Strung Read online

  “Yeah? But what do you know about him personally?”

  She shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know. Not much. Just that he’s been friends with Xan for a while now and that he moved here alone from Chicago. From what I hear, he’s saving up to open his own bar. One where live music is a nightly thing.”

  “Yeah, well my brother failed to mention him to me, and I can’t help but wonder why. Especially the fact that he practically lives with him. What the hell is that about? We used to be close.”

  Jamie shakes her head. “I’m not sure, but I have a pretty good idea.”

  “Oh yeah? Why?”

  “Look at you. You’re gorgeous, talented and young. Then look at Micah. Also gorgeous, talented and young. And he gets any and every girl his little heart desires. I’m sure he just wanted to keep you at a distance, worried that you’d fall for him and get hurt.” She claps excitedly once the bar comes into view. “Look at this crowd tonight. It’s the busiest on the nights that he plays.”

  “Wow!” I look around in surprise at how much the bar filled up in such a short amount of time. It’s a huge change from this afternoon. “This is pretty amazing. I’m excited now. He must put on a good show to attract this many people.”

  “Oh honey . . . his voice is orgasmic. Let’s hurry and grab a few drinks so we can get a spot close to the stage. If there are any left.”

  While walking up to the outside bar, my brother spots me from the other side and nods to me, before continuing his conversation with a group of girls that are practically hanging all over him.

  “Go over to Colby’s side. He’s faster,” Jamie says, pulling me through the crowd. “And he’s the hottest one here besides Micah and your brother.”

  “My brother?” I roll my eyes and stick close to her until we make our way up to Colby.

  “Yeah, your brother. He’s extremely hot.” She shivers. “Those tattoos and abs make me want to run my tongue all over every inch of his hard body.”

  “Gross, Jamie! I did not need to hear that.”

  As soon as Colby notices me, he leans over the bar and grabs my hand, pulling my attention away from Jamie. “You ready for that date, babe?”

  Smiling, I pull my hand out of his. “Nice try, playboy. How about a beer instead?”

  “Make that two,” Jamie chimes in. “And can you get them from the furthest back?”

  Lifting a brow, he walks over to the cooler and bends down.

  “Mmmm . . .” Jamie moans. “Keep looking, stud. We want the coldest ones. Dig deeper. Much deeper.”

  A minute later, Colby turns around, holding two beers in his hand. “Did you girls enjoy the view?” he asks, smirking, while sliding our beers in front of us.

  “Very much so. Your ass is fantastic,” Jamie responds. She grabs her beer and tosses some cash down. “Thanks. Keep the change.”

  I don’t even get a chance to throw down a tip myself, before she grabs my arm and starts pulling me back through the crowd.

  The last couple of tables close to the stage are now crowded with people, but when we get past that crowd, I see Micah leaning against a table that sits right in front of the stage.

  As our eyes meet, he nods, and mouths for me to come to him.

  Watching those lips move and having to focus on them to see what he’s saying only makes me notice more just how damn sexy they truly are.

  “Over here.” I tug Jamie toward the table Micah’s leaning against.

  With his arms crossed over his chest, he watches me the whole time. I do mean every single step.

  “Your brother told me you were coming.” He uncrosses his arms and pulls out the chairs for us. “I’ll be keeping my eye on you.”

  Keeping his gaze glued to mine, he slowly yanks his shirt over his head, as if doing a strip tease, and tosses it down, before walking away and heading to the stage.

  “Damn,” Jamie says with wide eyes. “Can he keep his eyes on me like that, please? What was that about? And did he just strip for you?”

  “No. That was not for me.” I shrug my shoulders and take a seat, my heart still racing from the look in his eyes as he stripped his shirt off. “Him and my stupid brother are being overly protective, as if I can’t handle a few horny bartenders. That’s all.”

