“I told him he could bring Everly. She would love it here,” Jackson adds.
Who is Everly? Shit. I’m an idiot. Of course, this man is straight. “I’m going to leave you guys,” I say and head back to the girls.
“Hey, Derrick, isn’t it?” The deep voice surprises me in the dark. I took a moment to wallow in my singledom, another birthday solo, and this year I don’t have hot strippers to fuck. I might head into The Paradise Club after here to see if that can pep me up. No one should be sad on their birthday.
“Oh hi, Charlie, right?” I answer, surprised to see him.
“It’s a shame you can’t see the stars, they are gorgeous at this time of night,” he mumbles as he looks out over the valley.
“Guessing you see a lot more of them where you’re from.” He smiles at me, and it sends a shiver over my body. Stop it, he is not gay. Remove those thoughts from your mind.
“Millions of them.” He smiles.
“I miss that. At home in Australia, even in the city, you could still see the stars. It’s weird that you can’t here. Honestly, it seems like the first time I’ve looked up and searched for them since moving here.”
“How long have you been living in LA?” he asks.
“A couple of years. This is home now, it’s where my people are. I could never leave them.” Wow. That revelation hit me. I don’t think I’ve ever said that aloud before.
“I don’t know where I belong,” Charlie mumbles.
I turn and look at the man giant, that seems rather vulnerable to say to a stranger. “Isn’t Montana your home?”
He shrugs. “It was once, but now …” He lets the words hang in the night air, never fully finishing his thought.
I’m intrigued. I shouldn’t be because he has a girlfriend. “Is that why you’re thinking about moving to LA with your girlfriend?”
The man mountain grates out a guttural laugh, which is like an earthquake through my body. “Girlfriend? Who said anything about one of them?”
“Jackson mentioned Everly, and I assumed …” Now I feel kind of stupid for saying anything.
“Everly is my sister.”
Oh.
Well, now I feel kind of silly. Still doesn’t mean he’s gay. “Oh, cool, is she going to move to LA too?”
“She might. We are kind of co-dependent at the moment since I came back from overseas,” Charlie explains.
“Guess she missed you.” I smile before quickly looking away because those sparkling blue eyes are so hypnotizing.
“You could say that. She also kind of saved me too.” He muses as he stares off into the distance, there is this calm intensity that he exudes, which makes me want to get close to him.
“These idiots out there did the same for me,” I confess.
“Can’t imagine anyone like you ever needing saving,” he says, placing his thick arms on the fence as he leans against it, my eyes running along the taunt fabric that curves against the tight plains of his muscles, and the way the denim clings to that peachy ass. Didn’t think I had a thing for cowboys, but I do now.
“Anyone like me?” I question him as I lean against the fence.
“You’re so confident and sure of yourself.”
“I’m like a duck on top of the water, it may appear all calm and put together, but if you looked under the water you would see it is chaos. I would give my life for those people out there, because I wouldn’t have one if it wasn’t for them.” Gee, way to make the conversation morbid.
“Jackson doesn’t trust easily, and you have it,” he answers.
“He’s a tough nut to crack, but how could he ignore all this?” I tease, placing my hands under my chin and cracking a joke to hide my anxiety that seems to have bubbled to the surface around this handsome man. He’s flustering me, the way those blue eyes bore into my soul, as if he can read all my secrets.
“How could he?” the sexy cowboy says as he takes a step closer to me. What is happening? Tension cackles around us, and my heart is beating uncontrollably in my chest. “I sure as hell can’t,” he mumbles as Charlie reaches out, grabs my face, and pulls my lips to his. Wait! Is he kissing me? His mouth opens as soft lips meet my own, a gasp falls from my lips, opening them even wider as his tongue explores. The hot cowboy is kissing me. How much have I had to drink? Is the man straight? Bi? No. There’s no way this man is gay. He’s so … rugged, I can feel the calluses on his hands as he grips my neck tightly. The way this man takes charge and moves me to where he wants me, like I’m putty in his large hands, I’m prepared to drop to my knees and call him daddy. Charlie slowly pulls my lips from his and gives me a cocky smirk, like he can read the impure thoughts rushingthrough my mind. Then he tips his fucking cowboy hat at me, wishes me a happy birthday, and disappears.
