Play Me (Jaded Ivory Book 5) Page 10

  “I’m glad I finally got my head out of my ass long enough to listen.”

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw my car being pulled into the driveway.

  I looked over at Heath. “And thank you for helping to make tonight happen.”

  “Anytime I can help my friends, I do.”

  I leaned up and pressed a kiss to Heath’s cheek, then did the same for Jackson. Before anyone could say a word, I tipped the valet, climbed into my car, and drove away.

  When Jackson asked where we were supposed to go from there, I honestly didn’t have an answer for him. I hadn’t expected that question, but even in the moment, I knew the answer I’d given was the right one. Just like seven years ago, I knew I had to let Jackson go to keep him on the path that had gotten him here in the first place. I also knew our lives were still headed in two separate directions. He was a rock star known all over the world. I was a nurse at a local hospital. No way would you be able to merge the two different worlds.

  But it had been nice to laugh with him again.

  At least this time as I drove away there were no more secrets between us.

  I’d put it all out on the table and I felt freer than I had in seven years.

  13

  Jackson

  Frustrated.

  The only way I could describe the last two weeks. Somehow, Megan had managed to slip away without giving me her phone number. Heath, the asshole, had it but wouldn’t hand it over. Kept telling me if she wanted me to have it, she would have given it to me.

  I twisted the glass of Captain and Coke around in my fingers as the bass throbbed through my body. Especially my foot. “For someone who finally got off the crutches, you don’t look very happy,” Sawyer said.

  “Yeah, man. It’s our night,” Monty argued. “Let’s enjoy ourselves.”

  I focused on Heath. “I’d enjoy myself even better if someone would pass along a certain phone number.”

  Megan thought it would be as simple as each of us heading back to our lives after our talk. I didn’t think it would be that night and the last two weeks confirmed it.

  Relationships weren’t my thing anymore, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t be friends. Three hours and neither of us realized how much time had passed? To me that said a lot about the time we spent together. We had fun. And the nights when everyone was home with their significant others, it would be nice to have someone to hang out with.

  Yeah, I’d made friends with other musicians over the years, but we always got hounded the entire time we were out. Spending time with Megan would give me a chance to relax and have fun. Something I needed more of lately.

  “I told you, that’s up to her.”

  “Whatever,” I said, taking a sip of my drink.

  Mari stood and moved to sit next to me. “Look on the bright side. You’re off the crutches and only have a week left in the brace. After that you’ll be able to catch Heath and kick his ass until he gives you the number.”

  I smirked and raised my glass to hers. “I like the way you think.”

  “Of course you do.” She winked.

  “So, tell me about this wedding. Any plans yet?”

  She laughed. “You realize we’ve only been engaged for a little over two weeks?”

  “I do. I didn’t mean, do you have a florist and dress picked out. I was thinking pretty simple. Like a date?”

  “Okay, you got me there. If it wasn’t for someone”—her gaze darted over to Sawyer and back—“I’d realize things like that.”

  Sawyer held his hands up. “Don’t blame me.”

  “Of course I’m gonna blame you. You started asking me about wedding plans the next morning.” She turned back to me. “We’re thinking in early March, before it gets too hot and football season starts again.”

  “Good call.”

  “I’m great at planning weddings if you need help.” Monty offered, doing his best to hold in the laugh threatening to explode from him.

  “Oh, great,” Mari said, reining seriousness. “If I need an Elvis impersonator, you’ll be the first to call.”

  The rest of us broke out in laughter as Monty placed a hand on his chest and in his best tone of superiority said, “I’ll have you know that he was one of the best Elvis impersonators I’ve ever met.”

  “I’m sure you’ve met so many,” I muttered under my breath.

  “I’m so glad to hear you finally remembered them. Took longer than I thought.” Mari couldn’t hold it together. Then again neither could Monty.

  Our laughter grew, filling the space between us. It reminded me of why I enjoyed these nights so much. It was like the days when we first got together. Nights where we’d hang out, just the five of us. Laughing, talking, making jokes.

  After all the shit that went down with Monty, we knew he had a point. And we made sure to never let it happen again by planning at least one night a month for the band and only the band. Then another night a month for the band and everyone’s significant other.

  It made a huge difference, not only in our relationship with each other, but in our music too.

  From there the conversation moved onto more wedding talk, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get my mind off Megan.

  There had to be some way to get her number from Heath. The seat on the other side of me dipped down. Heath sat there with a shit-eating smirk on his face. I hadn’t noticed him get up and move.

  “What do you want with that stupid smirk on your face?” I knew I sounded surly. Too bad. He knew what I wanted and wouldn’t give it up.

  I didn’t want to delve too deep into why I wanted it.

  “I don’t think you need it.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him and moved to stand up. “If you came over to rub shit in my face, I’m going to sit with Monty.”

  He took hold of my arm, keeping me on the couch. “You’re really stuck all up in your head tonight. Why don’t you take a look over at the bar?”

  My gaze wandered over to where he pointed, trying to figure out what the hell he was talking about. It didn’t take me long to spot her. Long flowing blond hair past her shoulders and a smile I could never forget.

