Fate In Pieces, page 7
“Do you need anything?” he asked, still looking at the wall.
“You can turn around.”
He turned and ran his fingers through his hair before speaking again. “Sorry I stepped—”
I stopped his words and covered his mouth with my finger. “Shh. Don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong. Thank you, Eli.”
He gave me a worried look. “Okay. I won’t. Are you okay?”
I hugged him. “I don’t know.”
He and I had quite a height difference. I was a measly five feet, one inch, and he had to be pushing six feet, if not more.
“What can I do to make it better for you? Do you want me to go find Amani and bring her in?”
I shook my head and looked down.
His finger gently lifted my chin to put my eyes on him. “What can I do, Brie?”
I pushed his hand away because I was utterly embarrassed. When I stared into his eyes, he looked at me with zero judgment. He wasn’t joking. He looked sincere.
“Nothing,” I whimpered.
“Please, Brie, tell me what you need. Do you need me to run after him and beat his ass? I will. If you need me to hug you, I will. If you need me to bring you somewhere else, I’m there. If you need me to call your boyfriend, I can do that too.”
I don’t know what came over me, but I raised up onto my tiptoes and brushed my lips against his. He was hesitant at first, but he deepened the kiss once I didn’t pull away. He put his hands hesitantly on my jaw, placing his thumbs on my cheeks. His hands were warm but rough, with calluses on a few of his fingers. He tasted like smoke and something else I’d never tasted before. I assumed it was whiskey, since that’s what he had been drinking at the party earlier.
He pulled away and whispered against my lips, “Brie, what are you doing?”
I looked into his beautiful eyes. “I don’t know.”
“This isn’t you,” he stated.
Realization took over, and I backed up, covering my mouth with my hand. “Oh my God, I am so sorry. I can’t believe I just did that.”
He stepped back with a shrug. “Don’t sweat it. I won’t tell a soul.”
I grabbed his hand. “I really am sorry. That shouldn’t have happened.”
After a few awkward stares, I broke the silence. “I need to get back out there. I am in charge today, so everyone is probably looking for me.”
He let out a noticeable sigh. “Right, okay.”
He walked over to the door and opened it for me. Amani was standing right outside, waiting. I looked back at him, realizing that I didn’t even know he was here before he walked into the office.
“By the way, what are you doing here?” I asked curiously.
He glanced down at the floor and back at me. “Not sure. Amani told me you had to come today and invited me…so I came.”
I smiled. “I am glad you were here.”
“Me too.” He looked down at the ground again. “Brielle, I also wanted to apologize for how I acted before you left.”
“Don’t sweat it. I won’t tell a soul.”
He laughed at me, recounting his exact words from just moments before. “Sounds good. I’ll see you out there.”
“Yeah, I just need a minute.”
He squeezed my hand in understanding, and left the room. Amani walked in wordlessly.
My best friend gripped my hand in the way she always did when she was about to ask a question and already knew the answer to. “You good?”
I shook my head. “Not at all.”
“What do you need?”
I let out a shaky breath. “I need to call Dax.”
We left the gallery about an hour and a half after my…incident. Being alone with Amani brought a sense of calm over me. That was until I looked out the window.
“I think we are being followed,” I said quietly to Amani. I wasn’t sure why I was whispering. No one else was in the car. She looked in the rearview and smiled.
“What? Do we know them?” I asked frantically.
“We do,” she said smugly.
“Well, spit it out. Who is it?”
“Who else would it be, Brielle? Use that big brain of yours.”
My concern didn’t waver.
“Elijah and Beck are following us home.”
I smiled. Neither one of us said another word…we didn’t have to.
After returning home, I realized I had missed Elijah’s call earlier. I called him back once Amani got into the shower.
“Hey you,” he said in a hushed tone.
“Hey, sorry I missed your call. Is everything okay?”
“Oh yeah, I just wanted to see if you got home safe.”
I smiled. He knew damn well I got home safe. “Thank you for making sure I got home okay, Eli.” I couldn’t see him, but I could tell he was smiling too. “Next time, let me know you are following me, though. You scared me at first.”
“Next time?” he asked.
A small amount of nerves flooded me. “You know what I mean. Just thanks.”
“You are welcome. Thank you.”
“Thank you for what?” I asked.
He paused. “That kiss.”
My insides lit up, and butterflies took over. I wasn’t sure what to say. Saying you're welcome seemed weird. A slight wave of sadness overcame me. “It can’t happen again, Eli. I have a boyfriend.”
“I figured.”
“When do you leave for the tour?” I quickly asked to change the subject to something a little less awkward.
“We leave for home in a few days. I will be back here and there, but I have a big break coming up in May. I will send you the tour schedule so you can keep tabs.”
I smiled. “I wasn’t trying to keep tabs on you. I just wanted to know so I could plan an engagement party. They will want August and Liza there, so I have to coordinate with everyone.”
“Tell yourself whatever you want, MP.”
I huffed. “Are you ever going to tell me what that means?” I asked. I still have no idea what it could mean.
“I don’t know if I should. I kind of like teasing you with it.”
