Before You(5)

Cam’s behavior over the past few months wasn’t his business. Bre was Cam’s girlfriend, and therefore, completely untouchable if he wanted to keep the band together, and he did. Now that everything seemed to be falling into place, he couldn’t imagine causing waves over a girl. Unfortunately, something about her compelled him to risk everything he had worked for these past five years, and that was a dangerous thought. He needed to get rid of these uncomfortable feelings for Bre before she became a completely unwelcome complication, and to do that, he needed whiskey.

He signaled the bartender, Jared, and pointed to the bottle behind the counter. There was something to be said for being a regular at the bar. Jared knew what he wanted to drink, and in less than a minute, the amber liquid sat in front of him in a low glass. Lifting it to his lips, he savored the feel of liquid burning his throat.

People assumed having James Carmichael, the infamous movie director, and Katina Carmichael, a connected socialite, as parents would grant him a golden ticket to do whatever he wanted in the entertainment industry. Those people would be wrong.

His dad was as stubborn and unforgiving as anyone he could imagine and that meant if Jax didn’t follow his dad’s directives, he wouldn’t lift a finger to help him. When he refused the job at his dad’s company, his dad cut all ties to him and the last name of Carmichael went from being a door opener to meaningless in a matter of hours.

Navigating the waters of the music industry had proved more difficult than he could have ever imagined when he turned his back on his dad and all he could offer. At times, he had been tempted to crawl back and take that job from his dad even if it meant giving up making music for the rest of his life, but he couldn’t because he hated the thought of being under his dad’s thumb almost as much as his dad hated him.

Jax had always been too much like his mom for his dad’s tastes. According to his dad, both of them were frivolous dreamers. Now that his dreams were finally within reach, he refused to throw it all away chasing a girl who, in the end, would probably disappoint him.

An hour later, Jax saw Cam leaving the restroom and he nodded in his direction.

Cam walked toward him and leaned his hip against the bar. “So what do you think?”

Jax had spent the last hour drinking wayward thoughts of Bre out of his head, and he really didn’t want to talk about her right now, particularly when he’d downed enough drinks to impair the filter between his brain and mouth, so he pretended he didn’t understand the question. “About what?”

“Bre. Stop pretending you don’t know what I’m talking about.” Cam tossed a handful of peanuts from a short glass cup on the bar into his mouth.

Jax looked around the room. “You’re one lucky guy. I can’t believe she doesn’t see right through you.”

Cam let out his signature open, unconcerned laugh that normally made Jax smile in return. It was one of the things he liked about Cam. He wasn’t afraid to laugh at himself. “I know. Do I detect some jealousy?”

“Not even on a good day. A month in close contact with you and she’ll be history.”

“Not likely. She knows everything there is to know about me. I can hardly remember a time when Bre wasn’t in my life. She accepts me, faults and all.”

Jax wiped the condensation off the rim of his drink with his thumb. “She doesn’t know everything, obviously, and the way she looks at you will probably stop the minute she figures out what you’ve been doing for the last few months.”

“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 fuck 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.”