Arizona Skies: The Muse (12 page)

We were going to have dinner and then hit the casino tonight. Scott and Keith wanted to gamble. I was a shark at the blackjack table, having learned from my father at a young age how to play cards. After a few years of losing miserably to him, I got really good at it. I always won at poker, blackjack, pitch, and any other card game my family played.

I wanted my good-luck charm by my side tonight. I needed to spend as much time as I could with her, committing every conversation to memory. She’d had this profound effect on me and I didn’t know how I was going to function when we parted. She was my muse; she inspired me in so many ways. I actually enjoyed being with her, even though I hadn’t taken her to bed, I just wanted to spend time getting to know her. I was intrigued by how someone 22 years of age could still be so sweet and shy. The way she walked around looking so damn sexy, but never realizing the effect she was having on the male population. She was different, special and I wanted to make her mine.

Scott wasn’t kidding when he told her we’d talked about kidnapping her and taking her back with us. They knew how she had changed me in just a couple days and frankly they were worried about me falling back into my self-destructive ways once this cruise was over. They were afraid of how I was going to react when I had to watch her walk away, frankly so was I. I was already dreading it and we still had five days to go.

The only answer to my predicament was to find a way to persuade her to come to Arizona. This was going to be tough since she lived so far away and I was sure her family would try to stop her. I knew my parents would. I was convinced I’d never find another woman like her and I didn’t want to. I was convinced that she was worth the fight.

Six

Bailey

S
helly and I decided to wear our flashiest dresses. Mine was hot pink and tight, hugging my body in all the right places. It was short and low in the back; the bright color showed off my tanned skin. Shelly went for a fire-engine-red halter with a very short skirt that had a ruffle along the bottom. We hoped when we bought them that we’d get a night to wear them, never expecting to find handsome men to wear them for. I put up one side of my hair with my silver-and-turquoise hair comb that looked like a butterfly and left it straight for tonight. I went for dramatic, putting on dark eye shadow that made my eyes look exotic.

Shelly and I loved to play dress-up when we were kids; now we got to do it for real, and it was still fun after all these years. All those years of practice really paid off; we had glam down pat. We headed out to pick up Liza along the way. She seemed like a nice girl, quiet like Keith. She had on a navy-blue sheath dress that shimmered when she walked, tight and sexy.

Dinner was wonderful as usual as we relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company. It was nice having my best friend as happy as I was, and because Scott and Jesse were friends, we got to spend a lot of time together. I was surprised when the guys gave me a toast.

“Here’s to Bailey, who inspired our boy and kick-started his creative juices again,” Keith said. Everyone raised their glasses to toast
me. I blushed, lowering my head in embarrassment. Jesse put his finger under my chin and lifted my head, smiling at me.

“Honey, I’m sorry about them. They’re annoying, but they’re all I’ve got,” he said. He chuckled as they bounced around ideas on how to steal me away and bring me back to Arizona with them. “I hope you can come out to visit; I’m going to miss you so much,” he said, kissing my lips. I liked that he didn’t care who was around to see us.

“Whoa, man, not in public,” Scott smirked.

“You’re a fine one to talk,” Jesse snarled at him.

“Let’s blow this pop stand,” Scott said, standing up. “Gambling time, my friends; let’s go win some money. Night everybody.” Scott bowed at the waist to everyone in the restaurant as he walked out the door, dragging Shelly behind him.

Jesse took my hand, following the guys out of the dining hall. People at the tables were chuckling at Scott as he strutted his stuff out the door. We walked to the casino in relative quiet, looking at the star-studded night. As we walked in one direction, the ship moved in the opposite direction. It was kind of neat watching the ocean flow by us like we were walking on the water.

“Who feels lucky tonight?” Scott yelled as he burst through the casino door. He entered a room just like Shelly did, with force and purpose. I had to laugh at their similarities. They could have passed for brother and sister, as alike as they were. Both were blond, blue eyed, fair skinned, wild, and untamed. Talk about a perfect match!

The casino was beautiful, with brightly colored carpets and machines everywhere. Further away from the slot machines were the gaming tables, which was where Jesse headed first.

