Out of Time (Face the Music Book 3) (8 page)

That was his problem. He was standing around unable to make a decision, meaning that all doors were both open and closed until he picked one and went through it.

He looked at her. Her lips were pressed together and there was a glint in her eyes that invited challenge. He wasn’t up for it but he wasn’t going to ignore it either. ‘Do you have plans for Australia Day?’

‘My friends got organised and booked a hotel room. Why, what are you doing, something fun and rock star-ish?’

‘Nah. Foreshore …’ Picnic blanket, cricket, drinking, sunburn. He’d been going every year with his mates since he was fifteen—they didn’t drink back then though … mostly. ‘The hotel room sounds better.’

‘I’ll wave from the balcony.’

That was a polite way to tell him to rack off. Probably for the best. But he still smiled. He could be friends with a woman and not get into her pants—even if she did have very nice legs that he could all too easily imagine wrapped around his hips. As blood rushed he tried to squash the thought. Bike pants were not forgiving.

He moved his leg to block her view.

‘Are we going to do this again?’ He wanted to, and not just because he was attracted to her. This was a break from reality. An alternate universe that he’d like to spend more time in, if only so he didn’t have to do face anything else.

‘If you’re game?’

He nodded. He was. He knew he was running and that he’d never be quick enough to truly get away, but he’d take these moments in the sun when he could get them.

Chapter 7

On Australia Day, by the time Mike got to the foreshore there were people and cars everywhere. The parking inspectors would be having a field day. And while catching the bus in had taken extra time, it was worth it as he didn’t have to worry about anything except finding where his friends had set up along the river. A dozen people out of tens of thousands. His gaze slid to the hotels in South Perth. Was Ava there or on the other side of the river in Perth?

It didn’t matter.

But it did. He’d seen her at work, but she’d been busy and he’d had places to be. Aside from a smile and a quick hello, nothing had really been said.

He checked his phone as it buzzed, giving him a sketchy location to head for. He located the flats and then what he hoped was the correct tree and started in that direction. A few beers and snacks bounced in his backpack. Once he’d have had a bottle of spirits and a soft drink and no food. Now he was riding again he was drinking less. It was probably a good thing.

Although he was starting to think that he should’ve brought more than two beers. However, there was some rule about only drinking in designated zones or between certain hours. He probably should’ve checked it out.

He heard music going as the hottest one hundred songs of last year, as voted by listeners and not by sales, were counted down. Had they made the list? Ed would know. He kept track of that kind of thing.

It was hours until the fireworks show, but that meant time to lie on the grass and chill. Lately it felt as though that didn’t happen much. He was always running from place to place but never stopping.

As he drew closer, the crowd started to separate into obvious clumps of people and he began picking his way through. Maybe he should’ve got here earlier, but he’d wanted to see his mum in the morning, timing his visit between the pain meds so she was alert.

Ever since they’d talked about his impending trip, it hadn’t been raised again. His mother was like that. If the decision had been made there was no point in revisiting it. He wasn’t like that, and in his mind he was still undecided, even though he knew what needed to be done.

He spotted the green shade tent. In a few more hours it wouldn’t be needed, but someone had to get here early to stake out a good spot. There was nowhere to set up now, although people would squish in as they arrived to see the fireworks, before scuttling back to wherever they had come from.

‘Hey. I made it.’ He put his bag down and sat. Dan was lying on a picnic blanket with his arm over his eyes. Mike gave him a kick. ‘Are you pissed already?’

Dan replied with his middle finger.

‘That’s a yes then.’ He must have loaded up a bottle of soft drink with vodka or something.

‘Yeah. Dan peaked too early.’ Gemma had her head in Kirsten’s lap.

‘And that’s why Lisa dumped him.’ Ed was throwing a small football to his girlfriend’s kid as Olivia packed up.

Dan used both hands to reply, but he kept them low so the kid wouldn’t see.

‘He’s banned from swearing. Watch for hand signals,’ Gem said with a grin.

‘PG time is almost up, then you can be drunken louts.’ Olivia gave Ed a kiss.

‘I won’t be a lout,’ Ed said, with a suitable amount of mock outrage.

