Two

Sky Presley

You came out of the blue

Jerrin was hot. Like one of those TikTok thirst trap videos hot.

I'd never been much for guys with long hair, but my fingers literally itched to take down that man bun and bury my hands in his silky hair. I had always been one for muscles and tattoos, though. Jerrin had those in spades, his arms covered in both. A little ink showed at his collar, too, making me long to see the art beneath the cotton.

So…did I let him take my hand and lead me right out of the backstage area and out into the field where I'd parked? I sure did. Maybe, it wasn't the smartest thing I'd ever done. I didn't know anything about him beyond his first name and that he worked for Waterstone , just as my sister did. However, for some reason, I felt safe with him— maybe because of the connection with my sister.

Which reminded me… Was I a bad person to be taking off with this guy when I was supposed to be finding Marley?

"So you know Marley?" I asked as we paused in the field where several dozen cars were parked. I knew from experience that every available field for miles would be packed just days from now when the festival started.

"Know her?" Jerrin scoffed. "Yeah. She's busts my ass all the damn time." He side-eyed me as if he were sharing a confidence. "No offense—your sister is great at her job, but damn, she can be a bitch."

A giggle burst from me.

"Don't tell her I said that," he added.

I shook my head. "Never. Besides, I love her to death, but I know for a fact, you're not exaggerating. She can be…a lot. She's also kinda overprotective. Very overprotective. You'd think I was twelve and not twenty-five. Last week, she warned me about even talking to any of the band members." I rolled my eyes. "Like I'd just randomly run into one of them. Geez. They're probably sequestered off someplace. Besides… They can't be that bad, right?"

Jerrin coughed, looking around the lot, deserted other than for the cars themselves. There wasn't a soul milling around. "Nah, the band's not that bad. I…uh…don't have a car here. Can you drive?"

"Sure."

Of course, he didn't have a ride here. With so many local and traveling band crews and administrative staff working the music festival, parking was at a premium and people got shuttled in from secondary lots in town.

Pulling out my keys, I aimed the fob at my pink VW Bug and unlocked the doors. I nodded toward it, my pride and joy. "I'm right over there."

"Cool. Let's get out of here." In long strides, he tugged me toward my vehicle.

"In a hurry?" I laughed, thoroughly enjoying the firm, warm grip of his hand around mine. The tingly sensation was so unexpected, and I liked it, not wanting to let go anytime soon.

"You have no idea what it's like at a gig. I might not have something to do right now, but if someone sees me, it's all over."

"Oh, then we'd better hurry. I'll text Marley when we're in the car—"

"Why?"

I lifted a brow at the growl in his curt one-word question. "To tell her to come to my place tonight if she can?" My response wasn't really in question, though it sounded that way when I answered him. "I haven't seen her since Christmas, so we're supposed to spend some time together while she's here. You know this is her home town, right?"

"Yeah, she's mentioned it. I believe what she said was ‘these are my people. Don't fuck them over.' That's not really a paraphrase there, either."

I winced. "Hate to say it, but that sounds exactly like her."

"Oh, it's her," Jerrin assured me as he held open the driver's door for me before he dashed around to hop into the passenger's side. He paused to look up at the dark sky before he closed the door.

"Looks like it might storm."

"Sure does," I agreed, looking at the iron-gray clouds through my windshield. "Everything's gonna turn to a muddy mess if it does."

He laughed, the sound a deep, rich flow that rolled over all my pleasure centers. "What's a music festival without a ton of mud?"

"Hmm…more fun?" I countered while I started the car and shifted into reverse.

"Nah, it's great. Haven't you seen the iconic Woodstock pictures? Or seen a tough mudder race? It's a blast."

I wrinkled my nose, my skin itchy at just the thought of it.

"I'll take your word for it." I hated being dirty, but still, the thought of Jerrin rough and dirty did things to me down low. Things I needed to ignore. I also needed to get my mind out of the gutter ASAP. "Um, where to?"

He shrugged as he pulled on his seatbelt. "Anywhere you want. Maybe, someplace quiet where we can hang out and get to know each other."

"If you don't mind drive-thru food, I know a place."

"I love drive-thru food. You kinda have to when you're on the road a lot."

