Only The Beginning (Rockin' Country) (24 page)

LMAO! She’s a tiger in the morning before coffee. Good luck buddy! It’s a grande (venti if she’s really bad) light caffe vanilla WITH the whipped cream. You might get an extra shot in it too. It just depends on how she is.

With the order on his phone, he walked to the bathroom. “Hey, I’m gonna go get your coffee. Do you want anything else?”

“Some breakfast if you get some. I don’t care what, but I’m starving,” she shouted over the sound of the water.

Her voice already sounded much more awake. “All right, I’ll grab something then. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

“Garrett,” he heard as he turned out of the bathroom. He turned back around and saw her sticking her head out of the shower, her hair plastered against her head. She looked like a drowned rat, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Yeah?”

“C’mere.” She moved her index finger in a come hither motion.

He stopped in front of her and tilted his head to the side, giving her a grin. “Whatcha want, grouchy?”

She rolled her eyes and leaned in, giving him a quick kiss. “Thank you for my coffee.”

“You’re welcome, Princess,” he laughed.

“Princess?” She wrinkled her nose. “What the crap?”

“You act like a princess in the morning. It’s okay though. We all have our little quirks,” he told her as he backed away.

She flicked water at his back, causing him to run when it splashed against his arms. “You better run.”

*     *     *

As she got out of the shower, Hannah grabbed her phone to see that she had a few texts from Shell and one from Marie. As she read Shell’s, her face burned.

So please tell me that you’re getting some tonight?? Jared is being a gentleman and I think that at least one of us should be having a good time!

The next one came about thirty minutes after that.

No response, I’m assuming there’s some bow chicka bow wow goin’ on since it’s still early and your phone is surgically attached to you.

A few hours later, there was another.

Must have been good if you haven’t picked the phone back up yet.

Hannah snorted, pushing her face into her hands. She loved Shell, but sometimes it was scary how well the other woman knew her. Scrolling through her texts, she came to the one from Marie.

If you want, Kevin and I are hitting the pool around 9 this morning. We’d love to spend some time with you guys. Maybe we could play tourist until you have to go get ready for your show tonight? Just let me know!

She figured Garrett wouldn’t mind if she answered for the both of them. Hitching her towel around her chest, she typed out a reply.

Sounds great! Garrett went to go get coffee and breakfast. We’ll be done in just a few. Just let us know where you are and I would love to play tourist! Mind if I invite Shell and Jared??

Throwing her phone on the bed, she went over to her suitcase and grabbed a bikini along with a pair of shorts and the shirt that read Reaper’s Girl. She laughed, getting a kick out of it herself. If the soreness between her thighs was any indication, she definitely was his girl. As she put on her bikini, the door to the suite opened, and she heard Garrett throw his stuff on the counter.

“I’m back,” he yelled, glancing up as he saw her walking into the living area. “If you could just live in one of those, my life would be made,” he grinned, grabbing her around the waist and kissing her cheek.

She blushed. “You’d probably like it better if I was just naked, but your mom texted that she and your dad are at the pool and asked if we wanted to join,” she told him as she grabbed her coffee and took a large drink off of it. “That’s the good stuff,” she sighed.

“You just drank that like an addict getting a hit from a pipe,” he told her, raising his eyebrows. “Why weren’t you like this before?”

“I’m only like this if I don’t get enough sleep, and given the number of times you woke me up last night,” she threw him a look, “I really didn’t get a whole lot.”

A small smile played across his lips as he set out a bowl of fruit for her along with some bagels and cream cheese. He hadn’t been exactly sure what she wanted, but he’d seen her eat fruit on several occasions. “You didn’t seem to mind it too much, Princess.”

She opened the bowl and popped a strawberry in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. “Didn’t say that I minded it, just said I didn’t get much sleep. I’m much more awake now though. I just gotta do something with my hair, and then we can head down as long as you’re ready.”

He nodded, taking a huge bite of the bagel he had spread cream cheese on, chewing slowly, and then he held up a finger. After he swallowed and took a drink from a bottle of orange juice, he answered. “Just gotta change into some swim trunks.”

“You probably wanna grab an extra shirt, your mom wants to play tourist before I have to get ready for the show tonight,” she told him as she took her bowl of fruit with her to the bedroom and set it on the dresser.

He watched as she took a brush to her hair and pulled it all to the side, then used her fingers to plait it. It was interesting to watch her, he had no idea how women did these types of things. “My hair would be in such a knot,” he told her as she secured the end with a hair tie.

“What’s funny is if I don’t do this, my hair will probably be in a knot.”

“I need you to do something for me,” he told her as he turned his back to her.

“Okay.” She stood there, unsure of what he wanted her to do.

“Be honest, do I have scratches on my back? I don’t want my mom to see that. We’re open, but seriously, I wanna keep that between us. It’s kinda private.” He turned his head around so that she could see him. His cheeks were a little pink as he pulled the shirt over his head.

“You’re gonna have to bend down, I can’t see,” she stood on her tip toes as he bent down towards her. “You do, but it’s not too bad. I’m so sorry.” She bit her thumbnail. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

“No,” he told her. “I’m glad you did. You had a good time, I had a good time, I just don’t know that I want my parents to know how much of a good time we had. You get what I’m sayin’?”

“I do and I understand, but won’t people question why you’re keeping your shirt on?”

