Текст книги "Crazy Beautiful"

Автор книги: Penny Dee

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Текущая страница: 5 (всего у книги 19 страниц)

“Wow, you look great,” he said when I opened the door.

“You’re not so bad yourself.” He kissed me and God his scent was incredible.

It was another magical night on the bluff. The sky was clear and bright with a full moon. Heath had been right, the day had been hot and the evening the same, but up there it was beautiful. And the cool salty sea air rolled up from the ocean. When Heath took my hand, I didn’t stop him. Nor did I stop to over analyze it. I just curled my fingers around his and enjoyed the warmth of his hand around mine.

We lay down on the grassy embankment looking up at the explosion of stars above. It was magical. We talked about everything while the ocean breezes blew in from the waves below to cool the summer heat. We had been there for a while before Heath mentioned my coffee date with Dean.

“We’re friends. That’s all,” I said, turning to look at him. His skin glowed luminous in the light of the moon. His lashes were long and the shadows deepened his dimples as he spoke.

“Does he know that?”

“He knows.” I rose up on my elbow. Moonlight washed us in milky light. Heath looked almost angelic. Being there—with him—was doing stuff to my head. “What you said. Last night. That I was too good for you. That’s not true. I’m not too good for you. But—” I bit my lip and his eyes shifted from the sky to me.

“What?”

“You scare me.” I laid my head against his chest and his arms came around me.

He smelled so good and his strong arms made me feel safe. And happy.

Too damn happy.

“I wish I didn’t,” he said softly.

“Me too.”

“The best thing I could do for you would be to stay away from you.” His voice was soft and raspy. “But you make that too damn hard. I like being around you too much.”

“I like being around you too,” I whispered. “You make me wish I was here for longer than I am going to be.”

“I don’t want to wreck things by overstepping lines,” he said. “I like you too much to do that.”

I felt the gentle thud of his heart against my cheek and it was comforting. His thumb caressed the bare skin of my shoulder. Being in his arms felt right. I just had to work out how Heath fit into my life.

After a while, he disentangled himself from our embrace, gently laying me onto my back and shifting onto his side so he was looking down at me. He gave me a half-smile. The back of his fingers found my cheek and drifted down to my neck, setting tiny fires beneath my skin.

We were close, enough for me to feel the strong thump of his heart and the gentle whisper of his breath on my face. His eyes dropped to my mouth and seemed to glaze over as he scraped his white teeth across his bottom lip. Soft fingertips followed his line of vision, tracing invisible lines across my lips. His brow furrowed and I shivered, waiting for him to lean forward and kiss me. Willing him to lean forward and kiss me.

I closed my eyes. California Harlow was yelling at me to say to hell with it and begged me to go for it.

To reach out. And. Just. Kiss. Him!

Up here in this magical place my reckless inner voice was far louder than it was in the cold reality of daylight.

But I was at the edge, done with resisting him, ready to dive in.

Drunk on the starlit atmosphere I about to step off the edge when he said, “Don’t worry H-bomb. I’m not going to kiss you. I know we can’t be anything more than friends. And I don’t want to fuck up what we have by trying.” His fingers were tender across my cheek. “It’s better this way. I’ve never had a girl who was just a friend. Other than my friends’ girlfriends.” He smiled and it was the most incredible smile I had ever seen. “I think I’m going to like it.”

I took a giant step back from the edge and California Harlow threw herself on the floor with a cry. She had missed her chance.

Georgia Harlow breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Somehow Georgia Harlow was able to keep dodging the bullets California Harlow shot her way.

Chapter Five

My friendship with Heath seemed like the most natural thing in the world. Almost immediately we slipped into a comfortable and often comical routine, which usually consisted of Heath flirting rapaciously with me and me reproaching him. It was easy with him. Relaxed. We talked easily, about everything, and we laughed, sometimes until our stomachs ached. Heath seemed to like me close. I didn’t know why. I just knew I liked it.

We both knew it couldn’t be anything more. I would be gone in the Fall and Heath seemed happy with whatever we were. In fact, he seemed more interested in spending time with me than the string of women who offered themselves up to him every time he stepped out his front door.

It confused me sometimes and I often wondered what he wanted from me. But there was no point in trying to make sense of it. I couldn’t compare what we were to anything because I didn’t know what we compared to. Other than best friends. He was protective like a brother, flirty like a lover, attentive like a boyfriend, and as fun as a best friend.

Yes it confused me. But it also made me smile whenever I thought about it.

If he wasn’t performing somewhere, he would be waiting for me at the end of my shift at The Palace to take me home. On my days off he would turn up on his bike and we would spend the day together. Sometimes we’d just spend the day riding up or down the coast, and other days were spent at the beach or exploring local sights.

