Perfecting Patience Read online

  We did an encore of our final song when the crowd chanted for more, and by the time we were back on the bus and hitting the interstate back to California, I was too tired to lift my head. Still, I called to tell my snowflake goodnight.

  “I miss you so much,” she answered.

  “I miss you too, baby,” I said as I lay back on my bunk.

  There was a sniffle on the other line and I sat up again.

  “Are you crying?”

  “No,” she said softly.

  “Are you lying?”

  “Yes.” Her sobs got louder on the other end of the line.

  My heart broke. I felt the sudden need to rush to Florida and hold her. This would never do. I needed to be with her and she needed me there.

  “What happened? Did someone hurt you? I’ll kill whoever it was. Tell me who hurt you.”

  My anger rushed through me, causing the hair on my arms to stand on end.

  She giggled a little on the other end. “No, no one hurt me. I just had a bad time in South Carolina. I went to my mom’s grave and on top of all that, I miss you.”

  “As soon as we get off this bus, I’m coming to you. We’re supposed to play a gig at a local place, but I’ll skip it.”

  “No. How about I come to you for a few days?”

  And like that, my night was a million times better.

  “Sounds perfect.” I smiled into the phone. “I’ll call the airport and have a ticket set up for you.”

  I couldn’t wait to call and give them my credit card information for the earliest flight available.

  “I can buy my own ticket, Zeke. I have some money saved. It’ll be fine.”

  I was happy to hear her tears had stopped.

  “Absolutely not. You’re coming to me so I’ll pay. Plus, I owe you money from when you paid my fines.”

  She was quiet on the other line for a bit.

  “You knew about that?” she asked.

  “Of course I knew about it. I know all, baby. So I’m going to call the airport and then I’ll call you back when I have everything set up. Sound good?”

  I could hear her smile through the phone and I felt like I’d won a medal.

  “Sounds great.”

  “Oh, and snowflake?” I grinned to myself.

  “Yeah?”

  “Bring those sexy little gym shorts you used to wear.”

  She laughed. “Deal.”

  Seven

  Patience

  The last thing I packed was my gym shorts. I had a big goofy smile on my face as I zipped up my suitcase and pulled it out to the living room to wait for my cab. Of all the things I could wear to turn on my man, those damn gym shorts seemed to do the trick.

  I called Aunt Sarah and Sydney and let them know I was going out of town for a few days. I promised to come by for dinner as usual when I got back. I tried to catch dinner with them at least two days a week, and I’d already felt like I was slacking.

  I felt nervous about the flight, so I took another valium, thanks to Hope, to get me through. I promised myself I wouldn’t take any more of those things, but it seemed like I was taking at least one a week now. It helped when I felt anxious about something.

  The flight to California took forever, and after switching planes in Houston and sitting through a two-hour layover, I was exhausted and slept through the rest of the trip.

  Grabbing my luggage, I made my way to the spot Zeke told me he’d meet me. I saw him before he saw me. He was leaning against a pole with his arms crossed, looking out at the scenery around the airport. He wore a black T-shirt and dark jeans. His boots were barely tied as usual.

  His dark hair was over his face, and the aviator shades he wore covered his brown eyes. I was almost across the airport to him when he turned and looked my way. His serious expression changed and a sweet smile pulled at his full lips.

  I smiled back and dragged my luggage behind me. He met me halfway, taking all my bags from me, and gave me a soft kiss.

  “You look beautiful,” he whispered in my ear.

  “I highly doubt that. I’ve been stuck on a plane most of the day.”

  “Trust me, baby. I know what I’m talking about here.”

  I followed him out to a car that I didn’t recognize, and he stuffed my bags in the back. I tried to help, but he smacked softly at my hands and told me he had it. He opened my car door for me, but before I could get in, he pushed my hair to the side and kissed me.

  It was the kiss of a starving man, all hot and deep. He drank me in and pushed me over the edge of decency. I tugged on his T-shirt and pushed a hand under it to run my fingers across his hard abs. He released my mouth and hissed and bit down on his lip.

  “Okay, that’s more than I can handle right now.”

  He gave me a pop kiss and shut the door behind me after I climbed in. Once he got inside and cranked up what I could only assume was his new car, he reached out and intertwined his fingers with mine.

  “So where are we going?” I asked.

  “Straight to the show. I’m sorry, I know you’re tired from your flight, but it’ll be nice to have you there while I play.” He squeezed my fingers.

  “No, that’s fine. You know I love watching you.”

  He grinned over at me, then lifted my hand to kiss my fingers. Mine… That’s all I could think.

  The rest of the band welcomed me backstage when we got there, and I sat to the side as the boys prepared for the show and passed around a joint. I didn’t miss the fact that Zeke declined when it came his way.

  He smiled over at me shyly and I smiled back, letting him know I was happy with his decision. Although, with the way I was popping valiums these days, there wasn’t much I could say about what he did to relax.

  I stood to the side of the stage and watched when the band went out. The crowd went wild; the noise lifted the roof and forced me to peek my head from behind the supports. The amount of people staring up at the boys was shocking.

