Rafe (16 page)

“You do know that if you want Reeve you have to have Skeet.” I point to Skeet, who is still standing stage side with Braxton. “They share, hon. Everything,” I emphasize on the ‘everything.’ “You okay with that?” I nod to the stage.

She shrugs, “I’m good with that.” She smiles at me and I clearly have a shocked look on my face as she adds, “I can share as well, plus they are both smoking hot so I know it’s going to be amazing.” Wow, she doesn’t look like a girl who shares well with others but as my mom always says, ‘Never judge a book by it's cover.’

I stand and wave at Skeet to get his attention. Brax sees me and I signal that I want Skeet. He elbows Skeet and points to me and I beckon him to me. While I'm waiting for Skeet to join us I watch my man on the stage, rocking his bad ass bass guitar and looking sexy as fuck doing it. The three drinks I have had are going straight to my head but what the hay, it’s a party right? He senses me looking at him and meets my eyes. A sexy smile creeps across his face and he winks at me. I wink back and he shakes his head, laughing.

Skeet meets us at the table and I step up to him. He is a really good looking dude, tattoos and bad ass attitude but loyal to a fault. I look between Skeet and the girl. “Skeet, this lovely lady…” Shit, I didn’t even ask her name.

She smiles at us, “Jess.” I nod at her.

“Skeet, Jess would like to meet Inside Noise. Reeve in particular. Do you think you can make that happen?” I ask, as I close in on Skeet. I place my arm around his neck and he wraps his arm around my waist. I lean in and whisper close to his ear, “She wants to share, babe. But I feel like playing, so let’s get her all hot and bothered, shall we?” I pull away and see Skeet has a huge wicked grin on his face.

“I can make anything happen, baby, you know that.” He nuzzles my neck and I laugh. He rests his other hand on
my jaw and pulls me closer. I smiling because I can see the affect we are having on her. “What is she doing, Coop?” he whispers into my ear. I look at Jess, who is watching us. Skeet grips my ass, which happens to be facing the stage. I hear Rafe miss a note and I turn my head to see him frowning at me. I pinch Skeet’s ass and wink at Rafe. I smile and shake my head.

“She is licking her lips and squeezing her thighs together. She is turned on, dude.” We both look at Jess and smile. “You want him, Jess?” She smiles and nods her head. “Ok, honey
, take him. Skeet can take you to meet Reeve when the band has their break…” I am cut off by Rafe talking into the microphone.

“We are going to take a twenty minute break, so grab yourself a drink and we will be back soon.” He jumps off the stage and makes a bee line for me. Shit, he looks pissed. I pull away from Skeet and he goes to stand next to Jess. Skeet nods behind me so I know that Rafe is already there. I turn to face him with the sweetest smile I can muster up.

“Hey, baby. Great show, you guys are awesome.” I kiss his neck but he doesn’t respond to me. I kiss him again and nothing, shit he is mega pissed. I frown at him and pull away. “You not gonna talk to me?” He just looks at Skeet then back to me. “Can I explain at least, or are you just gonna be a dick all night?”

His head snaps back to me. “A dick? Are you fucking with me right now? You were all over Skeet while I’m right fucking there on stage watching you maul him.” Fucking ass.

“Rafe, man listen…” Skeet cuts in but I cut him off.

“Fuck you, Phoenix.” I turn to Maisey and grab my
bag “I’m going back to the bus I will see you guys later, ok?” I stop Gunner as he starts to get up, “Stay.” I walk off without saying anything else. God, I thought he trusted me more than this. I walk around the back of the club and open the bus. I climb in and instantly remove my shoes and throw them. Pulling my dress over my head, I get into shorts and a cami and decide to take the short walk to the beach. I need to calm down. I sit on the edge of the sand and listen to the waves crashing in to the faint beat from Inside Noise playing at Club V. I remember that I didn’t send another photo to Leah so I pull out my phone and KIK her back.

Me: Hey, babe. Sorry I didn’t send you a band pic, shit hit the fan. Rafe is a dic
k
.

I hit send and wait for her response. It only takes her a few minutes to reply.

Leah: Can you Facetime?

God, I love this girl so much. I call her and click Facetime. After a few seconds of connecting, Leah’s beautiful face pops up on the screen.

“Hiya, Juciy, there you are, not seen you in ages.” I laugh. We Facetime a lot since I came back to LA.

“Hey, sweets. I miss you so much. You need to come here and stay with me,” I tell her.

“Aww babe, that would be so cool. I will see if I can take time off work. I could do with a holiday in the sun. We don’t get much here, bloody British weather.” I love her accent, it’s amazing. I love how they call a vacation a holiday some of their wording is weird. We talk for a while, not sure how much time passes, but while I’m talking to Leah I hear my name being called.

