Chase the Road (A Brothers of Rock - GONE BY AUTUMN - Novel) (6 page)

“
No,
”
Maya said.
“
But you
…”

“
Hey,
there they are!
”
a voice
cried out.

Maya turned and saw Ryan, Tanner,
Gabe, and Asher rushing toward the table. They each grabbed a chair from one of
the center tables and spun them around, then straddled the chairs. They each
reached out and took a slice of pizza.

“
What
’
s up?
”
Tanner asked, his mouth full of pizza.

“
Nothing,
”
Blake said.
“
Trying to eat.
”

Ryan looked at Maya. Then at Blake.
Then at Maya. His eyes went wide.
“
Oh,
damn
…
are we
…”

“
It
’
s okay,
”
Maya said.

“
It
is?
”
Blake asked.

Maya smiled and slightly blushed.
“
I guess. Band stuff, right?
”

“
Is
this about band stuff?
”
Blake asked.

“
Yeah,
”
Gabe said.
“
Sam got whatever done he needed
to get that loan. We
’
re
good on the van. He
’
s
picking it up tomorrow.
”

“
He
found one he likes?
”
Blake
asked.

“
I
guess,
”
Tanner said.
“
Whatever. It
’
s pretty freaking cool. We have
a van. We
’
re hitting the
roads.
”

“
Rockstars,
”
Asher howled.

He jammed half a slice of pizza
into his mouth and looked like a bloated monkey as he tried to eat.

“
You
look good like that,
”
Maya
said.

“
Come
get some,
”
Asher said with
his mouth full.

“
You
guys are assholes,
”
Blake
said.
“
Is that all you
needed? Just to tell me about that?
”

“
Yeah,
”
Asher said as he swallowed down
pizza.
“
Isn
’
t that fucking great? We
’
re going on the road. We
’
re going to be famous soon.
”

“
Wait,
what is happening here?
”
Gabe asked.
“
Are you two
…
like, on date?
”

“
Shut
up,
”
Blake said.
“
We
’
re
…”

Maya looked at Blake. He looked
flustered. He looked flushed. He looked nervous. He looked freaking handsome
trying to save face right now. He eyed Maya, maybe looking for help. She kept
silent and raised an eyebrow, waiting for his answer.

“
Go,
”
Blake said.
“
Get out of here. You ate half
our dinner.
”

Ryan took out a crumbled up ten
dollar bill and threw it to the table.
“
There.
Get another pizza. On me.
”

“
What
a good man,
”
Tanner said.
He put an arm around Ryan.
“
So
handsome and sharing his wealth.
”

“
That
’
s my last ten,
”
Ryan said.
“
I
’
m
broke now.
”

“
Doesn
’
t matter,
”
Asher said.
“
We
’
re going to be fucking rich
someday soon.
”

“
How
are you guys gassing up the van and stuff?
”
Maya asked.

“
Sam,
”
Asher said without hesitation.
“
He
’
ll
get it. We just have to play the shows.
”

“
Maybe
write some more songs,
”
Gabe said.
“
We
’
ve been on a roll lately. Blake
’
s been on fire. Something
…”

Ryan smirked and winked at Maya.
Her face turned eight shades of red and she looked away.

Of course Ryan would figure this
all out. Whatever this was.

“
Guys,
let
’
s roll,
”
Ryan said. He stood up.
“
Come on. Leave them eat their
pizza.
”

“
On
their hot date,
”
Asher said
and laughed.

They all turned their chairs
around, scratching at the floor, calling attention to the table. The four of
them left like a bunch of bandits, talking loud, laughing, bumping into chairs,
tables, and other people.

Then it was silent, minus a low volume
soundtrack of some guy belting out long notes in Italian.

And Blake looked at Maya.

And stared.

He opened his mouth and closed it.

“
What?
”
she asked.

“
I
’
m
…
I
’
m really sorry about
that. I didn
’
t know
…”

“
Of
course. Who cares, right? We
’
re
just eating pizza.
”

We
’
re just eating pizza? Did I just let him
down?

