The Bad Boys of Summer Anthology(267)

This night with Gage had to be one of the best nights we’d shared so far.

It was perfection.

I never wanted it to end.





SISTER

I woke up, still satisfied from the night before. I stretched, gazing up at the ceiling, feeling a slight twinge between my legs. I pulled the covers off to look down. There was some blood on the white sheets and I gasped, thinking maybe there really was a cherry down there.

Shrugging, I glanced where Gage had been sleeping, noticing his clothes and shoes still on the floor. I heard deep voices chatting a short distance away and figured he was out talking to one of his band brothers.

With a sigh, I hopped from the bed and grabbed the change of clothes I’d packed into a smaller bag. After taking a quick and thorough shower, I pulled my hair up into a tight ponytail and stared at Gage’s messy sheets with my hand on my hip.

I couldn’t leave them there and I definitely didn’t want the blood to be a reminder to him of what he’d just taken. I wanted it to seem like casual, meaningless sex so I pulled the blankets off the bed. I took the sheets off and tossed everything into a corner before going for his closet and finding new bedding.

After making the bed, fluffing the pillows, and tossing the ruined sheets beside my bag, I slid my toes around the thongs of my flip-flops and opened the door. I inhaled deeply, the thick, rich aroma of coffee lingering in the air.

As I stepped around the corner, Gage and Roy were sitting at the table with pens in hand. Gage heard me and looked up quickly, a warm smile on his lips. Thank goodness he wasn’t making things awkward for me. I told him over and over again during the middle of the night that it was only my virginity. It wasn’t like he’d snatched it away from me. I wanted it to happen between us. I didn’t mind it and if I weren’t ready, I wouldn’t have given it up. He finally became satisfied with my response and went back to sleep again.

“Good morning,” I breathed, heading for the kitchen and rinsing out one of the mugs in the sink. It reeked of beer so I added soap to make sure it was thoroughly cleansed. Gage said good morning and Roy did as well, but his voice was barely a whisper and his eyes never left his paper.

Finding it odd, I kept my gaze on him for a brief second before grabbing the mug of coffee. I poured some into my cup, added crème, sugar, and then slid into the booth beside Gage. I kissed his cheek and he returned the kiss, but Roy stiffened, pulling his cup toward him and then picking it up to take a sip.

I brushed that off as well. I knew I would never figure Roy out, so I sipped my coffee while the boys continued writing. “Working on lyrics?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Gage sighed. “It’s best to work on them early when the animals like Montana and Deed are sleeping.” He winked.

I nodded, sipping on my coffee again. I took a glance down at Gage’s paper, spotting words like, “pain, misery, it’s all over, never look back, and newfound addiction.” At the sight of newfound addiction, I looked up at him, but he sniffed and ran the back of his hand across his nose. He isn’t talking about me, I thought to myself. They’re just lyrics anyway.

I took a glance in Roy’s direction but wasn’t allowed enough time to see anything because he snatched up his paper. I looked into his eyes quickly, but his were dark, cold. His eyebrows knitted as he looked me over and then, picking up his coffee and still glaring at me, he turned to go for the living room. Gage didn’t seem to think much of it, but I was pretty offended by his behavior. What had I ever done to make him hate me so much? I’d barely said two words to Roy and he was acting like I kneed him in the balls.

“Don’t take it personally,” Gage murmured into my ear, watching Roy sit on the sofa with his back facing us.

“What’s wrong with him?” I whispered, hoping Roy couldn’t hear me.

“He’s just… not used to you being around us so much.”

“And he hates me because I’m around you guys?” I frowned.

“He just has to warm up to you. That’s all. He doesn’t trust easily. He’s very conservative.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” I scoffed, taking a look at Roy who was scribbling madly on his notepad.

Gage’s hand ran over my thigh, stealing away my thoughts. I looked at him beneath my eyelashes and he smiled, gripping my hand. “Did I… um… hurt you last night? If so, I’m sorry. I’ve never—”

“No, Gage. I’m fine. It was good.” I gave him a sweet smile and he nodded, tightening his grip around my hand. “Why were you so worried, anyway?”