“Oh fuck, Leah, Rafe is calling me. He sounds pissed off. What should I do?”

“You need to tell him that he hurt you by not trusting you. Did he honestly think you would cheat on him with Skeet in front of him. He is an arsehole, Juicy, if he thinks that. Tell him bloody straight.” I smile at her.

“Do you want to meet him, well see him here I mean?” I ask her.

“Yeah, go on then.” She smiles.

I call to Rafe and I see him walk over. “What the fuck, Snowflake? You can’t just storm off like that, I didn’t know where you went and I couldn’t find you. Brax couldn’t find you either.” I stare at him and take in his ranting.

“You finished or are you gonna bitch all night? Because if that’s what you are going to do then you can fuck off, right back to the bus. If not, I would like you to meet someone very special to me.” I look at him, confusion crossing his face. Oh, my man.

“I have Leah on Facetime, Rafe, you want to meet her?” He nods and smiles a little. “Good, now be nice, both of you, ok?” Rafe comes to sit next to me and I turn my iPhone around so Rafe and Leah can see each other.

“Rafe, meet Leah Adams, my best friend from South Wales. Leah, meet my boyfriend, Rafe Phoenix.

Chapter 16

Rafe

God, Leah is beautiful. She has chocolate colored hair with the tips dyed blond, with amazing grey eyes. I look at Lucy, then back to Leah. I smile at the girls and shake myself from my thoughts. I wrap my arm around Lucy’s waist as we settle into the sand more.

“Hey, Leah. It’s finally nice to meet you, even though it’s not in person.” I laugh and Lucy kisses my cheek.

“Same to you, Rafe. Lucy has talked shit loads about you but all good until tonight. So wise the fuck up. Don’t hurt her again, Rafe, or I will fly there and kick your hot arse from here to kingdom come, ok?” Wow, she may be small but she is fierce, Reeve would love her. She seems shy but she has got a mouth on her. He would totally see her as a challenge but I think that may not just be a Reeve thing, it might be a Phoenix thing.

“So, Miss Leah, when is my little Welsh cake going to come and visit me? I miss you so much, Leah. Everyone here can’t wait to meet you. The girls are driving me crazy,” Lucy tells Leah. Leah chuckles and Lucy joins in. I kiss Lucy’s temple and I hear Leah gush, it must be a girl thing.

“I promise that I will come and visit soon, ok? I need to sort work and book my holidays. Also there is some shit going down with Marc. I’m sure is he shagging that bitch from the cake shop in town. The one we loved to get cupcakes from, you remember the one?”  Shagging? What the hell does that mean? I jump into the conversation.

“Shagging, what the hell does that mean, Leah?” I am completely confused by the word. Both girls laugh out loud, which causes me to ask. “What? Baby, you do know that I have no clue about English slang, so what the fuck is ‘shagging’?” Lucy bites her lip, fighting the smile creeping out.

“Excuse me, Mr Phoenix, but did you just say ‘English slang’?” I nod and looking between Lucy and Leah. “I am
bloody Welsh, Rafe not English. Just remember that. And to answer your question, shagging is having sex” I smile and nod. Lucy shivers so I pull her tighter to me. I listen to the girls talk about shit that is happening in Wales with Leah and her douchebag of a boyfriend, Marc. This dude is crazy if he is willing to cheat when he has Leah waiting for him at home. She seems pretty awesome plus if Lucy thinks the world of her then that is good enough for me.

“I will come and see you lot soon, let me get everything sorted here and I will email you the details, ok? It might be a few months, though.”

We say goodbye to Leah and I pull Lucy down on top of me as we lay down on the sand. “Baby, I’m sorry for what happened tonight. It was a fucked up thing for me to do. Skeet and Jess explained everything and you're right, I should have let you explain.” I kiss her nose and she wrinkles it.

“It was fucked up but I understand why you acted the way you did. I shouldn’t have gotten so close to Skeet. But I honestly don’t see Skeet like that, baby, only you. I’m sorry.” She lays her head on my chest and looks to the side. I run my fingers through her hair and down her back, my hand just so happening to stop on her perfect little ass. I squeeze and Lucy jerks off me. Landing on the sand next to me, we burst out laughing. I stand and hold my hand out for her and she takes my hand as I pull her to her feet. I pull her flush to my body and kiss the hell out of her. She moans into my mouth and I can’t help but swallow it right up. She makes the most amazing sounds I have ever heard.

“I need to tell you how I feel, Snowflake. I really hope it doesn’t make you run for the hills but I understand if you aren’t ready to say the words yet.” I take a deep breath and continue, “I love you, Lucy Cooper. I have for a very long time now. You make me want to be a better man, my Pop would be so proud that I stepped up and finally won you over. You, Snowflake, are my Inside Noise.”

