Three

Jerrin

But you were always right there

"How long have you managed this place?" I asked, still studying her picture that didn't really do her justice.

"A few years. I worked here for the last two years of college then Gus—he owns the place with his husband—promoted me to manager."

"What did you go to college to study?"

"Biomedical science… Which, by the way, I can't do a darn thing with without getting my master's degree."

As a guy who'd scraped by to finish high school, that impressed me. "Wow! Smarty-pants. You didn't want to do more schooling?"

She rubbed two of her shiny blue-tipped fingers together with her thumb. " No mas dinero , ya know? Lucky for The Rock Shop , my minor was geology."

Sky captivated me. And it wasn't because of that dream I'd had back when I was eighteen. She was clearly smart, and I couldn't tear my eyes off her gorgeous figure as I followed her through the building. In my line of work, I'd met a lot of women. Besides groupies, which were a staple of the rock star lifestyle, my record label regularly sent me to events filled with beautiful female stars, celebutantes and high level executives. With her quick wit and the way she filled out her jeans and red blouse, her glossy auburn hair shimmering as she walked, she outshone them all.

As cliché as it might seem, I couldn't help wondering where she'd been all my life. Here in Spring Harbor, obviously. And right now, I was ready to upturn my whole life and stay here with her. She'd probably think I was crazy.

"This is nice," I commented when she led me into the employee's breakroom which was setup like a lounge with a couple couches in the center and a table in the corner. Against one wall, shelves displayed what I could only guess was the store's private collection of geodes, crystals and gemstones, the last displayed shadowboxes with labels on each rock.

I trailed Sky over to one of the sofas and dropped down next to her when she sat. "So why's the store closed on a Wednesday? It is Wednesday, right? When you've been on the road for a year and a half, it's easy to lose track."

"Yeah, it's Wednesday. We always close the week of the festival. Most of the staff works over there to help take care of the crowd of visitors that converges on the town every year."

"You?"

"Let's revisit what I said earlier about that circus. If not for my sister coming to town, I probably would have used my time off to go on vacation. That's what I usually do."

"So the rock scene is a no-go for you?" Being as it was my whole life, I needed to know where she stood and how I might need to change or compromise.

She wrinkled her nose. "I'm not anti-concert, per se. I just need a week to decompress from all the people. And frankly, the Spring Harbor Music Festival is a beast. It's like…a regular concert on steroids. Marley is making me go with her to the Waterstone concert on Friday, and I'm sure they're fine and all—no offense since you work for them—but it's not gonna be my favorite thing this year."

I busied myself unpacking our food onto the table in front of the couch where we'd plopped down, hiding my amusement at the no offense .

"No offense taken. You don't listen?"

She shrugged, pulling one set of the food closer to her. "I've heard their song Light Up My Sky . When it released, you couldn't avoid it. It was on the rock and country stations, since it crossed genres. I was sixteen when it came out, so of course, like any teenage girl might, I pretended it was about me."

She had no idea how accurate that thought was…

"But…" she continued. " Waterstone isn't really the music I listen to now."

"Really? What do you listen to?" I asked. No wonder she didn't recognize me, and the whole novelty of it, of her not even caring about Waterstone, just reeled me in more.

"Country—and Light Up My Sky was their only cross over. And I jam to older stuff. My parents always made us listen to stuff from the eighties and early nineties. And now, I find that I like it—not that I'd ever tell them that," she laughed.

"Are your parents still around?"

"Yeah. Dad's still teaching biology over at the high school and my mom is a vet tech—which is the only way she can be around animals since my dad is so allergic. That's a whole host of special over at their house. Marley is staying with them while she's here."

"So you got the love of biology from your dad. Did you get the love of animals from your mom or allergies from your father?"

"Both." She laughed. "I'm not afraid of needles like him, though. I got allergy shots for most of my teen years. So what about you? Parents? Siblings? I have three others besides Marley. All brothers."

"I just have a brother. My parents are somewhere. They haven't been in our life since we were teenagers." Because they hadn't ever wanted the inconvenience of kids—until we made it in music and they saw a gravy train. And now, they had restraining orders, instead. But that was too much to lay on Sky right now.

