He smiled at memories of how passionate they’d once been. “We were young. Everything was extreme.”
“Did you come up with the name?”
“Kellen did, actually. He was having one of his philosophical moments. Said there was only one thing in his life that he ever truly regretted, all the rest of the bullshit was secondary.”
“His sole regret.”
“Exactly. We’d all had a few too many beers that night. Each of us shared our biggest regret and then made a pact to never tell anyone about them. We named the band Sole Regret to remind ourselves of that promise.”
“So what was your sole regret, Jacob?”
“Not telling.”
“Why not? I can keep a secret.”
“Because it’s personal.”
“More personal than sex?”
He nodded. “Way more personal than sex.”
“Does it have something to do with your divorce?”
“Nope, it happened before I even met your sister.”
“You were like twenty-two when you met her. So it must have been something that happened in high school then.”
He had the feeling she wasn’t going to relent until she figured it out. “I said I’m not telling.”
“Did you beat up someone? Steal something? Spend time in juvenile hall?”
“What?” he said. “No. Why do you think it was something bad?”
She shrugged. “Because you won’t tell me. It makes me assume the worse.”
He took a deep breath. “I regret not finishing high school,” he said. “That’s it. It’s not even a secret. Most people just don’t realize how much I regret dropping out.” He wasn’t sure why he’d told her. Probably because the truth was far less criminal than what she was imagining.
“So go finish.”
He’d expected disdain or pity, not a solution. “I’m too old to finish.”
“You’re kidding, right? You could get your GED. You’re smart enough. You probably just need a refresher course.”
“I’m not smart enough. I was flunking out of high school. That’s why I quit. I was going to have to retake my entire senior year, and at the time, quitting seemed better than failing.”
She shifted in the water so she could meet his eyes. “You are smart enough.”
Lost without his sunglasses, he stared over her head. “No.”
“Jacob, I’m a teacher; I know what I’m talking about. You are smart enough.”
He knew his personal limitations. Her insisting things that weren’t true only managed to tick him off. He was done talking about this. “No.”
“One of my best friends teaches an accelerated GED prep course,” she pressed. “You should take it. She’s a really great teacher.”
“I’m not taking it, Amanda, and I’m not going to bother taking a test I know I’ll flunk. Drop it.”
“You shouldn’t go through life with regrets, Jacob. Especially not ones you can fix.”
“Amanda.” He gave her a stern look, and she matched it with a death glare that undoubtedly made the most unruly of teenaged students take notice and obey.
“Just think about it,” she said. “If you decide you want to try, I’ll get you signed up for Leah’s class. She usually has a waiting list, but I’m sure she’d squeeze you in if I asked her for a favor.”
“Why does it matter to you so much? Are you ashamed to be fucked by a high school dropout?” Her sister certainly used it against him.
“It doesn’t matter to me at all. You’re obviously doing well for yourself. I’m being a nosy, pushy bitch because it matters to you.”
“You’re not a bitch,” he said. He’d encountered plenty of them in his travels.
“Just nosy and pushy.”
She looked at him expectantly and had he been wearing his sunglasses or if she’d been a less perceptive woman, he might have stood a chance of fooling her into thinking he didn’t give a damn about any of this. He hated being told what to do more than anything, but had to admit her idea was a good one. He didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of it years ago. Getting his GED would give Tina less ammunition to use against him and maybe she’d stop reminding Julie that he was stupid.
“If I say I’ll think about it, will you get off my back?”
She smiled. “I’ll call Leah tomorrow.”
“I didn’t say I was doing it for sure.”
“Just in case.” She kissed him and then shifted to lean against him with her head on his shoulder again.
He squeezed her upper arm in one hand and then gently stroked up and down while his mind turned over possibilities. Dropping out of high school was his only real regret, and he didn’t need the diploma to make a living, but he did want it. A piece of paper might prove he wasn’t as stupid as everyone thought he was. He didn’t have the time to study while he was on tour but maybe in a few months when the band took a break, he could squeeze a refresher course into his schedule. Sole Regret would be in the studio cutting a new album in the fall, but during the coming winter he might find the time. He hoped this Leah woman was patient and a miracle worker because it would take both to get the brain tucked inside his thick skull to retain information. He’d never been good at school stuff. For years he’d barely scraped by. His teachers had taken pity on him and let him move up through the system one frustrating year at a time.
He wondered what kind of teacher Amanda was. He imagined her class would be challenging and a lot of fun. Even so, he probably would’ve flunked it. Especially since he would have spent the entire period fantasizing about her hot body.
“Do you like being a teacher?” he asked.
