Before You (Before You #1)(5)
“Who’s going to tell her? She doesn’t know anyone here, and it’s only a month,” Cam replied with a blithe shrug.
Frustrated with Cam’s flippant response, he let Cam’s question hang uncomfortably in the air for a few minutes, and instead of answering, he took a drink of his bourbon, eyeing Cam over the rim of the short glass.
“Are you trying to tell me something, Jax?” Cam said, trying to fill the awkward silence.
“Nope. I don’t care how you treat your girlfriend as long as it doesn’t interfere with the band. The band is my only priority. Don’t f*ck it up,” Jax replied finally.
“You’re right,” Cam said, shoving his hands in pockets. “But wasn’t that my line? I’m the one managing the business side of the band.”
“If you say so, but don’t forget to manage your personal life. I don’t want some drama unfolding that jeopardizes the band’s future.”
“I’m not stupid, Jax. I know what I’m doing. I’m going to marry Bre, and I’m not going to let anyone or anything interfere with that. I just need to have a few flings to get it out of my system before I commit.”
“A few?” Jax mocked. “Go ahead and tell yourself that if it makes you feel better.” Jax shook his head. He was being ridiculous. He didn’t know Bre. He never would. “What you do doesn’t make any difference to me. You’re my friend and I’ll have your back as long as it doesn’t mess with the band.”
Cam cleared his throat and looked away momentarily. “Bre has goals of her own, too. She’s not some clingy, insecure girl that’s going to cause trouble.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Jax and Cam stared at each other, locked in some sort of silent war.
“Hey, what are you two talking about? It looks serious,” Bre interrupted.
“Nothing, Bre,” Cam replied, letting out a weighted breath. “Jax, why don’t you introduce Bre to the rest of the guys? I need to talk to the manager about our performance this weekend and get our check.” Cam started walking away and then stopped. “Don’t believe anything that falls out of Jax’s mouth. He’s a player. Don’t trust him.”
Jax laughed, hitting Cam good-naturedly on his shoulder. The comment pissed him off, but he ignored it, hoping to restore the camaraderie between them. Bre wasn’t his responsibility. He didn’t need to protect her from anything. Cam, on the other hand, was his friend. He spun around, looking for his other two band members, Marcus and Alec, but they either went home or they were otherwise occupied.
He felt Bre’s eyes on him. Still, he pretended he didn’t notice, resisting the urge to return her gaze. He briefly wondered if she felt the connection between them while he was on stage.
He twisted his drink in his hand, watching the melting ice cubes swirl around in his glass. “I thought you got a good enough look at me earlier, and now here you are, shooting me covert glances again.”
“I distinctly recall that you were the one who approached me earlier,” Bre said, placing her hands on her hips.
“I was making small talk. You were the one checking me out,” Jax replied, a flash of amusement in eyes.
“Right, I don’t think so, and if it appeared as though I were studying you, I was just taking precautions in case I needed to describe you to the police later.”
“Oh, come on. It wasn’t that bad.” Jax chuckled, flashing a bright white smile.
“No, but for being a player, those lines were pretty lame.” Bre bit her lip tentatively.
“Ouch. Now I’m wounded,” Jax replied, placing a hand mockingly over his heart. “I always prided myself on being an expert player.”
“You’ll have to find some other title to aspire to. I’m afraid you’ve failed miserably with me.”
Bre laughed, and he joined her, taking pleasure in how relaxed they felt with each other now that all the earlier awkwardness was gone.
“So have you been to LA before?”
“No. Cam always came home to visit me in Colorado, so there was no need to make the trip and I didn’t have much time or money as a student.”
“Ah, so there are probably a lot of things you want to see.”
“If there’s time. Mostly, I came to spend time with Cam. It’s been a long time since we’ve been together. Cam left for LA right after we graduated from college two years ago, and I stayed to finish my Masters degree.”
“So what are you going to do with your degree?”
“I love art, and I would love to be an artist, but I need stability, so I’m going to look for a job in an art gallery.”
“In LA?”
“No, near home. My grandma isn’t well, and I need to stick around to help her.”
“What about your parents? Are they helping?”
“My dad hasn’t been in the picture for a long time, and my mom isn’t exactly nurturing. Even when she’s around, she’s unavailable. I don’t know—she’s one of a kind, and not in a good way.” Bre looked away.
Jax glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as she nervously tucked pieces of her hair back into her messy ponytail. “I get it. My family wouldn’t win any Norman Rockwell contests, either.” Jax saw her studying him with a questioning look, but he didn’t want to explain the pitiable details of his childhood, and based on her vague description of her mother, she understood that he wasn’t amenable to prying, either.