Jersey Girl (Sticks & Hearts #1) (14 page)

Sweet Mother Mary. My B is freaking gorgeous
.

"Hey, Cass," he smiles, bringing up a hand to drag it through his unruly hair. For half a second, I'm rendered speechless. It's only been six weeks since I last saw this much of his skin, but staring at him now my eyes zero in on his chest and the happy trail leading to a part of him I'm dying to know more intimately, and I'd swear to you it's been years.

"Hi." My voice comes out raspy, and I have to clear it before continuing. "Thought if you had time, I'd give you your first lesson." I pat the side of my guitar case and offer him a sheepish smile. It's probably dirty of me to drop an impromptu lesson on him this way, but I figured if I asked when a good time would be, he would've tried to blow me off. I get the impression he's afraid of failing in front of me. I also get the impression Brantley Cage rarely fails at anything. If ever. That's what gives me confidence to keep applying pressure. I have no doubt I can teach him; in fact, I'm looking forward to it.

"Gee, Cass, I don't know." He rubs a hand over his freshly shaven jaw, and I have this sudden urge to bury my nose in there and inhale deeply. I love the smell of a man after he shaves.

"Oh, come on, give me an hour. If you hate it that much, we never have to try it again." I flash him my best, dimpled smile and can tell instantly I've won him over.

"How can I say no to this face?" He gives my cheek a slight tug and steps back to let me pass. "Get in here." I step over the threshold and sneak a sniff as I pass. For an instant, my breath hitches in my throat and I have to remind myself to keep walking. "Let's go to my room. That way if one of the guys comes in, they won't see me making an ass of myself." He chuckles and steps in front of me to take the stairs two at a time.

I watch his every move with great interest, wondering how his towel manages to remain in place, and secretly will it to fall gracefully to the floor. He has a great ass. I only know this from staring at it so often. But it's one part of his body I haven't had the pleasure of viewing without clothes on. Until now. When he reaches his room, he drops the towel and steps into the first pair of jeans he finds lying on the floor. My jaw drops, and I'm unable to tear my eyes away. Even though we've established rules, he has no qualms about baring himself to me. In a way it's totally unfair, and I find myself wondering how he'd react if the tables were turned. He casts a glance over his shoulder and grins when he finds me staring.

"Where do you want me?" Oh god, now my mind is in the gutter. That's not the question he should be asking after I've just seen him from behind. Damn, he has a fine ass. Of course he does. He's probably the closest thing to perfection I'm ever going to encounter, and the fact he doesn't act like he knows it makes him even better.

"Umm, how about we both sit on the floor, that way I can help you position your fingers." I clear my throat once more and pull Willow from her case.

I have three guitars, each given to me by a different family member. My father gave Willow to me when I was fifteen. It was quite an expensive gift for someone so young, but when he handed it to me that Christmas morning, he told me he had no doubt we'd make beautiful music together. We wrote my first song together, and ever since, I've called her my good luck charm. She's made out of cocobolo wood, and has an intricate design to her that still takes my breath away. Besides being beautiful to look at, she has a sound quality none of the other guitars in my collection possess.

We sit cross-legged, facing one another. "B, meet Willow. She's my favorite guitar. Go on and take her, she won't bite." He looks slightly apprehensive as he reaches out to take her in his capable hands. I'm so close to this piece of wood, I almost swear I can hear her moan with pleasure as his fingers wrap around her neck.

"She's beautiful," he says quietly, never taking his eyes off mine. For a moment, I'm not sure if he's talking about Willow or me. "What's the proper way to hold her?" Rising up to my knees, I wiggle my way behind him and reach my arms around his middle.

"First of all, you have to make sure your posture is good. Sit straight up and place this hand here." I guide his left hand up the neck of the guitar. "Keep your thumb behind the neck, bend your first three fingers and gently rest them over the chords. Your thumb is going to remain loose while your fingers will move back and forth between the chords you're playing."

"Here," he lifts the guitar and places it in my hands. "Show me first by doing it yourself. I want to watch the pro in action."

