Page 33 of Broken Melody
The guys and I argue about picking up Sailor. I think it’s stupid for all of us to go together, but they don’t agree. Truth is I just want some one on one time with her. Maybe they suspect as much too, I don’t know, because they aren’t having it. We all climb into my BMW X3 and I type her address into maps on my phone to get directions.
When I pull up to her apartment building twenty minutes later, I search for a parking spot. When I find one, we all shuffle into the lobby of the building to take the elevator up to her floor. The place isn’t in a bad part of town really, and it looks decent enough, but I can’t help but frown at the lack of security. There was a desk in the lobby, but no one stationed there keeping an eye on anything.
“She needs a new place,” I mutter.
“What? Why?” Rocco asks looking at me curiously.
“There’s no security here whatsoever. The paparazzi are going to be on her soon like a fly on shit. She needs to be safe.”
“Chill out, man. Let’s not uproot her whole life from the start, okay?” Nixon says. “The ink is barely dry on the contract she just signed. Besides, we prefer that she like us, not hate us immediately, remember?”
“Well if that’s the case, Mad probably shouldn’t even have come,” Henley says snidely.
“Very funny,” I reply even though I find his humor lacking.
Henley knocks on the door and when it swings open, it’s not the face I’m expecting. “Hi,” Sailor’s friend, whatever her name is, says. “Come on in, nice to see you again.”
“You too, uh-” I know Sailor told me her name, but all I remember is watching her lips when she was talking. A couple times I found myself so focused on them I wasn’t exactly listening to what came out of them.
“I’m Britt, in case you forgot, Sailor’s best friend in the whole entire world and roommate,” she says with a little too much pep. “Sailor will be ready in a minute.”
We all step inside and take a look around. The space is larger than it appears on the outside, and it’s decorated nicely. We’re standing immediately in a small living room with a couple couches, navy blue rug that looks soft to the touch, TV and a bookshelf. The kitchen is attached with a small dining area, and down a hallway in between the living room and kitchen are doors leading to various rooms. Everything is very neat and tidy, and it appears they like the color blue. Sailor is nowhere to be seen, so with curiosity I walk to a set of bookshelves on one side of the room both of which contain several framed photographs along with their book collection. Clearly they each have their own case. While the guys make small talk with Britt who seems content to talk their heads off, I check out each of their book collections and their photographs.
Many of the photos depict a smiling Sailor and Britt. It looks like they have a lot of fun together, and I find Sailor’s smile infectious. There’s a photo of them with tiaras on their heads making kissing faces into the camera, there’s another of them at the entrance of Disneyland, accompanied by Pluto and Donald Duck. There’s one of them at a beach, and I totally check out Sailor’s body in the well-fitting bikini. I instantly wish to see that view in person.
There are other photos - Sailor singing on stage, another with her boss smiling behind the bar. There are several of Britt too, but one thing I notice is that while Britt also has some pictures of herself with people that are clearly her brother and parents, given the family resemblance, Sailor has none. It makes me even more curious about her and her life.
“Sorry I kept you waiting. I’m ready,” a voice says breathlessly and I spin around and when I get my first look at Sailor, I freeze. Well, almost every part of me does, but another makes its wish to stand at attention known. My gaze starts at her animal printed shoes, and moves up her bare legs to her short black shorts, over the sliver of skin I see at her stomach, past the tight black shirt that plunges revealing the top of perfectly round breasts. Her hair is down and flows around her shoulders. Her lips are painted bright red and all I can think is that I wouldn’t care one bit if that stain was left on my mouth after being touched by hers. When our eyes connect, I’m positive she sees the heat in mine because she looks away quickly.
“Alright, let’s go,” Nixon says with a clap of his hands and I jerk at the sound.
Stalking to the door, I head out first and take a few seconds to calm the fuck down. The reaction I have to her is visceral. Just looking at her makes me think about all the things I’d like to do to her. None of which involve wearing clothes. I don’t know what it is that draws me to her exactly, and I’m not sure yet if it’s good or bad.
When we reach my car, I open the passenger door, “Sailor, take the front.”
She smiles and moves to me. I unabashedly look at her ass when she climbs in and when I look up I meet the gaze of Britt. She smirks at me and raises a brow as if to say, “busted.” I give her a smirk and shrug in return before I shut the door and run around to the driver’s side. When we are all inside, I head to the club the guys and I chose earlier.
They automatically start talking in the back, but Sailor remains quiet, seeming to enjoy the ride. “So,” I begin, “how does it feel?”
I can feel her gaze on my face while I drive and watch the road. “What? Making it official today?”
I glance at her and nod, “Yes.”
“It feels…kind of like I’m waiting for the next shoe to drop,” she says quietly.
“What do you mean?”
“Come on,” she laughs a little. “This is all too good to be true. I never dreamed about something like this happening to me. I wouldn’t have dared.”
“Why not?”
“Because I learned a long time ago that dreams are nothing but disappointment. Life never delivers in the way you hope it will. Or at least, my deliveries end up lost along the way. So, I tend to avoid the potential of setting myself up for something that isn’t likely to happen.”
“But it did.”
“It did, but you know what?” she leans toward me and when I glance at her I find myself drawn to those red lips again.
“What?” I almost whisper back.
