Wildflowers (JACT 2.5) Read online

  I can’t help but hope my adventures have Evie in them.

  ***

  Back in my hotel room, Evie excuses herself to the restroom. I’ve been pacing a hole in the carpet, so I finally sit down on the edge of my bed and wait for her to emerge. She’s been in there five minutes already, and I have no idea what she could possibly be doing. The toilet flushed four minutes ago.

  Not that I’m watching the clock or anything.

  Just as I stand, ready to start pacing again, the bathroom door opens. I look over to the doorway and groan. Evie’s leaning against the doorframe, wearing nothing but a black, lace nightie. It has spaghetti straps that curve over her tanned shoulders, and the skirt of it hits at the top of her toned thighs. Her arms are folded across her chest, boosting her breasts up.

  She looks like sex on a stick. If the stick had two legs and a fine body.

  I stand frozen, ten feet away from her, unable to move. My eyes caress her from the tips of her toes—painted hot pink—to the top of her head—also hot pink—and back again.

  “You’re so gorgeous,” I breathe out, and for the first time, notice a look of apprehension on Evie’s perfect face. It’s there for just a moment before it’s covered with her blinding smile. I close the distance between us and cup her face with my hand. “What’s the matter?”

  She shakes her head. “Nothing…I just…I wasn’t sure if you liked it.”

  I laugh, and she frowns. I touch a finger to her lips, smoothing them out. “No, baby. I don’t like it. I love it.”

  Her answering smile is immediately covered by my lips. I wrap my arms around her, running my hands down her smooth back before landing them on her ass. I squeeze the firm globes as I pick her up, and she wraps her legs tightly around my waist. I spin us around and slowly lower her to the bed, coming down gently on top of her. My hands roam every inch of her body as my mouth devours hers. Her hands explore me as well, lifting my shirt off and fumbling with the zipper on my jeans.

  “You’re over dressed,” she gasps as I help her remove my pants.

  I smile as I roll, so she’s straddling my waist. Only her nightie and my boxers are between us now. She smirks at me as she lifts the negligee over her shoulders and drops it on the floor.

  “Hey, I was enjoying that,” I tease.

  “Enjoy this,” she says, scooting down the bed, lowering my boxers as she goes.

  When her mouth closes over me, I swear I see stars.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Evie

  I’ve never really been a fan of oral sex—giving or receiving—but with Joey? I think I’d do just about anything. Being with him turns me on to a level I can’t begin to describe.

  I pull him deep into my mouth, using one hand to work his base while the fingernails of the other dig into his thigh. His moans and grunts are making me hot, and it isn’t long before he sits up and reaches for me, pulling me up his body.

  “Was that not okay?” I ask, worried I may have done something wrong.

  “No. That was…that was perfect. Too perfect.” He lifts his head and kisses me with so much passion it makes my toes curl. “I just want you so bad.”

  Now it’s my turn to moan. “I want you, too.”

  He rolls over, flipping us so I’m on the bottom and he’s on top. He reaches for the nightstand, where he plucks a condom from the drawer. He moves to put it on, but I stop him.

  “Let me,” I say with a smile, snatching it out of his hand. His answering grin is devilish, and I know the rest of this night is going to be wild. I rip the packet open with my teeth and quickly roll it down his shaft as he hovers above me.

  He positions himself at my entrance and pauses, looking into my eyes. “I want you to know…this isn’t just about sex for me. I’m not going to pretend I know what’s going to happen between us, but I do know that I don’t want it to end when I leave here.”

  “I don’t want it to end either.”

  He leans in and presses his lips to mine, this time soft and sweet, before pushing himself inside me. I lift my hips, meeting him thrust for thrust. We’re a mess of hands and tongues. Desperate to feel and taste every bit of each other. It’s never felt this good. Ever. Before long, we’re both shattering to pieces. We moan, opening our mouths and hearts to each other.