  She takes a sip of her beer while watching Micah take a seat and tune his guitar. The way his long hair flows over his shoulders has it impossible to take your eyes away. “I’m staying at your place tonight,” she says, not bothering to look at me when she speaks. “I promise not to stare too hard at the boys.”

  Rolling my eyes, I tilt back my beer and set my eyes on the stage, then kick my sandals off. “You’re not good at keeping promises,” I mumble.

  “Doesn’t keep me from making them,” she teases.

  “Good to see you, Jamie.”

  Jamie looks up from the sound of my brother’s voice close by, blushing.

  He’s standing right behind her, peering over her shoulder; so close that their bodies are touching.

  She swallows, before pulling herself together. “Good to see you too, Alexander. It’s been a few months.”

  “You’re looking good. Glad to see you’re back home.” He walks over to me and hands me some kind of pager type thing. “Push this if you need anything. It’s connected to Colby’s buzzer. I don’t want you fighting your way through the crowd every time you girls need a drink.”

  “Seriously?” I look down at the buzzer. “That’s all we have to do?”

  “VIP . . . little sis. I got you ladies.” He rubs the top of my head. “Just don’t fucking abuse it or I’ll have to take it away. Got me?” Smiling, he backs away. “Enjoy the show.”

  I can’t help but to laugh when the girls clearly check him out as he rushes past them to get some work done, or whatever it is that he’s in a hurry to do.

  “Dude . . . your brother is pretty awesome. You know that, right?”

  “I guess,” I mumble, smiling. “It’s a good thing I take after him then, right?”

  Jamie shrugs. “Eh.”

  “Screw off!” Laughing, I toss my beer label at her and then freeze when Micah speaks into the mic, getting the attention of the crowd.

  “Are you ladies ready?”

  The crowd screams. Myself included.

  “Damn,” he smirks, before looking around, his eyes landing on me. “It’s not often I make the ladies scream while still wearing my jeans. I can’t imagine how loud it’d be if I weren’t wearing these.”

  The girls start screaming even louder, yelling at him to take his jeans off.

  I stay quiet this time, even though inside I wish they were off too.

  “Sorry, ladies. We have rules here . . . unfortunately.” He laughs into the mic and it’s so damn deep and sexy that I shift in my seat and sip my beer to distract myself. “I’m feeling like some Shinedown tonight. Here’s one of my favorites. It’s called I Dare You.”

  The crowd quiets down as soon as he starts playing and all eyes are on him.

  I honestly can’t pull my eyes away as I watch his fingers move, pulling the strings of his guitar.

  The way the muscles in his arms flex as he plays has me completely zoning in on him. Every part of him.

  Until his lips move and the most beautiful sound comes out, working me up and instantly causing me to sweat.

  It’s crazy just how good he really is.

  “He’s soooooo good,” Jamie points out. “I feel like it’s been forever since I heard him play. We need to come here every week together while you’re here. You game?”

  Needing another drink to hopefully calm my now racing thoughts, I press the buzzer.

  A few times.

  “You need another beer? I need another beer. Is it hot out here?” I say quickly. “I need out of this stupid shirt.”

  In a hurry to cool off, I pull my shirt off and set it down next to me in my seat.

  “Better?” Jamie questions with amusement.

  “Yeah.” Micah is n
ow watching me as he sings. There are probably a hundred girls in this damn crowd, yet he’s looking right the hell at me, as if he can’t look away. “No.” I shake my head. “Not really. I think I’m having a heatstroke or something. I need liquid and fast.”

  Colby appears over my shoulder, nearly scaring the crap out of me as he holds out two beers. “You know . . . this is almost like calling me, which you can do later tonight.”

  “Oh, is it? I bet you say that to all the girls that hold this special buzzer,” Jamie teases. “It’s a shame we didn’t get to watch you fetch these beers though.”

  “You’re telling me, babe. I feel sorry for you both.” He winks at me and then backs away when Micah glares at him from the stage.

  It’s easy to see who the boss is around here, because Colby instantly walks away and returns to work.

