Chapter Thirty:
Braxton
She knew exactly what she was doing when she showed up in the middle of the night, drunk nonetheless. I was planning on sending her away like I normally do, but something stopped me. Something took over my body, and I wasn’t in control of my actions. All I knew was if she was there, in such close vicinity, I couldn’t just stand around and not touch her.
I’ll admit that I took it further than I expected to. The problem is now that I’ve crossed that imaginary line, I don’t know that we can go back to the way things used to be. Not now that I’ve satisfied her in the way I have; all I can think of is being inside of her and how tight she is. I’m walking around with a perma-hard dick at the thought of her. I already know I’m headed for trouble.
She thinks that we can frolic around in secret and that no one will find out, but I’m not dumb enough to believe that. It does help that she is moving into her own place this week, so she won’t be so easily accessible to her family. My issue is that I have to be around Cade quite a bit this week as we are back in the studio recording our second CD. Every single time I’m around him, it becomes more difficult to keep my mouth shut when it comes to Emerson. I have to be thoughtful on the way I react to Cade’s stories, especially when I may have heard it already directly from her mouth. It’s a lot to keep up with. I wish I could be honest with my best bud. I wish I didn’t have to sneak around behind his back. I wish he could see just how far I’d go to protect her.
I’m sitting on the couch in the studio as Spencer lays down his parts on our new song, Outer Moon. Most of the guys are here, immersed in their phones or our groupies. Looking over at the desperate group of females, I notice Cade smack dab in the middle. When did he join them? Last I heard he was headed to take a piss. He must have hit a detour. He is being his usual flirty self, except he hasn’t been like this in a while. Breigh couldn’t make it to the studio today, so maybe he’s taking advantage of her absence? She’s been at the last two recording sessions. I glance at Cade giving him a ‘what gives?’ look, hoping he will get the hint, but he’s too wrapped up in the female attention to notice.
Walking over to him, I know what I am about to do is breaking the bro-code. If he pulled something like this on me, I’d probably punch him in the face. The thing is, something has been shifting inside of me lately. The old me would have walked away, or worse, egged my friend on. The new me realizes what a catch he has with Breigh and how good they are together and I don’t want to see my friend throw all of that away.
“Well, don’t you look cozy?” I mention, pointing at his position in the middle of the group. All eyes turn on me.
“Oh, hey asshole, we were just talking about you,” Cade says with a smirk.
“Is that so?” I ask, eyeing him down.
He nods. “The girls were asking if we want to grab a bite to eat after this.”
My eyes roll before I can stop them. “Naw, man. I was thinking maybe we could call up Breigh and Em and see if they want to hang out after.”
Cade’s eyes grow wide and then angry. He’s not happy with me for mentioning the girls in front of them. Typical Cade. The four females that are hanging on his every word are now exchanging worried and angry glances with one another. “He’s talking about my sister and her best friend,” he says quickly, trying to do damage control.
“Oh, sounds boring!” one of the girls’ drones. “Come hang out with us; I guarantee we’ll be a lot more fun.”
Cade stands up and then pushes me roughly into the bullpen. “Come on, Brax, don’t be a Debbie Downer,” he says with a smirk.
I can already feel the hands touching me and instead of instantly making me hard, it’s kind of repulsing. The only person’s hands I want on me right now are Emerson’s. “Sorry, ladies, I’m going to have to ask for a rain check.” I bounce up beside Cade, his glare hard to ignore. “Have a blast for me though,” I say as a parting gift before returning to the other side of the room. I can’t wait until this bullshit is done so I can hang out with her.
***
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down,” I say stifling a laugh. I am holding Emerson off and it’s as if she’s a starving puppy. She came over after I got home from the studio and has been on me like white on rice ever since.
“What?” she demands out of breath.
“This can’t be all about sex,” I say. “We need to lay down some ground rules.”
Emerson’s eyebrows raise but she sits up on my bed. “Okay, ground rules.”
I smile. “Okay, so first rule is there needs to be some kind of balance here. I’m a sex god, I won’t deny that, but even gods need attention and affection aside from sex.”
She giggles, her eyes sparkling as she does. “Okay, fair enough. So we are going to what, get to know each other then?”
I nod. “That sounds like an appropriate use of our time together.”
She rolls her eyes but continues smiling. “Okay, what else?”
“Rule two, we don’t talk about what or who we do outside of here. I don’t want to know who else you are seeing and vice versa.”
Her face falls. “Well, it’s not like we are dating or anything so I can accept that.”
Some part of me was hoping she would say that she didn’t want to see other people, but I guess this will do. “Rule three, no labels. Think you can handle that?”
She smirks. “Well, seeing as we are only a secret right now, I think so.”
“Okay, then,” I say pulling her into me.
“Is that it?”
“Yeah, I think I’m good for now.” I laugh.
“Can I ask you a question?” She runs her finger gently over my eyebrows.
“What?”
“Are you ever going to take my virginity?” she practically whines.
I laugh. “You seriously have a one-track mind.” I tuck some of her flyaway hairs behind her ear. “It’s kind of sexy,” I whisper.
She blushes, tucking in her chin. “Say it again.”
“What? That you’re sexy? Well, you are. Cade would have a conniption fit if he heard me saying so.”
She giggles. “I have to finish packing.”
“Then what are you doing over here?” I ask.
“I wanted to see you. It’s not going to be so convenient when I move…” she trails off, looking away.
“Obviously, but who’s choice was it to jump ship? Yours.”
Emerson’s phone chimes and she grabs it, swiping across the screen to unlock it.
“Who is it?” I ask lazily, not even trying to see.
Her face scrunches up with concern.
“What is it?” I’m all ears and attention now.
“Breigh, she can’t get a hold of Cade. She’s been calling and texting, but he isn’t answering. Do you know where he is?”
I want nothing more than to lie to her, but I can’t. It’s a lose-lose situation for me. If I tell the truth, someone may get hurt. If I lie, someone may get hurt. I shrug. “He said he was going to get something to eat after we left the studio; he invited me but I wanted to see you.” I always find that a version of the truth is better than nothing.
She nods, the worry never leaving her face. “I have to go.” She stands up from my bed, an apologetic look on her face.
“Okay,” I reply before standing up as well and giving her a quick peck on the lips. “Call me later.”
I know her well enough by now to know that she is headed straight for Breigh. She can’t stand to see her friend hurting. I wish Cade would get his act together.