Lucy just stares at me, looking deep into my eyes and connecting with my soul, I can feel it. My heart aches just a little from her silence. A tear slips down her cheek. I wipe it away with my thumb and lean in to kiss her soft lips.

“Talk about taking my breath away, Phoenix. You really love me that much?” I nod and can’t keep the smile off my face. “Does this mean that I, little old Lucy Sinead Cooper, is the one to tame the man whore that is, Rafe Phoenix?” She smirks up at me. This is so not that way I wanted this to go but hey, she isn’t running.

“A simple ‘I love you too, Rafe’ would have been enough” I smile at her.

She huffs but smiles at me, “Fine. I love you too, Rafe Phoenix, you know I do.” She kisses me and she sighs with content. “Don’t screw me over, Rafe. I won’t survive it again. Losing Dallas and then Shane shredded my heart. Please take care of it.” I kiss her harder and cup her ass. Lifting her up, she wraps her legs around my waist. I break our heated kiss when 30 Seconds To Mars “Closer To The Edge” plays form my back pocket. I keep holding Lucy by her ass and fish the phone out without breaking our kiss. I know its Ryder phoning me. I pull away and answer the phone.

“Yeah, Ry? No I’m with her; she was down on the beach Facetiming with Leah.” I have to stop talking and take in a deep breath as Lucy sucks on my neck. Fuck, she is marking me, damn that is fucking hot. “We are heading back now. Cya in a bit.” I hang up and attack Lucy’s mouth, but stop before we make love here on the beach, which could possibly get us arrested.

We head back to the bus and chat with Ryder for a bit before heading to bed. I need her to be close to me, I felt as though I had lost her tonight after me acting like a dick. I’m happy that we have both taken some fault in what happened tonight, I just hope that for our sakes I don’t fuck up again. We are wrapped around each other in our bunk as Maisey and Gunner are sleeping in the only bedroom. I believe that Reeve and Skeet took that girl Jess back to her house; Ryder said she was rather excited that she gets to take an Inside Noise member home with her. I can only assume that Beck and Trinity are in their separate bunks and Zach and Kenzie are sharing like me and Snowflake. I pull her even closer to me and kiss her head.

“I love you, Snowflake.” I kiss her again and she murmurs back to me.

“Love you too, Phoenix.” I feel her body relax and her breathing even out. It’s been a fun packed day and she is exhausted, hell I think we all are. Sleep takes me and I dream of beautiful blond haired, green eyed babies.

Once everyone is up and awake the next morning, we pack the bus up and head back home. We had an amazing time i
n Vista and I can’t wait to bring Lucy back again one day. The girls are doing girly things in the booth and it’s kind of sexy to see my girl paint her nails a navy blue. Weird I know, but hey, we have our things that set us off. Lucy looks up and catches me staring at her and she smiles.

“Rafe, when we get back home we need to go to Mom and Dad's for lunch, ok?” My heart skips a beat. Shit, I haven’t spoken much to Sam and Emily Cooper since that night in the hospital. We spoke a few times after but that was them making sure that Lucy’s secret was protected. I would have never told anyone about what happened, even if they hadn’t paid my mom a visit. I
wouldn’t do that to Lucy, hell I know how I felt about her back then even. 

“Ok, baby we will go see them today. I have a shit ton of things to do, since the Halloween party is in a few weeks. We are throwing our typical party. So ladies…” I wag my finger at all the girls and smirk, “Your men want to see you in sexy as fuck costumes, got it?” I wink at Lucy.

“We have been planning our costumes for a few weeks now, Rafe. Chill out, I will make sure Lucy looks awesome. Hell, we all will. You boys, won’t know what has hit you when you see us,” Maisey informs me. Oh god, please don’t make Lucy wear the type of costume that will have me fighting every guy at the party.

“Awesome, we look forw
ard to it,” Zach replies, smiling at Kenzie.

The bus journey home is quiet, I can assume it’s because everyone is so tired after the weekend we just had. Reeve and Skeet crashed as soon as they came back from Jess’s house and they haven’t emerged from their bunks yet. We pull up outside my apartment and Tru is there waiting in Snowflake's BMW. Brax and the boys help unload the bus and as I carry Lucy’s bags to her car, I kiss Tru on the cheek.

“Hey, Tru. You had fun this weekend?” She hugs me back and replies.

“I did Hot Stuff. I went to a party Saturday night and met a guy. He seems pretty cool.” She actually blushes. That isn’t Tru Cooper at all, she must like the guy.

“What’s his name, Tru?” She looks towards the ground and plays with her bracelet on her wrist.