  The first song they played was familiar to me, and I found myself bobbing my head to the music. Every now and again, Zeke would look over at me and wink. I loved watching him play, the way his fingers moved across the strings so effortlessly. The peace that moved across his face when he played was beautiful. I envied that peace.

  A little while later, he was drenched in sweat and playing his heart out. The crowd was crazy and full of crowd surfers. Once, a girl tried to climb up on the stage but was quickly removed. That didn’t happen, however, the second time a girl tried to climb up. She narrowly missed the big guy who was a part of the crew, and she made it on stage.

  She stood waving her hands out at the crowd, and then she ran straight to Zeke and threw herself against him. He jerked back with a smile, but she moved quicker and planted her lips against his. Fire flew through me, and had there not been so many people out in the crowd, I would have gone out there and ripped out her hair. Zeke nicely pushed her away and grinned down at her. His fingers continued to move across his guitar.

  Finally, the girl was taken away and the boys continued to play, but I couldn’t get over Zeke’s smug grin after the girl kissed him. Did he like it? He didn’t seem bothered by her being all over him.

  He continuously peeked over at me, but I wouldn’t look at him. The longer they played, the more pissed off I was. I couldn’t handle these girls being all over him and knowing had some guy done the same to me, Zeke probably would’ve killed him.

  After the show, Zeke came straight over to me. He kissed me on the lips and then pulled back with a big happy smile on his face.

  “Stay here. I’m going to run and clean up a bit. I’ll be right back. Don’t move, okay?”

  I nodded my head and he turned and walked away. His shirt was sticking to him. It’s amazing the sweat they worked up on stage. Thirty minutes later, the stage was still and the crowd was gone. The room was silent as I walked out on the empty platform and ran my fingers across the different instruments.

  Tiny’s guitar was sitting in i
ts stand and when I ran my fingers across the strings, the entire room seemed to vibrate. I snatched my hand back quickly and stepped away. I bumped into something solid and turned around to see Zeke grinning down at me.

  “You like that way that feels?” he asked.

  “What?”

  He reached out his hand and strummed Tiny’s guitar again, and again the stage seemed to vibrate from the bass.

  “That,” he said as he ran a hand up my bare arm.

  I felt my cheeks fill with heat when I caught his meaning, but suddenly I remembered the girl running up on stage and kissing him. The anger peaked again, and I rolled my eyes.

  “I can tell you what I don’t like.” I stepped back.

  He followed me step for step. “And what’s that?” he asked with a raised brow.

  Damn, he was sexy.

  “I don’t like those girls kissing you, but you seemed to like it just fine.” Turning my head away, I swiped at the hair in my face.

  His rough fingers caught my chin and he turned my head to face him again.

  “Are you jealous, snowflake?”

  More anger hit me.

  “No, I’m not jealous. I’m just saying.” I rolled my eyes again.

  “That’s so fucking cute. You’re jealous.”

  I took in a breath, ready to yell at him and deny my bright-green feelings, but before I could speak, he moved in and caught me around the waist.

  “You’re the only girl I want. Do you trust me when I say that?” he asked.

  Swallowing hard, I shrugged my shoulders instead of answering.

  “Do you?” His fingers dove into my hair and I almost purred out loud. “I need you to trust me, baby, and if you do, I promise I’ll never do anything to break that trust.”

  Leaning in, he placed his warm lips against mine, and I forgot all about the girls who ran half-naked across the stage. Who cares what they did? He was mine.

  He slowly walked me backward until the back of my knees hit something hard.

  “So tell me, snowflake. Do you trust me, pretty girl?”

  Again, his hand moved down my bare arm and his fingers caught mine.

  “Yes,” I whispered.

  “Good. Now, let me play for you.”

  His tongue slid across my bottom lip before it slipped into my mouth. Minty sweetness invaded my tongue, and I moaned softly against his mouth. I didn’t flinch when he slowly started to push me down into a seated position. What was hard behind my knees was now hard underneath me as I sat.

  He broke the kiss and stood above me, looking down with red-hot lust in his eyes.

  “Don’t move from that spot.” He ran a finger down the side of my neck and into the top of my tank top. My nipples hardened and I leaned my head back to give him more of myself.

  Backing away, he picked up Tiny’s bass guitar and grinned at me.

  “I’m pretty sure Tiny’s going to kick your ass for messing with his precious guitar.” I chuckled.

  “I’m pretty sure if knew what I was using it for, he would approve.”

  “And what exactly are you using it for?”

  No sooner than the words left my mouth, Zeke strummed the guitar. Vibrations shot between my legs and up into my core. I gasped and looked down in shock. I hadn’t paid attention to what I was sitting on, and now I could see it was a speaker.

  I looked up at him with wide eyes, and he was closer. The mischievous grin on his face let me know he wasn’t done. Taking another step in my direction, he strummed it again, and again, the chord he played bounced inside the speaker and worked its way up between my thighs. The tiny bundle of nerves around my pleasure point jumped with the vibrations, and I couldn’t help the tiny sigh that drifted from my lips.

  “Again?” he asked with a raised brow.

