Page 43 of Beautifully Used
“Since we kissed this afternoon and some more this evening ...”
“Yes.”
“Well, do you think you could hold me until I fall asleep?”
“Absolutely!” God, I sounded like an eager beaver if I’d ever heard one. I might have trouble sleeping because of what I really wanted to be doing. Sleeping wasn’t on my body’s agenda, but I also knew I wanted to take things very slowly with Gabrielle. We had too much good history now to ruin things if I tried to move too fast. Besides, I still wasn’t sure exactly how she felt about me. But thinking about it, she was the one who’d initiated the kiss on the beach.
I inched closer to the middle of the bed and she did the same. She had her back facing me, and I pulled her against me. She fit so perfectly, I draped my arm over her midsection and rested it there. About ten minutes later, she was breathing a bit heavier, and I guessed she was finally asleep. I had to remind myself that a couple of kisses on the beach and back here in the room didn’t constitute a relationship, but I had a great feeling. I closed my eyes, reveling in the great fortune that the fates had bestowed upon me. Yes, at that moment, I’d become a believer in relationships once again.
Chapter 34
Gabrielle
* * *
Sun kissed the lids of my eyes and I opened them to the view through the sliding glass doors leading to the balcony. All I could see was blue sky with a few clouds gathered to the right. We were lucky it wasn’t heavily overcast, and I was so glad Brodie hadn’t closed the curtains before he’d come to bed so we’d have this beautiful view to wake up to. Hmmm … he had come to bed with me. I felt like purring like a happy little kitten. His arm was still slung over my waist, and I wanted to snuggle into him. Instead, my body went into rigid mode, not wanting to disturb him. I wanted to turn around and look at him, so I slowly turned to find his eyes closed and his lips curved into a smile. “You’re awake,” I accused, snuggling my arms between our chests with my hands under my chin and scooting closer to him. As our knees knocked gently together, he straightened his long ones a bit so I would fit.
“Just woke up.” He slowly rubbed his hand up and down my arm a few times. “How did you sleep?”
“Okay. What time are we practicing today?”
“I think Jackson said eleven.”
“Good. I think I’d like to go for a walk on the beach.”
“Breakfast first.”
“Really? I’m not very hungry yet.”
“At least coffee.”
“Yes. Coffee I can go for.”
Brodie threw the covers off of himself and sat up. I couldn’t keep my eyes from his naked back, but when he stood, my eyes automatically traveled down to his rear end and below that, his thighs. They were the best looking thighs I’d ever seen, usually hidden under his long shorts or pants, but with only the tight boxer briefs stopping right at the point where the back of his leg muscle indented right before his buttocks, the view was spectacular. He turned to glance at me as he headed to the bathroom. “I’ll let you get dressed in private… unless you need to get in here first?” he said in question as he pointed to the bathroom door. I could only shake my head since my vocal cords had been struck temporarily speechless by the gorgeousness of him.
After he’d shut the door, I pulled on my purple jog shorts and purple-flowered sports bra that matched. My body screamed for some running-on-the-beach time, and I figured if I actually put the workout clothes on, it might really happen.
Brodie came out of the bathroom and grabbed his cargo shorts. Stepping into the legs, he tugged up the zipper and buttoned them. He snatched a black t-shirt from his bag and pulled it over his head. The shirt had a guitar on it, and underneath the guitar it said, “Live To Play.”
Brodie spent the next ten minutes reassuring me that there was no way Jeff could have followed us down to Malibu. Before we headed downstairs, he’d called Doc and then Derrick to see what they could find out about Jeff still being in town. Once inside the little café downstairs at the hotel, I let Brodie talk me into some pancakes with the coffee, conceding that walking after eating pancakes made more sense than before.
Just as I took the last bite of the syrup smothered glob on my fork, Lena and Jackson strolled in holding hands, looking every bit the newlyweds. They made the perfect couple. As I glanced at them, I was glad, once again, that Lena had colored her hair back to the dark auburn I’d known her to have. She had very pale skin, and the red complimented her skin tone more, producing a radiant glow instead of making her look like a pale person lacking some vitamin D.
After she and Jackson filled their plates from the buffet, she plopped down next to me. Jackson and Brodie were already talking about what we, the band, needed to accomplish today in order to be ready for tonight. Lena leaned her head close to mine and whispered, “How did it go last night?”
I smiled, thinking of the kisses on the beach and later in the room, Brodie holding me all night long, then stopped and gave her a restrained glance. I knew I could tell Lena anything, but was I ready to confess my feelings for Brodie? “It went fine.” I settled for a simple, non-committal answer.
“Good.” She took a sip of her coffee. “I’m glad. I … we were worried a little.”
“No need to worry. Brodie and I are friends. We live in the same house for crying out loud. I think we can handle sleeping in the same room.”
“Yeah. Sure.” She buttered her toast and took a bite. After she’d swallowed it, she leaned close to my ear again and whispered, “What about when you were walking on the beach?”
“What?” I stared at her, knowing full well that an incredulous expression must be plastered all over my face.
“You know what I’m talking about.”
“Um… no. I think you’d better tell me,” I said, feeling my cheeks warm with redness.
