Heat Wave: A Summer Loving Anthology Page 7

  Dane walked up to me as I traced down the problem with the grill. “What the hell is the deal, Jagger?”

  “What are you talking about, Dane?” I didn’t even try to hide my irritation.

  “I’m talking about Mali. Your girlfriend? Don’t pull that bullshit with me. She just up and left without saying a word to anyone. This is all going to come back and bite us in the ass, I just know it. So you need to man up and tell me what you’ve done.”

  I huffed in disgust, but I broke down and told him the truth about our relationship. Our agreement. He immediately called an emergency band member meeting, so the four of us congregated in a corner of the yard that was as far away from the others as possible.

  “The idiot leader of our village has made a colossal fuck-up,” Dane began. He then proceeded to explain the situation to the other guys.

  “Are you fucking kidding me, Jagger?”

  “What the hell were you thinking?”

  “It’s one thing to sink your own career, but did you have to take ours down with you?”

  They all three descended on me at once. They were angrier, more disappointed, and more disgusted with me than I’ve ever seen them. The only thing that kept them from kicking me out of my own band was the hope that Mali could help get our music in front of her dad sooner rather than later.

  “There’s only one solution to this problem,” Wes stated.

  “What’s that?” I ask dubiously.

  “You have to go to her and make her keep her end of the agreement. You can’t let her get away. Make her believe she’s special, she’s important to you, whatever the fuck you have to do just to keep her around. After Milo listens to our CD and makes his decision, you can kick her to the curb,” he explained.

  “Yeah, that could work,” Dane agreed with Wes. “Something set her off and made her just leave out of the blue. Maybe she was pissed off after Bambi’s outburst. Do you know where she lives?”

  “Yes, I know where she lives. But I’ve made it clear to her, more than once, that I don’t want her to get attached to me. This was her proposition anyway. We agreed to just one summer and then we part ways. I’m not promising her a white picket fence and a date to go pick out china patterns,” I adamantly refused.

  “You can play it off better than that,” Tanner scolded me. “You don’t have to say a word about love, or a life together, or any of that shit. You’re a master manipulator when it comes to women. Shit, look at this very situation as proof. Somehow, you convinced a good girl that she was secretly bad, but you made her believe it was all her idea.”

  “It was her idea,” I exclaimed. “It wasn’t mine at all. She insisted on the whole monogamous summer thing. I agreed because she’s hot as hell, there’s a freak under that prudish exterior, and her dad can take our band to a whole new level.”

  “Get over there and fix this tonight, Jagger. I fucking mean it,” Dane pressured. “I don’t care if you have to promise her you’ll buy her a ring for Christmas. Get her back for the summer, or long enough to get us signed, and then you can do whatever the hell you want.”

  “Fine. My family just got here today but I’ll go over in a few hours to smooth things over with her,” I agreed.

  “Whatever you have to promise her to win her back,” Dane reiterated.

  “Don’t let us down,” Tanner added.

  “Yeah, yeah, I got it,” I dismissed them.

  When I finally got the grill going, I was absently poking the chicken with the long-handled fork when my dad walked up beside me.

  “Where’d Mali go?” he asked.

  “I think she got upset over what Dane’s date, Bambi, said. She went home,” I replied.

  He nodded slowly. “Mali’s a keeper, Jagger. I know it’s only been a day, but anyone can see she’s a caring person.”

  “What do you mean ‘it’s only been a day’?” I asked, stunned that he knew that. I thought I’d have to kill Cass for running her mouth.

  “I’ve only known her for a day,” he replied as he leveled me with his gaze. “What did you think I meant?”

  “I thought you were talking about me,” I answered truthfully.

  “Now that you mention it, you do act like you just met her yesterday,” Dad mused.

  “Huh?” I asked.

  He laughed at my confusion. Or my panic that he knew the truth. Either one. “If you can’t see what you have in her, then you must have just met her yesterday and you’re still too blind to see it. You’d be a total fool to let that one get away, son.”

