Taking Something (22 page)

“I'm freezing.” I unlocked the door to my loft and immediately went over to the thermostat. The California weather had spoiled me. I couldn't wait to crank up the heat to fight the chill of the March air in Chicago. “I forgot how fucking cold it is here.” I laughed.

“It is cold, but I miss the seasons,” Gia said as she closed the door behind us. “LA's consistency can get a little boring.” Her eyes scanned the room as she ran her hand over the back of the leather sofa in the center of the room before dropping her bag beside it. “This place is great.” She walked over to the large windows that overlooked the city.

“It is pretty great, isn't it? I never thought I'd end up in a place like this,” I confessed. My mother and I had never lived in the fancy upscale apartments she’d weaseled out of rich guys for very long. About the time I’d gotten unpacked, she’d tell me that it was time to move. “This is the first home I've ever really had. You know? Took me a while to save up for it, but it was worth the wait.”

I loved everything about my loft. It was newly renovated and on the right side of town, and it had great acoustics. It was my favorite place to sit and listen to music. I was sure Gia could tell I really missed it by the dumb grin on my face as I gave her the tour. I made sure to point out the original hardwood floors and brick fireplace. I was making it sound like I’d renovated it.

“Sorry for rambling. I'm just really proud of it,” I apologized.

“It's really great,” she said again. “You should be proud of it.”

I walked her through the living room to the kitchen. The modern design of the cabinets and counters still looked brand new, seeing as I didn't cook much. I had a vision of Gia standing behind that counter making breakfast and had to remind myself that, for the time being, we were just friends.

It wasn't just the apartment though. I'd missed this entire town. LA was great, but it was no Chicago. I'd been a lot of places as a deejay, but nothing ever really compared to home.

“Hollace has an office out here. That’s part of the reason I wanted to work with Westwood Records,” I told her. “I'm hoping that after everything goes down with Sadie I'm still able to get a job with him. It would be nice to show everyone around here that I finally made something out of myself. That I'm the big deal I always pretended to be when I walked down the street.” I laughed.

“You will be,” she said sweetly. “You're really talented.” Her eyes were filled with compassion and hope for me. I wanted to reach out and touch her. To thank her for being my cheerleader. For having the kind of faith in me I wasn’t sure I was worthy of. But I couldn't. Not yet.

“I should probably call Sadie,” I said. I had to end our relationship. I pulled my phone from my back pocket. The sooner, the better. Every time I looked at Gia, I knew who I really wanted to be with.

“No sense calling her right now,” Gia offered. “Her plane is in the air.” She turned and walked over to the record collection that filled the four shelves next to my entertainment center. “There are a lot of records here,” she said, pointing out the obvious, apparently not wanting to talk about Sadie or the phone call I was going to be making as soon as her plane landed in Cabo.

“I love music,” I replied. “I've been collecting them for years. The sound is amazing in here.” I walked over and pulled a record from the shelf. “Wanna hear one?”

She smiled and nodded. I pulled my favorite from its sleeve, lifted the arm, and placed it on the turntable.

Clicking it on, I dropped the needle and waited for the crackle and pop that came after it found the groove. I turned to her with a grin as the music filled the room. The sultry love song's rhythm was meant to make people move. To connect. I might have been overstepping the friend boundary, but I knew how our bodies moved together. I had to ask her.

“Dance with me?” I reached for her hand. Her answer was quick, and I practically melted as I pulled her into my arms, right where she belonged.

“When did you know you wanted to produce music?” she asked, looking up at me. Her arms snaked up around my neck, pressing her body closer to mine. The air started to feel thick as I thought about how I wasn't supposed to kiss her.

“The first time I heard Billie Jean,” I admitted. “The club my mom worked at was notorious for its ‘80s music.” I didn’t really want to get into the
kind
of club my mom worked at. The story of Evelyn and her wild days as a stripper could wait. “I realized that someone was responsible for putting it together. The drum beat, the synth, the chord progressions. It all just hooked me,” I recalled, needing to focus my attention elsewhere. The way she felt in my arms already had my blood flowing to pretty unfriendly places. “I heard all the different elements combined and knew that I could do something like that. I tried for years to pick up an instrument. I practiced the guitar until my fingers bled, but it didn't come naturally to me, but put me in front of a computer and I can create a masterpiece. I was never very good at the strings and keys, but I took to buttons and slides like a champ.”