Blackjack and poker were his games, he said as he pulled me up to a blackjack table. “You’re my good-luck charm,” he said, putting some of his chips on the table. I couldn’t believe it as I watched him win hand after hand. His stack of chips kept growing larger. I could hear Scott yelling somewhere in the room, but I couldn’t see him or Shelly. Keith and Liza were at the next table over, and John was at
the poker table. After a while Jesse decided it was my turn and took me over to a machine. He explained how to work it as I tried my luck. I wasn’t doing very well, but he encouraged me to try again as we moved on to a different machine. The machines were fun to watch even if I didn’t understand the game. I lost some of his money. Finally, we decided to cut our losses and headed back to the card tables again.

Jesse kept winning at the blackjack table, and from what I could see, Keith was doing quite well too. He was quite animated for him, jumping up and down and hugging Liza. Jesse was more laid back, with a quiet confidence I admired. We moved around the tables, never staying in one place very long. When I looked at the clock, it was already midnight—time really does fly when you’re having a good time.

“Ready to call it a night?” he asked.

I nodded, ready to put my plan into action. We walked around to tell everyone we were leaving. The cool night air felt good as I walked over to the railing to look out at the moon that hung in the sky like a painting.

“It’s so beautiful,” I said, looking out to sea.

“It sure is,” he said, looking at me. He turned me and pulled me into his arms. “You look fantastic in this dress,” he said, inspecting my outfit. “It shows off your amazing figure sweetheart. Every man in that casino was watching you as you walked around.” He kissed me sweetly, cradling the back of my head. “I’m so damn glad you’re with me.”

“I’m glad I’m with you too,” I said, reaching up to put my arms around his neck to pull him closer.

“That means a lot to me to hear you say that. I’m so sick of women coming on to me because I’m a singer in a band. The rock-star lifestyle doesn’t suit me, believe me when I tell you I certainly gave it a good try,” he chuckled. “I love performing, don’t get me wrong, but it’s the lifestyle I can’t deal with. It’s empty and meaningless without
someone to share it with. I’ve been looking for someone like you for a long time. Now, way too soon, I’ll have to let you go. You don’t know how hard that is going to be. Bailey, I’ve fallen very hard for you,” he confessed as he kissed me passionately. He said all the right words to me tonight, everything I was waiting to hear.

“Jesse, it’s going to be just as hard for me to walk away from you. Maybe we can make a promise to meet somewhere after the holidays,” I said.

“Bailey, I don’t want to leave you,” he said, looking into my eyes. “Tomorrow we dock in Cozumel for the day. Let’s go ashore and check out the island; then tomorrow night we have to perform again. I’ll save you a table in the front, just like before, OK?” he asked.

“OK,” I said, kissing him. We held each other tight, looking out into the vast night sky. I made a wish upon a star that our plan to meet after this cruise was over would come true.

A chill went up my spine as the wind picked up. Jesse put his leather jacket around my shoulders. “Let’s get you inside; you’re cold,” he said, turning me around and heading toward the stairs. He took my hand to lead the way to my door. I opened the door and asked him to come in, not letting him walk away this time. Closing the door, I let his jacket fall to the floor and gave him another kiss. As I stepped into his arms, I rubbed my body against his. I could feel his hard cock against my stomach and knew he wanted me. Our conversation about leaving had me upset, and tears started to swell in my eyes.

“Bailey, look at me,” he said, pulling my chin up to look him in the eyes. “Baby, why are you crying?”

“Talking about us parting at the end of this cruise just hit me; I’m sorry,” I said, wiping a tear away. I leaned back into his chest, my head over his heart.

“I know how you feel; it’s going to kill me to see you leave. I’ve never felt this way about any woman before—you’ve captured my heart, baby,” he said, stroking my back. “Listen; let’s make as many
memories as we can for the time we’ve got together. We’ll figure the rest out later, because I’ll be damned if I’m losing you.”

My heart jumped in my chest that was exactly how I was feeling too. I wanted all the experiences he had to offer and I was starting tonight. I explained, “I’ve only got six more months, and I’ll have my degree. Shelly will have finished her student teaching by then, and we’ll be free.” I smiled at him.

