Across the Miles (The Not So Bad Boys of Rock #1) (24 page)

“What’s wrong kiddo?” he asked, sounding like the big brother that he claimed to be. I didn’t want to tell him about what happened after I left the club, I knew Sebastian deserved to hear that first, but I told him about what happened at the club and how Sebastian won’t talk to me now.

“I’m scared Chris, what if he won’t talk to me ever again?”

“Forget about Sebastian, tell me where this asshat is now, I’ll kill him,” he growled, which effectively did make me laugh. “Why are you laughing? This is serious Brooke.”

“I know, but it’s just sweet hearing you talk like that.”

“Like what?” he asked innocently, unaware of how he had come across.

“Like my protective big brother, it’s nice.”

“Well, that’s what I am now right? That’s my job. But seriously kiddo, are you okay?”

“I will be once I talk to Sebastian. Can you please help me get in touch with him?”

“I’ll go over there and knock some sense into his butt,” he grumbled.

“Chris,” I scolded, “just see if he’ll call me. Do me another favor, please. Tell him that I love him, okay?”

“You got it sweetie. If I can’t find him, I’ll call you back.”

“Okay, thank you.”

I had waited an hour before my phone rang, I grabbed it, hoping it was Sebastian, but it was Chris, probably telling me that he couldn’t locate him.

“Hey Chris, I take it you didn’t have any luck reaching him either,” I answered.

“Brooke, it’s not Chris.” My heart pounded in my chest.

“Sebastian! Oh my gosh, I thought you weren’t ever going to speak to me again. I’m so sorry baby, you were right about guys like that, I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you,” I cried.

“Baby, it’s okay; I’m not mad at you. I just needed some time to cool off.”

“But you wouldn’t answer my text or my calls, I thought you hated me,” I sniffed loudly, unable to contain my sobs.

“Oh honey, I could never hate you; I love you. I couldn’t respond because after I had talked to that asshat I threw my phone against the wall, and it broke.”

“You what?” I giggled. “You threw your phone? Why Sebastian Miles, I had no idea you had such a temper on you,” I teased.

“Yeah, well the thought of some other guy trying to hit on my girl made me a little jumpy.”

“What did you say to him?” I had been curious about
that at the time the guy walked away swearing.

“I told him if he didn’t walk away and leave you alone that I would make a few phone calls and make his life miserable. Did he leave you alone?”

I sat there quietly, not sure how to tell him what had happened without him getting mad again, I didn’t want him breaking Chris’s phone too, then I wouldn’t be able to talk to him at all tonight.

“Brooke, what aren’t you telling me? He did leave you alone, right?”

“At first he did.”

“But…” he prompted.

“I told Jade I was leaving and that she didn’t need to come with me, she had met a guy, I left the club and he came up behind me and told me that whatever you were protecting must be pretty good, so he wanted to try it for himself.”

“Son of a bitch,” he muttered loudly. I heard more swearing and a loud crash before he came back to the phone, breathing heavily. “What else happened Brooke?”

“Is everything okay over there? I’m not going to tell you anymore unless I know you can control yourself. Things were a bit hairy, but I’m fine now,” I declared.

“I’m sorry, I just feel helpless being so far away. I’m okay, just finish your story, please,” he urged.

“Well, I started walking quickly toward my car, trying to get away from him, but he followed me, kind of slowly like he was hunting me or something, and I got into my car, but he grabbed me from behind and tried to pull me out of the car. I fought him off, we struggled for a bit before I was able to stomp on his foot with the heel of my boot, that caused him to let go of me for a moment, long enough for me to grab my pepper spray out of the glove compartment, and I emptied a whole can in his eyes
and kneed him in the groin. I peeled out of there and left him on his knees in the parking lot. I never looked back.”

“Dammit Brooke, I was worried about something like this. Are you really okay? Do you need to go talk to somebody? Shouldn’t you report this to the police? Do you want me to come there?” His voice trembled as he asked me that last part; I could tell that my close call had shaken him, maybe even more than it had shaken me.