"I'm not sure about the pro reference, but I'll show you the way I do it. Pay close attention." I take her in my hands and the act is so natural I don't even have to think about what I'm doing.

"Play something for me." He leans back on his hands and watches me in expectation.

"Hmmm, any requests?" I ask playfully, as my fingers move over the chords to warm up. "Never mind, I know what I'm playing." I begin strumming the opening chords to one of my favorite songs by the band, Paradox. They're a rock band out of L.A. I've been following since their first release. This song was written for the lead singer's wife. She sang it with him at an awards show a year ago and I fell in love with it. It has more of a country feel, which might be why it spoke to me, but it probably had a lot more to do with the lyrics than anything else.

"Don't just play it, you also have to sing it for me."

When I strum the first C chord, my mouth opens and the words come out without giving it another thought. Before I know it, I'm lost in the music.

There's a picture of you, still hanging on the wall

I sit home every evening, just hoping you might call.

My world came closing in on me, the day you said goodbye

I thought I would get over you, but all I do is cry.

Come back to me I'm begging you darlin'

Come back to me so I can hold you one more time.

Don't leave me hanging, I can't face the world without you

Come back to me, I'll love you right this time.

Ev'ry day you're not here, reminds me of all I've lost

Do whatever it takes to win you back, not caring 'bout the cost.

Give anything to have you here, and hold you all night long

Fight like hell to stop the tears, but I'm just not that strong.

Come back to me, I'm begging you darlin'

Come back to me, I'll believe in you this time.

The bed's too big without you, don't leave me alone tonight

Come back to me, I'll make everything alright

Come back to me, I'll make everything alright.

I finish the song and open my eyes to find him staring at me with his mouth hanging open in wonder. I'm used to this sort of reaction. Most people look at me and have no idea I pack such a powerful voice in my tiny body. Dad always told me I'd knock 'em dead one day. Looks like I came close just now.

"I'm... I have no words." His head shakes back and forth as he claps for me. I blush out of embarrassment, but only because it's him. Normally, I'm not this shy when receiving compliments. Somehow the compliment seems bigger when coming from him. "That was amazing. I know this is probably going to sound cheap and cliché, but you have the voice of an angel." He scoots closer, and I know it's only to make it easier for me to teach him, but a small shiver courses through me when his shoulder brushes against mine. "You don't expect me to learn that one, do you?"

"No." I smile a crooked smile and tuck my hair behind my ear. His eyes track the movement, and when our eyes meet, I know something has shifted between us. "Let me show you a few chords."

He holds the guitar like I showed him and fumbles with the whole combination of strumming while moving his fingers. After a few tries, he seems to catch on. And when he strums a C chord and D major successfully, I give a small round of applause.

He carefully moves the guitar aside and leans toward me, resting his weight on his right forearm. "What was that song? I've never heard it before."

"It's called "Come Back to Me" by Paradox, who happen to be my favorite band on the planet. I've actually met the lead singer, Sebastian Miles, one time at the airport in Chicago. He was super sweet, signing everything the crowd threw his way, and outside of the fact of him being drop dead gorgeous you would have never known he wasn't like the rest of the world. He seemed so down to earth."

"That's cool," he moves his fingers over the carpet, inching closer to mine with every pass. "So, this guy, what's he look like? What is it about him that gets you hot?" he asks in a teasing voice. When I don't respond immediately, he jumps on my silence. "Oh, come on, Cassie. I know he does it for you. I can tell by the way your eyes glaze over. And there's so much energy coursing through you right now you're practically humming beside me. What is it about this particular guy that gets to you?"

"Why are you asking me this?" I whisper.

"I don't know," he shrugs, and for a moment I think he's going to let it go. "Maybe it's because right now, you look the same way I remember that first morning I found you in my bed. Right after we kissed."

"Oh," I let out a shaky breath as I ponder my answer. "He has dark hair and tattoos, with eyes that pull you in." I lick my lips nervously, aware of the similarities between the man I'm describing and the one sitting less than six inches from me. "Then he wears these sexy as hell lip rings, and his voice melts me into a puddle of goo. I don't know, guess I'm just a sucker for dark-haired men."

