever missed a show of yours?”
I know I shouldn’t feel weird that she calls me by my personal nickname, given the fact I’ve been inside her on multiple occasions, but it does. I rarely respond to people who shorten my first name because I feel like that’s so personal. I need to trust the person; I need to care about them to feel okay with something like that. I’m not sure Lauren and I are there yet. I much prefer the no-strings-attached sex.
“You’re right, you haven’t.” I toss back the last of my second drink and Lauren inches closer, her tiny body invading my personal space.
“Let me buy you a drink,” she says seductively.
What the hell. I need a distraction from the craziness that happened today, so I give in. I’m on my fifth whiskey when all of my cares go out the window. The alcohol is coursing through my veins, making me feel light on my feet and primal. I feel it, the need low in my gut.
“Follow me,” I instruct Lauren and then lead the way through the concert-goers to the back of the venue where the employee bathrooms are. Only the bands and the venue staff have permission and access to these bathrooms, and with the show happening, I doubt the need to worry.
Pulling Lauren into the unisex employee bathroom, I back her up against the door. Running my hand through her caramel-colored hair, I pull her head to the side gently, placing a kiss directly on her neck. “Mmm,” I murmur into her neck, “you smell good, beautiful. What is that?”
She giggles, her thighs clenching together. “It’s just soap. I don’t use any perfume or sprays,” she says.
“Really?” I lift my head up so I can look her in the eyes. She smells like a mixture of mangos and Shea butter. I wonder how she manages that.
She nods as I run my fingers over her hips and then up her sides, picking her up. She’s so tiny; she probably weighs no more than a hundred pounds soaking wet. She wraps her legs around me. It doesn’t take much to get me hard, so Lauren’s petite body wrapped around mine gets the job done and then some.
We’re passionately kissing, tearing at each other’s clothes, completely lost in the moment. “Braxton,” she says as I’m trailing kisses up her neck. My hand is tangled in her hair, supporting her neck.
“Hmmm?” I continue kissing her, but now I’m closer to her ear lobe.
“Aren’t you worried someone is going to walk in on us?” she asks, completely ruining the moment. I love danger; I love living my life on the edge. Thinking about what could go wrong completely takes the fun out of it. It’s as if I feel my erection leave me right then and there.
I groan, nuzzling my nose into her neck. “You’re ruining it. The reason I like being with you so much is because I don’t have to think. I don’t have to worry.”
She unwraps her legs from my body and hops down to the ground. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
“You know what, I should probably get back to the merch table, it’s my turn to run it. It’s good to see you, Lauren. You have my number; you should use it more often.” I wink at her so there are no hard feelings.
She looks worked up and sexually frustrated, but she smooths down her tank top and pastes a smile on her face. “Don’t act like we’re not going to pick this up in a little bit when you’re done with this dog and pony show.”
A grin breaks onto my face. “God, you’re sexy.” I pull her to me and lean down planting a kiss on her lips.
I get to hit that later. Yeah, it’s good to be me.