I'd have to share it all eventually, I supposed. My identity, too, probably sooner rather than later. We were already edging into "past the time I should have told her" territory.

But that was a problem for another time. I wasn't ruining this tonight. Using all the conversational skills my label had insisted I cultivate, so I could easily deal with media and fans, I turned our talk to other small talk, while carefully structuring my questions to learn everything I could about Sky. Yes, that was an art. If I hadn't been a musician, I might have been a spy.

Favorite color: Blue. Favorite food: Mexican. Favorite season: Fall. And so on and so on, while I offered the same information back to her. We'd just finished eating and were exchanging funny childhood stories when her phone rang.

"Oh shoot!" she said as Who Says by Selena Gomez started screaming from her cell. "It's Marley. I forgot to text her. I need to take it."

I nodded as she accepted the call and lifted the mobile to her ear. "Hey, sis."

I could just make out Marley's annoyed voice on the other end of the line, and Sky looked over at me, grinning and clearly trying to hold back an outright laugh.

"Well, I was there, and you weren't," Sky said, her green eyes flickering with mirth while she watched me. God, was this it, though? Was she going to tell Marley she was with me. Unlike many, Marley knew my actual name. She knew it wasn't just J or Jay.

Marley said something about fucking meetings running long —at least, I thought that was what she said.

"Ew, that sucks. Well, I just ended up grabbing something to eat and heading to the store. I'm doing an inventory while the place is closed."

How do you do an inventory on bins of rocks? Marley seemed to ask. Sky hadn't put the phone on speaker, but as I unabashedly strained my ears to hear Marley while I cleaned up our food wrappers, I could kind of catch her side of the conversation.

"You'd be surprised. Anyway…" Sky frowned. "Should we try to meet later? Or… Oh, okay. In the morning? That works for me. We can hang out—"

Her nose wrinkled as she listened to her sister. Feigning disinterest, I crossed the room to the trashcan to get rid of our wrappers, but I had no doubt Marley was sharing her packed schedule. The woman always had a never-ending to-do list.

"Okay," my girl sighed. "Well, in the morning then. I was hoping we could see more of each other while you were here… Yeah. Yeah, I'm still planning on Friday. I'll…be there."

As I returned to the couch, my lips curled in, and I looked down to hide my smile again. She sounded as excited about the concert as if she were reporting to prison or something. Clearly, I didn't hide my smile fast enough, since she shoved my shoulder and made a face at me. Unable to help myself, I tugged her over into my lap, and she gasped.

Is someone there with you? I heard Marley ask over the line.

"No," Sky squeaked. "I thought I saw a mouse. But it was a dust bunny. Guess I need to clean this week, too."

My fingers trailed up her thigh, and she drew in a shaky breath, but she didn't stop me. Her eyes met mine, the pupils wide with her interest and attraction. Her free hand flattened on my chest then flexed on the pec while she held my gaze.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning then," she said. If Marley answered, neither of us knew. She disconnected and tossed aside the cell.

"I want to kiss you," I murmured, my chest knotted with the need to taste her. "Can I kiss you, Sky?"

"I shouldn't have had those onion rings…"

A wide grin stretched my lips. "I had them, too, sweet thing. Guess we'll be fine."

"Then…" She released another shaky breath. "Yes. Yeah. I want that. I really want that."

I nodded, watching her reactions while my hand skimmed up her back to the nape of her neck. Cupping the back of her head, I leaned in and sealed my lips over hers. The immediate sensation overwhelmed me, and I knew I'd write a song about this moment someday—someday when I managed to find the words to describe the unexplainable pleasure that seeped through me like lava.

Her soft lips opened, or maybe mine pushed them open, and I groaned as my tongue encountered hers. Sky's arms went around my neck, and she pushed closer. I was lost in her—her taste, her blissful sounds, the sensation of her sweet body pressing to mine.