  ***

  After our afternoon delight and a nap, we order room service for dinner. Joey munches on a burger and fries, while I enjoy a turkey wrap. He tells me all about how JACT was discovered while playing a regular weekly gig at a restaurant near the airport. Apparently, Tommy’s tour manager came through one night, liked what he saw, and urged them to join them on tour immediately as one of the opening acts had dropped out unexpectedly. The rest, as they say, is history. They joined the tour in South Carolina, and five stops later, here they are. If everything goes well, they may even end up with a record deal.

  I share with him the different places in the U.S. and around the world I’d love to photograph. There are so many landmarks on my list, and I talk about them all, amazed he just sits there smiling the entire time. Any of my friends or family members would have already changed the subject out of sheer boredom by now. In fact, I’ve told Joey more about my dreams tonight than I’ve ever told anyone.

  What does that mean? What does it say that I feel more comfortable and accepted by this man I’ve barely known forty-eight hours than I do with people I’ve known my whole life? Don’t get me wrong, I love my family…but their life is so rural. It’s all about the ranch and farming. They can’t relate to the things I dream about. But Joey…there is an undeniable bond between us. I can’t describe it. Is it insta-love? I don’t believe in that kind of thing. Maybe insta-lust? Yeah, I’m definitely feeling that. But there’s more…so much more.

  We end the night feeding each other the chocolate cake Joey ordered for desert and finding clever ways to play with our food.

  Turns out chocolate icing tastes delicious off of Joey’s washboard stomach.

  ***

  In the morning, after a long, hot shower, we join the rest of the guys for an impromptu trip to Six Flags. I would have much rather spent the time alone with Joey—getting to know him better in more ways than one—but Alex pouted, and I caved. I’m now his new best friend. He’s too charming for his own good.

  It’s nice seeing the casual, playful side of the guys. They’re all like big kids, running from one ride to the next. I realize that being stuck on a bus for days on end must be stifling, and they’re all itching to break free—even Trevor and Chase, the more serious of the bunch. We ride every ride at least twice, eat way too much junk food, and all pass out in the van on the way back.

  Joey nudges me awake when we’re parked in front of the hotel. Night has fallen and we’re alone in the car.

  Is this it? Is this the end? Did he ask his friends to leave us alone so he can let me down easy and without an audience? I can’t believe that’s the case, but regardless, I struggle to swallow the lump in my throat.

  “Come on, Sweetness, let’s go upstairs.” I let out the breath I was holding. Joey’s smile is bittersweet. He doesn’t want this to end as much as I don’t, that much I can tell. I take his hand and he helps me out of the car.

  I clear my throat—damn lump—and let him lead me across the lobby. “When do you leave?”

  “Tomorrow. Busses pull out at noon, I think.” He presses the button on the elevator, and we wait in silence.

  Looking over towards the bar, I see the rest of JACT joking around and laughing with each other. I wonder how it’s possible they can be so happy and carefree when I feel like my heart is about to be ripped right out of my chest. Not by Joey—I know he wouldn’t hurt me, at least not intentionally—but by the situation.

  The situation sucks.

  We step into the elevator when it arrives, and he presses the button for his floor. We don’t exchange words, but I watch him in the mirrored door of the elevator; he holds my gaze. We seem to say….

  I want
you.

  I need you.

  Don’t leave me.

  We exit onto our floor—Joey’s floor—and silently make our way to his room. He follows me inside and turns me to face him.

  “I don’t want to say goodbye,” he says, and my heart hurts at the sadness I see in his eyes. Sadness that’s probably reflected in my own eyes.

  How is it possible that after just three days we’ve come to mean so much to one another? It’s not. It’s just not possible. This all has to be an illusion. Right?

  “I don’t want to say goodbye to you, either.”

  He gives me another sad smile and leans in to brush his lips against mine. The kiss starts off slow, then picks up. We paw at each other, frantically removing our clothes and falling onto the bed. In seconds he’s on top of me…in me…and minutes later I’m screaming his name as I fall off the cliff into oblivion.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Joey

  “That was amazing,” I say, rolling to the side and pulling Evie into my chest.

