Beats of Life (Perception Book 5) (9 page)

Luckily for me, the driver doesn’t lock our tour bus. I make my way to the back of the bus with Kylie rambling several soft curse words under her breath. Once I make it to the bedroom at the back of the bus, I place her back down on her feet. When she lifts her gaze, my furious eyes are met with a pair of equally furious eyes.

“Why did you do that?” she slurs. “I could have drunk them all under the table,” she continues, throwing her arms up into the air, causing her body to sway. “Are we moving?” she questions seriously, leaning her arms against the bedroom wall to try and lessen her sways.

“You need to sleep it off,” I inform sternly, before moving towards the kitchen to grab her a glass of water.

By the time I make it back to the room, Kylie has removed her shoes and is in the process of removing her shirt. I know she is drunk, but I can’t help but look at her perfect breasts bouncing around in her silk bra as she shimmies out of her jeans. She continues to mumble to herself as she undresses, something about that I don’t want her but no one else can have her. Once she removes her jeans, she stands in front of me in nothing but her silky bra and matching panties. When I get caught running my eyes over her body, she smiles largely before she moves towards me.

“Is this how you want me?” she whispers, her breath tickling my lips. She is standing so close that her erect nipples run over my chest as she sways uncontrollably.

“Then take me,” she whispers so soft I can barely hear her. There is no way in hell I’m going to be able to control myself having her standing in front of me half naked, so I pull my shirt off and place it over her head, effectively breaking the sexual spell she has over me.

“Oh that’s right, you don’t want me but nobody else can have me either,” she yells angrily, pulling away from me. She trips on her jeans that are lying on the floor, landing harshly on her knees. When I move to assist her off the floor, her tear filled eyes turn to look up at me.

“Why don’t you want me?” she questions, a small sob escaping her lips.

“I did want you, it was you that didn’t want me remember?” I reply, trying my hardest not to let my anger get the better of me. She instantly shakes her head, causing the small tears in her eyes to drip down her face. Every single tears breaks my heart even more.

“I wanted you, I loved you,” she retaliates angrily, moving to stand in front of me, her glossed over hazel eyes darting between mine. “I still love you,” she informs in a hushed whisper.

“Then why did you leave?” I question angrily, no longer having the ability to reign in my anger. “Why were you a fucking coward that left without even saying goodbye?” I continue, my angry voice ricocheting around the small room.

She freezes at my question and her eyes dart away, no longer unable to maintain my eye contact. I lift her chin to force her to face me while she hears the words I’ve wanted to say to her for years.

“I loved you,” I advise in an angry whisper. “And you fucking destroyed me,” I continue, before I storm out of the room, down the long hallway of the bus and out into the empty carpark.

A carpark that looks just as empty as my heart felt when she left me two years ago today.

Kylie

Oh god, someone please kill me. My head is thumping so hard it feels like my brain is trying to escape my skull through my eye sockets. My throat is dry and raw and my stomach is swirling so much it feels like a washing machine has been inserted in its place. My eyes sluggishly open when I feel something cool being placed against my forearm. When I turn my gaze, I find Slater sitting on the bed next to me. His brown blood shot eyes are staring directly at me. I gingerly scoot up higher in the bed, leaning my back against the black leather bedhead before accepting the glass of water and tablets he is offering.

“Drink it all,” he requests, his voice sounding rough like he has just woken up. I finish the large glass of water and hand it back to him. My dry eyes roam around the room trying to work out exactly where I am. The room is mainly done in black wooden cupboards and drawers. There is a black glass frosted door at the side and another black wooden door in the middle. I’m fairly certain I’m not at a hotel as this room is smaller than any room I’ve ever stayed in previously, and I have stayed in some pretty small hotel rooms. Although this room is fancy in detailing, it is the size of most walk in wardrobes.

“You’re in the tour bus,” Slater informs, like he can read my thoughts. He leans behind me and pulls open a small section of the blacked out curtains. The sun shining in instantly causing my head to thump even more. When I squint my eyes, I realize that we must be moving or I’m still drunk, as the trees lining the roads edge are flicking past us.

“Where are we going?” I question, my throat burning with every syllable that escapes my mouth.

“San Francisco,” he replies, closing the curtain, giving instant relief to my pounding head.  “I organised someone to pack your stuff at the hotel and it should arrive in San Francisco not long after us,” he continues, his eyes slowly roaming over my face.