  I swallowed hard and licked my lips anxiously. What kind of girl would I be if I asked him to keep going? Would he like that? I wanted more than anything to turn him on, but someone could be watching. Better yet, someone could walk out on this empty stage to break down everything at any moment.

  He took another step toward me and held his hand above the strings as if he were about to strum it again.

  “I’m waiting, snowflake. Tell me you want me to play for you, baby.”

  One more step in my direction and he was standing above me, looking down into my flushed face. I could feel the heat on my cheeks and my bottom begged for him to play that chord over and over again.

  He was so good at this seduction thing, but two could play that game. I no longer cared who came in or who might be watching. I’m not sure what that made me, but I didn’t care about that either. If Zeke thought he could seduce me, I’d show him I could play just as hard, if not harder.

  I stood, pulling my skirt up around my thighs and allowing him a glimpse of my pink panties. His eyes drifted down and he greedily took me in. Spreading my thighs, I slipped one leg onto the other side of the large speaker and then lowered myself onto it.

  Pleasure flashed across his face as I straddled the speaker and looked up at him with big innocent eyes. He was so close the hardness was pressing against his jeans was within my reach and the tiny tremble in his fingers was visible as he held them above the strings and waited for me to respond.

  His eyebrow lifted as he waited.

  “Tell me what you want, snowflake.” His voice was rough and aroused.

  His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. His tongue peeked out and ran across his lip ring. I teasingly ran my hand up my knee and rested my fingers on the inside of my thigh. Brown eyes followed my movements and again he swallowed hard.

  “Play for me,” I said softly.

  With a slanted grin, he began to play simple chords. His fingers picked at the strings over and over again, sending hard vibrations up into my skirt that shook every sensitive part inside my panties.

  I threw my head back when he continued to play and the pleasure rippled up inside of me and into my thighs and lower stomach. I bit at my bottom lip as the vibrations continued and I felt a rise spinning up from the speaker and pushing itself up into me. My stomach clenched as I leaned back completely and gripped on to the part of the speaker that was behind me.

  Closing my eyes, tiny noises spilled from my lips every time he picked the guitar strings.

  “That’s so fucking hot, baby. Goddamn, that’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” he rasped.

  He settled on one specific chord and played it over and over again. He played faster and faster and I could feel myself about to let go.

  “Oh my God, Zeke. I think I’m going to…”

  And then the craziest thing happened. I came—sitting there on a speaker as Zeke fingered those strings as if his life depended on it—and it was quite possibly the best orgasm he ever gave me. Far away, I could hear him agreeing with my sounds and movements. I hadn’t even realized I was moving back and forth on the sounds like I was riding him.

  When I came back to myself, I opened my eyes and he was there. He unhooked the guitar and set it back on its stand. Helping me up, he adjusted my skirt and then he swooped me into his arms and carried me over to the side of the stage. We passed a few people who looked at us like we were crazy, and then we were in the parking lot and making our way to his car. He set me down next to the door and opened it.

  I climbed in, and he shut the door behind me and ran around to the driver’s side. The light inside the car illuminated the darkness between us as he got in. Once the door was shut, the darkness took over again.

  “Come here,” he said bluntly.

  I didn’t waste any time as I worked myself over the center console and straddled him.

  “I’m going to bust if I don’t get inside you,” he said as he began to unbuckle his belt. The sound of his zipper going down filled the silent car. I looked around at the black parking lot and saw a few stragglers running around. The thought of getting caught kind of turned me on.

  He pushed my skirt back up around my thighs and
I hissed when he slipped his finger in the side of my panties and ran it up and down my wetness.

  “I take it you like it when I play for you?” His voice was husky and dark.

  I began to move my hips back and forth against his hand. The tingling feeling was starting to work its way up into my stomach again.

  “Yes. I love it when you play for me,” I whispered.

  My panties seemed to be in his way, so I got on my knees, preparing to pull them down, but instead, he stuck his fingers into the side and pulled hard, making them pop. He ripped the other side until he was able to pull them off of me completely.

  I laughed a little to myself.

  “Those were my favorites, you know?” I teased.

  “I’ll buy you more,” he said breathlessly as he pressed his hardness against me.

  He adjusted me on his lap and I helped until he plunged deep inside me. He growled when my heat and wetness covered him completely, and I didn’t waste any time moving my body back and forth.

  The car rocked with my movements. He dug his fingers into my ass cheeks and lifted me up and down to help with my movements in the small car.

  “You feel so good, snowflake. So goddamn good,” he said as he leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes.

  I continued to move until the pleasure was so thick and deep that I couldn’t concentrate. No longer being able to control my movements, I moved like a crazy woman. My sounds matched my hips and I panted and moaned loudly. I didn’t care if anyone outside the car heard me; I only cared about reaching my happy place and making Zeke feel as good as possible.

  He continued to lift me up and down, his breath coming in loud pants. The strain in his neck let me know he was getting close, so I moved faster and harder. The movements only intensified my ache. I leaned back against the steering wheel and the horn honked.

  He pulled me back up against him and pushed me onto him hard. His thighs began to thrust to meet me, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I let go with a loud cry of his name. He followed right behind me.