“Eli!”
He chuckled. “It means Master—”
What the fuck? I cut him off. “Eli, is this some weird kink thing you have? You want me to be your master or something and dominate you? You have the wron—”
“God, no! Though now I have a very vivid image of you dominating me, but no, that isn’t what I meant.” He chuckled loudly.
“Then what did you mean?”
“Well, you didn’t let me finish. It means Masterpiece.”
My stomach fluttered. “Masterpiece?”
“Yes, Masterpiece. It means you are a work of outstanding artistry. Something that needs to be handled with care. Something beautiful with rough edges. Something perfectly imperfect, just waiting for the right person to appreciate it.”
My breath hitched. “Eli.”
“Masterpiece?”
I wasn’t sure what to say. No one has ever spoken about me in a way that made me melt like that. I was literally speechless. My eyes stung with tears.
“You don’t have to say anything back. Brie, it was just—"
“No, I love it,” I blurted out.
I could hear the smile in his tone when he responded, “Masterpiece, it is then.”
A warm, comforting feeling immediately filled me. “See you soon?”
“I hope so.”
I hung up with Elijah and immediately dialed Dax.
His sultry voice came over the phone. “Hey, beautiful.”
“Hey, you. Did I wake you?”
“No, I am driving home. I wanted to head back early to finish some stuff before returning to work tomorrow.”
“How far away are you?” I asked hesitantly. I really needed to talk to him before I chickened out.
He laughed. “I am actually only about twenty minutes from home.” He paused. “Everything okay?”
“Um…no, actually. I need to talk to you. Can you come by the dorms when you get in?”
His voice became more stern. “Are you okay?”
“See you in twenty.” I hung up before he could keep asking.
He pulled up and got out of the car quickly. He instantly grabbed me and pulled me into him.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
Unshed tears stung my eyes. “Please sit.”
I put a little extra space between us than I normally did when we sit down together. I told him the whole story, including Elijah helping get Caleb away from me. Well, almost the whole story.
He grabbed my hand. Before he spoke, I cut him off, “Dax. There’s more.”
“Okay.” His look turned to worry.
“I got so overwhelmed with emotion after it all happened, I fell into his arms and… I kissed him, Dax. I am so sorry.”
His worried tone turned back to relief. “Okay.”
“Dax, I really don’t know. I am so sorry. I knew I had to tell you right away. Elijah is the one who stopped it. I—” Did he just say okay? “Okay?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” He gave me a concerned look. “We aren’t exclusive, Brie. You can kiss and date whoever you want.”
Confused thoughts took over. I was going over every conversation we had ever had. “I…wait. What do you mean we're not exclusive?”
He shrugged like it was no big deal. “I mean, well, we can be. I didn’t realize you wanted to be. We see each other so infrequently outside of work.”
I scoffed in disbelief.
“Brielle,” he said, looking at me. “Putting aside the exclusivity thing, I am so sorry you had all that happen tonight. I can’t imagine how that made you feel. I am even more sorry I wasn’t there for you.”
I stood to face him. “So wait. This whole time, have you been seeing other girls?”
He looked uncomfortable. “I mean, I went on a few dates, but nothing serious. I didn’t fuck anyone, though, if that’s what you are asking.”
“Wow,” I said out loud. “I can’t believe this shit. Did I make this up in my head? Am I that fucked up?”
He stood up and pulled me into him, brushing a kiss over my lips. I jerked away like he’d burned me. “We can be exclusive. I just never asked because I thought you wanted time.”
“I mean, this should all make me feel better knowing I didn’t actually cheat on you, but it doesn’t. I feel like such an ass for making this more than it is.”
“Brielle.” He reached for me, and I stepped toward the door.
“I will see you at work, okay? I need to go sleep off this absolute embarrassment.”
“Can we talk about this?” he asked.
I looked at him. “No, I don’t think I want to right now.”
When I entered my dorm room, Amani was in her pajamas, bonnet tied on her head, eating straight from a tub of ice cream.
“So? How did it go? Is he pissed?” she asked with a mouth full.
I sat down beside her, stealing the bite she was bringing up to her mouth before leaning my head on her shoulder. “You are never going to believe this.”
Chapter ten
Elijah
The last time I spoke to Brie was a few days ago. I sent her a few messages, but she didn’t respond with actual words. All she did was like or heart them. I hadn’t asked if she had told her boyfriend or not, but I assumed that had something to do with why she had been so quiet.
I couldn’t get that damn simple kiss out of my head. Even my bandmates noticed that my mind had been elsewhere. Her not answering me was bothering me more than I cared to admit to anyone.
I was pulled from my thoughts when Hunter called out my name.
“Elijah, we’re on in ten.”
The adrenaline of stepping on the stage would never get old, especially at home in Tennessee. Hearing the crowd and seeing all the lights did something to my soul that I could never explain. It’s a high that not even alcohol gave me.
As I was singing our last song, I looked out into the crowd. I could swear I saw a glimpse of a familiar face a few rows back, her green eyes staring up at me. I closed my eyes to collect my thoughts and keep myself on task with singing. Brielle wasn’t there.