  “My band mates just ordered me to go to her place tonight and get her back,” I admitted. “I’m torn over it, honestly.”

  “Our therapist put it in simple terms for your mom and me when we were having problems,” Dad said. “Picture yourself doing what you love the most, like your music, for example. If you can see yourself being happy without having her by your side when you travel around the country, sing to thousands of people, and sign autographs, then let her go.

  “But if you can’t stand the thought of her doing all those things at another man’s side, you’ll be sorry you let her go. Just know if you do let her go, you may not ever get her back again,” he concluded.

  So I’m here in her luxury condo after bribing the security guard to let me back in the gated community. She’s lying in my arms after I convinced her it’s best that we continue this crazy charade. All I can do is take this charade one day at a time. I’ll try to keep things light between us, but also keep her interested enough to hang out with me all summer.

  When Mali shifts in her sleep, her long hair falls away from her shoulder and gives me an unobstructed view of her beautiful face. She looks so peaceful in her sleep. Her lips twitch before turning upward into a shy smile. She’s definitely dreaming from the way her eyes dart in all directions underneath her eyelids.

  I can’t resist leaning in to kiss her eyes in her sleep. She stirs a little, her eyes flutter, and then she sleepily opens them. “Mmm…it’s too early. Go back to sleep,” she slurs.

  “Not ready to face the day, sleepyhead?” I tease.

  “Nuh uh,” she mutters. “You feel too good. Hold me.”

  I can’t help but smile at how adorable she is, even when she’s asleep. Never in a million years would I ever admit that I secretly like this–having someone to hold, to actually sleep with, and to wake up with. My dad’s words ring in my ears.

  Mali’s right. It’s way too early for this shit. Sliding back into position, I pull her close to me and close my eyes. Her warm body is pressed against mine. Her soft sighs of contentment fly straight through me. There’s no way she doesn’t feel my morning wood as it grows against her ass. It’s fucking killing me to be this close and not seal the deal. Our arrangement needs to hit fast forward before they’re permanently blue.

  The last thought I have before I drift off to sleep concerns me, though. Would it bother me if another man held Mali while she slept?

  MALI

  WHOSE ARMS ARE wrapped around me?

  Not so much fun when that’s my first thought of the day. Memories of last night resurface and I can’t stop the smile that covers my face. I’d all but given up on anything remotely associated with Jagger York. Then he showed up at my condo, loudly pounded on my door, and demanded I let him in.

  I ran when I realized I didn’t belong in his world, around all those beautiful people. When that blonde bitch went out of her way to say she’d had sex with Jagger before, it really knocked the wind out of my sails. Her sole purpose in her words was to tell me I couldn’t measure up to her.

  It was childish to retaliate like I did, but I had to show her that she couldn’t compete with me. The dive I chose to do was actually fairly difficult. But with Jagger bragging on me and openly showing he was impressed, I wanted to play it off in front of her. Regardless, it worked and it pissed her off.

  Jagger did the very thing I never thought he would do. He chased me down and insisted we keep seeing each other. If
I keep analyzing why I think he did it, what he’s really thinking, and what this means in the long run, I’ll drive myself crazy. The best I can hope for is just what he said about having fun, great memories, and an easy parting.

  It’ll be easy for him anyway. I’m not the casual relationship kind of girl. When I start seeing someone, it’s usually because I’m interested in the guy and can see us having a long-term relationship. Jagger felt different, more dangerous, and more exciting from the beginning. The problem is, the more time I spend with him, the more things I find I genuinely like about him.

  Letting go of him after a few months of this won’t be so easy. That’s why I went to the pool and practiced for several hours yesterday. I punished my body to the point of exhaustion so I could hopefully fall asleep without thinking about him. He had better ways of wearing me out though.

  “I know you’re awake, Wildcat,” he says from behind me, his voice still groggy with sleep. “The wheels are turning so loudly in your head they woke me up.”

  Playfully, I elbow him in the ribs and chuckle. “Shut up. They are not. You’re just one of those crazy morning people who thinks everyone else is, too.”