  Megan.

  She was smiling and laughing with two other women. Both were in their mid-twenties. One blonde, the other a brunette. Without a word, I pushed to my feet and weaved my way through the couches down to the bar.

  I heard Monty call my name, but that didn’t stop my feet. I had a single-minded determination to get to her.

  Heads started turning in my direction. They’d left us alone as we’d stayed in the corner alcove. At least it seemed they had. The looks I got told me many of them hadn’t realized we were here.

  I brushed them off and walked up behind her. The other woman with brown hair noticed me first. Her eyes rounded to the size of saucers. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again. Megan had her attention focused on the other blonde, who was telling Megan about her date the other night.

  “He sounds like he’s worth another date,” Megan said. “What do you think, Diana?”

  Diana still stood staring at me. When she didn’t respond to Megan’s question, Megan turned in her direction. “Diana, do you think she should—” she cut off, watching her. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “I think she’s a little starstruck,” the blonde said, her gaze frozen on me.

  Megan’s nose scrunched up in the way that always showed her confusion. “Starstruck by what?”

  “By me, I’m guessing,” I said, alerting her to my presence for the first time since I walked over.

  Her shoulders stiffened and her back straighten instantly. Not exactly the reaction I expected. She slowly twisted around on the stood, her hand flying to her chest when her gaze met mine. “Jackson,” she breathed. “What are you doing here?”

  I nodded to the small alcove where I could see the rest of the band watching me. “We came out for a few drinks tonight.”

  “Holy shit, Megan. You know Jackson Had
den?” Diana said.

  “You’ve been holding out on us.” The blonde elbowed her in the shoulder.

  Megan shook her head, but her eyes stayed connected with mine. “It’s not like that, Liz. We knew each other in college. I ran into him a few weeks ago at the movies.” Her eyes twinkled.

  Ran into was an understatement. Thankfully she’d left out how I’d behaved that night. Knowing the truth about what really happened, I was pretty ashamed of the way I acted that day.

  I wrapped my fingers around the hand still sitting on her lap. “You forgot to give me your new number after dinner the other night.”

  “Megan,” her friends said in unison.

  A soft pink color tinted her cheeks. “Yeah, I guess I forgot.”

  The song changed, but the loud thumping bass continued. I glanced over my shoulder. “How about you dance with me instead?”

  Something that hadn’t changed about Megan in the last seven years was the way her eyes spoke volumes about her feelings. I could see it in her eyes she was about to refuse. Her friends didn’t give her a chance, nudging her off the stool and straight into my arms. I wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her from falling.

  “We’ll be fine right here,” Liz said.

  Her gaze slowly traveled up until it connected with me. “I think—”

  I bent down and whispered in her ear, “Dance with me.”

  She nodded and let me lead her to the dance floor. I weaved her through the dancers until we had an area off to the side to ourselves. People moved all around us, the beat of the music throbbing through them like an erotic rhythm. I pulled Megan tight into my body, loving the feel of her warmth as her body connected with mine.

  Nothing had changed in all the years. She still fit against me perfectly like she was made for me. My hands moved down to her hips, holding her close as we moved sensually.

  Neither of us said a word. We let our bodies say everything we needed to. One song moved into another until my desire to ask the question that had been burning through me since she drove away from the Topp House became overwhelming.

  When the song ended, I stepped back and held my hand out to her. She eyed it warily for a moment, then slipped her hand in mine. Wanting to talk to her without her friends or my own, I steered her toward an empty high top.

  Luckily, the crowd around us seemed preoccupied with their own conversations. When we reached the table, I let go of Megan’s hand and leaned my arms on top. Megan began to fidget with her fingers.

  “Thanks for the dance.” Her eyes were downcast.

  It didn’t make sense. She stared me down every other time I’d been with her. Why be meek now? I placed my finger under her chin, lifting her face to mine.

  “Why are you being shy all of a sudden?”

  “I’m not—”

  I lifted a brow, daring her to continue to deny it.

  She blew out a breath. “It’s just that you’re you and I’m me.”

  “Umm…the last time I checked, but that doesn’t explain why you could have dinner with me two weeks ago, but now you can’t even look at me. Would it have anything to do with the reason you raced out of there before giving me your number the other night?”

  “Jackson…you live a life I can’t even fathom. You have friends”—she glanced over her shoulder and I saw Heath watching us—“who are waiting for you.”

  “They can keep waiting.”

  “I—” She leaned her elbows on the table and dropped her head into her hands. She sat there for a moment before glancing up. “What do you want from me?”

  I shrugged. “To be friends. We have fun together.”

  “It seems you have a great group of friends already.”

  I noticed her peek over her shoulder again.

  “I do, but it’s not the same. We have fun together.”

  “We do, but…” She reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

  “But, what?”

  “I’m not sure I fit into your world.”

  “What?” It had to be the most ludicrous statement I heard all day.

  “You come to clubs and sit in the private corner. You go to restaurants that probably cost my entire weekly salary for one dinner.”