I hadn’t seen him with a girl since Anastasia at the coffee shop. I told myself it wouldn’t bother me when I did. But as the days passed I began to wonder. The lines were beginning to blur, no matter how much I insisted they weren’t.

When Fat Tony gave me a weekend off so I could do some sightseeing, Piper and I drove up to San Diego to visit the colorful Bazaar Del Mundo for some shopping and pre-lunch margaritas.

After more shopping at the Horton Plaza, we drove to the Coronado Ferry Landing to explore the stores. Then we visited the legendary Hotel Del Coronado where we sat out in the sun at the Sun Deck Bar and Grill and had lunch, enjoying the sea breeze blowing in off the Pacific Ocean.

Vengeance had left town during the week to attend a two day festival just out of Tuscan and were due back sometime over the weekend. Because they didn’t have the cost for flights, they were taking the Greyhound and Bandit and Devo were driving a beat-up tour van full of gear. It meant they didn’t know when they would roll back into town.

Piper and I decided to have a girl’s night in on the Saturday night, complete with face masks, cucumber eye packs and a few pitchers of homemade sangrias.

“So what’s happening with you and Heath?” Piper asked over a third glass of pretty potent sangria.

“We’re friends,” I replied, applying a second coat of polish to my toes.

“Friends? That’s all?”

“Yeah. That’s all.”

“Does he know?”

I shook the bottle of nail polish. “He understands I’m not looking for anything more than that.”

“He might understand that … but …”

“But…?”

She paused, looking at me. “It’s just … I’ve never seen Heath like this.”

“Like what?”

“When he looks at you, it’s like you’re the only person in the room.”

I shrugged and wiggled my toes to help dry the polish.

“We’re just friends. And he understands that. He’s probably with some hottie right now, as we speak.”

Secretly I hoped I was wrong.

Piper picked a shade of nail polish from the basket and shook it. “Probably.”

It was an offhanded reply. But one I felt in the pit of my stomach. To distract me from the idea I focused on painting my toenails again. If I were honest, I hated the idea of Heath touching, kissing and loving another girl while I sat there missing him. Which was just ridiculous. Because he wasn’t mine.

“Want me to call Jesse and find out?” she asked.

When I looked up she was looking at me. It was a gentle, kind look. As if she somehow knew what I was thinking and wanted to put my fears at ease.

I shrugged and then shook my head.

“If Heath wants to play with other girls then he can. Like I said, we are just friends.”

She reluctantly nodded.

“Okay.” She went back to painting her toes. “But what happens at the end of summer?”

“At the end of summer I go home.”

“And Heath?”

“Heath?” I looked up. “Heath keeps being Heath. He’ll be fine.”

She scoffed. “Are you kidding me? If you leave at the end of summer, he’ll shatter like a porcelain doll.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

She sighed and shook her hair. “When are you going to face the facts? That boy is crazy about you.”

“Crazy is right,” I joked. Then added, “As a friend maybe. Nothing more.”

She shook her head. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he is in love with you.”

“What?” I waved her off. “No way. Apparently he doesn’t do love.”

She shrugged. “Well he does now. He just hasn’t worked it out yet.”

I should have wanted her to be wrong. But part of me hoped she was right. I had to push the thought away before I over analyzed it. What Heath and I had was a friendship. We would never have a love affair. It would ruin what we had when I upped and left.

After two pitchers of Sangria and a whole lot of laughter, we fell asleep sometime after midnight.

I woke up on the couch to the smell of bacon and a shirtless Jesse standing over the hob stirring scrambled eggs. I vaguely remembered hearing him arrive home in the early hours of the morning.

The freshly percolated coffee he handed me was a welcomed sight after the night of alcohol.

“You’re not leading my girl astray are you, Harlow? Up drinking all night and such. I think Heath is starting to rub off on you.”

At the mention of Heath’s name I realized that he would be back too. Even groggy with sleep I felt butterflies let loose in my stomach and couldn’t stop the secretive smile touching my lips.

Piper appeared in her robe and wrapped her arms around Jesse, resting her head on his bare back.

“Heath doesn’t drink anymore, remember,” she reminded him, her voice still sleepy.

“Or anything else. Seems he’s giving up on all his vices.” Jesse said.

When Piper slumped down at the table, Jesse started to serve up the bacon and eggs. He leaned in close to his girlfriend and whispered, “I think the dude is whipped.” And nodded towards me.

I rolled my eyes as I joined them at the table. It was too early to debate my relationship with Heath.

During breakfast, Heath rang Jesse’s cell. He took the call outside and they talked for a few minutes before he came back inside.

“Wow, he really mustn’t want to sleep with you,” Jesse said, putting his cell back in his jeans pocket.

I looked up from my scrambled eggs, not realizing it had been a topic he’d given much thought to.