  “Are you really going to try to tell me you’re not laying there overthinking everything?”

  “What’s there to overthink?” I retort.

  “Exactly. So relax,” he replies.

  “I’m laying in my bed, barely even awake, Jagger. I can’t get much more relaxed than this.”

  “If you say so,” he chuckles. “I’m going to head home now and start getting today’s grilling menu prepared. Come on over when you get up. Wear your bathing suit again. I really liked that bikini you wore yesterday. You looked so sexy in it.”

  “Okay,” I agree. “I’ll be there, ready to swim again. Will everyone else be there again today?”

  “Yeah,” he answers reluctantly. “If Bambi gives you a hard time, I’ll tell Dane not to bring her again.”

  “Bambi? That’s really her name?” I rise up on one arm and turn to look at him. Is he joking? “No wonder she’s as dumb as a box of rocks. She must have screwed her teachers just to graduate high school.”

  Jagger laughs lightly at first then breaks into a fit of laughter. “You’re probably right. I never thought of it like that.”

  Our laughter fades but our eyes remain locked. Unspoken words hang in the air between us. I only wish I knew what his were.

  “Okay then,” he says, breaking the spell. “I need to get going.” He stands, dresses, and walks toward the door. Before he walks through the doorway, he stops, turns, and pins me with his serious expression. “Don’t make me have to come find you.”

  “And if I do?” I mockingly call his bluff.

  His eyes instantly become heated as the sexy smirk takes over his face. He takes slow, deliberate steps back toward me. “Mali,” he lowers his head as he speaks. “If I have to come after you one more time, I’ll bend you over,” he intentionally pauses, “my knee. Then I’ll spank that luscious ass until you’re desperately begging me.”

  “That’s not very much incentive for me to show up, is it?” I slowly lift one eyebrow as I challenge him.

  He laughs, but it’s an evil genius type of laugh that sends shivers through me. “You’ll be desperately begging me to make you come, Wildcat, because I’ll keep you right on the edge for hours. If you show up on your own, I’ll make sure you repeatedly come. Your choice.”

  “I’ll be there,” I quickly concur.

  “You better be,” he leans in and kisses me goodbye. “I have big plans to start your let loose and have fun training.”

  Is this where I should be more careful what I wish for?

  When I arrive at his house after taking my time to get dressed, the pool party is in full swing. The band members are here with their dates, including Bimbo, along with Jagger’s family. I wore my bathing suit under a simple cover-up this time, so I walked straight out to the back deck.

  Jagger sees me from across the pool the second I enter his back yard and struts over to me. He wraps his arms around my waist, pulls me to him, and thoroughly kisses me in front of everyone. My body becomes like putty in his hands, molding and shaping to fit his body.

  “There’s my girl,” he murmurs against my lips. “You’ll be so very thankful you showed up when I get you alone tonight.”

  “I’ll hold you to that promise,” I flirt.

  Bimbo approaches the diving board and cuts her eyes menacingly over at me. She waits for Jagger to finally look at her before she moves to the end of the board. She’s apparently watched a few YouTube videos as she begins to bounce up and down, gaining height. Her fake boobs are flopping so hard I’m waiting to see her with two black eyes. She pulls her right leg up to a ninety-degree angle, points her foot, and uses her arms to propel herself even higher.

  Just as she’s about to execute her dive of choice, she loses her balance on the wet springboard. Her foot slides out of from underneath her and she crashes down to the board on her ass. Then she topples over, rather ungracefully, and ends up doing a complete belly flop into the water.

  Everyone else surrounding the pool stands and laughingly cheers. But I can no longer hold back my own cackle when Jagger looks at me and asks, “Is that a new dive you need to know about?”

  “Yeah, the Bimbo Belly Flop,” I reply.

  She sputters to the side of the pool, her face red with embarrassment and her stomach red with stinging from the water, but nothing is hurt other than her pride. She stomps back to her lounge chair, puts on her sunglasses, and sears me with her angry stare.