  Micah’s gaze lands on me for a few short seconds, before finally turning away to look down at his guitar.

  Knowing that Whitney will kill me if she knows I watched a hot guy perform at my brother’s bar and not capture it, I take a quick photo to send to her.

  A text comes through from her a few minutes later.

  Whitney: Holy-beautiful-long-haired babe. He is gorgeous. I wonder if Ethan would be pissed if I make this my screensaver. I guess we’ll see . . .

  I laugh at her response but tuck my phone away, not wanting to miss any of Micah’s performance.

  He plays three more songs, causing the crowd to fall more and more in love with him and his voice. He then says goodnight to everyone and hops off the stage to grab a water bottle and pour it over his sweat-covered body.

  His eyes lock with mine as he rubs the water down his chest and arms, before reaching for his shirt and walking away through the crowd.

  I swear he gets stopped every step that he takes. These women are ready to eat him alive. Literally. I think one even tried to lick him when he walked past her.

  It’s ridiculous.

  “What the hell?” I finish off my last beer and stand up. “Are the women always like this around here?”

  Jamie stands up and stretches. “Not always.” She smiles. “They’re worse sometimes. I swear you’d think this was a strip club the way they feel all over these boys.”

  “Interesting,” I whisper. “I should just write about my brother’s damn bar.”

  “You should,” she responds. “Do you have any idea how much action goes on around here?”

  “Nope. My brother doesn’t tell me shit.”

  She grins like a madman. “Well, you’re about to see some shit this summer. Let’s get out of here.” She tosses her empty bottle in the nearby trash. “I have to work for a few hours tomorrow morning.”

  “Yeah,” I agree. “I need to get some writing done.”

  When I get back to my brother’s house, I grab my laptop and bring it out back by the pool.

  I’ve been writing for a good hour, suddenly feeling inspired, before a splash causes me to jerk back and look up.

  Standing up, I glance into the pool to see a hard, muscled back, swimming through the water.

  My gaze stays glued to Micah’s back, until he emerges from the water, exposing his toned, naked butt.

  “Holy shit! Come on, Micah,” I scream, as he climbs out of the pool while covering his junk with both of his hands. “Why are you naked . . . again?”

  “A little warning,” he whispers next to my ear. “Stay away from the pool after I get home from playing.” He moves in closer, his lips brushing under my ear. “Unless you want to get wet.”

  My entire body quivers as I watch him walk away and let himself into the house.

  Why does his body and hair being wet have to make him even sexier?

  I’m angry that he treats me this way, yet so damn turned on by it.

  Maybe I’m just angry at myself.

  Angry at myself for wanting his body so damn bad, knowing that I can’t have it . . .

  SHE JUST HAD TO BE out back when I arrived at the house after my show. I shouldn’t have gotten naked and jumped into the pool to cool off with her being there, but I couldn’t stop myself.

  Having her around and knowing that I can’t touch her is really fucking with my head, and it’s only been two days.

  “Fuck you, Alexander,” I mumble, while walking to the bathroom to turn on the shower.

  It’s that asshole’s fault that I’ve been thinking about his sister all damn day and imagining all the dirty things I could do to her sexy little body.

  “Lay one finger on my sister and I’ll kick your fucking ass. I mean it, Micah.”

  That’s what the fuck he said to me.

  He should know me well enough to know that if someone threatens to kick my ass for doing something, it makes me want to do it even more.

  Call me twisted. I don’t give a shit.

  Call me dirty. It’s true.

  Closing myself in the shower, I lean my head back and stroke my dick to images of Tegan in her red bikini top.

  She just had to take her shirt off while I was playing my guitar, completely drawing my attention and thoughts her way.

  I tried to keep my eyes away, but it was nearly impossible with her breasts on display. Apparently, Colby’s ass noticed too.

  Gripping the wall, my strokes become faster and harder, causing me to moan out as I release myself down the drain, panting as it washes away.

  “Fuck me!” I growl out.