"You don't look like you eat a lot of fast food," I said before I thought better of it. Mentally kicking myself, I got busy pulling out of my space and driving over the rutted path to the road.

"Yeah? What do I look like?"

My face burned. Gah… Just minutes after meeting him and I was already embarrassing myself.

"You look like you don't frequent the golden arches on the regular."

"One of the haulers that travels with us is a gym. All the crew and band have access to it when we're at a venue. I make use of it."

I sank my teeth into the inside of my bottom lip so I didn't blurt out my thought that clearly, he did work out. Clamping down on the urge to glance over at him and all those muscles, I turned out onto the street, glad to stop jarring my brain with the bumpy drive over the uneven land.

"How long have you been with Waterstone ?" I asked, turning to a safer topic while I navigated into town.

"Since the beginning. Have you always lived in Spring Harbor?"

"Yeah, all my life."

"Do you go to the music festival every year?"

I grimaced before I could stop it. "Ugh. Nooooo."

"Nooooo?" he echoed, laughing.

"Yeah. I'm not really into the circus of it. Or crowds. This year, I'll probably go on Friday because of Marley, but otherwise, it's not really my thing."

I pulled into Burgers on the Go , a local fast food place I liked, and stopped at the menu board before pulling up to the speaker.

"Wow, they have a lot of vegetarian," he commented, as he leaned forward to get a better look through the window, his hand settling on my thigh. I was so focused on the curl of his fingers on my leg, I almost didn't hear what he said.

"Oh, uh, yeah. They have other stuff, too, though."

"No, I like it," he said. "I don't actually eat meat."

"You don't?" Honestly, that surprised me. It always did when I stumbled over another person who had dietary preferences similar to mine.

"No. Being a—I mean, my job is physically demanding. I have to do everything I can to be healthy. It started with going heavy on the veg and then slowly morphed to no meat as my tastes changed. Anyway, I'm ready to order if you are."

To my further surprise, after I pulled up to the speaker and ordered my usual olive bean-burger and onion rings, Jerrin followed suit, though he made his sandwich a double. He also insisted on paying, and when I balked, he reminded me that he'd asked me out to lunch.

"This'll be a treat," he told me minutes later while I drove toward the store where I worked, the tempting bag of food and our drinks resting on the console between us.

"I hope so, it's my favorite restaurant."

"It'll be great. You have no idea the amount of times it's been fries and a salad-only for me. So what's this place?" he asked, lifting his chin toward the building when I parked in the angled parking at its curb.

"The business straight ahead is The Rock Shop . I manage it, and we can hang out in the employee lounge."

"Perfect." Jumping out of the car, he came around to my side before I'd even unfastened my seatbelt. Just then, huge raindrops started splatting on the windshield. We both sprinted toward the covered walkway that ran along the front of the building housing five different boutique businesses—one of a dozen such pods along this street, all the structures a good half-century old.

After fumbling with the front entry key, I let us inside and flipped on the lights after relocking the old door. Turning, I pointed toward the back. "This way."

"Wait. Hold up."

When I turned, he stared at a picture of me on the wall near the register. Oh lord. I'd forgotten about that.

"You're Rock Star of the Year? Impressive. Who needs a music festival? You're famous here."

"It's dumb," I groaned. "I'm just good with rocks—stones, gems, crystals, ya know—and with customers, of course." It wasn't exactly my life's calling, but it was fun and paid well. Plus my boss, who spent most of the year in Florida, thought I shot the moon.

"I think it's cool. Show me some of your favorite stones later?"

"Sure. C'mon, let's go eat or the food won't be a treat. It'll just be cold. We have a microwave, but it's not the same."

"Sure. Lead the way." His hand settled at the small of my back, and I inhaled sharply, which only managed to fill my lungs with his spicy scent. Whatever it was, I liked it. But what was even happening here?

Attraction. Lots of it.

I'd never experienced anything like it, certainly not to this pulse-pounding, panty-melting degree. I couldn't ignore it. Didn't want to. I decided right then and there—though, truly, the decision might have come before we'd even gotten into the car at the concert venue—I was just going to roll with this. Whatever happened with Jerrin between now and when he left town, it happened. Because I had never felt this way. Ever. And I wasn't letting it pass me by.