See Her (Turn it Up #1)

Chapter 14

14

Mayzie

I exit my car with Penny quick on my heels, scrambling about to take in this new terrain in the beautiful neighborhood that Jack’s sister lives. Her beautiful Tudor style home sits on a lush green lawn, and is so grand it borders on mansion in size.

Penny jerks at her leash which is looped around my wrist, eager to sniff at every square inch of this new environment, while I try not to let her send the salad and brownies I brought flying. Thank God both are in sealed Tupperware containers. Thank you, Mom.

Penny pulls me along as she pursues the scent she just picked up. While my mind laughs at the idea of that scent being leather and musk, I’m sure it’s likely that of the other canine. I try to keep her on the paved path that Jack said leads back to an extended driveway, and I follow it back and to the side of the house.

As I curve around the side of the gorgeous structure, the property, sure enough, opens up to reveal a beautiful garden and pool patio area. I recognize the smaller but equally beautiful buildi ng in the far corner to be the pool house where Jack resides, and the screen door opens, allowing Jack’s dog Trooper to come barreling through as Jack rolls his eyes behind him, hefting an amp in his powerful arms.

The German Shepherd makes a beeline for Penny, tearing across the yard, and I quickly release her leash so that I don’t get yanked across the lawn, and the side dishes don’t get obliterated.

Jack lets out a sexy chuckle at the dog’s shenanigans as he carts the amp to his truck’s flatbed. Once he’s relieved himself of the weight, he swaggers my way, his smile melting both my heart and my panties. I offer him my own, which I know he loves, as we both close the distance.

“Baby,” he greets and my heart kicks out a few hard thumps as it tends to do whenever I hear my new name. Jack takes the containers from my hands and places them on the nearby table to properly greet me. “Come here,” he sweetly orders. Lifting me off the ground, Jack pulls me up in an engulfing hug, and my legs automatically go around his waist. He tilts his face up to kiss me, releasing a satisfied groan against my lips. The kiss lingers, our lips melding together, our heads in a dance of counter movements, and I let out an approving squeal as his hand travels down to cup my ass through my jeans.

“How was your day?” he asks tenderly, after pulling away but not setting me down.

“Good. What are you up to?” I ask as I smile at him.

“Just loading up some equipment for the show tonight so that I don’t have to do it later. Speaking of which…”

I yelp as Jack shifts my weight and hauls me over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and starts strutting effortlessly towards his truck. A thrill zings through me at the mention of tonight. Turn it Up is playing a Thursday night show, which I’ll not only be attending, but that Jack insisted on escorting me to after we grilled out.

“Hey! No!” I laugh against the back of his t-shirt that surrou nds me in that smell I love. “You’re supposed to cook for me first!” I remind him.

“Oh, right.” He promptly swivels us around in the other direction, making my hair whip around my face. Gradually, he lowers me down the front of his body, just a little bit at a time, until we’re face to face again. He imparts another kiss before finally setting me down. “In fact, the grill is ready. What did you bring?” he asks as we mosey back over to the table.

“A boring salad to go with the steaks,” I admit before the good part, “and brownies for dessert.”

“You made brownies?” He gapes and grabs at the flatter container and wrestles the lid open.

“Yeah. Like I said, I don’t cook a lot but I love to bake, and these are my favorite so…”

I rest my hands on the small of my back as I trail off, and I hear another voice coming from somewhere beyond the driveway.

“Jack?”

“Your sister?” I ask, looking around for the source of the voice.

“Yeah,” he says, standing upright. “Back here!” he calls to her. From under the shrubbery arc alongside the house I walked through earlier, I see a slender woman, taller than I am, with dark hair that just comes to rest on her collarbone. I also notice she’s in scrubs.

“Hey,” she says approaching. “I could smell the grill firing up all the way from the driveway.”

“Do you want me to throw a steak on for you?” he asks.

“Nah, that’s okay. I can see you have company.” She turns to me with a welcoming smile. “Hi, I’m sorry, my brother’s rude. I’m Sarah.”

“Come on, you didn’t even give me a chance,” Jack says, shaking his head as she steps towards me, extending her hand which I step forward to sha ke.

“I’m Mayzie. It’s really nice to meet you. Your home is amazing,” I say gesturing around the place.

“Aw, thanks.”

“Well, if not a steak, would you like a brownie?” I offer.

“Oh, I can’t say no to one of those!”

“Careful, they’re laced,” Jack says.

“Shut up,” we both say back to him, laughing.

“He’s just saying that because he wants them all to himself. They’re his favorite,” Sarah says, grabbing one out of the Tupperware I’m offering her.

“I’ve gathered that,” I say, smiling over at Jack who’s got his arms crossed and has his eyes fixed on the brownie in his sister’s hand.

“Thank you for this,” she says, taking a bite and looking at Jack. “Mmmm, it’s good ,” she says mockingly to him. “I’m going to let you guys get back to your thing. I hope I see more of you, Mayzie,” she says, turning and heading towards her gorgeous house.

“You too, Sarah.”