“
Yeah,
”
Blake said.
“
Uh, do you want me to order
another one?
”

“
A
pizza? No. I
’
ll have a
slice. I
’
m good.
”

The date, dinner, pizza, whatever
it was, ended twenty minutes later.

Blake drove Maya back to her shitty
little apartment and dropped her off. He did reach for her hand, kind of
tugging at her. He thanked her -
he
’
s
thanking me?
- for hanging out. And he used the words
hanging out
.

And then he drove away.

And Maya walked back to her
apartment
…
alone
…
hurting
…
confused
…

Maya heard the shower water turn
off and she quickly dropped back down in the bed and rolled to her side. She
pretended to be asleep again, but it proved useless. Hunter didn
’
t come back into the bedroom.
Instead, he left the bathroom and went to the second bedroom, his office.

Kicking the covers off a second
time, Maya sat up. It wasn
’
t
even four-thirty in the morning yet. But it seemed useless to try and sleep.
This wasn
’
t her place and
it wasn
’
t her bed. Her bed
had a spot where she fit and could sleep.

Maya grabbed for her cell and
opened her texts. Her fingers twitched and tingled a little. Nobody else in
Gone by Autumn seemed to care that she missed a couple shows. It wasn
’
t a big deal. Except to Blake.
He took it to heart. He took it hard.

Maya
’
s
fingers started to type.

You can
’
t be mad at me forever. I
know it. Please
…
call me
…

She shut her eyes and sent it,
hoping it wouldn
’
t make the
entire situation more confusing and guilt ridden.

She was wrong.

(6)

Blake heard his phone beep the
first time and reached out, swiping the phone to the floor. His right arm hung
from the bed, his eyes still shut. As he started to slip right back into a
half-drunk, half-hangover state of sleep and dream, the phone beeped again as a
reminder there was a text message waiting to be read.

His right eye opened, crusted, and
Blake saw it was four-thirty in the morning.

Four freaking thirty
…
who the hell
…

Blake saw the name on the screen.

Maya.

He told himself to flip the phone
over. Don
’
t look at the
screen. Or the text. He told himself to just turn the damn phone off. In his
world - in the rockstar world - it was still night or something.

“
Turn
the fucking phone off!
”
Gabe growled from the top of the bunk.

Blake grabbed the phone and rolled
over. The other half of the bed still smelled like whatever perfume some woman
had been wearing just a few hours ago. The backstage party that moved to the
bus kept going until two in the morning. That
’
s
when Sam made the call that it was time to travel. Five years ago, that would
have meant kicking a bunch of women off the bus. But now, it meant just one
woman taking some kind of rockstar walk of shame. Because the rest of the guys
had their own relationship to deal with.

Sabrina and Jocelyn were on the bus
but left. Jocelyn was going back to check on some kind of merchandising
shipment. And Sabrina was going to a hotel to sleep. Then she would get up
tomorrow (which was technically today) and then meet up with Raine and Jules
before traveling to the next show.

All that serious planning and
bullshit made Blake drink more. Not because it was too much of a grown up kind
of thing
…
but because it
was a complete jealousy kind of thing. Because Maya wasn
’
t there. She wasn
’
t
on the bus. She wasn
’
t
going to be on the bus, sleeping, like she always did.

Everything was fucked up. Bottom
line.

It was fucked up.

And now Maya was texting him at
four-thirty in the morning.

You can
’
t be mad at me forever. I
know it. Please
…
call me
…

“
Call
her?
”
Blake whispered.

He rolled out of his bunk and
pushed through the curtain to the front of the bus. It was mostly dark except
for the lights on the front where the driver - a guy name Big Matty - drove.
His eyes were focused on the road. A wallet sized picture of himself, his wife,
and two daughters stuck in the dashboard.

Big Matty looked up in the mirror
and Blake gave a wave. Big Matty nodded and went back to the road.

It was dark, quiet, the bus riding
smooth.

Blake sat down and slid to the
window, looking out. The world passed by in a blur. People were out there
sleeping. People who would be at the show tonight. People who would go to work
with a big smile on their face, knowing that in just hours they would be
standing and singing along with Gone by Autumn.