“Yeah, I do. Well, I like most parts about it. I like my students and finding new ways to excite them about science, but all the extraneous administrative bullshit becomes exhausting.”
“I had quite a few crushes on my teachers.” He grinned.
“Why’s that? Do you like women with authority, Mr. Silverton?”
“Nope. I like big brains.” He kissed the top of her head. “Sexy.”
“Oh really? I thought you liked big boobs.”
“Hey, I can like more than one part at a time.”
She laughed. “You can also please more than one part at a time.”
“A man has to draw attention to his talents.”
“You definitely have my attention.”
“Oh, good,” a deep voice said from the shadows next to the house. “You have company. I need to ask her something.”
Chapter 8At the sound of a man’s voice, Amanda jerked upright with a splash. She gasped when cool air hit her naked breasts, and she sank deep beneath the steaming water to hide.
“You could call before you drop by,” Jacob said. “I have better things to do than hang out with you on my night off.”
The drummer of Shade’s band, Gabe, stepped into the dim light given off by several solar lights. Amanda hadn’t noticed how dark Jacob kept the area around his hot tub until their uninvited guest sneaked up on them. She was sure the poor lighting was intentional. Probably kept the neighbors from seeing what Jacob had going on in his backyard.
“Looks like an intermission to me,” Gabe said.
Gabe was tall and lean, with a red and black mohawk that would have gotten him kicked out of Amanda’s class for being disruptive to the educational process. She didn’t know him very well, had only met him a few times when Jacob had hosted parties tame enough for extended family—which had once included her. His band had been surprisingly well behaved. Amanda’s mother had particularly enjoyed the bassist, Owen, who could be quite the sweet-talker. That had been before Jacob and Tina had split, of course. Every time Amanda had met Gabe in the past, he’d been wearing a baseball cap over his hair, but tonight he had it spiked straight up. He approached the hot tub and sat on the edge, kicking off a pair of flip-flops and easing his feet into the water. He was wearing a pair of board shorts, so sank his legs into the water to the knee.
“I n
eed to get one of these,” he said.
“You need to get lost,” Jacob said.
“You know a lot about women,” Gabe said to Jacob. His gaze dropped on Amanda, who was using Jacob’s arm to shield as much of her body as possible. Gabe’s jaw dropped and he pointed a finger at her. “Wait? Aren’t you Tina’s sister?”
“You didn’t see her,” Jacob said in a low voice.
“Fuck, Jacob,” Gabe said, his head swiveling in Jacob’s direction. “Are you a complete idiot?”
“It’s none of your business.” He scowled. “And don’t call me an idiot.”
Amanda’s fingers curled into his belly, and she gave him a weak hug. She was too exhausted and relaxed to give him proper support. She hated that he believed he was stupid and wondered how many people had made him feel that way over the course of his life for him to be so sensitive about it. Especially since she knew it wasn’t true.
Gabe ran a finger along the margin of his hairline. “I came over here to ask your advice about a woman, but I think I’ll go ask one of the roadies. You obviously don’t have a lick of good sense when it comes to females.”
Interest piqued, Amanda straightened. “What kind of advice about a woman?”
Gabe stared into the water and then lifted his gaze to meet hers. He had the most striking green eyes she’d ever encountered. Perhaps it was the contrast of the black and red tattoos on his scalp and his equally bright mohawk that made his eyes look so green, but she got sucked into his gaze and couldn’t look away.
“Maybe it would be better to ask a woman’s advice instead of a dude’s,” he said. “I’m dating this woman from Wichita.”
“By dating, he means he had a one-night stand with her.” Jacob chuckled.
“Fuck you,” Gabe said. “This is why none of us date regularly,” he said to Amanda. “Ever since Jacob’s divorce, everyone in the band seems to think women are only after one thing.”
“Sex?” she blurted. Because that’s what she was after.
Gabe’s eyes widened, and then he laughed. “I meant money.”
Amanda’s face went hot and she couldn’t blame it on the heat of the water. “Oh.”
“We have each other’s backs now,” Jacob said.
“Except when we find someone we do want to get serious about, the rest of the band tries to fuck it up as soon as possible,” Gabe said. “Anyway, I’m dating this girl who lives near Wichita.” He paused and stared at Jacob as if daring him to deny his claim. “Named Melanie.” He paused again. When Jacob didn’t tease him, Gabe shifted his gaze to Amanda. “She’s all pissed off because I didn’t invite her down to hang out on my one night off this week.”
“I’m sure she just wants to spend time with you,” Amanda said.
“She thinks I’m fooling around on her.”
“Well, you are in hot tub with a naked woman,” Jacob pointed out.