After Sarah disappears into her house, Jack gets the seasoned steaks on the grill and lets me choose from his impressive vinyl collection for background music.

We enjoy beer and each other’s company as Tom Petty serenades us, and Jack mans the grill.

“Your sister’s great,” I say as I start plating the salad.

“Yeah. I’m lucky to have her,” Jack nods, as he loads the two porterhouses onto a plate.

“Do you hear from Melanie often?” I ask, referring to his other sister.

“Not much, maybe once a month if we’re lucky.Last we heard she was in Vietnam, or maybe it’s Thailand now. She picks up a job wherever for a couple months, has her fun, and then moves on.”

“All the traveling and seeing new places sounds amazing, but I don’t think I could do it. Being away from my home and family for so long, I mean. Well, from Ian… maybe,” I joke, as I hold my plate out to receive my steak.

“She’s the free spirit of the family, and she’s been hell bent on it since we were kids,” he fills me in as we both sit.

“Oh my God,” I say, as I take my first bite of steak.

“Good?” he asks.

“Oh, yeah. I have to agree, you’re amazing with steaks,” I say. Seriously, this melts in my mouth.

After putting a good dent in our meals, we push our plates away and Jack grabs us another beer and swipes up the brownies, making a comic spectacle of keeping the container right in front of him.

“Excuse me? What do you think you’re doing?” I say around a laugh that bubbles up at the sight. “We are sharing these.” I reach across the table to grab one of the fudgy squares, but he wraps his arm around the container protectively and leans down, snapping his teeth like he’s going to bite my hand.

“You know what? Fine. I’ll just make more at home and keep them to myself.”

“You will do no such thing. Ever ,” he growls, his mouth full of brownie.

“Aw, I found the hardcore rock star’s weakness. Or should I say sweet spot?” This love he has of brownies is kind of adorable.

“I’m not a rock star,” he corrects around the last bite of brownie in his mouth as he wipes his hands on a napkin and crumples it up into a ball, tossing it on his plate. The self-deprecation gives me a small pang deep inside, and while things have been blissful between us for days, a whisper of what happened last weekend floats up to the surface.

“Are you sure you still want me to come tonight?” I ask timidly, looking away. Under the cloud cover, the sun has dropped low in the sky, turning our atmosphere to a violet twilight.

Jack’s head snaps up in my periphery. “What? Of course I do.” He sets his beer down and scoots his chair away slightly, reaching for me. “Come here.”

I shift from my seat over into his lap, and he locks both arms securely around me. The sweet touches and gestures, the feel of his arms, the words, the looks… they all still feel so unreal. It’s all so exquisite, and I try to believe that that doesn’t have to mean it’s fragile.

“I want you there tonight,” Jack assures me. “With how beautiful it was to see that part of you when you dance, I’m not only not afraid of showing you the same anymore, but I can’t wait to.” He presses a kiss to my lips as if to seal his statement before looking back up at me. “Are you sure you want to come?” He quirks an eyebrow as he asks.

“Of course, I do, silly,” I tell him, and it earns me another kiss.

“I can be a little crazy when I’m playing,” he warns.

“Hey, you’ve seen me dance,” I remind him. He totally owes me for that one, too. “Bring it.”

Jack

I stand between Mayzie’s knees as she sits on a high stool at The Cedar. The guys and I will be going up on the stage shortly, and she and Annie are settled in at one of our high tables.She looks fucking cute tonight in her jeans and black flowery tank top. Her hair is down and she’s wearing some dangly earrings that make me just want to kiss her neck. The last week has been incredible with her visiting me at work, me surprising her at the studio, and more midday phone calls. The affections we’ve shared in those small windows of time have more than sufficed to keep me going, but like I said before, I knew once I kissed her, I wasn’t going to be able to stop. We’ve both b een busy these last few days though, not allowing me to take it very far.

I would have kissed her more at my house earlier, but then I can guarantee you we wouldn’t have made it here tonight.

“I’m so excited!” she says, bouncing in her seat a little.

“I’m just sorry it took so long to get you here,” I say loudly so she can hear me over the bar crowd.She just smiles and shakes her head. “Behind us.” She tilts her chin and her eyes blink deliberately as if shutting the door on the matter. “I’m here now, and I can’t wait to watch you guys.”

We showed up early tonight so that she could meet Matt, Chris, and Josh. She got along with all of them so great, especially Matt.Speak of the devil, he walks past and slaps me on the back.

“Let’s go, buddy,” he says, as he continues towards the stage.

“Alright, show time,” I say, before placing my hands on Mayzie’s hips and leaning in close so only she can hear me. “Try not to flash me your boobs while I’m up there.” She smiles and scoffs at me as I sneak a kiss on her cheek. “Or do… whichever.” I give her a mischievous smile, backing away.

When our presence is announced over the loudspeaker, we take our places and I loop my guitar strap over myself as I approach the mic. I find my girl smiling at me from the crowd and make a deal with myself not to hold anything back, to give her the real deal.

Chris’s drumsticks click together, counting us off, and I throw myself into the music, letting my instincts take over and letting go of everything else.