“His name is Jackson and he works at Max Point. And before you two freak out, I know he is four years old than me but l
ook at Mom and Dad. Daddy is four years older than Mom and Rafe your dad Johnny was six years older than Mama Phoenix.” Fuck, she had a point. But still, this was Baby Tru Cooper. I was going to need a strong word with Jackson.

“Tru, I’m not sure about this. Jackson is a pretty cool dude but still, sweetness, I can’t help but feel weird about this.” She goes to speak but I stop her, “I’m warning you now, I am going to have a word with him. You’re like a little sister to me, Tru. I not only took on Lucy but you as well. We are family.” Lucy just looks in total awe of me. She is smiling at me and pulls Tru in for a big sister hug.

“Rafe, you just melted my heart all over again.” She reaches up and pulls my lips to hers for a kiss. I open my mouth, letting her tongue dance with mine. We have our own beat, our hearts beat as one.

“Gag.” I look over to Tru and laugh. She is fake gagging. “Get a room pleeeease. I don’t want to see that shit.”

I run my bags up to my room and then join Lucy and Tru in the car. Tru jumps in the back so I can ride shotgun. I am bouncing my knee and playing with my leather Phoenix cuff on my wrist. I glance over to Lucy, who senses me and smiles her beautiful smile. She always makes my world shine brighter, it’s a Lucy thing. She places her hand on my knee to stop the bouncing.

“Baby, you will be fine. They have known you all your life, so just chill out, ok? They are going to love you, just like I do.” I take her hand in mine and raise it to my lips. I kiss the inside of her wrist and think what it would be like to see my name there. I will have to talk to her about that. It would be hot if she had my name permanently on her.

A few minutes later we arrive at the Cooper household. It’s a big white house that is surrounded by tall walls and has a gated entrance, pretty much like Mom's house. Sam and Emily are standing by the door waiting for us to pull up and stop. Tru jumps out of the car and walks over to hug her parents. I climb out and walk around the car to meet Lucy, before heading towards her parents. Lucy takes my hand and gives me a reassuring squeeze. I smile at her and take a deep breath, I have known Sam and Beth all my life but I have never been introduced as their oldest daughter’s boyfriend before. I know that they are going to look and treat me differently now, but hopefully it will be in a good way.

“Hey Mom, hey Dad. You both know Rafe.” Sam offers his hand before I can and I shake it.

“Mr and Mrs Cooper, nice to see you again.” Emily can barely look at me, which strikes me as odd. I don’t think I have done anything to upset her. Have I? I know me and Lucy are a couple now but I thought she liked me.

“
Oh boy you know to call us Emily and Sam. It’s been too long, son. How’s the band going? You’re mom doing ok?” I smile and quickly answer him.

“It has, Sir. The band is doing really well. We are being booked for a lot of shows and our fan base is growing. This we
ekend is proof of that. As for mom, she is doing great managing local bands at Phoenix Records with Uncle Nix. She signed a new band just last week. Dad would be proud,” I smile, knowing my dad would be hugely proud of what my mom has done for the company and us boys.

“Well let’s all get inside and eat something before the food is ruined. We don’t have all day to stand around chatting,” Emily states before turning and walking away. I look at Lucy, who is frowning after her mom.

“Dad? What’s wrong with Mom?” Sam shakes his head.

“C’mon lets go eat, we will have a chat when we sit down.” He walks the way his wife went and we follow.

“I’m sorry, Rafe. I have a clue as to what’s wrong but I thought she wouldn’t be too upfront like that, this isn’t her at all.” Lucy looks so disappointed. I pull her to me and kiss the top of her head.

“Baby, we will go and talk to your parents, let’s just see what happens.” She nods and takes my hand and leads me out to the patio, where everyone is already seated. I take the chair between Lucy and Tru. ’Moral support,’ Tru mouths to me. Lucy puts her hand on top on mine, which is on my thigh and I smile at her. There are plates of all different kinds of foods, which I notice are some of Lucy’s favorites.

“So, how was your weekend?” Emily asks. Lucy stiffens beside me and she sits forward in her seat. I know she is going to confront her mom and I don’t blame her because I would like to know what I have done wrong.

“Really, Mom? You are going to act like you weren't just rude for no reason at the front door? Ok, I will make you a deal. You tell me your problem with my boyfriend and I will tell you about our weekend.” I sit up in my seat and wait for her answer.

Emily shakes her head and looks up towards Lucy and then to me. “It’s nothing personal, Rafe, but I had had to endure watching Sam race around a track in fast cars and get badly hurt so many times. I know you don’t race cars, Rafe, but I have seen you in your car and you do drive reckless at times. You work in a shop so it’s only a matter of time before they ask you to race. I can’t let Lucy go through what I went through.” What the fuck? I have never driven reckless in my life; I love my car and my life.