We sit silently next to each other on the bed for several minutes. It is only when I feel a cool draft running over my legs do I realize that I’m not wearing any pants. Lowering my gaze down, I notice that I’m wearing nothing but Slater’s shirt. Holy shit, did we sleep together? My pulse quickens and a tingling sensation rapidly builds in between my legs as my eyes quickly turn to look at him. My curious eyes search his confused face for answers. His eyebrows slowly pull together and he appears confused by the look on my face. Then suddenly, at break neck speed, his face morphs into anger.

“No, we didn’t have sex,” he says loudly. His angry voice vibrates right through to my stomach that I end up darting up off the bed with my hand covering my mouth, trying to hold in the vomit that is rapidly surging forward.

Slater curses under his breath before he quickly bolts out of the bed and assists me into the bathroom, which for future reference is the black frosted glass door.  He holds my hair out of my face while I vomit nothing but the glass of water I had just drank into the black porcelain toilet. Once I have finished vomiting, he scoops me into his arms and lays me back into the bed. I crawl over towards him and lay my head on his t-shirt covered chest.

“Just for a minute, please,” I request quietly. My head is thumping so much that the sound of his heart beating makes the thumping less noticeable. When he softly nods his head, I move my ear so it sits directly over the top of his heart. Within a matter of minutes, I have fallen back to sleep.

The next time I wake up, I’m the only person in the room. My head isn’t thumping as bad, and the growling of my stomach is more sounds of hunger then being hungover. I cautiously stand from the bed and place on my jeans from last night. The sound of laughter and people talking can be heard through the wooden door. I make my way to the bathroom and run my fingers through my hair to try and settle down the frazzled pieces. I wet some toilet paper and use it to remove my make-up that is smeared on my face and when I locate toothpaste in the top drawer, I use my index finger as if it is a toothbrush. Although I still look like shit, I feel a lot better than I did ten minutes ago.

Once I feel half presentable, I hesitantly open the wooden door and make my way out of the room, feeling embarrassed that I’ve made myself look like an idiot in front of my employee. The first person I spot is Slater sitting on a reclining swivel chair, his gaze lifts from a biker magazine he is reading and he offers me a small smile. When Jenni notices Slater’s smile, her head turns from the booth she is sitting in to look at me and she also smiles softly before making her way towards me.

“How are you feeling?” she questions kindly, like my sickness isn’t self-inflicted. Her concerned eyes roam over my face, her hand gently rubbing down my arm.

“I’m okay,” I reply quietly, silently praying that they couldn’t hear me vomiting in the bathroom earlier. The tour bus is large is size, but at the end of the day it is still a bus.

“Food poisoning is terrible,” she continues, forcing my confused eyes to flick between hers.

“I’m glad I didn’t eat the same thing,” Slater informs softly. When I look over at him, I notice a sly smirk has morphed onto his face. When I walk past him, I give him a little nudge with my knee, silently thanking him for once again saving me from an extremely embarrassing situation.

I spend the next hour of the drive to San Francisco staring out at the darkening sky while trying to work out the events of what had happened last night. I remember playing the drinking card game with the road crew and I have vague memories of being carried over Slater’s shoulder, but other than that the rest of the night is a complete blur. I knew that the road crew were cheating from the very beginning, I was just that upset about Slater purposely teasing me about going to a strip club that I no longer cared. I wanted to have a little fun and to break free from the boring depressed life I’ve been living the past two years. I guess I should probably thank Slater for not just looking after me while I was sick last night, but for also stopping me from making one of the biggest mistakes of my life.

Sonny has clearly shown his interests in me the past three days, but I have explained to him numerous times that I have no interest in him at all. He just doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of the word ‘No.’ His pursuit has been relentless and last night he caught me during a weak moment and exploited it to his advantage. Luckily for me, Slater came by when he did or who knows whose bed I may have woken up in this morning. The thought alone makes me cringe with disgust, not just at Sonny, but also at myself. I’m not a child, but last night I certainly acted like one.

When I turn my gaze away from the window, I spot the concerned eyes of Emily. She doesn’t say anything; her eyes just slowly glance over my face. My face morphs into concern when I notice a small gathering of tears in her eyes. When I attempt to ask her if she is okay, Noah moves towards her and pulls her onto his lap, he must have noticed her tears at the same time as me. Her head darts into the crook of his neck where she sobs softly. I turn my gaze to Marcus and nod my head towards Emily, silently asking if he knows what has made Emily upset, he lightly shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders.