  I’ve been needing this release all day. That shit was intense.

  Washing off, I get out and dry off, before lying on the couch in the den and wondering what Tegan thought of me naked in the pool.

  She’s seen me naked, twice, in only two days since she showed up here. Her eyes have witnessed every muscle of my naked body, except for the most important one: my dick.

  My eyes glance over toward the sliding door when it begins to slowly slide open.

  Tegan thinks that I’m sleeping.

  I don’t blame her. It’s completely dark down here. That’s how I like it.

  Closing my eyes, I listen as she walks through the den, slowing down once she’s standing behind the couch.

  Her breathing picks up and it doesn’t take a genius to know that she’s checking out my body, lying in this low hanging towel. It barely fits around my waist.

  “Are you imagining me naked again?”

  Fuck! There goes my mouth again.

  She sucks in a breath and clutches her computer against her chest when I open my eyes and look up at her.

  “Not a chance,” she says teasingly. “I just wanted to tell you that you played really well tonight. Wasn’t sure if you were still awake.”

  Lifting a brow, I grab the back of the couch and sit up. “Well, it’s been a passion of mine since I was a kid. So, thank you.” I smile as she begins to walk away. “But you were still picturing me naked. For your book?”

  She laughs. “Good night, Micah.”

  I find myself smiling as I watch her disappear from the room.

  A part of me hopes she gets a little inspiration from me for that book of hers. It’ll probably be the best damn book she’s ever written.

  I pull up outside of Sebastian’s parents’ apartment a little later than usual, to see Sebastian chilling on the porch with his friends.

  “Over here. Now,” I yell out the window, when I see one of them pass him a joint.

  Rolling his eyes, he passes it back and tells them that he’ll be right back.

  “You’re late,” he mumbles. “I thought you weren’t going to show.”

  “Have I ever stood you up? Get your ass in the truck.”

  He waves his friends off and jumps in.

  Every Sunday I pick him up, take him to lunch, and bring him to Express—the bar I’m working on opening.

  I don’t have much time to be there for the kid, but any amount of time I can give him, I do.

  After picking up some burgers, we head to the bar and sit down to eat.

  “Wher
e are your parents? Don’t they get tired of those lowlifes hanging out on your porch?”

  He looks up from his burger. “You tell me.” He tosses his burger down and sips his soda. “I haven’t seen them in a week.”

  Anger boils inside of me at the knowledge that his parents took off again without telling him where. Last time they took off they were gone for three fucking weeks, leaving him with an almost empty fridge and no money to survive on.

  “What the hell, Seb? I told you to let me know the next time they take off.” I rake my hands through my hair in frustration. “Is there food in the house?”

  Standing up, he tosses his empty wrappers into the trash. “Yeah . . . enough noodles to last me for a damn month.”

  “I’ll tell you what.” I toss my garbage in the trash and push my chair in. “Help me clean for the next three hours and I’ll take you shopping for a new pair of shoes and some groceries. I’m not letting you live on those shitty noodles for who knows how long. They’re terrible for digestion.”

  His eyes go wide, before he smiles. “Really? A new pair of kicks?”

  “As long as you promise me something.”

  He crosses his arms. “I’m listening, big man.”

  “I don’t want to see you smoking that shit with your friends, and I don’t want to catch you hanging around Vortex trying to get drunk. That’s why I’m not giving you cash this time. I’ll take you shopping myself from now on.”

  He lets out a long breath, before speaking. “Fine. You got a deal.”

  “Good.” I toss him some gloves. “Now let’s get this place cleaned up.”

  Three hours later, as promised, I take Sebastian shopping for a new pair of shoes and some groceries that will last him at least a month.

  Afterward, I drop him off at home and watch as he goes inside, locking the door behind him.

  I always make sure he locks the door before I pull away.

  The last time he left it unlocked when he was home alone, he got robbed by some homeless guy that hangs out at the liquor store across the street from the apartment building.