  When everyone starts to leave, I collect my things and walk toward the front door, too. Jagger gives me his what the hell look and wraps his hand around mine.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” he asks.

  “I didn’t bring anything to spend the night, Jagger. Everything I need for tomorrow is back at my condo. I should really go home tonight,” I explain.

  He reluctantly lets me go, knowing my week days are hard enough without getting up even earlier to swing by my place first. After a long, scorching kiss, followed by an impromptu make-out session inside my car, I’m finally on my way back to my place.

  CHAPTER TEN

  JAGGER

  JULY

  AFTER TWO WEEKS OF only texting and talking on the phone daily, I’ve been dying to see Mali again. She had to leave Miami for several days during the week, so her dive coach made her practice on the following two weekends as punishment. Okay, fine, it was punishment for me and valuable practice time for her, but I still pouted like a little kid over it.

  Mali said I was adorable when I didn’t get my way.

  I convinced her to come to my house for a while after practice tonight. It wasn’t easy, but she said she’d be here. As soon as she pulls in the driveway, I’m out the door and opening her car door for her. I take her offered hand and pull her out of the car, and straight into my embrace.

  “It’s good to see you, too, Jagger,” she chuckles. “I’m sorry but I can only stay about an hour.”

  “That’s not nearly long enough but I’ll take it. It’s better than nothing,” I reply. “No more leaving town and missing practice.”

  “Deal,” she agrees.

  For my hour-long conjugal visit with her, I decide to do something extremely out of character. I lead her to the lounge chairs on the back deck, have her lie back, and then I squeeze in beside her in the same chair. The whole sixty minutes are spent just talking about any and everything. It’s by far the best conversation I’ve ever had. My family really needs to find somewhere else to live as soon as possible. It’s not that I don’t love them, but I really need time alone with Mali and I feel like I’m constantly ditching them when they’re my guests.

  It sucks.

  What sucks even worse is my hour is up and Mali says she has to go home.

  “It’s time to start your training,” I state as we walk out together. “I’ve been slacking.�
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  “Sounds good. What’s the plan?” she asks enthusiastically.

  “Friday night, you’re going to meet me at The Vine Room,” I instruct her.

  “Fancy,” she replies. “Very upscale jazz club.”

  “Exactly. Look the part. We’re starting with the art of seduction,” I explain.

  “Sounds fun,” she purrs. “Are you going to seduce me, Jagger?”

  “No, Mali. You’re going to seduce me,” I correct her.

  “What?” she stammers. “Wait a minute. You want me to pick you up in a bar?”

  “Exactly,” I nod. “But not in a nightclub when you’re brave after a few drinks. In a jazz club when you’re sober and confident.”

  She sounds unsure but she agrees anyway. “Okay, I’ll be there.”

  “Eight o’clock. Don’t be late,” I adamantly state.

  “You’re sure about this?” she asks tentatively.

  “I’m positive. You’ll enjoy it,” I reassure her.

  Before she can protest further, I lean in to kiss her, shut her car door, and wave goodbye as I walk backward to my house.

  “Where’s Mali going?” Dad asks, surprising me.

  “She’s going back to her place,” I reply as I walk past him.

  “I’m surprised she’s not staying here with you,” he continues.

  “We’re not living together, Dad. We just recently agreed to be exclusive,” I stop and face him. “Don’t want to get on each other’s nerves already.”

  “I didn’t say anything about living together. We just haven’t had much time alone with her, though,” Dad replies.

  “We both have things we have to do during the week. I have guitar lessons to give at the studio and she has dive practice every day. I’m meeting her out this Friday night.”

  “Your mom and I are going to look at a couple of houses this week. Wish us luck,” he says, abruptly changing the subject.

  “Take your time,” I answer, like a good son. “No need to rush off.”

  After getting through no less than four sleepless nights, it’s finally Friday. I’m in the kitchen making coffee when Cass comes shuffling in like a zombie from The Walking Dead. She yawns with a loud, hurt animal sound and rubs the sleep from her eyes.