“I’m fine, honest; I just need to take a shower and wind down. I feel better just knowing that we’re okay. I couldn’t stand not knowing how you were feeling; I hate that I upset you.”

“Baby, there was never a moment tonight that we weren’t okay, I just needed to calm down. I was ready to throttle that guy before, now, if I was there, I might have killed him. When you with me I promised that no one would ever hurt you again, and with you so far away I’m not able to keep my promise, that kills me. I want to take care of you and protect you, I don’t know how else to explain it, but I feel like that’s what I want to do with the rest of my life.”

“I love that you want to take care of me, that you love me that much. I never knew that kind of love existed, and I never thought it would find me. Being on this side of that, knowing how you feel, I’ll be honest with you, it’s a bit overwhelming but now that I’ve seen what that kind of love looks like, and know what it feels like, I don’t ever want to be without it. So, thank you for loving me like that.”

“Thank you for letting me love you like that, and for loving me the same way in return. You are everything to me Brooke; I don’t ever want to lose what we have. You make my whole life brighter. You’re like my sunshine, and just like I need the sun, I need you to survive.”

“I love you,” I sobbed quietly. “You always say the best things. It’s no wonder you’re so great at writing number one songs,” I laughed through my tears.

“You know, I’m writing a song about you.” he declared.

“You are? That’s so sweet, can I hear some of it?”

“Nope, you’re going to have to wait; it’s not finished.”

“I’m so thankful that you came into my life.”

“Babe, I feel the same way. Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” I thought it was so sweet the way he doted on me; a girl could get used to this type of care.

“I’m positive, I just heard Jade come in so she’ll keep me company.”

“Brooke, I’m glad you called Chris and had him come find me,” he whispered.

“Me too. Night baby.”

“Sleep tight, and don’t forget to lock your door.”

“I know, I’ll go check it right now,” I promised.

“You better,” he admonished.

“Good grief, I told you I would,” I chuckled softly. I heard him mumble something about difficult women, and it reminded me of when we had first met, and we had bickered back and forth about him buying me dinner.

“What was that?” I asked playfully.

“Nothing.”

“That’s what I thought.” He laughed and hung up the phone.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Sebastian~

It’s been nearly three months since Brooke headed back to Michigan, I won’t say that it hasn’t been hard having her so far away, because it has, but somehow we’ve managed to make it work long distance. In the beginning, I was sending her little presents here and there, and she would do the same to me, each of us trying to outdo the other. For a while, it became a game to see who could give the best surprise. We sent each other little trinkets, scheduled morning coffee deliveries, I sent her that outrageously large bouquet of her favorite flowers, and she had sent me various baked goods that she prepared and had overnight shipped to me so that they would still be fresh. My favorite treat so far had been the homemade English toffee, which my Mom had told her was my all-time favorite candy. She won huge girlfriend points for that move.

Today was Sunday, which
meant a weekly drive to Manhattan to spend the afternoon with my family and the
guys in my band. Each week I had visited since Brooke left, my Mom had always pulled me aside to check on me, as only a Mom can do, and today was no different, I had barely made it through the door when she corralled me into the den.

“Sebastian, honey, have you talked to Brooke today? How is she doing?”

I laughed, shaking my head, “Hello to you too Mom.” I knew what she was up to; I just liked giving her a hard time. My Mom was the kind of woman that never met a stranger, or ever had an enemy, everyone who met her fell in love with her immediately, including Brooke. Since she left, Brooke called my Mom on a weekly basis to check in and get advice on the ins and outs of making me happy. That always made me laugh, I wasn’t too sure how it was that Mom always knew exactly what I needed, but she did, and she passed all of that inside knowledge to Brooke in order for her to please me and keep me around. I knew what Mom was doing, Mom wanted me to find a wife, and she was grooming Brooke to fill that role. I sat back and pretended that I wasn’t hip to her ulterior motives, partly because it made her so happy to be doing it, but mostly because I was secretly hoping for the same happy ending. I had never shared that with Brooke, but in my heart I knew she was the only one for me. One day I planned on making my intentions clear.

“Oh, I’m sorry dear, you know me, I just have to check in. How are things going?”