“That's pretty awesome. I see all that equipment in the control room and have a mild panic attack.”

I felt more connected to her in that moment than I ever had. I felt my throat tighten as I thought about what I wanted to say next, but I shook it off and went with my gut. I'd never admitted to her exactly why I was with Sadie. I knew that she knew the truth, but I needed her to hear it.

“I need you to know something,” I started. “I need to say it out loud so you know the truth.”

“Yeah?” She said, nervously.

“I'm not with Sadie because I had actual feelings for her or anything. I… I…”

She sighed and tilted her head as if I were as transparent as the windows in my loft. “I know why you’re with Sadie, Nick. I’ve always known.”

“You do? I mean, you have?”

“I'm not stupid. I just couldn’t really say much because I put up with her bullshit day after day for the same reason.”

“You want to produce? Damn, now I’m going to have to compete with you for jobs. And I’ve seen you work. You know your stuff,” I said, leaning in and winking to let her know I was screwing around.

She gave me that look. That adorable I-am-so-not-amused-by-you look I was addicted to. “No, smartass. Because life is about sacrifice. Getting and keeping a job that pays the bills is about sacrifice. And sometimes, one of the things you have to sacrifice is your dignity. Your morals and your values. Not that I’m entirely sure you actually have either of those.” This time she grinned, letting me know that she wasn’t completely serious.

But she might’ve been completely right.

God, she was even more brilliant than I’d suspected. Even my A-game would never get anything by her.

“So you don't think I'm a horrible person?” I had to ask. I had to know that she knew there was more to me than just the opportunistic asshole I'd been up until now.

“No more horrible than a girl who runs away to Chicago with her boss's boyfriend.” I could tell by the look in her eyes that her conscience was rearing its head. We'd shared two kisses. That was it. And I knew that if Landry Westwood would have puckered his lips up to Sadie's, she wouldn't have thought twice about leaning in. Boyfriend or not.

Jesus. I am a horrible person.

I was justifying my, Gia's, and Sadie's hypothetical actions. I was now more determined than ever to change my ways. I had to be able to, right?

“When did you know you wanted to be a singer?” I asked to change the subject as we continued sway to the next song that started playing.

“I think I was born that way. It was always just in me. I got lucky with the television show. It was a good way to get my foot in the door. And it worked…” She trailed off, not needing to fill me in on the rest. I knew what had happened. “I never wanted to be anything but a singer.” I watched her eyes start to glaze over with tears, but before I could ask what she was thinking, she gently pressed her lips to mine.

I know I'd said that we were just going to be
friends
until I talked to Sadie, but she’d initiated this kiss and I wasn't about to pull away from her. Not when her mouth felt so damn good against mine. Her tongue flicked against my lips and I was done holding back any self-control I had. She made me forget about everything else.

I scooped her up, wrapping her legs around my waist, our lips never parting, and walked up to my bedroom. I'd always been a seize-the-moment kind of guy, and this was one moment I didn't want to miss. I carefully lowered her to mattress.

“Don't stop,” she whispered as I pulled my lips from hers and watched her dark hair fall across the bedspread. The moonlight spilled through the windows in my room, casting a soft light across her face. She was breathtaking in the quiet sexiness of her lying there, her eyes asking me to love her. She reached her hand up and caressed my face. “Can we forget about everything else for one night?” she asked, her eyes pleading and hesitating all at the same time.

That was all the go-ahead I needed. I leaned in, returning my lips to hers. My hand moved up her side, slowly sliding her shirt up to reveal her body. Little by little, I was starting to see what I'd imagined lay underneath her clothes, from the soft curves of her hips to the very inciting space between her belly button down to the top of jeans and her tight stomach. It did not disappoint. I moved down just so I could move my mouth back up. I wanted to savor every minute with her. To taste every inch of her. Her fingers tangled in my hair, begging me to continue.