  “Most of that is for privacy. It gives us a chance to talk without everyone being involved in our conversation.”

  “That can’t be easy.”

  I shook my head. “It’s not. That doesn’t mean anything is much different than it used to be. Monty is still out of control most of the time and we just added new friends to the mix.”

  I took her hand and moved around the table. “Come on, let me introduce you to them.”

  She dug her heels in, pulling back on my hand. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said, shaking her head.

  I took a step closer. “I promise Monty will behave and you already know Heath.”

  “I can’t imagine what everyone else thinks about me after the movies.”

  “Sawyer is probably the most level-headed of all of us. And Mari, let’s just say she’s really good at understanding and forgiving past mistakes. She’d love to meet you.”

  She glanced around the room before nodding. “Okay.”

  I started forward, her hand still in mine. We weaved our way up and through the couches. Mari and Sawyer were still absorbed in a conversation when we stepped into the center of the circle.

  “Hi, Megan,” Heath said, drawing Mari’s and Sawyer’s attention to where we stood.

  “Hi.” Megan lifted her hand in a wave, a slight blush tinting her cheeks.

  I brought her closer to Mari and Sawyer, giving Monty a chance to be on his best behavior or for Heath to remind him he needed to be on his best behavior.

  “Megan, this is Mari and Sawyer. Guys, this is Megan.”

  Sawyer smiled. “I remember you from the movies.”

  Megan covered her eyes with her hands. “Oh, God.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure Jackson had a stick up his ass for one reason or another.”

  I flipped him off before I noticed a giggle leave Megan. Sawyer knew exactly how to make anyone feel relaxed.

  “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you too. You and your boyfriend are really sexy together.” She slammed her hand over her mouth.

  My eyes almost popped out of my head. That wasn’t something I ever imagined Megan saying.

  Sawyer smirked. “Well, thank you.” He turned to Mari. “Reagan would like her.”

  “I can’t believe I actually said that out loud.”

  “Don’t worry, I think it all the time,” Mari said, standing up. “I heard a lot about you over the last few weeks.”

  Megan glanced up at me. “I’m afraid to ask.”

  “Let’s just say I’m only listening to things from the last few weeks.”

  Megan smiled. “That sounds good to me.”

  Megan glanced over her shoulder and turned around. Arms wrapped firmly around Megan’s shoulders. I spun around to see that Monty had pulled her into a hug.

  “It’s good to see you, Megan.”

  She laughed. “It’s good to see you too, now that you’re not cursing and yelling at me.”

  He pulled back. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

  Everyone froze.

  “What the hell just happened here?” Heath asked, glancing around for answers.

  Mari dropped back down next to Sawyer. “Di-did Monty just apologize for something?”

  My mind had gone completely blank, at least until I saw Sawyer out of the corner of my eye. He leaned back, resting his arm along the top of the couch. “I told you I liked her. Anyone who can get Monty to apologize and they’re not sleeping with him gets an A in my book.”

  Even knowing Monty was happily married, hearing anything about Megan, him, and the words sleeping together in the same sentence left a bad taste in my mouth. I slung an arm around her waist and pulled her into my side.

  Monty shrugged. “Wha
t can I say? I’ve known her a long time.”

  I scoffed. “You’ve known me even longer and you never apologize to me.”

  “That’s ’cause you’re never right.”

  Mari rolled her eyes. “Okay, there’s the Monty I know. I was afraid we’d stepped into another universe.” She walked over and took Megan’s hand. “Come sit and have a drink with us.”

  Megan shook her head. “I’d love to, but I really should get back to my friends.”

  “Have them come sit with us,” Monty suggested. “We don’t bite.” He tilted his head from side to side. “Well, unless Allana asks me to.”

  “Jesus,” Sawyer complained. “Keep that shit to yourself.”

  “Ow,” Monty said, rubbing the back of his head. He turned and glared at Heath, who shrugged.

  “Someone has to keep you in line.” Heath smirked.

  Megan lifted her hands, palms out. “I don’t want to crash your night out.”

  “You’re not,” I promised.

  “Where are they?” Heath asked.

  I pointed to where they stood at the bar, watching us. “The blonde is Liz and the brunette is Diana.”

  “I’ll be right back,” Heath said, sauntering over to where Megan’s friends stood, while I directed Megan to one of the couches.

  She leaned in close. “He really does like to help people out.”

  I thought about all the times Heath stepped in to fix something one of us wouldn’t fix for ourselves. “He does. He can be a nosy bastard, but he only ever wants everyone to be happy.”

  14

  Megan

  Heath had come back with Liz and Diana, who were more than happy to hang out with the members of Jaded Ivory for the night. Mari had taken the seat to my right, asking all kinds of questions about life with Monty and Jackson before they met. Even Sawyer had joined in, wanting to know about my time in the military. The conversation swirled around me and I answered every question, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Jackson.

  It had been hard to miss the way he looked at me all night. Mari had turned her attention to Sawyer when a hand landed on my thigh.