“Yeah, okay,” she says, calling my bluff. “I get it, believe me. Try being around Quinn’s dad, Liam, JD, Ben, and Noah. There isn’t a lack of eye candy in that group, that’s for sure. And don’t get me started on the wives and Quinn’s sisters. Everyone in their circle is gorgeous and perfect.”
Lovely.
“Who’s Ben?” I ask, changing the subject.
“Elle’s fiancé. He does all the band’s promo and advertising.”
For some reason it’s a huge relief to know Elle has someone. “I thought she was Ajay’s girlfriend.”
Nola shuts the back of the Wrangler and adjusts the bag in her hand. “They’re like siblings. Quinn’s parents have sort of adopted Ajay.”
I remember him telling me about his first real Christmas with them and while I was happy he had that, knowing it had never happened before broke my heart. Thinking about his parents infuriates me.
“You’ll probably be overwhelmed when you meet everyone, but it’s one huge family.”
“Who says I’m meeting everyone?”
Nola chuckles. “I said the same thing when I started dating Quinn.” We walk a little way until she stops. “Why does Ajay call you Whiskey?”
“My name is actually Jameson. Everyone but Ajay calls me Jamie.”
“It’s a cool nickname.”
“It’s not a nickname though. It’s just his name for me and I’d probably punch anyone else if they ever tried to use it. It’s only his.”
“That’s really sweet. I’m really Eleanora, but when I moved to Los Angeles, I called myself Nola. It stuck, unless you’re with my parents and then everything is prim and proper,” she rambles on until we get back to the guys. Ajay meets us half way and takes the bag from my hands. I wish I could say the band changed him for the worse, but ever since I’ve known him, he’s never let me carry anything if his hands were empty.
Our little space on the beach turns out to be pretty cool. We have enough shade to keep us from burning, a cooler stocked with water, soda, and beer. There’s music playing and when a Sinful Distraction song comes on, I find myself singing right along with Nola.
“Whiskey, you surprise me,” Ajay says from behind me. As if on cue, my body betrays me and all I want is for him to touch me even though I know it’s wrong.
“Why’s that?” I ask through the lump in my throat.
“Because from the way you acted last week, I would’ve thought you never heard of my band or didn’t know it was my group.”
I adjust slightly so I can look at him. He’s so fucking hot with his tanned skin and small pebbles of sweat on his chest. “I blame Dhara, she tells me everything. At first, I resisted…”
“And now, Whiskey? Are you going to resist?”
For the love of all things holy, please tell me he’s talking about music.
“Ballard, I rented us some surf boards, let’s go.” Our moment is interrupted by Quinn. I want to scream at him for his imperfect timing and thank him all the same because I need a drink... preferably something cold. Of course, watching him walk away with a board under his arm isn’t exactly helping my situation.
21
Ajay
I should be pissed that Quinn took me away from Whiskey, however I’m thankful for the reprieve. As much as I hate to admit it, I need a break from her because I’m the guy that wants to forget the last seven years and pretend like I never left. I want to show Whiskey the man I’ve become instead of having her remember the boy I was.
Quinn and I paddle out and wait… and wait… for the waves to grow, but they never seem to take shape or start to swell. The water isn’t choppy and doesn’t seem ideal for surfing.
“I think we’re wasting our time,” I tell him, looking around for the other guys I saw earlier. Most are doing exactly the same thing as Quinn and I, just sitting on our boards.
“It’s like the ocean is speaking to us,” he says.
I scoff and look over at him. “Are you spouting some weird hippy shit?”
He laughs. “No, honestly that just slipped out. This shit’s an omen, man. I’m going back in.” Quinn lays forward on his board and maneuvers until he’s facing the beach. I follow and start paddling, only looking back a few times to see if the waves have changed. Quinn’s right, it’s an omen. Of what, I’m not so sure. Maybe this is the calm before the storm, and I make a mental note to check my phone to see if a hurricane is brewing out near Bermuda or something.