Mike smiled. Six months ago it had been him and Ed finding a bar and a couple of chicks. ‘Where are the other guys?’

Ed pointed across to the fenced off celebration zone. ‘They wanted to see one of the performances in there.’ He glanced at Olivia. ‘We spent some time in the kiddie area.’

‘Olivia has domesticated my brother.’ Kirsten laughed.

Ed gave her a dark look. ‘K and Gem have bravely manned our spot.’

‘We entertained ourselves.’ Kirsten stroked Gemma’s hair.

‘Too much information, K.’ Ed stood. ‘I’m going to walk Olivia to her car.’

Mike gave him a wave and watched them leave. Ed seemed a whole lot less stressed than he had a few months ago. But then, a few months ago they’d had nothing written on the album and Ed hadn’t been getting laid on a regular basis.

Neither was he at the moment. It had been almost a month. It wasn’t really that long, but it felt like a long time. Every time he saw Ava he got hard and they hadn’t done anything more than talk. He didn’t want to break what they had by doing something dumb.

He wasn’t a horny sixteen-year-old.

He was nine years older and should know how to behave. It was easier to behave when at home and not on tour. The day job also kept him out of trouble. He glanced at Dan … yeah. That could be him if he wasn’t careful. Real careful.

He cracked open a beer and a bag of crisps, content to do nothing but people watch. People were drinking around them. As long as no one was starting a fight or dragging an esky full of beer, then everything was cool.

‘How’s your mum?’ Gemma stuck her hand in the crisp bag.

That was almost the first thing everyone asked him these days. He wanted to say, dying, how do you think? But he didn’t. He took a sip of beer. ‘Medicated. Yours?’

‘Okay. Dad went down there last weekend and made a scene. Cops got involved.’ She shrugged. ‘It had seemed too easy. Guess he finally ran out of clean clothes and hoped she’d come back if he made enough of a fuss.’

‘She didn’t?’ After all the hassles Gemma had put up with living there and then finally moving out, and then helping her mother move out. If her mother went back …

When he looked at Gemma’s family, he didn’t mind being the only child and having no father. His dad had probably done them a favour by taking off.

‘No, I don’t think she will. Not now she’s tasted freedom.’

A group of guys and a few girls made their way over. Mike raised his hand in greeting. He and Ed had hung around with the same group at school, but while Ed had remained close as they all went to uni, Mike had drifted away. He’d made friends with the other apprentice sparkies. Then, when Selling the Sun had taken off, they’d drifted away from him.

They all sat and for a while it was a round of general catch-ups. He avoided mentioning his mother because he didn’t want their pity and he didn’t know them well enough anymore for it to be genuine sympathy.

He drained his beer and would’ve gone straight for another, but his phone buzzed with a message. Was Ed lost or not coming back? Lucky bastard. He smiled as he pulled his phone free.

Ava. His smile widened.

I’m taking a walk. Where r u?

Near the celebration zone but not inside.

Her next message had a map. Now he knew which hotel she was at and where she was walking to.

I’ll b there in 10.

C u then.

Mike peeled himself up. ‘I’m going to stretch my legs.’

‘You sure that’s all you’re stretching?’ Dan had a smirk on his face.

It was very tempting to kick him again. ‘Yeah, dickhead. I’m going to say hi to another friend who’s down here.’

‘Chill. You don’t have the balls for al fresco sex.’

While he’d never admit to it, he did. But he didn’t kiss and tell about what he and girlfriends got up to. He didn’t even discuss one-night stands. Some things were meant to be private.

Instead of getting involved in an argument he couldn’t win without revealing too much, he walked away. It wasn’t dark yet and there was another hour until the fireworks started. He reached the meeting point first and saw her walking down the road towards him.

It was the first time he’d seen her out of uniform and not in Lycra. She was wearing a light blue knee-length dress that she had to keep a hand on so the skirt didn’t flick up. He was kind of hoping that it would.

‘How’s your hotel?’

‘Very nice. How’s your lawn?’

‘Green and crowded.’ Which was to be expected. ‘Sooo.’ Why was he here? Her hotel room wasn’t that far away. His dick got its hopes up faster than he’d have liked. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts.

