I choke on my own saliva. The conversation we are having is not exactly appropriate for me to be having with Cade’s sister, but I’m intrigued so I keep going. “Em, I didn’t know, I’m sorry.”
She shrugs, sighing loudly. “I just need a chance to live my life without others interfering in it.”
I nod. “I can understand that. I promise to be more standoffish when it comes to your future relationships. I also promise not to go running to Cade at the sign of trouble.”
She reaches out her hand to me. “Pinky swear?”
I lock my pinky with hers and then kiss my hand. “Pinky swear.”
Chapter Nine:
Emerson
Braxton and I had somewhat of a breakthrough the other night when he promised to stop meddling in my life and let me make my own decisions. I know it mustn’t have been easy on him, being my brother’s best friend and all, but it proved to me that he cares about me as a human being apart from Cade.
The Phoenix show had such a weird vibe after everything went down. The band members could feel the tension, so I can only imagine what the kids at the show thought. Glass Houses has been avoiding The Deafening Silence, and with only a couple more dates on the tour left, I’m hoping it can continue like this without any confrontations.
I am picking Breigh up at the airport today so she can spend two days with us in California. She’s never been here before. I spoke with her prior to her boarding the plane, and I know she’s stoked to be coming out. I haven’t told Cade or any of the other guys about her, but I know I’ll have to break the news when I show up with her at the venue. The guys think I took the van to run a few errands.
She’s easy to spot with her large cheetah print suitcase. She looks like a hot babe ready for the gym in her gray tracksuit and her red hair pulled up in a high ponytail. I honk at her a few times before pulling over and hopping out. She tackles me in a hug, and we almost topple over. “I can’t believe you’re here!” I say giggling.
“I can’t believe I’m here either. It’s like we’ve been planning this forever!” She wrestles with her large suitcase before tossing it into the back of the van on top of everything else.
“Be careful,” I warn her. “If anything comes up broken they’ll blame me.”
We hop back into the van and are on the road in no time. “Oh my God, I am so excited!” Breigh squeals, her emerald eyes glistening. “You have to tell me everything. Spill.”
Although Breigh and I have caught up on most of the gossip there is to tell with the tour, I haven’t talked to her candidly since the beginning of the tour. She doesn’t know anything about what went down between Aiden and me. “So…” I say, pausing, “a lot has happened.”
Breigh’s eyes widen. “I knew it! You hooked up with someone in one of the bands, didn’t you? Oh my God, who is it?”
I can’t help but laugh at her prediction.
“Oh my God, woman, just tell me already!” she shouts at me.
“Okay, okay,” I say, throwing my hands up in surrender. “I was kind of sneaking around with this guy, Aiden, from Glass Houses.”
“Kind of…?” Breigh pries, salivating from the drama.
“I sort of found out that he has a wife,” I say softly, hoping she doesn’t make as big of a deal out of it as I think she will.
“A WIFE?” Breigh screams. “Holy hell! Tell me more.”
“Well, would it make it any better if I told you that Braxton almost hooked up with the wife?” I joke.
Breigh looks at me like I have two heads. “Braxton is such a man-whore. Why am I not surprised?”
I nod. “Yeah, he’s actually the reason I found out about Aiden’s ‘open marriage.’” I use air quotes to get my point across.
“Wow,” she says, still in shock. “Nothing like this ever happens in Camden.”
I stifle a laugh. “You love the drama, always have.”
“Duh!” Breigh replies. “Tell me something I don’t know.” Suddenly something shifts in her demeanor, and I know it’s coming. It’s been her ‘tell’ for God knows how long. Anytime she gets quiet and reserved like this, a question about Cade normally follows.
“How is he?” she asks, confirming my suspicion.
“He’s good,” I say simply, hoping it will be enough to satisfy her.
“That’s good,” she replies, wringing her hands out in her lap. I don’t know why she lets him do this to her; why she is so hung up on him. He’s never been good to her. “Has he been hanging out with any girls on the road?”
“Breigh…” I murmur, hoping she will drop it. I hate seeing the disappointment on her face when I tell her the truth about Cade and his playboy ways. He’s never been one for commitment, and I can’t see that changing anytime soon.
“You’re right. I probably don’t want to know. It’s not like I even have a chance with him anyway,” she says in a defeated tone that both breaks my heart and fills me with immense guilt. I’m a bad friend.
“Hey,” I say, placing my hand on hers. “Any guy would be lucky to have you. Any guy, you hear me?”
She nods and plasters a smile across her lips, but I see right through it. She’s in love with Cade, and has been for far too long. I wish I could say I don’t know what she sees in him, but he’s my brother, my twin, and I know far too well what she sees. His good looks, his charm, his charisma, and sometimes if you catch him on a good day you just might get a glimpse of what a gentle giant he can be. Those days have been rare and far in between since our parents passed, but I still catch them from time to time.
“How’s Mischa?” Breigh asks, changing the subject. “How has she been dealing with you guys traveling the country?”
I glance at my best friend and then back at the road. “She’s doing great. I’m sure she’s relishing in the time she gets to spend alone and with Zach.” My poor aunt never asked to be a mother at twenty-three, but she’s done the best job she could over the years. She’s made so many sacrifices so Cade and I could have the life her sister envisioned for us. I’m so thankful and appreciative for having her in our lives.
Breigh giggles. “You know, you’re not really much of a child anymore. Maybe it’s time to think about getting your own place.”
I smile at her. “That’s why you’re my best friend. You just get me.”
***
When we finally pull back up to the venue, there are less than two hours until show time. They are playing at the Satellite in Los Angeles. It’s my first time to this venue, and even though the outside isn’t the most inviting, I like it.
“What the…?” I hear as I climb from the driver’s seat and hop out of the van. It’s Cade. He’s standing with the rest of the band off to the side while most of them smoke. He is next to me in seconds. “Em?”
“Surprise!” I say simply with a fake cheesy grin on my face as Breigh emerges from the passenger seat.
“Hey, guys,” she says with a smile heading toward the band.
“Hey,” most of them respond.
“I hope this is okay,” Breigh says timidly.
“Well, we don’t really have any other choice now, do we?” Cade remarks like an asshole.
“Cade!” I shush him. “Would it kill you to be nice to Breigh for once in your life?”
Breigh’s cheeks instantly grow redder, and I regret bringing to light their love-hate relationship. “It’s okay,” she says softly.
Cade looks at me for a few beats and then walks away without saying another word.
“What’s up with him?” I ask.
“He just found out about you and Aiden,” Red says. It’s probably the most he’s ever said to me.
“What do you mean he just found out about me and Aiden?” I growl.
“Well apparently, there were some pictures he found of you two…” Red trails off. “You should really talk to him about it.”
“Pictures?” I squeal. “What kind of pictures?”
Red looks at me as if I’m too dumb to follow. “I don’t think
I need to spell that out for you.”
“I’m going to kill him!” I scream, my eyes hazing over with anger. There is no way he is getting away with this.
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.
Chapter Eleven:
Emerson
After I was done reaming out Braxt
on and telling him to forget I exist, I had to find Breigh. She made the trip out here to hang out with her best friend specifically, not to have to endure her best friend getting into fights that don’t even matter at the end of the day.
No one knew where she was, and interestingly enough, Cade was MIA as well. My heart raced at the thought of him alone with her. He’s like a shark, and she’s shark bait. When she finally returned twenty minutes later, I drilled her to find out what took place. She shook me off and told me to wait until later.
It’s later now, the show is over, and we are just waiting in one of the green rooms for the guys to finish loading their gear up. “So,” I say, treading lightly.