Our eyes meet once more, and this time I know I'm not imagining things. He leans closer and slowly moistens his upper lip with his tongue.

Wait, is he going to kiss me?

I don't breathe, terrified any movement may scare him off. I want so badly for him to kiss me. I've dreamed of his lips on mine since first tasting them. I'm not sure what this will mean for our friendship, or the rules we've set in place. All I think about are Roni's words.

The fact he felt the need to establish them at all tells me he's into you.

Maybe she'd been right after all.

He's so close. I can feel his breath on my cheek as he leans in at a painstakingly slow pace. I'm shaking inside. The throbbing between my legs tells me I'm so turned on by the thought of his tongue mingling with mine, I could probably have an orgasm without him touching me.

"Cass," he murmurs softly, inching closer.

Please kiss me.

"B," I whisper, parting my lips in invitation.

"Cage!" Davis bellows before barging through the closed door as we scramble apart. "I just walked in on Masterson getting a blow—" He stops abruptly when he sees me sitting on the floor. "Hey, Cassie." He rubs the back of his neck uncomfortably and looks between us. "What's going on in here?" He waggles his brow suggestively and I wonder what we'd have done if he'd walked in just a few seconds later.

"Nothing," Brantley snaps.

It hadn't felt like
nothing
to me.

"I was just giving Brantley a guitar lesson." I stand and lift Willow off the floor. "I better be going. Your hour's up anyway." I quickly collect my things and head for the door. Davis is still in the room, so I can't say what's on my mind. I can't tell him I wanted him to kiss me more than anything in the world. Or that I've fantasized about him every day since we met. Instead, I look back and offer a parting wave he doesn't bother returning. I'm not sure if he regrets what almost happened, or if he's actually pissed it didn't. Either way, he doesn't take his eyes off Davis long enough to acknowledge my exit.

BRANTLEY

I toss my hockey duffle in the back of the truck before climbing inside and plugging in my phone to listen. Things were much more productive at practice tonight, so much so that Coach let us out a few minutes early. Whatever was bothering Davis seems to have been forgotten, because he was on top of his game tonight. The rookies finally seem to be meshing with the rest of the guys, and I couldn't be happier. The timing couldn't be better, because we play our first game against Ohio State this weekend. After claiming the win in our first two games, then tanking out big time during the last two, our season hasn't gotten off to a great start. We have to be on top of our game this weekend if we want any hope of sending Ohio home with their tail between their legs. Ohio has a rock solid team. Their defenders are fast, and their offensive line is impressive. They have one of the best goalies in the NCAA league. Notice how I said 'one of the best'. Rivers holds the number one slot, and I'm banking money he'll end the year with that title. The guy is just that talented, which explains why the Detroit team had drafted him so quickly. He was always good, but last season the guy hit his stride and doesn't appear to be slowing down.

My phone beeps as I turn over the ignition and I look down to see a text from Cassie.

Her: Thinking of u. Wanted 2 say hi. Is it wrong that I miss u? Lol

I smile to myself, imagining her skinny butt sitting in that tiny dorm room. It's only been a few days since my first guitar lesson, but a part of me gets what she's talking about. I still can't believe I almost let myself kiss her. Fuck. I wanted to more than anything. Listening to her sing that song. Watching the way her fingers moved effortlessly over the part she calls the fretboard. She's a natural, and I can see myself getting lost in her voice. If Davis hadn't barged in the way he did, who knows how far things would have gone. I'm ready to take things to the the next level, but I'm not ready to ruin what we've built just because I can't keep my dick in my pants. After our talk at the diner, we've somehow found ourselves inseparable. We rarely go a day without some form of communication. I find myself checking my phone for texts, or scrolling through her Snapchat to see what she's been up to when I'm not around. Every Wednesday she posts a photo of her eating lunch with Davis, and I won't lie, it rubs me the wrong way. I know they're just friends, but isn't that what we are? If I'm thinking about something more with her, could Davis be thinking the same thing? Something about her makes me smile. And I have to admit it's nice spending time with a girl I can be myself around. Cassie doesn't expect anything from me, yet somehow I find myself going out of my way with her.