“Why?” I asked, a little too eager for my liking. Suddenly feeling deflated.

“He just asked us over to his place to watch the game.”

The game being the Boston Red Sox playing Heath’s favorite team, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He was a mad Dodgers fan. Apparently he’d gotten into a fight once with an overzealous Giants fan and the two had landed themselves in the ER needing stitches. All over who was the better team between the Giants and the Dodgers. When Heath was passionate about something, he was usually over the top about it. According to Piper anyway.

“And what does that have to do with Heath not wanting to have sex with Harlow?” Piper asked.

“Because, he never invites girls over to his house. Ever.”

For all the time we had hung out together, I had never been to his home.

“I’ve been there loads of times,” Piper said.

Jesse flicked her a look. “Girls he intends to sleep with.”

“I would assume that’s why he would invite girls back to his house,” I suggested.

Jesse shook his head. “I’ve known Heath for most my life and not once has he ever invited a girl around to his house. He doesn’t want them knowing where he lives. Once he’s …” He looked apologetic. “You know … been with them … he doesn’t want them just dropping in. He has enough problems with girls stalking him at The Palace and the venues we play at.”

“Talk about an occupational hazard,” I muttered, returning to my magazine, preferring to read about the bizarre OCDs of some Hollywood celebrities, than to talk about Heath and his conquests.

“So what do you think?” Piper asked.

“About Heath’s lack of sexual interest in me?” I flicked the page of my magazine. “Great!”

“No, about going to watch the game at his place this afternoon?”

The day stretched ahead of me with no plans. “Sure. Why not.”

* * * * *

We stopped at Trader Joes for Cheetos and Budweisers along the way and then a short drive later, Jesse pulled up his Charger out the front of a nice brick and tile home on Baltimore. The house was partially hidden from the street by palm and jacaranda trees, but I could see it had a large, covered-in porch out the front and large stone steps down to the grass. A Harley and an old beat-up van sat in the driveway, alongside a mean looking black Dodge Challenger.

The front door was open and I could hear the sound of the television.

When Jesse called out, a guy who was obviously Heath’s brother appeared in the doorway.

It had to be Leigh. He was an older version of Heath with the same lift-you-off-the-floor-and-dump-you-on-your-ass-smile, dark spiky hair and bright blue eyes.

Like Heath he had killer dimples, although not as deep. A massive Celtic tattoo curled around his right bicep and crawled across his shoulder to his well-chiseled chest. The words “All or Nothing” curled across his collarbones. Strong forearms flexed as he undid tape from around his knuckles and I remembered Heath telling me he was training for an MMA championship. He had also mentioned that Leigh travelled a lot for his sport and was rarely at home when he was in town because he was usually at the gym. But sometimes he trained in the home gym that was under the house.

His torso was slick from his workout. Sweat glistened on his flawless skin and dribbled down his washboard stomach. He and Jesse shook hands and he greeted Piper with a kiss on the cheek.

When it came to me his baby blues twinkled and he grinned broadly. “So you’re the H-bomb.”

My cheeks went red under his appraisal. “Harlow,” I managed to mumble.

He kissed me on the cheek and I was caught in a cloud of pure male testosterone and the musky scent of his deodorant.

He nodded and stood back, shaking his head and grinning, before saying, “Baby brother.” Like Heath had achieved something monumental.

Whatever. It was obviously some private joke between the two brothers.

“Heath invited us around to watch the game,” Jesse explained walking in, Budweiser’s under his arm and Piper under the other.

“The douche is in the shower,” Leigh said, and then looking at me with a grin added, “Probably prettying himself up for company.”

He led us into the lounge room. The house was an old family home centered around the main lounge room which was huge. Kitchen and dining were to the left, bathrooms and bedrooms to the right. In the center of it all was a massive plasma television that almost took up the entire length of one wall. Three couches were arranged in an L shape in front, for maximum viewing.

“Make yourselves at home guys. Want me to put those in the fridge?” Leigh offered, nodding towards the beers.

As he disappeared into the kitchen, a door in the hallway opened and Heath appeared. Freshly showered he padded out from the bathroom with only a towel hanging off his hips.

Oh.

Hell!

Before I could stop them, my eyes crawled up the length of his flawless torso of thick muscles to the deeply defined perfection of his chest, and across the broad expanse of powerful shoulders.

My mouth fell open. Damp skin still sparkled with water and his short hair was wet and spiky.

I hurriedly dragged my eyes away and shifted awkwardly on the spot, determined not to be affected by him. He would find that amusing. Hilarious even. So I put on my most nonchalant face and feigned disinterest. I wasn’t about to let him see the affect he had on me being so … undressed.

As I drew my eyes up I found his beautiful blue eyes twinkling over at me in amusement.