Her skin was velvet under my fingertips while brushed my thumbs along her jaw, barely stopping myself from exploring more. I wanted to touch her everywhere, to know every part of her. Knowing I was on the brink of pushing too far too soon, I pulled back, breathing hard, and rested my forehead against hers.

"Jerrin," she gasped.

"I hate to say this—it's the last thing I want to say—but we have to stop."

"It's the onions, isn't it?" she groaned.

"The what?" A laugh burst from me when I realized she was teasing. "No. No, it's… If I don't stop, I'm going to fuck you right here on this couch, and that's not what I want for us. Not tonight."

"Oh."

Was that disappointment?

"Can I see you tomorrow?"

"My sister's coming over tomorrow—"

"After." I knew Marley wouldn't stay all day. Thank God for her to-do list!

"Yes."

"I want to stay with you all night, but I should probably get back. My…um, team will be looking for me soon and blowing up my cell. I'm surprised it hasn't happened already with how I booked out of there. Give me your phone. I'll put in my number."

"It's on the couch someplace." She licked her lips, and I couldn't stop myself from kissing her again. With iron will, I kept myself from moving her to straddle me so she could feel the steel pipe aching to get inside her.

When we were breathing hard again, we located her cell, and I put in my digits then texted myself. Then, reluctantly, we headed back to her car.

The storm had passed, but it was humid as hell now, only adding to the heat radiating from my body. Thankfully, Sky turned on the air and it kicked in quickly. While she drove, my hand curled on her supple thigh, and she covered it with her smaller fingers, curling them between mine. My back teeth clenched, I focused on her hand and not how I wanted to feel her legs around me. I wouldn't last long before having her—but I couldn't feel guilty since I fully intended to keep her.

All too soon, she dropped me at the security gate to the bus area, and I stared into her eyes for a long moment. "I'm not going to kiss you in front of those assholes manning the gate. But you should know I want to."

"You should know I want to, also. I can't wait for tomorrow."

"Me, either, sweet thing." Reaching out, I brushed my fingers over her cheek, unable to leave the car without at least touching her. My thumb dragged over her bottom lip while the tip of my tongue licked over my own. My teeth sank into the inside of my cheek as I forced myself to move back and reach for the door.

"I'll text you," I promised.

She nodded, and with a jaunty wave, I feigned that I was just fine then strode toward the gate. I pulled out my badge but didn't really need to. Unlike Sky, the guards knew exactly who I was. In moments, I was inside and jogging toward my bus.

"Where the fuck have you been?" my brother, Stone, griped as soon as I stepped inside. Though I shared the vehicle with only him, the rest of the band was apparently hanging out in our lounge tonight. Stix, our drummer, was on the couch a couple feet from Stone, who also sat there. Violet, AKA Blu, our bassist, was in one of the armchairs, swiveling it back and forth while she studied me. Kyson, who played whatever we needed him to, being a regular Jack of all instruments, sat in the other chair, not moving other than his eyebrow lifting at me while he smirked.

"Out," I answered.

Stix jerked her attention over to Stone. "Oh, that explains it. He was out . I'll remember that one."

"The fuck you will," my brother growled. He and Stix had an on-again/off-again hate going on. I figured they just wanted to bang, but neither of them would admit it. When it finally happened, no one in the band, crew or management would be surprised. There may or may not have been a betting pool on when or if it would happen.

"I'm going to bed," I said, heading toward the extremely narrow hallway that led there. Unlike many buses that had a larger room in the back, with berths along either side of an aisle leading to it, Stone and I had designed our bus so we'd each have a private room to hang out in. It was a compromise, since the alternative was us each buying our own vehicle.

"Don't forget we have rehearsal tomorrow afternoon," Stone yelled after me.

"Do I ever forget?" I groused.

"No. But do you ever go out like today?"

I didn't say a word, just flipped him the bird over my shoulder then slammed my door once I was inside my closet-sized cubicle—my home away from home, my refuge. And I couldn't help wondering how Sky would like it, because I most definitely wanted to see her here—preferably sprawled out for me in the bed.

Yeah, that would make this little room perfect.