The feeling was quite intense.

Blake sat there and stared at the
text.

…
call me
…

Blake didn
’
t want call
…
but he really,
really
did. If she wasn
’
t
going to come out on the road, that was fine. Blake knew he was wrong acting
like a jerk over it. It was change. Everything constantly changing. Certain
changes were nice. The change in his bank account was very nice. The change in
the shows and fans were also nice. But this change
…
losing Maya
…
this wasn
’
t good.

And Blake had one thought about
something that happened a long time ago
…

That night at Louie
’
s
…
she promised me
…
she would never
…

Blake was drunk.
Not
stumbling around drunk. Not puking drunk. Not wake up next to someone in bed
drunk. But he was drunk. And he sat on his old brown couch, nursing another
beer, sitting in the dark and silence. He had been playing some old tunes on
his stereo but they stopped playing ten minutes ago and he hadn
’
t bothered to put something else
on.

He thought about tonight.

It was supposed to be something
different.

Maya wasn
’
t the kind of woman that wanted or needed anything
fancy. She didn
’
t do
dresses, heels, make up, or that kind of stuff. She didn
’
t go out to expensive restaurants or on lavish
trips. She was just
…
cool.
Completely cool.

That
’
s
why the pizza date was supposed to do it. It was supposed to finally open that
door.

“
Fucking
Asher
…”

Blake knew he couldn
’
t blame the guys for anything.
They had left, right? By then though Blake had been thrown off everything.
Right down to saying such stupid shit to Maya. Thanking her? Telling her it was
fun to hang out? Grabbing her hand but not going in for a kiss?

That
’
s
when Blake popped up from the couch. His beer tipped over and landed on the
floor. He didn
’
t care about
it. He grabbed his keys and left the apartment. Better judgment reminded him
not to be an idiot and get behind the wheel of his car, so that left him with
one option.

To run.

He started to run and didn
’
t stop until he was back at Maya
’
s. He ran right to her apartment
and knocked on the door. A little out of breath, sweat on his forehead, Blake
knew he was far from the handsome prince or white knight shit most women
dreamed about.

But when Maya opened the door, her
eyes went wide and she gasped.

Better yet, Blake could see it in
her eyes.

She was a little drunk too.

“
Hey,
”
Blake said.

“
Blake
…
what
…”

“
I
’
m drunk. I didn
’
t drive. I ran here. Tonight was
bullshit, Maya. Complete bullshit.
”

“
Oh?
”

Blake stepped forward and grabbed
her hand.
“
It was supposed
to be about us. Just you and me. And having that moment
…
where everything just
…”

“
Happens?
”
Maya asked.

“
Yes.
That
’
s what I wanted. So I
’
ll plan it all again. I
’
ll figure something else out. I
’
ll make sure nobody
…”

Maya lunged at him. A hand behind
his head, balancing on her toes, her lips coming to his. They kissed hard,
fast, Blake tasting whatever fruity drink Maya had been drinking.

The kiss broke and Blake licked his
lips. He had to catch his breath. Nobody had ever stolen his breath before.
Only Maya.

“
Okay,
”
Blake said.

“
Nobody
’
s here now,
”
Maya said.

“
I
know that.
”

“
So
come in.
”

“
Maya,
if I cross that line
…”

She pulled at his shirt, pulling
him into her apartment.
“
There.
You just crossed it. Now what?
”

Blake groaned and reached for the
door. He slammed it shut and locked it. He wasn
’
t
going to waste anymore time talking. He moved forward and scooped Maya off her
feet. Her legs wrapped right around him. She was now eye level with him. He had
one hand down, cupping her ass.

Christ, how long have I waited
to cup her ass?

He stared into her eyes.

They were both drunk, yeah. Maybe
in the morning things would be
…
something else
…
but right
now, they were real. And they were fucking hot.

Blake kissed Maya.

She dug both hands into his sweaty
hair and kept pulling him tight, wanting more. Blake tasted all of Maya
’
s mouth. He playfully teased his
tongue to hers.