‘I don’t know why I texted you.’ Her lips curved into a small smile before she pinched her lower lip between her teeth, as if to stop it from spreading. ‘I just wanted to get out and thought that if you were close by …’

‘And here I am.’ This wasn’t awkward at all. What were they doing?

She nodded and her gaze skimmed over him. ‘And here you are.’ She took a step closer.

He could reach out and touch her, yet he didn’t. He hadn’t been this hesitant in a very long time. But Ava wasn’t some random chick whose name he didn’t know or couldn’t remember. Her name was etched inside his skull. ‘Did you want to go for a walk?’

‘Why not.’ She flicked him another little smile.

Why not indeed, he wasn’t sure what else they were going to do. This was outside their usual activities. They walked down the road a bit toward the foreshore. He was aware of her arm when it brushed his. And while they had sat close after a ride, this felt different.

How different did he want it?

He wasn’t sure. He liked what they had and that they could talk and there were no complications. But his fingers brushed her hand and then her fingers were linking with his and then they were holding hands before they reached the grassed foreshore.

Around them people moved, walking from wherever they’d parked their car or jumped off the bus. She wouldn’t want to be down here when the show started, not when she could be watching from her balcony with her friends, plus they’d wonder where she was. He glanced back up the road toward the hotel.

‘Guess I should go back.’ She didn’t sound entirely convinced.

‘I’ll walk you.’ He didn’t care if he missed the whole thing. They went back the way they’d come.

They were almost there when she stopped. In that heartbeat, he knew this was about to get complicated and he wasn’t going to do a damn thing to stop it. He’d wanted her the first time he’d seen her. The heat of the evening was on his skin and her touch was under his skin.

If she invited him up, he’d follow.

Fuck.
He had no condoms.

Maybe she did … but the thought brought him up short. He liked her. He didn’t just want to sleep with her. If he did that, then what happened next? Did they go back to just being friends … is that what had been happening, or had she wanted more from the start?

It was complicated already. He’d been pretending otherwise because Ava was a very pretty distraction.

A quick screw never brought this headache, neither had making love with a girlfriend. He wasn’t sure he remembered how to do that. It had been too long.

She looked up at him and stepped closer. ‘I remembered why I texted you.’

‘Uh-huh.’ He’d kind of got that. He was sure his heart was about to self-destruct in a frenzy of lust and anticipation.

He put his hand on her waist. He knew she was all lithe muscle. Her riding gear had given him plenty to think about in the shower. She probably wouldn’t find that flattering. After giving her a moment to pull away—she didn’t—he drew her a fraction closer.

Neither of them moved. Her lips were tilted up, and her fingers were locked around his. He drew in a breath. If he crossed the line, he wouldn’t be able to uncross it. He didn’t need this. His life was a mess that he couldn’t afford to screw up further. His dick pulsed. It had only been a month, not even a full month. It wasn’t going to drop off if it didn’t get used.

‘Kiss me,’ she whispered.

Any resistance he’d had was shattered by those two words. He leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. All other thoughts melting away.

She wanted him and he needed her. But he didn’t rush the kiss and neither did she. It slowly deepened from first kiss to more. Her free hand slid over his chest to land on his shoulder. He closed the last few centimetres between them.

Still she didn’t pull away.

There were too many people around to do more here. But he moved against her, leaving no doubt about what he was thinking. She gasped then swayed her hips.

He wanted to pick her up and have her against the nearest wall—which had been his first thought the first time he’d seen her. Her hotel was only metres away. He was pathetic, drawing boundaries, only to ignore them when he changed his mind.

Her tongue found his ring. Then her teeth gave it a gentle tug. She gave a little laugh as he growled.

‘You like that one?’

‘Mmm. Do you have any more?’

No, he didn’t, and this is where things usually took a dive. But he wasn’t drunk and neither was she. And they weren’t strangers. But he didn’t want to give up all his secrets too soon. ‘Maybe, maybe not.’

She was still pressed against him. Her body moulding to his. She reached up and took another kiss. ‘Guess I’ll have to wait to find out.’