“Nah, I’m self-conscious too, ya know?”

“That is the biggest line of bull I have ever heard, but I’ll cover for you if you need me too,” she laughed, as she put her shirt and shorts on.

She went over to where her bag was and put another pair of shoes in it, along with a brush, some makeup, her wallet, sunscreen, and another shirt just in case. “I’m ready when you are,” she told him as she put the bag on her shoulder.

“You mind putting my wallet in there?” he asked as they walked to the living area.

She disposed of her empty bowl of fruit, and he held out his last bite of his bagel to her. Looking at it, she shrugged and then let him shove it in her mouth. “Sure,” she told him as she took his wallet and put it in her bag. “Shell and I still have that cabana rented.” She held up the key that would allow them to get into it. “So our stuff should be fine.”

“Sounds good, don’t forget your coffee.” He pointed to her still frosty cup.

“Not on your life, buddy. This venti will get me through the day.”

He opened the door for her, holding it open with his back. “And here I thought that I got you through the day.”

“Ha! You’re thinking way too highly of yourself right now, Garrett Thompson,” she teased, pulling her phone out of her bag. It was buzzing at her. She scrolled through her message. “Jared and Shell are downstairs too, and they’re hanging out with us today.”

“Awesome,” he nodded. “Wonder if they had a good time last night.”

“Not as good a time as Shell wanted to have apparently,” Hannah mumbled under her breath.

“What?” he asked, grabbing her hand. “I didn’t quite hear that.”

“Apparently Shell was all for a little getting to know you time, and Jared was too busy trying to be a gentleman.”

Garrett threw his head back with a laugh. “Oh my God, you just wait until I get him alone. The way I’m going to bust his balls is going to be epic.”

“You be nice. Maybe he was trying to impress her and be good.”

He leveled his gaze on her, a mocking grin on his face. “Jared Winston is a lot of things, and good has never been one of them. This is going to be great!”

He was still laughing as they hopped the elevator that would take them down to the pool.

*  *  *

“A
bout time y’all made it down here,” Shell yelled from her place on a lounge chair in the cabana. Obviously, she too had remembered they still had it.

“We had to eat,” Hannah told her as she set their bag on one of the tables and then went over to greet Marie and Kevin.

“Yeah,” Garrett grinned down at Jared, speaking a little more softly to him. “Some of us worked up appetites last night.”

Shell laughed from where she lay on the lounge chair, shooting Garrett a thumbs-up. “You, sir, are a good man.”

Jared hit Garrett on the back. “Asshole,” he mumbled, throwing his hands up as Garrett moaned.

“Are you two beating each other up?” Marie asked as she stuck her head around Hannah.

“Mama Thompson, you think I’m gonna beat your baby boy up in front of you?” Jared pulled a face. “Noooo, never.”

“You two behave over there.” She pointed at the two of them.

“We will,” Garrett told her, flipping Jared off before he turned to face his parents.

“Pussy,” Jared mumbled under his breath.

Shell laughed at the two of them as she sat up and looked at Hannah. “Come out into the pool with me. There’s a lazy river on the other side.”

“Anybody wanna come with us?” Hannah asked politely. When they all declined, she shed her clothes and quickly put her sunscreen on before she grabbed her sunglasses. “We’ll be back,” she told them.

The group waved at them as they made their way out into the general public area of the pool.

“So, how was your night?” Shell asked as they walked towards the entrance of the lazy river.

“I should have known you didn’t just want to have a conversation, you were wanting to be nosey.”

“Like you wouldn’t be if it was me,” Shell smirked.

Two people vacated their tubes and handed them to Hannah and Shell. Within minutes, they were floating along on the river. “My night was great,” Hannah finally admitted.

“I won’t embarrass you by asking for details. Obviously, you’re going to remain pretty close lipped about it, but just tell me this. Was it better than with Ashton?”

Hannah snickered. “Ashton who?”

Shell held her hand up for a high five. “That’s what I’m talking about. I’m so excited for you. Now you’ll understand what other women are talking about when they rave about their sexual experiences. I always felt sorry for you about that.”

“I felt a little sorry for myself,” Hannah admitted as she took a drink of the coffee she had brought with her.

Turning herself around in her tube, Shell faced Hannah. “I’m just gonna come right out and say how excited and happy I am for you. I really hope this works out for you. You deserve the best, and I’ve seen a change in you—for the better. You don’t look so tense; you seem to be a little more comfortable in your skin. It looks good on you.”

“It hasn’t taken long has it?” she asked, realizing she and Garrett had only been involved for a little over a month.

“It never does when it only takes one person to bring it out of you. I was just waiting on that person to meet you. I’ve been hoping for it for a while.”

“What the world are you talking about, Shell?” Hannah asked, confusion apparent on her face.

“Ashton took a lot more from you than I think even you realize. You haven’t been the same. I love you because you’re my best friend, you’re the sister I never had, but you got scared. You were no longer that girl who decided to jump before you asked how high. You didn’t take those risks anymore that left us laughing and asking how we didn’t get arrested. There was no more of that,” Shell explained.

“I’m sorry,” Hannah started to apologize.

“No, please don’t apologize. That’s not at all why I’m saying this to you; I’m not trying to make you feel bad at all. All I’m trying to do is to tell you how excited I am to see you coming back. To see that you’re still in there and Ashton didn’t snuff out the fire that makes you Hannah.”