“Everything’s good Mom, I talked to her this morning, and we were texting this afternoon. She says hello and that she loves you.”

“She’s such a sweet girl Sebastian; you need to make an honest woman of her. Is that something you two have talked about?” I rolled my eyes and groaned up at the
ceiling, I heard this every week.

“Mom, you already know the answer, I haven’t talked to her about this, things are still in the new stages for us. We are both committed but now isn’t the right time to spring something like that on her, she’s busy with her work. We have plenty of time,” I assured her, and bent to give her a light kiss on the forehead. “Trust me okay? I’ve got this.”

“I just don’t want her slipping away from you sweetie, she’s the perfect girl for you, and she loves you so very much,” Mom encouraged.

“I know, don’t worry, I love her too, and I make sure to show her that on a regular basis.” I turned to head into the kitchen, eager to put an end to this conversation before it turned emotional. I ran into Travis in the hall, and he could tell that something had just happened.

“Mom corner you again?” he slapped me on the back. “Did you get the “Don’t let her get away” speech?” he groaned.

“It’s the same thing every week; I don’t know what to say anymore. I’m not trying to let her get away; I just don’t think she’s ready for that kind of shift in our relationship. I’m afraid that kind of talk would make her nervous.” I ran a hand through my hair and banged my head lightly against the wall behind me. “I need to get out of here for a bit, you feel like taking a walk?”

“Sure, just let me tell Nat so she can watch Olivia.”

He met me outside, and we headed down the street, walking through the streets where we used to play as kids. It had been a long time since we had taken this walk together, too long actually.

“So what’s going on man, I can tell something other than Mom’s nagging has got you down. Do you miss her?” Travis asked knowingly.

“Every day, I thought it would get easier over time you know, but the longer she’s gone, the more I long to have her here with me. Man, I sound incredibly sappy and love sick, how did this happen? I’ve never been like this Travis. I mean, is this even normal?”

“Of course it’s normal, you’re in love buddy, love makes you do strange things and makes you act all kinds of crazy. Nat and I have been married for eight years and hardly a day goes by that I don’t look at her and wonder what I did to deserve her. That woman makes me feel things that I never imagined were possible, especially after all this time together. We’ve known each other, and loved each other, for thirteen years and most every day I feel like I’m falling in love with her all over again. That’s what happens when you find the one you’re meant to be with. I think that’s why Mom keeps after you about not letting Brooke slip away, Mom sees the effect that Brooke has on you and she knows, probably better than you, that she’s the girl for you. She did the same thing with me and Natalie, and she’s going to do the same with you and Brooke until you put a ring on that girl’s finger. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to run out and do that just to please Mom, you need to make that decision on your own, it’s between you and Brooke. But mark my words, Mom will always try to be right there in the middle, it’s just what she does man.”

We came to the neighborhood park, and I sat down on a bench, letting my head fall into my hands. It was just too much to take in. I knew that Brooke was the right girl for me, and yes, I did think about spending the rest of my life with her, but I wasn’t planning on starting that life right now. But the more I listened to Travis, and the more I thought about it, I began to wonder if now might be the best time after all.

“Are you planning on seeing each other again anytime soon? It’s been a while since she left; that’s got to be pretty hard. You haven’t been with any other women have you?” he asked, hesitantly, and I cringed at the thought.

“No,” I answered defiantly, “it hasn’t even crossed my mind. Dude, I don’t go anywhere, if I’m not with the band I’m at home watching mindless television or writing songs. I’ve basically become a hermit because I don’t want to meet other women. I want her, but I can’t have her because she’s not here, and even if she were here, I’m not sure she would agree to it.”

“What do you mean, you two haven’t been intimate?”

“Not in that sense, no. It wasn’t for lack of trying, believe me, but she asked me to be patient with her and wait, I wanted to honor that. But, I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t hard.” I slumped down on the bench and scrubbed a hand roughly over my three-day stubble. Brooke had seen it this morning during our Skype call, and liked it, so I decided to keep it for a bit.

“Sebastian, I think maybe you need to book a flight out there to see her, she’s probably missing you as much as you’re missing her. Surprise her.”