Before You (Before You #1)(11)
“Great. Grab your stuff. We should go.”
“I’m ready.”
Chapter Five
Bre couldn’t remember a day that she had more fun or felt more relaxed in her entire life. Three hours ago, they sailed out of Marina del Rey. At first, she had been nervous and unsure what to say to him, but Jax’s open, unassuming personality made her feel comfortable. Before she knew it, she had abandoned her sketchbook for an impromptu sailing lesson, which resulted in a lot of spontaneous laughter and an unexpected friendship. His boyish laughter at her ridiculous questions and his knowledge of the area made the day almost perfect.
As his hands guided hers over the wooden wheel at the helm of the boat, she realized he commanded the sailboat just as easily as he did the stage—with effortless skill and complete proficiency. Hesitantly, she leaned the back of her head against his chest and her treacherous body became instantly warm and needy, and she struggled against the staggering temptation to press her entire body into his.
No, she refused to be weak and succumb to the moment, so instead of pressing herself into him further, she ducked underneath his arms and laughed helplessly. “That’s enough sailing for me for the day.”
“Do you want to drop anchor and sketch for a while?”
“Sure. What are you going to do?” She sat down on the deck on her blue and white-striped towel.
“Write,” he said, shrugging as though it were an obvious answer.
“Write what?”
“Music. That’s the other reason I like to sail. It’s my muse.”
“I can see why. It’s beautiful out here,” Bre replied, tilting her head toward the sky, letting the sun warm her face.
Opening her worn sketchbook, Bre stared at Jax as he furled the sails, enjoying the play of the sun on his skin, and without thinking, she started drawing him.
A few minutes later, he opened his guitar case and started tuning it. Bre had watched Cam tune his guitar many times in his bedroom when they were growing up, but it had never fascinated her as much as watching Jax do it. She found herself admiring the way his sleekly muscled shoulders flexed as his fingers moved over the strings.
An hour later, she had a notebook filled with sketches of Jax playing the guitar. Sailing may be Jax’s muse, but today he was her muse. She couldn’t remember the last time she was so motivated and inspired to draw. She couldn’t wait to set up her art supplies when she got back to Colorado to paint a sequence of Jax playing the guitar on his sailboat. As she tucked away her sketchbook, she pulled out her phone to snap a few pictures of Jax so she could remember all the colors.
“What are you doing?” Jax questioned, looking up from his guitar.
“I have some really great sketches in here, and I want to capture the colors with my camera so I can remember them when I paint some of the scenes at home.”
After placing his guitar securely in its case, Jax walked over to her. “Let me see them.”
“Absolutely not. My art is private. I don’t like people to see it.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it.”
“Sure you have.”
Bre exhaled loudly. “I guess for me, drawing and painting is like a visual diary. It’s personal and I don’t particularly like sharing my thoughts with strangers.”
“After today, I’m still considered a stranger? I hope you don’t make the habit of spending your days on boats with random strangers or you’ll have me really concerned. I’ll have to talk to Cam about your behavior.”
“No… I don’t normally do this,” she replied defensively, but when she looked at the expression on his face, she noticed his body shaking with laughter. She picked up her towel and threw it him. “Oh, I get it. You’re making fun of me for my comment about going into closets with strangers. You must think I’m really dense.”
“No, but I couldn’t resist the opening you left me there.”
Bre waved a hand, dismissing his comment. “I guess I made myself an easy target.”
“So what do I have to do to earn a non-stranger status? I’d love to see your sketches from today.”
“Hmm… I don’t know,” Bre said, tapping her fingers against her lips. “I’ll have to think of something sufficiently humbling so I can hold it against you if you laugh at my work.”
“I would never even consider it,” he replied, pushing her hair behind her ear.
“Okay, I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”
“So, is sketching part of your dream to become an artist?”
“What?” Bre said, looking dumbfounded. “How did you know about that?”
Jax stared at her steadily and one side of his mouth lifted up. “You told me at the bar. Remember, you said you were looking for a job at a gallery, but you really wanted to be an artist.”
“Oh right. Well, I need to pay the bills.” Bre lifted one shoulder in an unconcerned shrug.
“You should try the artist thing first,” Jax said, sitting down next to her on the cushioned bench, letting one of his arms stretch out long behind her on the edge of the boat.
Bre closed her eyes, relaxing her head into his arm. “Why?” she whispered, trying to remember what they were talking about. The bottles of wine, lack of sleep, and sun were catching up with her.