  “It was,” she agrees.

  “The tour ends in March. I can come back…” I offer, trailing my fingers down her naked back.

  “I’d love that,” she says, kissing the space on my chest just over my heart.

  “After the last couple days with you, five months without you is going to feel like forever.”

  “I know what you mean,” she whispers, blinking back a tear.

  “This is crazy. I’ve never felt this way about a girl before.” It almost feels like an out-of-body experience. Like all this isn’t happening to me. I never thought I deserved anything this good. Evie is my perfect woman. Beautiful, feisty, petite, smart, quick as a whip, can put up with Alex…and knock him down to size, too. She’s amazing.

  “You been with many girls?”

  “Some,” I admit. “But none of them have been like you. None have gotten me the way that you do. None were as beautiful as you.” I kiss her neck. “Or as sexy.” I tickle her, and she giggles. God, that’s an adorable sound.

  “Stop that,” she laughs.

  “Oh, my girl is ticklish?”

  She pulls away and looks up at me. Her eyes wide as she asks, “Your girl?”

  I look into her green eyes, trying to read her expression. Is she excited about the prospect of being my girl? Or did I just freak her out. I decide to take a chance. “Is that okay?” I ask quietly. “Is it okay if you’re my girl?”

  “Are you asking me out Joseph Adams?”

  “Joseph?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

  “It’s your name, ain’t it?” Sassy little thing.

  “Nobody calls me Joseph,” I say, rolling on top of her.

  “I do,” she smirks.

  “Oh, yeah?” I ask, grinding my hips against her.

  She gasps and nods. “Mm hmm.”

  “I’m sorry to do this,” I say, not sorry at all.

  “Do what?” she asks breathlessly.

  I give her my best smirk, then move my hands down to her ribs. The look on her face says she thinks I’m going to feel her up, but I’m not. I lightly dig my fingertips into her ribs and tickle her.

  She shrieks. “No! Joey, stop it! You’re gonna make me pee!” She squirms around and with each brush of her skin against my dick, it hardens more.

  “Still going to call me Joseph?” Tears are streaming down her cheeks from laughing and she can’t quite catch her breath. I let up a little so she can answer me. “Still going to call me Joseph?” I repeat.

  “Yes,” she says through a laugh.

  “Wrong answer,” I say, and dig in again.

  “Uncle! Uncle! Okay, I won’t call you Joseph!”

  I stop tickling her immediately. “Thank you,” I give her a kiss on her cute little nose.

  “You’re a jerk,” she says, getting up and running to the bathroom, I watch her fine, naked ass as she goes. Before she shuts the door, she pops her head out and says, “Joseph.”

  “I’m gonna get you for that,” I tell her as she slams the door closed.

  I look at the clock on the nightstand. Midnight. I rub my hands over my face. Twelve hours. I have twelve hours left in Dallas…twelve hours left with Evie. I told her I’d come back, and I will. Five months isn’t a long time, not in the grand scheme of things anyway. But right now—with our goodbye looming in the not so distant future—it feels like forever. There may be breaks in the schedule where I can get away for a day or two. We might even come back in this direction. To be honest, I’ve been so thrilled to be on tour that I haven’t paid attention to where the shows are.

  Evie steps out of the bathroom and walks towards the bed, picking up her clothes as she goes.

  “Whatcha doing there?” I ask, a hint of panic in my voice. She can’t be leaving. Not yet. We have twelve more hours.

  “I’ve had so much fun with you these last few days,” she starts, and my body fills with dread. She sits beside me on the bed, still naked, and places her hand on my cheek. “I really like you Joey,” she pauses and looks down. “In fact, I’m pretty sure if I spent another day with you, I could fall for you completely. It kind of scares me but thrills me at the same time.”

  “I feel the same way,” I tell her honestly.