“Bailey, do you think you could get time off from work during your winter break so you could come out to Arizona for a week? We’ll be recording our album then; it would be nice to have you there as my focal point. I could sing so much better if I had this beautiful face to sing to,” Jesse said, stroking my back.

“I’ll try. Our winter break is the third week of February; that’s also the week of my birthday,” I let slip not meaning to. I was so excited that he actually wanted me to come to Arizona to be with him, that my mind ran away with my mouth.

“Your birthday, that’s perfect. I’ll make sure you have the best one ever, sweetheart,” he said, kissing me. I kissed him back with all the feelings I’d been holding inside. I wanted him, and now I knew he wanted me too; it just felt right. I’d dreamed about this moment every night since we met. He wrapped his arms around me, picked me up, and carried me to the bed. He sat me down and sat next to me, never breaking our embrace.

“Bailey, I want you so bad,” he said, pushing my hair back and nuzzling my neck. Just what I wanted to hear.

“Jesse, I’m right here; I’m not going anywhere. I want you too,” I said breathlessly.

I was anxious to get this mystery over with. He was hesitant; I could tell by the way he sat next to me, our bodies not touching, only our lips. I leaned my chest over to touch his, needing that intimate connection to spur him on. I wanted him to relax and enjoy our time together, not leave us both emotionally charged like he did last night. That did it—he kicked our kissing up a notch, adding his
tongue. I was lost in his embrace, wanting and needing more as he pulled our bodies closer together.

“Bailey, I don’t think I can control myself around you anymore,” he said looking at me with his bedroom eyes.

“Then don’t; I want you just as badly as you want me,” I whispered, clutching him tightly in my arms.

“Baby, don’t say that just because you think I want to hear it. Say it only if you mean it,” he said, looking at me.

“Jesse, listen to me. I don’t say things I don’t mean! You’re the first guy I’ve ever felt this way about.
I
…
want
…
you!
” I said with purpose. Shelly would have been proud of me. He had a deer-in-headlights look on his face as I sat there waiting to see what he was going to do next.

“OK, sweetheart, simmer down; I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m glad you feel that way about me, because I damn well feel that way about you. You consume my every waking hour and my dreams at night,” he smiled.

“Well then, what’s the problem?” I said, a little more gruffly than I intended. I knew what the problem was, but I wanted to hear him say it.

“The problem…let’s see, how I put this?” he said, searching for the right words. I pulled back to look him in the eyes, gritting my teeth at what he was about to say. Damn Shelly and her big mouth; this wouldn’t have been an issue if she hadn’t blurted out my most intimate secret. I waited while he thought of just the right thing to say.

“Do you have any idea how special you are? I would never do anything to hurt you or disrespect you, you know that right? You’re like a delicate flower in full bloom, ready to pick,” he said, looking totally flustered as he babbled on.

“Jesse, damn it, you’re not making any sense. You’re dragging out the issue and pissing me off. My friend and her big fucking mouth,” I yelled, standing up and stomping back and forth with my hands
balled into fists. Now I was really angry and couldn’t hold back my frustration anymore.

He looked shocked at my outburst, watching me pace back and forth as I fumed about my big-mouthed friend.

“I’m sorry, Bailey; I’ve never been in this situation before, and obviously I’m not handling it very well. Please, honey, sit down, and let’s start over,” he said, reaching out for my fist. He pried my hand open to interlock our fingers. His eyes pleaded with me to calm down as he pulled my arm gently, causing me to flop down on the bed next to him.

“You’re a little feisty one, aren’t you, sweetheart?” he said, brushing my hair back behind my shoulder with a smile. He leaned over for a kiss, trying hard to pull me back from my meltdown.

I grabbed his head and put all of my pent-up frustration into our kiss, pulling his hair to get my point across. He moaned and flattened my body up against his, falling backward on the bed so the top part of my body was on his. His hands softly stroked my back to calm me down, but I wasn’t easily distracted from my mission to have him. Tonight I was claiming him as my own, and he wasn’t talking me out of it. I climbed on top of him, looking down at my prey. He was looking up at me, his eyes sparkling. I traced his jaw with my finger, slowly moving my finger down his neck and across his chest. He was breathing hard, his nipples hardening as I stroked him. I leaned in for another smoldering kiss, my tongue searching his mouth this time.