Gabe jerked his feet out of the water and extended them across the deck. Amanda stifled a chuckle. This was obviously bothering him.
“When did you meet her?” Amanda asked.
“Two nights ago.”
Shocked, Amanda blinked at him. Why was he so concerned about a woman he just met? But he was worried if he was here asking for advice. Most guys would try to muddle through and then fuck things up before they started. “Maybe she’s worried that you’re just stringing her along. Do you have plans to see her again soon?”
“Yeah, the band has a three-day break next weekend and she’s planning to visit me here in Austin for the duration.”
Jacob stiffened beside Amanda, and she looked at him to find him offering Gabe pointed shut-the-hell-up looks. So he didn’t want her to know that he’d be home next weekend? Not that she expected this hook-up to lead to anything even remotely permanent, but if she was good enough to fuck, she should be good enough to know such a small tidbit of information. She wasn’t going to stalk him or anything. Or try to trap him. They were going to have a talk as soon as Gabe left so he realized that she wasn’t like her sister. She wasn’t a gold-digger. She didn’t want anything from him but a good time.
“Tonight I was working on a surprise for Mel,” Gabe said. “That’s the main reason I didn’t want her here. Plus it’s a long trip to take to spend only a couple of hours together.”
“Did you tell her you were working on a surprise for her?” Amanda asked.
Jacob stifled a chuckle. Now Gabe was sending him pointed shut-the-hell-up looks. “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told her about it,” Gabe said.
“You don’t have to tell her what it is,” Amanda pointed out.
“True.” He scratched behind his ear. “Um, say, Amanda,” he said, “what do women find more pleasing? Length or girth?”
Jacob burst out laughing. “Are you lacking in both departments, Force?” he asked, using Gabe’s stage name.
Gabe kicked water at him. “No. I just wondered.”
“A bit of both,” Amanda said. “Too long and it can beat the hell out of your cervix. After a while it starts to hurt. Too thick… Well, I’ve never had one that was too thick.”
Jacob stared at her in astonishment and then laughed even harder. His arm tightened around her to press her into his side. “Woman, I never know what to expect out of you.”
Gabe seemed to be taking mental notes. “That’s what I thought. So in regards to the motion when it’s inside the vagina, what’s best? Repetitive, equally spaced thrusts or more variety in the rhythm? Shallow or deep? Fast or slow? And is it better to drive it straight in, at a certain angle, or move in circles?” He mimicked various erotic motions with two fingers.
Amanda had no idea why he was asking her advice on pleasing a vagina, but hers was starting to swell again at all the thoughts he suddenly had churning through her mind. “Um, why don’t you ask her what she likes?”
“I do,” he said, “but this is for her surprise.”
“What, are you going to jump on her the moment she steps through your door?” Jacob asked. Beneath the water, his hand skimmed over Amanda’s hip. Was Gabe’s battery of questions turning him on as much as it was her? She’d never met a man who was so openly inquisitive about such things. At least not with a woman he scarcely knew.
Gabe ignored Jacob and stared at Amanda as he waited for her to respond. “Best to mix it up a little,” she said finally.
“Why are you asking Amanda these things?” Jacob asked. “Call your chick and ask her.”
“I already told you I want to surprise her.”
“Surprise her? Or her vagina?” Amanda asked.
Gabe chuckled. “Well, mostly her vagina, but other parts too. I have to program one thing at a time though.” He lifted both eyebrows. “What do you think about the girth continuing to increase? While it’s inside, I mean. Thicker and thicker and thicker.”
Amanda’s jaw dropped.
“That’s what I thought,” Gabe said and chewed his bottom lip as he pondered his idea.
Jacob laughed. “Sounds as if you’re working on some sort of sex machine.”
“It’s going to blow her mind.” Gabe grinned wickedly. “Thanks for the input.” He stood and descended the steps connected to the hot tub’s decking.
“You are such a fucking pervert,” Jacob said.
“So now I’m a pervert?” Gabe said, locating his flip-flops and sliding them on his feet. “Has Amanda seen your bedroom yet?”
Amanda’s head swiveled in Jacob’s direction.
“Not yet,” Jacob said, “but she’s about to.”
Chapter 9Amanda wasn’t sure what she expected Jacob’s bedroom to look like, but she wouldn’t have put her money on what she discovered. She’d figured he’d have a huge bed, which he did, but all the kinky toys she had anticipated were missing. There were TVs of various sizes around the periphery of the heavy wooden canopy above the bed. There was even a monitor above the pillows so you could watch the screen while you were flat on your back. It looked more like a sports bar than a bedr
oom.
“I had no idea you were such a big fan of television,” Amanda said.