I make my way to the end of the bus, wanting to give Noah and Emily some privacy. I pass Jenni standing near a set of bunk beds that Maddie and Jasper are sleeping on. She rubs my arm and gives me a reassuring smile. I knock softly on the bedroom door I exited earlier, when I don’t get any reply, I hesitantly open it to discover Slater sprawled in the middle of the bed. His breathing rhythm easily showing that he is asleep. I quietly slip into the room, closing the door softly behind me. He is lying on his stomach, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans, one pillow is cradled under his chest and his head is resting on the other.

I silently make my way to the other side of the room, before gently slipping into the bed, where I spend the next several minutes silently watching him sleep. He looks so similar to how I remembered him, except for now he has more laugh lines in the corner of his eyes and even more tattoo’s added to his already vast collection. His hair is also a little longer and his body shape a little more muscular, but just by looking at him I could easily forget that the last two years had even happened. The guy sleeping peacefully in front of me is the exact same guy I fell in love with, and the exact same guy I still love.

The sound of the bus brakes squeaking interrupts him from his peaceful sleep. When he sluggishly opens his eyes, he catches my intense gaze. He seems surprised to find me lying next to him, but doesn’t say anything. His head lifts off the pillow and his eyes slowly roam over my face.

“How are you feeling?” he questions groggily, his hand darting up to rub his tired eyes.

“I’m good,” I reply quietly. He rolls onto his hip, mimicking my position perfectly.

“Although, I am never drinking straight bourbon ever again,” I reply dramatically, causing him to chuckle softly.

“I don’t think I’m ever going to touch it again either,” he replies, his face screwing up in disgust, a gagging noise escaping his throat. I playfully slap him on his bare chest, mortified that he had to see me like that while also loving his playful banter. God, I have missed his laugh.

Once he finishes chuckling, his face takes on a more serious appearance. “What do you remember about last night?” he questions, his eyes flicking between mine.

I briefly shake my head before replying “Too be honest, I don’t remember much.”

His eyes continue to look between mine, nodding his head softly. “So you don’t remember declaring your undying love to me?” he questions, his tone the most serious I have ever heard it.

I freeze at his question. My eyes stare firmly into his as my heart rate climbs to an astronomical level. I’ve always been a talkative, loved up drunk, but I thought I would have been sick enough last night that my ramblings would have been kept to a minimum. Although I would never deny loving him, I’m embarrassed that he had to hear it while I was drunk.

His eyes dart between mine, his shoulders shake and his eyes get a cheeky sparkle in them before his lips curve upwards. The instant I spot the whites of his teeth, I punch him sternly in the bicep with my closed fist, triggering him to chuckle loudly that it echoes around the small room. He has always been a stirrer and I can’t believe I just fell for one of his old pranks.

Suddenly, three brief taps hit the bedroom door. “Slater, we are in San Francisco,” Jenni loudly informs, her small voice vibrating through the thin door. “Ummm….is Kylie in there with you?” she questions nervously. 

Slater smiles before he rolls off the bed and pulls a shirt over his head. I try to stop my bottom lip from pouting, but it did it automatically the instant his torso was covered. When he opens the door, Jenni hesitantly lifts her head and a broad smile morphs onto her flushed face when she notices me laying on the bed.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she apologizes quietly, her cheeks going even pinker in color. “I just wanted to let you know we are in San Francisco,” she advises, looking directly at Slater. “And Emily asked me to tell you that she needs to see you in her hotel room ASAP,” she continues, her concerned eyes flicking to mine.

I nod my head in understanding before standing from the bed. I run my hands through my hair and down my rumbled clothing. I would prefer to go and get changed, but this will have to do since I don’t have access to my suitcase right now. I offer Slater a smile as I slowly walk past him to follow Jenni off the bus. Just as I am about to exit, his hand darts out and grabs my wrist. I stare into his brown eyes. So many things are said, without a single word escaping our lips. I lean in and place a quick peck against his plump lips, my heart racing when he smiles against mine.

“Thank you,” I whisper softly, before slipping out of the room as quietly as I entered.