Bayou Stix Series: Bayou Stix Limited Edition Box Set (82 page)

Liam looks at me and smiles.

I look from Cruz, to Dade, to Liam. I have no idea what just happened, but I need some air. My hormones are going crazy and standing this close to Liam after all that has me ready to jump him. Damn my brother’s intrusion. Yes, I need some air.

Smoothing my shirt down, I pat my hair, which is out of my clip and around my shoulders and I say to the room at large with a strained smile, “Excuse me, guys. I need to use the restroom.” Then leaving all three of them looking after me, I exit the kitchen, and race up the stairs as if the hounds of hell are pursuing me.

In a way they are… after that scene with Liam in the kitchen, I fear I’ve opened Pandora’s Box.

Liam

D
own boy. What the hell was that? It feels like my body is attached to a livewire. I can’t believe I’ve been naked with Clove before and I don’t remember it. According to her, she doesn’t hate me and she responds to me like a dream. I have to make it up to her.

God, please don’t let Dade hit me. Although I deserve it. Shit! Time to face the music.

As I turn back to Dade after watching Clove walk out of the kitchen, I’m not sure what I’m going to find. He’s also looking down the now empty hall. He turns back to me and just stares.

Is he mad?

Cruz breaks the silence as he pulls out a chair from the dining room table and plops into it. Dade and I both look at him. He says, “Sorry, I’m not leaving. Whatever is about to go down, I’m staying here to make sure neither one of you hurts the other.”

Dade chuckles. I look at him and he arches his brow. His eyes are the same as Clove’s. That’s weird. He still says nothing, just watches me.

I ask, “You going to hit me?”

He stares at me a bit longer and then inhales and looks away. He turns back, “Do I need to hit you?”

I shrug. “I dunno. I was just kissing your sister… Again…”

He nods, “Yeah, you were. Get that out of your system this time?”

I look at him incredulously. “What? Did I get it out of my system? Dude, are you serious?! I just kissed
your sister
! Again! In your house! And you’re asking me about it like I just satisfied my craving for crawfish!”

Dade, says, “Why does that piss you off? Thought it wasn’t happening again.”

I throw my hands up in the air and face him, “Yeah well, I changed my mind and she’s your sister! You don’t care that I just had my hands all over her and my tongue in her mouth?!”

He chuckles. “I didn’t say that.”

“Well, what the fuck are you saying? You don’t care that people kiss your sister? You do care? What the hell, dude?” My neck is tight and my head starts hurting.

I want to go after Clove. I need to talk to her. I look down the hall in the direction of the stairs.

Dade sees me looking down the hall. He chuckles again and when I whirl on him, with my eyes flashing, he laughs outright. “Calm down. What I’m saying is that I don’t care if
you
kiss my sister.” My jaw goes slack. “Liam, come on. Y’all have been dancing around each other for months. I didn’t know for sure if it would work out, but you are my friend and she’s my sister. I love you both. I gave you the opportunity to see if there was something there. If what we walked in on is any indication, then we were right, and something is.”

He wouldn’t be saying that if he knew how I’d treated her in the past. He’d for sure want to hit me then. But is he saying he
wants
me to pursue his sister. He knows me. Is he crazy?

I ask him point blank, “You know me. You know exactly how I am, so are you telling me I can date Clove?”

I take him by surprise with that. I take me by surprise too.

Do I want to date Clove?

Yes, I think I do. Hell if I have the first clue about how to do that though…

Cruz is watching us raptly. Dade swallows. “I
do
know you. Which is why I trust you.” He asks me, “Do you want to date Clove?”

I’m in shock.
He trusts me?! With his sister?!
Without stopping to think it through, I nod. “Yes. I want to date Clove. I’m just not sure she’ll want to date me…”

Dade sighs, “Liam, she’s different as you know and she’s also sweet and a lot to handle. She’s a handful. Add in the fact that she’s also pregnant… I’m just saying make sure. I don’t want to see her get hurt here. Make sure this is something you really want and it’s not just you trying to win a challenge. If you break her heart,
then
I will hit you.”

