Chapter Four
The group ordered a lot of food and drinks and settled in for a fun night. It wasn’t long before they were recognized by a few people, including the house band. They asked Brent to sing with them on a song, and he nodded and agreed, feeling Riley watching him through the entire conversation.
The food was passed around the table so everyone could try what they wanted and Brent sipped the same beer the entire night. Riley ordered a few of the bright green drinks that she was having, but there was no doubt that she was safe with this group. Judging from the way Chad was looking at her, it was safe to say that he wanted to protect her all on his own. Brent scooted a bit closer to her, and Riley gave him a curious glance as he slung an arm over her shoulder.
The dinner led to more drinks and Brent’s debut on the stage as he joined in for a classic jazz song. He grinned when he saw Riley in the front shaking her hips to the beat and singing along, and he held out his hand to her as she laughed and reached out for him.
The heat was searing, and they froze and looked at each other as her smile faded. He threw his all into the next note and the crowd cheered and clapped as he held up a hand in the air. He finished the song and clapped the guys on the back to thank them before he dropped down to the dance floor. A young woman stepped up to sing a Billie Holiday song. Brent looked at Riley before he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her against his body. “Let the games begin,” Brent told her, as she slipped her arms around his neck and swayed with him in the crowd. He could see that she was feeling the alcohol, but Riley was never one to let herself lose too much control. “Having fun?” Brent asked her, as he leaned down and looked into her endless eyes.
“This is great. Just what I needed,” she told him, as she moved closer and he caught a whiff of her sweet scent. It reminded him of flowers and fruit, and he sniffed as he dropped his head down.
“What is it that you are wearing? You smell like a garden,” Brent murmured to her, as he looked into her eyes to see them widen.
“It’s a new perfume I found. This one is cherry blossom, but I have several of her scents.”
“It’s amazing, Ri.” They danced the song through, and neither moved for the next one. Riley tightened her arms around him. Brent managed to tear his eyes away from her to see the table had taken notice of them as well as some of the crowd. He wasn’t stupid, and he knew that stories about last night had gotten around, but Brent only hoped that they were vague. He was aware that there had been three women in his bedroom at some point and, holding Riley like this, he just felt cheap for it.
Even if this wasn’t real, Brent could stop his reckless behavior. Brent knew that he would enjoy these moments, no matter how rare or planned they were, and he kissed the top of Riley’s head. They both stopped dancing when the song ended and looked each other before she blushed and giggled. As Riley moved towards the table, Brent slipped his hand down her arm to wrap his palm around hers.
They got to the table and sat back down as dessert was brought over. Brent shook his head and realized he’d have to run the following day, which reminded him that she used to go out in the mornings. “Do you still run?” Brent asked Riley, as his hand slipped around her back.
“As often as I can.”
“Your ass is mine tomorrow. Six or seven?” Brent asked her. She laughed and raised an eyebrow at him.
“Six. I am going to leave you in the dust.” Riley did some working out, based on her tight legs and perfect ass, as well as that waist that she was hiding tonight. “We leave tomorrow, don’t we?”
“Yeah, at ten or so. We need to be at the hotel in Texas for the three shows there. Back to back. No tourist activity for a while, unless you want to go out.” Riley loved seeing the local sights anywhere she was, and he remembered how much fun he’d had watching her at the cemetery. There were all kinds of tales about hauntings here in New Orleans, and he had certainly felt a creepy vibe a time or two today.
“We’ll see. It was fun today with you guys,” Riley told him, as she took a small bite of the bourbon pecan pie. “We’re running a lot tomorrow.” Brent smiled as she dug her fork into it again and offered him some.
“Delicious. Five miles?”
They all ended the night in a couple of hours and headed back to the hotel in a group. It wasn’t all that far, and they’d been drinking, so nobody was willing to risk driving. Brent walked beside Declan and Riley, only focused on her warmth beside him.
They were a bit behind the group and his best friend leaned in. “Great job tonight, guys. Everybody noticed you two. See? I told you it would help that you already know each other.” Riley and Brent looked at each other as they nodded and laughed, but Brent sensed something in her gaze before she looked down. The group headed to their individual rooms and Brent swallowed as he watched Riley look from him to her brother. She whispered something to Declan and walked towards Brent as he smiled and headed to his room. “Sorry it’s not so glamorous,” he apologized, as he unlocked the door and opened it.
“I’m not staying. I just wanted to keep the ruse going.” She smiled and sat on the bed as she looked around.
“I could’ve done something out there to do that,” Brent said, as he stepped over to the table and dropped the keys onto the surface.
“What would you want to do?” Riley asked as Brent looked over at her on the bed. He knew that he’d just been with a few women the night before, but there was a need filling him that he’d never experienced before. There was an emotion that he was scared to recognize, and he licked his lips.
“A kiss goodnight perhaps?” He watched her swallow and nod as he stared into her eyes.
“It might be good to practice.” Her voice was soft, and he stepped towards her. “I’m supposed to be spending the night with you, after all. I’m sure we’d kiss some.”
“I’m sure that we would.” Riley stood and pressed her hands gently against his chest. He felt his body respond instantly. She looked into his eyes, and he felt his body lean closer to her of its own free will, before she was pressing her lips to his softly. It was just a soft press, but he felt his hands circle her hips and pull her closer as she moaned against him. This was so much hotter than he’d thought it would be at first. Brent had assumed that being with Riley as anything more than a friend would be awkward, but there was nothing at all uncomfortable about the way that their lips were molding together and the feeling of their tongues tentatively touching as he tilted his head.
Brent felt himself push her against the bed and watched her as her body fell back and her chest bounced with the movement. He followed in a natural movement, then cupped her face and kissed her hard while he parted her legs with his knees. Their kisses got longer and deeper as he pressed against her to relieve some of the pressure that he was feeling inside and out. “Brent, we need to stop.” Riley pulled away and looked at him with fearful eyes, as he took a deep breath. “This is too real.”
“Yeah. I think we proved that we could kiss just fine,” Brent agreed, after a moment of total confusion. “Tomorrow at six?”
“I’ll meet you out front of the hotel,” Riley told him before she pushed him away and ducked out of the room.
“Fuck me,” Brent said, as he dropped onto his back and ran his hands through his hair. She could kiss, and Brent could still taste Riley’s sweet lips on his.
It had gotten heavy, though, and he sat up slowly as he looked around. There was no party and no women tonight, but there was a part of him that felt a lot better than he had in quite some time.
He also felt lonely as he went to lock the door and pull off his shirt before he watched some television.