  She looks up at me and smiles, it lights up her entire face. “I want to leave here tonight on this happy note, okay?” I go to interrupt her but she places her finger over my lips. “Let me finish.” I nod, and she moves her hand down to her lap. “I don’t do well with goodbyes. I cry like a baby, and I don’t want to do that tonight. I want to leave here tonight with a ‘see you later.’ I don’t want to be waving goodbye to your tour bus tomorrow. I don’t want to see you leave. I want to remember how much fun we’ve had and leave on a high note.”

  I don’t like her idea, but I’ll do it. I’ll probably do anything she asks of me.

  “Okay, deal,” I tell her, pulling her down beside me.

  “Joey,” she scolds, trying to get away.

  “Evie,” I say in the same tone.

  I hover over her and she looks up at me, pure adoration in her eyes. Now I get what she means. This is how I want to remember her while I’m on the road the next five months. Right here in this moment. Happy. Content. Not sad. No tears. Just that pretty smile on her beautiful face.

  “Make love to me one more time, Joey. Please.”

  I lean in and kiss her. “One more time tonight, Evie. But there will be a lot more times after this.”

  Her answering smile is priceless. It makes the wait ahead of us all worth it.

  Chapter Twenty

  Evie

  I feel guilty for sneaking out of Joey’s hotel room, but I wasn’t lying to him when I said I’m not good at goodbyes. I wanted to leave on a happy note, and I did. In the wake of our lovemaking, Joey fell asleep. He looked so peaceful and content lying there that I didn’t have the heart to wake him, and I couldn’t do the goodbye thing in the morning. I’ll call him later and apologize.

  The elevator doors open, and I make my way across the lobby. It’s pretty much empty at this time of night, with the exception of the woman manning the front desk and the man pushing a buffer machine around the marble floor.

  “Evie!” I turn in the direction of the voice. Tommy is jogging over to me from the bar area. “I was hoping to catch up with you before you left.”

  “At three in the morning?” I ask, raising my eyebrow.

  He laughs. “Well, I didn’t expect to see you tonight. I figured I’d see you at the busses tomorrow or at breakfast. You sneaking away?” He asks it like a joke, but he realizes how spot on he is when I don’t reply, but instead look down at the floor. “Oh man, seriously? I thought you and Joey hit it off?”

  “We did,” I add quickly. “I just didn’t want to put off the inevitable goodbye any longer. It was easier this way,” I shrug my shoulders like it’s no big deal.

  “Well, what if I had a way for you to prolong that inevitable goodbye?”

  I perk
up, still a little apprehensive, but interested in whatever he’s getting at. “What do you mean? Prolong it for how long?”

  “Five months.”

  Five months? “That’s the rest of the tour. What are you talking about?”

  “I shared your photos with our tour manager. I may have suggested bringing you on as our official tour photographer, providing pics for all the bands to post on their websites and social media. The marketing people loved the idea.”

  Part of me is wondering if I fell asleep back in Joey’s room, and this is just a dream because it can’t be real. What Tommy is offering me is a dream come true! Surely, I’m imagining it.

  I stick out my arm. “Pinch me,” I tell him.

  “What?”

  “Pinch me, dammit!” He pinches my arm. It doesn’t hurt, but I can still feel it. “This is real? You’re for real right now?”

  Tommy smiles. “Hell, yeah, this is for real. You’re gonna be a rock photographer, Evie Carson!”

  I can’t contain myself. I shriek, jumping up and down before leaping onto Tommy. He spins me around and around. When he finally sets me back on my feet, I feel dizzy. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe this is happening. My dream job. Traveling and taking pictures…

  Wow.

  “What do I have to do?” I ask him, eager to get started.

  “Go home and pack. Be back here by noon tomorrow.”

  My eyes widen. This is happening. This is actually happening. I’ve got to call my parents. I pull out of my phone and see the time. Duh. It’s the middle of the night; I can’t call my parents. But I have to tell them. I have to talk to them about this.

  And Joey! Hopefully this will erase any feelings of upset or anger for me leaving him this morning. The five months we were preparing to spend apart are now going to be spent together. I can’t wait to surprise him.