Looking at him, I take it in, but I’ve already thought it all through and I know that I want to do this. I can do this. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, but she can teach me.

I have to laugh at myself. A woman is going to teach me something.

As I make my decision, I nod at Dade. “I know all of this. I’ve been through it all in my head over and over. I’m not used to this, but I would never intentionally treat her badly. You know that, right?” He nods. “I want to see what’s going on here. And I know she’s a handful. I like that about her. Now, I just have to convince her to take a chance on me…” From the corner of my eye, I see Cruz smile.

Dade laughs and says, “Well, you can’t do that as long as you’re down here.”

I turn towards the stairs and realize for the first time ever, I’m nervous about a woman. But, it’s ok. I am nervous, but I’m also determined. Things mean more when you have to work for them.

Heading down the hall and up the stairs, I hear Dade call out, “Good luck, Liam.” He chuckles.

Yeah, luck is something I’m going to need a shit ton of. I don’t think my pretty face and sexy smirk are going to work for me this time.

Her door is closed. Wiping my hands down my pants to dry them off and giving myself a pep talk, I knock.

I hear, “Yeah?” from inside the room and I try the knob. It’s unlocked.

Let’s do this.

Walking in, I see her. She’s standing on the balcony off of her room with a brush in her hand combing the now long strands of hair as she looks into the dusk.

She sees who it is and the brush falls to the floor. Walking over, I pick it up and place it on the dresser as I look at her. She has a habit of dropping things around me.

She swallows and looks away. “It’s you. Sorry. I thought it was Dade. Wha- What are you doing up here?”

Time to convince her. I don’t have a speech planned, so I just go into it and hope she listens and agrees. A lot is at stake here.

“I came to talk to you, obviously.” She opens her mouth as if to say something, but I talk fast to cut her off. I don’t want her shooting me down before I even get a chance to say what I want to say. “Clove, I’ve kissed you multiple times now. And you kissed me back. For the past few years, I haven’t known why you changed towards me, but I do now. I understand. And I’m sorry.” My hands go into my pockets so I don’t touch her. I really want to touch her. “I honestly don’t remember that part of the night. I was so drunk. But I know that I found you attractive back then.” Her eyes widen and she shakes her head in denial. I nod. “I did. But you were eighteen and Dade’s little sister. I wasn’t… I didn’t want to go there. I would never have let you be a one night stand. I hope you realize that. I liked you. I like you now. Something is going on here. I like you and you’re attracted to me. I know I’m attracted to you. I’m not good at this and I have never had to work to woo a woman in my life. But I will.” I shrug, “I’ll woo… you. If I have to.” Looking deep into her apprehensive eyes, I go in for the kill. “I’d like to date you. I don’t know how to date, so you’ll have to help me with that. I want to date. I want to get to know someone on a deeper level. But not just anyone. I want to date
you
. I know you’re going through a lot and I know there’s a lot that’s new in your life, but I’m ok with all of that.” She’s still rapt at attention, she’s listening. “Can I take you out to dinner? Would you, fuck, this sounds stupid, but, would you like to go on a date? With me?!”

She’s looking at me like I’m crazy. Does she think I’m crazy? Am I crazy for thinking I can date someone?

But she’s not someone. She’s Clove. Holy shit, that was nerve wracking. That was probably the most stressful thing I’ve ever done in my life.

Is she going to answer me or just stare at me like I’m the gorilla man at the circus?

Did I completely fuck that up?

Get it together, Liam. You’re a fucking twenty-seven year old, world famous rock star, not a sixteen year old asking a cheerleader to the prom.