I tried to look mildly bored. Just so he knew I wasn’t impressed.

But then he smiled at me and I was devastated all over again.

“You came,” he said, almost excited. I couldn’t help but smile because his face lit up as he spoke and he looked so happy. He was a very attentive host. He sat us down and brought us beers and bowls of potato chips and Cheetos.

“Dude … seriously … go put some pants on,” Jesse said, shoving potato chips into his mouth. “And while you’re at it, how about a shirt? You’re making me look bad.”

When Heath disappeared to put on clothes, I heard a female voice down the hall. Within seconds a stunning brunette came around the corner looking effortlessly beautiful in a pair of tight jeans, a red strapless top and lots of accessories. She was incredibly beautiful.

So much for Heath not inviting his girls over.

She smiled brightly at us and then came over to me.

“Hey, I’m Nikki.”

“I’m Harlow.” I smiled back.

Her grin grew bigger and her blue eyes twinkled mischievously. “So you’re Harlow.” Just like Leigh she began nodding as if Heath had achieved something super incredible. “Well. Done. Big. Brother.”

It clicked then. The blue eyes. The cleft in the chin. The defined jaw and flawless brown skin.

This was Heath’s sister.

“Boy, when Heath said you were attractive, he wasn’t lying,” Nikki said as she grabbed a handful of potato chips and perched on the arm of the sofa.

I really didn’t know what to say. Firstly, Heath had spoken to her about me? And secondly, he had called me attractive?

A thrill of excitement made its way through me.

Not knowing what to say, I bit my bottom lip and mumbled, “Thanks.”

Heath reappeared, dressed in army shorts and a black t-shirt that hugged every perfect muscle of his chest and shoulders. His hair was still damp and he smelled like fresh deodorant and soap.

“I’ve met your girl Heath. You didn’t tell me she was so beautiful,” Nikki teased. Her eyes sparkled with mischievousness as she popped a potato chip into her mouth.

Heath shot her a warning look. “She’s not my girl, Nikki.”

“Really? Because the amount of times you talk about her—”

“Don’t you have a date or something?” Heath interrupted, obviously trying to put an end to his sister’s amusement at his expense.

She shrugged. “It can wait.”

“I wish it wouldn’t,” Heath replied.

Nikki sighed and stood up. “Fine. I’ll be back later. Enjoy the game.” Once again her bright blue eyes found mine and crinkled with amusement. “It was lovely to meet you Harlow.”

I nodded and smiled. “Thanks, you too.”

Leigh re-joined us after his shower and promptly took over one of the couches.

With Jesse and Piper on the other couch, Heath and I had to share the remaining one. When he grabbed my feet and put them over his legs, I didn’t stop him.

The game started, and Heath decided to explain baseball to me. I didn’t have the heart to tell them my brother played pro-ball and that I’d been raised on a steady diet of Braves and Sand Gnats. It was as if he believed I was raised wearing ribbon and bows. Like I was sugar and spice and all things nice.

Truth was, I had an older brother and older cousins and we liked to get up close and personal with mud. My youth wasn’t spent in a parlor, primped and perfumed with my hair perfectly coiffed. It was spent climbing trees, fishing local creeks and playing ball in the large fields that surrounded our home.

Primping and perfuming didn’t start until I needed a bra. When playing with my brother, cousin and the local boys became inappropriate. And my life became about appearances, high teas and bullshit social expectations.

When one of the Sox hit a foul ball and Heath started to explain what was happening, I told him I’d played baseball before. I just didn’t tell him how much I had played.

Surprised, he threw me the baseball he was chucking between his hands.

He scoffed. “You know how to play ball?”

Offended by his automatic disbelief in my ball abilities, I cocked a brow and my eyes narrowed and twinkled mischievously. “Baby, I was born to play ball.”

His lips twitched. “Well, you might just have to prove that to me.”

“Another bet?”

He smirked. “You’ll lose.”

I shook my head. Game on. “I don’t think so.”

He leaned closer, trying to intimidate me. “I swung a bat before I could walk.”

I threw the ball back to him. “What’s wrong Heath, scared you might lose?”

He laughed. “Okay, Mickey Mantle, I’ll call your bluff.”

To Heath’s displeasure the Sox beat the Dodgers, which inspired him to take on our bet and prove a point. We decided to hit the local sports field for a friendly ball game.

It was late afternoon when we arrived. Heath. Me. Jesse and Piper. Leigh. Armie and Kelsey, whose relationship was currently in the on position. Nikki turned up as we were leaving the house, and joined us too. It was going to be girls against boys so there was a fair bit of good natured sex against sex rivalry.

My girls and I were going to bat first.

Time to show Heath there was a little more to me than cashmere and pearls.

* * * * *