As I finished the song, the crowd and camera flashes erupted around me. My brother patted my back, yelling over the noise.
“Great fucking job, man. That was probably the best you have ever been.”
I couldn’t say anything back. I put my arm around him and searched the crowd again.
Had I just imagined Brielle?
I was in the middle of a conversation with Hunter about where we were traveling next when a very drunk Maxine threw herself onto my lap.
Maxine was our show opener. She wanted to tag along with us to the bar after the show. She was a curvy blonde, totally my usual type, but my brother had already warned me she wasn’t single, so that was the end of that.
I caught her, gripping her middle so she didn’t topple over. “Hey, handsome. How is your night going?”
I looked at Hunter, making sure I wasn’t hallucinating, and his look was just as surprised as mine. She seemed so timid earlier.
I looked back at Maxine. “Hey, are you okay?”
She flung her head back with a laugh that sounded like a hyena. “I am wonderful. I was just wondering when you were going to ask me to dance.”
“Isn’t your man somewhere around here? My brother said he was coming today.” I looked around and she pulled my face back to look at her.
“I only said I had a boyfriend so you guys wouldn’t hit on me. But the way you looked at me today…Mmm,” she moaned, making my dick twitch beneath her. “It made me want you even more than I already did.” She leaned in and whispered into my ear, “Are you going to take me somewhere more private?”
She snaked her hand between our bodies and cupped my dick over my jeans. I jumped, and so did my dick.
I stood without looking back at any of the guys and pulled her toward the bathrooms. Once inside the men’s room, and after making sure no one was in there, I locked the door and turned back to her. When I turned, she was already falling to her knees and reaching for my zipper.
I grabbed her wrist. “Maxine, you don’t have to do—” My words were cut off when she pulled the zipper down with her other hand and cupped me over my briefs.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
“Let me do what I need to do, and we can talk later. I’ve been thinking about getting this cock in my mouth all night.”
My head fell back and hit the door as she pulled my dick into her mouth. My fingers laced into her hair.
My phone buzzed, so I used my other hand to silence it in my pocket without even looking down.
She moaned around me. I didn’t know if it was simply that I hadn’t been with anyone in a while or if I was just mentally done with her already, but either way, I just wasn’t into it. I picked her up and put her on top of the double sink as I slipped one finger into her.
“Fuck, yes, Elijah. Oh my God. How…” She didn’t finish what she was going to say because she came with a vengeance. I covered her mouth with my other hand to stifle her moan.
I grabbed a paper towel to clean her up. “That was…amazing.” She leaned in and kissed my neck. That was my cue to end this. I didn’t really know what she thought was so amazing. She basically did it herself, and I just helped bring her over the top. I helped her off of the counter.
“That was amazing, thank you,” she added again.
“I don’t think I did much, but you’re welcome,” I chuckled.
“Can we not tell the guys that that just happened?” she asked.
I let out another laugh because if there was one thing I could guarantee, it’s that at least one of them was standing outside that door right now. I would bet my life on it.
“Sadly, I don’t think that will remain our secret once we walk out this door. One of the guys is always around trying to babysit me.”
She shrugged, “Eh, no biggie. Just figured I would try. I don’t really care.”
“Cool. Me either.”
I made sure she was good and opened the door. Beck was standing there with wide eyes. “I tried to call you when I saw you walking in here with her, but I couldn’t stop you.”
“Stop me for what? Why would you want to stop me?”
He nudged his head toward where we were sitting. Brielle’s perfect green eyes hit me right in the gut.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
I turned back to Beck. “What is she doing here?”
“Amani and Brielle came to surprise us. They are staying with Aubrey's dad. Amani came for me, well not for me but to hang out, I guess, and well, Brielle came…”
He didn’t have to finish. I knew what he was going to say. She came here for me, and I just got done finger fucking some girl in the bathroom and had my dick down her throat.
“Does she know I was—” I gestured to the bathroom.
He shrugged. “I mean, no one told her, but she’s not a fucking idiot. I am sure she assumes.”
I ran my fingers through my hair and immediately felt overwhelmed. I grabbed a drink off one of the shot girls’ trays and walked out the back door. “I need a smoke.”
I leaned against the brick building and closed my eyes as I took a few puffs of the cigarette.
“You smoke?”
My eyes flew open, and I lifted my head to look at Brielle. “Hey.”
She smiled, leaning against the building. “Hey, yourself.”
I moved toward her a little. “What are you doing here?”
She looked around. “Right this second, I am making sure my friend is okay. But if you are asking what I’m doing in Tennessee, I am delivering a few pictures I did for Aubrey’s dad’s music store.”
“You’re hand-delivering pictures?”
She looked down and seemed to blush a little. “Kind of. I was going to just ship them, but then I was worried about them getting ruined, and he is family, so I figured a road trip to deliver them in person would be fun. I knew the drive from when Aubrey and I went home last time so I knew it wasn’t too bad. Amani came with me because she wanted to see Beck. They kind of have a thing happening.” She laughed. “I guess I surprised you.”
