Before You(13)

“Write what?”

“Music. That’s the other reason I like to sail. It’s my muse.”

“I can see why. It’s beautiful out here,” Bre replied, tilting her head toward the sky, letting the sun warm her face.

Opening her worn sketchbook, Bre stared at Jax as he furled the sails, enjoying the play of the sun on his skin, and without thinking, she started drawing him.

A few minutes later, he opened his guitar case and started tuning it. Bre had watched Cam tune his guitar many times in his bedroom when they were growing up, but it had never fascinated her as much as watching Jax do it. She found herself admiring the way his sleekly muscled shoulders flexed as his fingers moved over the strings.

An hour later, she had a notebook filled with sketches of Jax playing the guitar. Sailing may be Jax’s muse, but today he was her muse. She couldn’t remember the last time she was so motivated and inspired to draw. She couldn’t wait to set up her art supplies when she got back to Colorado to paint a sequence of Jax playing the guitar on his sailboat. As she tucked away her sketchbook, she pulled out her phone to snap a few pictures of Jax so she could remember all the colors.

“What are you doing?” Jax questioned, looking up from his guitar.

“I have some really great sketches in here, and I want to capture the colors with my camera so I can remember them when I paint some of the scenes at home.”

After placing his guitar securely in its case, Jax walked over to her. “Let me see them.”

“Absolutely not. My art is private. I don’t like people to see it.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it.”

“Sure you have.”

Bre exhaled loudly. “I guess for me, drawing and painting is like a visual diary. It’s personal and I don’t particularly like sharing my thoughts with strangers.”

“After today, I’m still considered a stranger? I hope you don’t make the habit of spending your days on boats with random strangers or you’ll have me really concerned. I’ll have to talk to Cam about your behavior.”

“No… I don’t normally do this,” she replied defensively, but when she looked at the expression on his face, she noticed his body shaking with laughter. She picked up her towel and threw it him. “Oh, I get it. You’re making fun of me for my comment about going into closets with strangers. You must think I’m really dense.”

“No, but I couldn’t resist the opening you left me there.”

Bre waved a hand, dismissing his comment. “I guess I made myself an easy target.”

“So what do I have to do to earn a non-stranger status? I’d love to see your sketches from today.”

“Hmm… I don’t know,” Bre said, tapping her fingers against her lips. “I’ll have to think of something sufficiently humbling so I can hold it against you if you laugh at my work.”

“I would never even consider it,” he replied, pushing her hair behind her ear.

“Okay, I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”

“So, is sketching part of your dream to become an artist?”

“What?” Bre said, looking dumbfounded. “How did you know about that?”

Jax stared at her steadily and one side of his mouth lifted up. “You told me at the bar. Remember, you said you were looking for a job at a gallery, but you really wanted to be an artist.”

“Oh right. Well, I need to pay the bills.” Bre lifted one shoulder in an unconcerned shrug.

“You should try the artist thing first,” Jax said, sitting down next to her on the cushioned bench, letting one of his arms stretch out long behind her on the edge of the boat.

Bre closed her eyes, relaxing her head into his arm. “Why?” she whispered, trying to remember what they were talking about. The bottles of wine, lack of sleep, and sun were catching up with her.

One of Jax’s hands reached out and stroked the side of her face, and she turned toward him.

“Because this is the only time in your life that you’re free to chase your dreams,” Jax said softly.

“Is that what you’re doing?” She paused, keeping her eyes closed and breathing in his clean scent. “With the band, I mean.”

“Yeah. My dad wanted me to join his company, but I love music, so I turned down his offer.” Jax’s hands moved toward her scalp, his fingers lightly massaging her head.

“Mmm…” she moaned. She felt so safe there was no way she could ask him to stop. She couldn’t think of many better ways to pass the time than rocking with the motion of the waves, smelling the salt air and getting a massage. “So was he mad? Cam mentioned that you don’t talk to your dad much.”