She continues to look at me. Finally, her shoulders relax and she says, “You don’t have to do this, Liam. You kissed me. It’s ok. I kissed you back. You’re sexy as sin and I have always had a crush on you. But, you know that. Or, you know that now.” It’s her turn to shrug. “I’m fine. You don’t have to ask me out.” She laughs. “I’m glad you’re ok with all that’s ‘going on in my life’, because I’m not sure I am. Let’s see… I live in my brother’s house. I’m pregnant for a criminal. I admitted to you that we’ve been intimate and you don’t even remember it. In a few months, I’m going to have a huge belly that will have a tiny little person that I am solely responsible for in it. I’m going to be hormonal, even more so than now, and I’m probably going to get fat. So, no, you don’t have to do this.”

Is she saying no? She can’t say no.

“I’m not asking you to strip naked and jump on me.” I waggle my eyebrows at her and she blushes. I love that about her. “Though I might like to see if my imagination is as vivid as it appears on that front. I’m asking you to dinner. To let me take you out. On a date. Can you do that? Is that something you want to do?” Her cheeks are a pretty shade of pink. I have the urge to kiss her again.

She shrugs. “Why?”

“Why what?” I ask.

“Why do you want to ‘date’ me? A few days ago, you couldn’t stand me and now suddenly you want to take me to dinner. It’s weird.”

Chuckling, I answer her. “You push my buttons. You don’t fall at my feet. You’re beautiful and good and I think you’re worth the attention I’ll have to put in to make this work. But, I’m willing to do it. I want to do it. I want you to show me how.”

Her cheeks get pink again and her brown eyes crinkle at the corners as she tries not to laugh. “Yes, because I’m an expert at successful relationships. I mean I lost my virginity in a car to a guy I dated for a couple of months and it sucked. Then, he stopped calling me. I got naked with you and you passed out and didn’t remember it. And let’s not forget I am now pregnant for a man who cheated on me and is in fact a criminal. I have a stellar record!”

I try to keep a straight face, “Well, that’s two more relationships than I’ve ever had.”

She snorts in laughter. I think it’s adorable. She laughs heartily. “Yes, well this is true.” Then her face sobers. She walks over to me and stops right in front of me. I’m so much taller than she is; she has to crane her neck to look up. Her hand touches my cheek. “Liam, you can hurt me. I don’t mean like a little middle school heartbreak. I mean like you can crush me. I’m not like the women you sleep with. I’m not a model or actress. I’m just a normal girl. I have serious insecurities and I’m not worldly. I can’t compare to any of them.”

What do I need to say here to make her get it?
She just admitted to me she has feelings for me. Does she even realize that? She has feelings for me. Like actual feelings. Am I ready for that? Do I want that from her? I can hurt her. I can really hurt her. And everyone is right, it’s not just about her. I think she’s willing to give me a chance though. The temptation to be something more than Liam Christianson, the Bayou Stix rocker, is right here. It’s mine if I want it. And looking into her face, I really want it. Do this, Liam. This is your chance to really see what Jude and Jessie have found. Take it!

I’m taking it.

Reaching out, I wrap my arms around her waist and her breath hitches. Pulling her close, I softly whisper, “There is no comparison between them and you. You’re right. You’re not like them. You don’t compare to them.” She frowns. I tap the tip of her nose. “You’re original and I wouldn’t want to take this chance with anyone
but
you. So, what do you say, Clove? Will you have dinner with me?”

She’s quiet for a long time. I think she’s about to shoot me down, but she smiles and I see the mirth in her eyes. “Ok.”

Ok? She said yes? My stomach is jumping around. She said yes. Why does her simple “ok” make me so damn happy?

I nod and smile at her before leaning in to kiss her. She stops me with a finger on my lips. I look at her in question. She whispers, “Ok, but I’m not jumping into bed with you.”

I chuckle and swoop in for the kiss.

Once we come up for air, she rests her head on my chest and I lean down and breathe in her hair. I murmur in her ear. “Ok, I’m good with that. No sex until you tell me you’re ready. I’m more of a fan of bouncing than jumping anyway.” I wink.

Her face turns crimson and I chuckle as I say, “Now, how about that dinner? I’m starving.”

She nods and shoos me out of her room so she can change and I whistle all the way down to the kitchen where I encounter two very nosey men.