He shrugged, pulling his hand away to pick up his pen again. He grabbed his coffee to sip it and then placed his mug down, his jaw ticking. “I don’t know. Just not used to it I guess.” He forced a smile, but I frowned, fixing my lips to speak. There was more to it than that. Unfortunately, before I could speak on it, Montana let out an exaggerated yawn from the hallway. We both looked up at him as he came walking in, scratching his bare chest.

Montana had a dragon on his ribs, too, but unlike Gage’s blue and black one, his was red and black. The dragons were almost identical and I couldn’t help but question it. “Did you two get the dragon tattoos together?” I asked.

Montana smirked as he stepped into the kitchen and pulled out the jug of milk. He drank straight from it and my nose crinkled while my mind made a mental note to never drink milk from the boys’ bus. “We all have one,” Gage said.

My eyebrows rose and my curiosity piqued. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” Montana sighed, sitting across from me. “Mine is red and black, Gage got black and blue, Deed has green and black, and Roy over there has orange and black. It was a… drunk and crazy night. It was kind of like a band bonding thing.”

“Oh.” I grinned. That was kind of cute to hear. “Why dragons, though?”

“For one, dragons are the realest mythical creatures known to man,” Montana said matter-of-factly. I smirked, pursing my lips at him with high amusement. “Plus, they aren’t just ordinary dragons. They’re Chinese dragons. Their meaning of the dragon is something much greater.” I took a glance at Montana’s ribs again, studying the graphics—the pointy tongue, fierce red eyes, extremely sharp teeth. I then thought back on how Gage’s dragon looked. They did seem more Chinese than anything.

“Like happiness, immortality, the ability to ward off evil spirits,” Gage added on. “We want all the luck we can get as a band and since Roy over there is a bit obsessed with them,”—Roy grunted, shrugging—“we figured we could just go for it. So far we’ve been doing great. We’re all still happy, and by immortality, we mean that even if we are to split up or even die, we want the name of our band to live on—kind of like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones.”

“Hmm.” I nodded. “Cool. I never would have thought of that.”

“See,” Montana said, leaning back in his seat. “We aren’t total dicks. We can still be on the caring side.”

“You’re all complete dicks.” I laughed and for some reason, Roy laughed with me. I looked in his direction, but his back was still turned to us.

“Speaking of caring, I heard how well Gage took care of you last night.” Montana burst out laughing while my heart skipped a beat, my eyes expanding. “Headboard and all.” He laughed even harder and I turned crimson, stealing a glance at Gage, whose smile was amused. Of course he was used to being heard so he thought nothing of it, but since it was my first time, it made me squirm. Gage placed a hand on my thigh and I picked up my coffee, taking a huge swallow. I couldn’t have been that loud… at least I hoped not.

“The bus is supposed to stop in a few minutes.” Deed’s deep voice came out of nowhere. He was no longer wearing his sunglasses, but I could see the hint of color beneath his eye. One would mistake it for a lack of sleep since there was bruising beneath both eyes, but I knew why it was really there.

“Okay?” Montana said, glancing over his shoulder with a slight frown.

“We have to be there early today.”

Montana dropped his hands on the table, causing it to rattle. “Dude, what the fuck is up with you?” he asked, his eyebrows drawing in. “You’ve been acting like a bitch ever since the night you were late to the show.”

Deed stepped into the kitchen and leaned his lower back against the counter, swinging his gaze from Montana to me. “I’m just saying. This time we can’t be late, meaning the visitors should get going.” I cringed inwardly, offended by Deed’s menacing tone.

Gage stiffened at my side, taking in Deed’s sullen mood. “Deed,” he said, sliding away from me to stand to his feet. “Let’s talk. Now.” Gage cocked his head to his left and led the way down the hallway. I frowned, watching as Gage stole a quick glance over his shoulder at me, his eyes begging me not to get offended, before disappearing down the hallway.

The door shut behind them and not long after, there was yelling and grunting. Roy dropped his notepad in a flash and dashed down the hallway, and Montana hissed, “Oh shit,” before following after him.