Before You(4)

Then, she mentioned that her boyfriend played in the band and just like that, his plans to seduce her crashed and burned. She was Cam’s Aubrey and the pieces of the puzzle came together, the way Cam sang her praises and talked about marrying her. Not that any of that nonsense stopped him from taking advantage of his new status as a member of an up and coming local band. Despite all Cam’s shortsightedness and glossy eyes when it came to fame and the music industry, Cam never once insinuated that anyone could take Aubrey’s place in his life.

Women walked in and out of Cam’s life these last two months as though he had some sort of revolving door in his bedroom. Jax laughed with the other guys in the band and told Cam not to get hung up on anyone, but now he understood why Cam had no intention of letting her go. If he had her, he wouldn’t let go, either. He just hoped if he found someone like Aubrey he would have enough sense to treat her better than Cam did.

“Jax, come meet Bre,” Cam called out as he walked toward Jax’s booth in the corner of the bar.

Jax glanced at Cam, his arm wrapped around Aubrey’s—no, Bre’s—waist. Standing abruptly, Katie tumbled off his lap. As he reached his hand out to greet Bre, a light pink blush stained her cheeks.

“You’re Jax. The singer for Chasing Ruin,” she commented, her voice just barely above a whisper.

“Yep… the one and only. Nice to formally meet you, Bre.” Jax held her hand, studying her in silence, his thumb caressing the inside of her wrist. He could tell he made her uncomfortable, but he couldn’t resist the intimate touch.

Cam looked between the Jax and Bre. “You’ve already met?”

“Yes. We talked a little at the bar before your performance,” Bre replied, defiantly pulling her hand away from Jax, her composure clearly shaken.

Cam laughed, pulling Bre tightly to his side. “I hope you weren’t hitting on my girl. I know she’s hard to resist. She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?”

Bre looked at Cam, her eyes glowing with love and shared history and something akin to adoration. His gut twisted. Jealousy? He hoped not. He didn’t want to go down that road now or anytime in his life.

He had watched his parents’ relationship morph from love and devotion into indifference and eventually to downright aversion and consequently, he wasn’t interested in finding love even if it looked appealing in its infancy. He knew from having a front row seat in his parents’ marriage that the transition from love to reality was as ugly as it was inevitable. In his jaded mind, he envisioned the road of love a little like peeling away a person’s masks until you’re left with rotting worms and lies. A tiny part of his mind wondered if it could be different with someone who glowed with life and authenticity like Bre, but he quickly suppressed the thought before it could grow into curiosity.

“She is that. You’re a lucky man,” Jax replied without conviction, completely ignoring Cam’s other question.

“I am,” Cam said. Placing both of his hands on her shoulders, his eyes moved over Bre’s face as if he were committing every detail to memory, then they stopped momentarily on her lips.

Feeling as if he were a voyeur, but unable to look away, Jax stared at the two of them as Cam’s hands slowly slid down her arms to her hips, pulling them tightly to his. “Let’s dance, Bre,” Cam mumbled near her ear, just loud enough so that Jax could hear. Bre merely nodded, not taking her eyes off of Cam as she threaded her fingers through his, following him to the dance floor.

Like witnessing a train wreck, he knew he should look away or find Katie or some other diversion, but he couldn’t force his eyes to stray from the back of Bre’s retreating form. Almost as if she could feel his eyes burning into her back, Bre glanced over her shoulder, her eyes meeting his, and for a split second he experienced an indescribable connection with her and his heart raced. As Cam swept her into his arms, Bre smiled almost apologetically, shattering the moment.

Frustrated by his reaction to Bre, Jax stared in insolent silence at the two of them dancing. Even with her messy appearance, something compelled Jax to pull Bre out of Cam’s arms. Disgusted that he might actually be jealous of Cam, he turned away from the dance floor just as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re surprisingly captivated with that girl. First at the bar and now you can hardly pull your eyes off the two of them.” Katie motioned toward the dance floor, but Jax refused to turn around again, telling himself there was nothing worth seeing.

Casting a disdainful eye in Katie’s direction, he turned away without another word and headed directly for the bar. He ignored the innumerable women who approached him, wanting to meet the lead singer of Chasing Ruin. Watching Bre and Cam together left a bad taste in his mouth, something he knew being with another woman wouldn’t eliminate.