Blake walked Maya to the closest
thing he could find, which was a small dining room table. He sat her down on
the table, towering back over her. He kept kissing her, his hands aching to
touch her.

His hands moved to her lower back
and pulled at her, pressing his body to hers. He grabbed the bottom of her
shirt and lifted it up. Just watching that sight of skin becoming exposed was
enough to make Blake grit his teeth. The sight of her smooth skin, her breasts
pushing against a black bra, it left Blake feeling like he was in a dream. The
greatest damn dream of his life.

Reaching behind her, Blake let his
fingertips gently touch her slender back, teasing her for a second or two
before unsnapping her bra. Then he moved faster, showing a more desperate side
of himself.

But Blake didn
’
t care. He couldn
’
t care. He had been waiting for
this moment for years.
Years.

Blake eased Maya
’
s bra down her arms and then
cupped under her breasts. She let out the softest of moans, offered a sigh, and
put her head back a little. Her lips looked as succulent as her breasts. Blake
kissed her lips first, tasting those sweet lips. Then he inched down to her
neck. His tongue flickering against her skin, working his way down. His hands
cupped her breasts tight, his thumb rubbing along her nipples, feeling them get
harder, thicker.

It left Blake aching for more of
her.

He continued down and kissed in a
fury down to her left breast. He purposely let his lips run along her nipple,
feeling Maya jump and cry out. Opening his mouth, he engulfed her breast, his
hand now free and inching down her precious body.

Blake reminded himself they were on
a small table.

He pulled his mouth from Maya
’
s soft and beautiful breast. His
hands went to the small of her back and he pulled her off the table. Her legs
were back around him, her exposed breasts now pressing against his t-shirt.
Their lips and tongues met again, kissing wildly as Blake walked Maya to her
bedroom.

There were a few times when Blake
carried Maya to her bedroom. But that was just helping a friend to bed. Nights
when Maya had too much to drink and Blake kept her from doing anything stupid,
hooking up with some jerk, and making sure she was in bed and had a bucket next
to her, just in case.

But tonight was a far cry from
that.

Blake kicked the bedroom door open
(just like he had always fantasized doing) and carried Maya to the bed. He
placed her down and inched off her, going right for her pants. He forced
himself to be gentle enough to take her pants off and then slid his hands up
her legs and cut to the insides of her thighs. Over the top of her panties,
Blake pulled and gritted his teeth at the sight of her beautiful body. The
curve of her sex and the way Maya started to close her legs just a little,
teasing Blake.

Blake came down at her, kissing
above her belly button. Maya cried out and dug her hands into his hair. He
laughed, knowing how ticklish Maya was. She then pushed at him, wanting him to
move down on her.

So Blake did.

Inch by inch, tasting her warm and
smooth body, right down to the wet silk of her sex. His tongue cut along her
once, twice, and Blake pulled away, admiring the wild sight before him.

Maya then looked down at him and
smiled. It was the softest and most beautiful smile Blake had ever seen. A tiny
symbol of care and comfort from Maya to him. She then tugged at his hair.

“
Come
here,
”
she whispered.
“
I want you
…”

Blake moved up and Maya put her
hand down to his shirt. She clawed and pulled, wanting it off. Blake tore his
shirt off and kissed up Maya
’
s
body and then stood from the bed. He grabbed at his own belt and jeans, his
eyes moving up and down Maya
’
s
body. The only thing Blake hated about waiting this long for Maya was that they
could have been doing this more.

Blake dropped his jeans and boxers.
He then bent to reach for the pocket of his jeans to get something and Maya sat
up enough to grab his wrist.

“
No,
”
she whispered.
“
It
’
s
okay.
”

“
It
’
s okay?
”
Blake asked.

“
I
trust you, Blake. I want you
…
all of you
…”

She pulled at Blake
’
s arm. Blake came forward and
kissed her again. A sweet yet hot kiss. Slow and passionate, Blake felt the
warmth racing through his body. He was painfully hard by then and it didn
’
t make matters any easier when
Maya let his wrist go in exchange for something else.

The feel of her hand around him,
tugging and stroking, made him groan and thrust, begging his mind and heart not
to ruin this moment.