Page 2 of Desire

“Kind of like my nose the way it is, Jussie,” I tease, calling her by the nickname I gave her years ago.

“You haven’t called me that in years!” she exclaims, her eyes lighting up.

“You’ll always be my Jussie,” I vow. Even if it’s never the way I want her to be, she’s always going to have a piece of my heart. Deciding enough is enough, I take the bull by the horns and ask, “Do you want to have dinner with me? Just the two of us?” If Rayne decides to rearrange my face, I can afford plastic surgery, right?

Chapter Two

Justine

“Doyou want to have dinner with me? Just the two of us?”

My normally steadyhands are shaky, and I run them down my jeans. All the years I’ve prayed he would notice me seem to be coming to a head. I know part of his hesitation has been my brother, but I’m a grown ass woman and can date whoever I want. If Rayne decides to butt his overprotective head into my life, I’ll definitely give him a piece of my mind. I’ve wanted Sebastian to notice me as more than a gangly teenager for years so I’m not missing this chance.

“I’d like that,” I reply. “I didn’t think you noticed me, Sebastian. At least, not in that way.”

He steps closer before replying. “Jussie, I noticed you the very first day I met all of you. But you were too young, then. Probably still too young but I’m beyond the point of caring, you know?”

I nod at his admission. “Not that I want to delve into either of our pasts, but it’s only ever been you, regardless of my flavor for the night.” I see him wince at my choice of words, but he doesn’t say anything disparaging. What can I say? Rayne wasn’t the only one who had people throw themselves at him. Us girls did just as well when we were in the mood and while I wasn’t especially promiscuous, I did occasionally avail myself if I had an itch to scratch. However, the lure of that eventually got old because I finally realized I was trying to replace him with a nameless, faceless fuck, so I stopped.

“I understand, Jussie. I will promise you this much, however. While we explore this thing between us, there will be no one else.”

“I agree,” I reply.

“I also don’t expect you to fall into my bed, Jussie. That’s not what this is about for me,” he warns. “Whether it happens in a week, a month or a year, I’m a patient man and I’ll wait.”

“Somehow, I don’t think it’ll be a year,” I tease. “You’ve been on my radar for averylong time.”

He chuckles as he pulls me in for a hug before kissing my forehead. “Looking forward to it. Now, about dinner. When are you free?” he asks.

I run through my schedule in my head and realize that I’m watching Hadley, Rayne and Jacey’s little girl, tonight. “Any time after tonight since I’ve got the princess.” He grins, knowing immediately who I’m talking about.

“Tomorrow night then?” he asks.

“I’d like that.” Why I’m suddenly feeling shy around him is beyond me. I feel as though I’m an awkward schoolgirl again, standing with my first crush. Well, he’s not my first crush, but he’s the one who has stood the test of time for me. “Where are we going?” I question, because depending on what he says, I may need to go shopping.

“What about the steakhouse just outside of town?” he asks.

“That’s fine with me.” The atmosphere in there is ‘come as you are’ but with this being my first official date with the man I’ve been dreaming of for years, I’m going to glam myself up a bit. “Jeans okay with you?” I may dress it up, but we’re still out in the sticks so I’ll dress up my denim.

“That works for me,” he replies. “I’ll let you get back to work, Jussie.” He kisses me on the forehead again while his finger strokes my cheek before he steps away.

“Bye, Sebastian.”

“Bye, sweetheart.”

Once I’m sure he’s gone, I let out a squeal as I do a little dance. “Somebody’s happy,” Billie observes, walking toward me.

It’s no secret, at least to my sisters, that I’ve been crushing on Sebastian for more years than I want to remember. “I’ve got a date with Sebastian,” I exclaim, still dancing around.

“Finally! Maybe if you two do the horizontal mambo a few times, you’ll get each other out of your systems and be able to move on,” she replies. I hate to tell her, but Sebastian is so embedded in my being that I doubt I could remove him with a chainsaw. However, she tends to be snarky, so I’ll keep that observation to myself.

“Did you need something?” I ask as I shut down my keyboards. They’re my back up ones since we have a studio in town for our full band practices. We set up the spare room that used to be Rayne’s. We’re still in the same hotel suite that he rented for us when we first came to town. It’s almost like a small apartment with a living room and small kitchen. Even though he is now living with Jacey, us three girls stayed since we were settled in. It’s okay for now, but there’s little privacy and sometimes, I crave my solitude.

“Just seeing what you were up to is all,” she replies. “Do you think we’ll be practicing this week?”

“I guess it depends on Rayne. You know he’s enjoying that family life now and I can’t say as I blame him one bit. I like this slower pace, Billie. I didn’t realize just how damn tired I was until we arrived in this podunk town, you know?”

“I miss the crowds and the noise,” she admits. “But this is okay for now.”

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