Before You (Before You #1)(7)
Chapter Three
The drive to Cam’s place took longer than expected because fog had blanketed the city, but Bre had hardly noticed. She was focused on her encounter with Jax. When he first approached her next to the bar, she acknowledged in a distant, distracted way that he was one of the most attractive men she had ever seen, and not in the traditional sense. At first glance, he looked a little too harsh and too bold, not like Cam, who looked as if his face were a study in classical proportions. Jax looked arrogant and conceited with his sun-kissed complexion and the suggestive gleam of his white smile, but she had never been attracted to the dark, brooding type. Cam’s open, smiling face and light blond hair had always appealed to her. In spite of that, she couldn’t deny that there was something about Jax—a bold sensuality that intrigued her.
But the moment she saw him on stage and he started to sing, she was in awe. He was undeniably a rock star in the making. She nearly gasped when she heard his sultry voice, and if the actions of the women crowding the stage were any indication, his voice undeniably affected them, too. They reached for his legs, pawing at him like they couldn’t get enough. She couldn’t stop staring at him in complete fascination. No wonder women sold their souls worshipping at the altar of rock stars, she thought. Jax was made for the role of rock pagan god.
Then, when he asked her to dance, she could almost hear her self-preservation telling her no, but in the end, her fascination with him won out and she agreed. At first, she trained her eyes on his shirt, hoping to avoid looking into his compelling, silvery eyes, but that was definitely a miscalculation on her part. Pressed against him with her nose nearly brushing his chest, she could see hints of every sculpted muscle of his chest rubbing against and stretching his shirt, and she swore she could smell the scent of his skin. When he pulled her closer, her rational mind told her to object, but her devious self begged her to ignore the transgression for a few harmless minutes. By the time the song ended, she couldn’t do anything but alternately stare at the ground or the people dancing, all to avoid making eye contact with him.
The way she reacted to him was unexpected and unwelcome. She came to LA to spend quality time with Cam, not to drool over the lead singer of his band like some sort of hussy. She was selfishly grateful that Cam hadn’t noticed them on the dance floor or asked her about it on the way home. He accepted her silence, and that was fine with her. She didn’t want to talk right now.
As they pulled into a parking lot, Bre looked up and realized that they hadn’t exchanged a single word on the whole drive to Cam’s apartment. She turned her head and saw Cam looking at her expectantly.
“You’re pretty quiet. Is something wrong?”
Bre watched Cam’s nervous face, and she forced a smile on her face. She needed to bury all thoughts of Jax. She didn’t want to think of him, or his devastating smile, or the impropriety of their dance ever again. Today meant the beginning of a month spent with Cam, and her moment with Jax was just that—a fleeting moment that meant absolutely nothing. Sadly, the thought made her strangely desolate. “No. I’m exhausted. I’ve been driving for two days, and I can hardly keep my eyes open.”
“I wish I could have made the drive with you, but I couldn’t cancel the show tonight. You’re not mad, are you?”
“Of course not.” She grabbed Cam’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m excited to spend an entire month with you. It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other for more than a couple days at a time. What are we going to do with each other?” she teased, slanting Cam a challenging, laughing look.
“I don’t know. I have this theory that you’ll toss me to the curb after a few days, so I didn’t plan much of anything.” He looked at her, his face completely earnest, but she could see a little smile dancing at the corner of his lips.
Bre shook her head in mock sincerity, her eyes shining with laughter. “That’s an interesting theory. You touched on something that worried me, too. Should I turn around and drive home before it’s too late?”
“Huh… let me think about it.” He turned away from her, looked out the window, and then quickly spun back toward her. “Nope, definitely not. Now that I have you in my grasp, I’m unwilling to let you leave. You’ll just have to suffer through a month of me, faults and all.” He chuckled. “Let’s go inside.”
Cam jumped out of the car and waved to her from his position near the front bumper. “Come on. What are you waiting for?”
“I need to grab a couple things out of the trunk.”
Cam darted up the first few steps to the second level of apartments. “Hurry up! I want to show you my place.”
“Wait, isn’t the guy supposed to carry my bags?”
“Just get what you need and I’ll go back down later to get the rest. Besides, I don’t want to offend your feminist sensibilities by doing it for you.”
“What feminist sensibilities? Camden Donovan, get down here and carry my bags before I call your mother and tell her what an ass you’re being!”
“Fine, Bre,” he moped as he walked back to the truck. “You really know how to kill the moment. I can’t believe you just threatened to call my mom.”
Shoving him lightly in the shoulder, Bre shot him an amused sideways look. “I have to keep you on your toes somehow. Nothing puts the fear of God into you like threatening to tell your mother. You’re such a mama’s boy.”