“You're amazing,” I said as I slipped her shirt over her head, revealing the lacy white bra covering her tits. Full and firm. I couldn't wait to uncover them and get a closer look.

I watched her modest smile spread across her face, as it always did when she received a compliment. Every time, like she didn't believe what I was saying.

“I'm serious, Gia,” I insisted and pressed a kiss against her collarbone. “I've never wanted anyone the way I want you.”

I started to work my way down, quickly freeing her from the bra standing between me and the rest of her perfection. As I lashed my tongue against one of her tight nipples and rolled the other between my finger and thumb, a moan escaped her lips.

I felt my cock throb as I pressed up against her leg. She must have felt it too. Her hand snaked between us, slipping down the front of my pants. My breathing became labored when I felt her touch me. Wrapping her slender fingers around the base of cock and stroking up and down until I was rock hard, she nipped my earlobe between her teeth and whispered how badly she wanted me. I wasn't going to be worth shit in the sack if she kept it up. I’d practically come the second she’d touch me. I removed her hand from my pants.

“We gotta slow down,” I whispered, placing her hands in mine and moving them above her head. I leaned in and put my lips next to her ear. “I'm not ready for this to be over yet.”

“Me either.” She was smiling when I rose up to look at her.

I took a deep breath and shifted my focus to her. The way her body reacted with every move I made had me hypnotized.

As I undid the button of her jeans, her hips rose up, allowing me to slide them down her legs. Her eyes closed softly as I reached between her legs and softly caressed my way up her thigh. The hum of her moan against my lips as I grazed between her legs, over the top of her panties, was like a song I wanted to hear on a constant replay.

The heat I could feel under my fingers only enticed me to explore her body further. I dipped my hand under the waistband of her panties and caressed her center—smooth and slick. I pressed two fingers inside of her and felt her tighten around me with each flick of my wrist. Each time, her breaths became quick and faster until she cried out in ecstasy.

I started to second-guess what was about to happen between us about a second too late. I was scared I wouldn't be able to satisfy her. That I'd waste this shot by not delivering. When I looked into her eyes, I couldn't stop thinking about how she’d acted on the plane either. She'd freaked out at the thought of being
the other woman
. I didn't want our first time together to be one filled with regrets—mine or hers. She deserved more than that.

“Are you sure about this? We can wait,” I said. I didn't want to stop, but if she had any reservations about what was about to happen, I wanted to know. Her hands returned to my body and said one thing, but the look in her eyes said another.

“I don't want to stop,” she insisted, pulling my face to hers. “I need you. Now.”

I couldn't stop her. Not when she was tugging my shirt up and running her lips over my skin. And definitely not when she unbuttoned my jeans and shoved them down my hips. I needed her too damn badly.

I'd never had a problem being reckless, and for what I’d bet was the first time in a long time, she didn't either. By the time she’d kicked free of her jeans, I'd already pulled on a condom from my dresser drawer. I took in a deep breath as I centered myself above her.

“Are you sure?” I asked again.

She smoothed her hands down my body. My chest. Across my stomach. Her fingers gliding over each ridge and groove. Each touch ignited my skin with a tingling reassurance that what was about to happen was something we both wanted more than anything else.

She pulled me closer to her, urging my movement as her thighs squeezed around me. Her eyes revealed more than just her desires as I inched forward. It was like I was seeing our past, present, and future in them. Our rocky start. The denial of feelings. The uncertainty of it all. And the possibility that we could be something more than just friends. She was my second chance at love. My second chance to prove I was worthy of love. Capable of giving and receiving it.

Slowly, I moved forward, took her lips with mine, and found a steady rhythm. Her eyes fell shut as she exhaled in pleasure. I felt her convulse around me, threatening to end the bliss I wanted to last all night. She was close. I was closer. When she opened her eyes, looking up at me from under her thick lashes, I pushed my desires aside once again.