More to Us Read online

  I kiss her, but just once and keep it short. The manager would kick my ass if he saw me kissing a girl in the gym. "You ready to work out?"

  "Yeah." She smiles, and I feel a jolt of happiness, or maybe it's adrenaline. Whatever it is, it feels good and gives me energy and makes me want more. And it's all from that smile of hers. Damn, this girl gets to me.

  Last night, I told her she'd get me in trouble and this is what I was talking about. I'm in trouble because I'm falling for her, too hard and too damn fast. I've known her for less than a week and she's already got me hooked, wanting to see her, constantly thinking about her, making me react to something as simple as her smile.

  I'm not ready for this. I'm too young to find a girl that makes me feel this way. When I'm 27 or 28, then yeah, maybe I'll be ready. But right now? It's too soon.

  "I'm gonna go warm up on the treadmill," she says.

  As she walks away, I check her out. Today's she's wearing neon green running shorts and a white tank top with a white sports bra underneath.

  Out of the side of my eye, I notice some guy looking at her. I glance over and see him staring at her ass. She has a great ass, round and perky. And mine. So that guy shouldn't be looking at it. Shit, now I'm the jealous one. What the hell? But he shouldn't be looking at my girl that way. I catch his eye and glare at him and he goes back to working out.

  I go over to the free weights and continue my workout. I got here before six so I could get some sets in before Kira arrived. I want to watch her for part of her workout to make sure she gets her form right. The other day, her form was off and I don't want her getting injured.

  "Hips straight," I say as she lifts the dumbbells over her head. She finished her cardio twenty minutes ago and I've been having her do free weights before I have to leave for work. She can do the machines after I go. Her form was better on those than the free weights.

  "How's this?" She lifts the weights up again and I check her form.

  "Your hips are still tilted forward a little." I place my hands on her lower abs and back, moving her into the right position. "See how that feels? That's how you should be lined up."

  "Got it." She takes a breath, then does another rep.

  "That was good. Did you feel the muscles in your core working?"

  She lowers the weights. "Yeah."

  "You should feel that each time you lift the weight. It seems like an arm exercise but it also works your core if you do it right." I take the weights from her. "I have to get going. You okay doing the rest on your own?"

  "Yeah. Thanks." She goes to pick up another weight.

  "That's it?" I smile at her.

  "What?"

  "Don't you want to say goodbye?" I nod toward the exit. "Maybe somewhere more private?"

  She smiles. "Okay."

  We go out the side entrance and I back her up against the building and kiss her, and not a short kiss. A real kiss. Then I back away.

  "Sorry if I stink but I had to do that."

  She laughs. "You don't stink. A little sweat is nothing. I grew up living with three younger brothers. You have no idea how bad that smells."

  "Believe me, I know. I grew up in a house with four guys."

  "That's true." She laughs again.

  "You sure you don't want to come hear us practice tonight?"

  "I don't think so. I really need to do some reading for class."

  "Would you care if I stop by your place on my way home?"

  "Um, I don't know. My roommate might have her boyfriend over again and they always hang out in the living room."

  "So we'll go in your room." I smile. "You know, just to talk."

  "Uh huh. I'm sure that's all we'd do."

  I get serious and look her in the eye. "I need you to know that I'd never pressure you to do anything you don't want to. If you're ever uncomfortable, or want to slow things down, just tell me. I know some guys get pissed about that but I don't. And I never will. So don't be afraid to say something, okay?"

  She nods, then rises up on her toes and gives me a kiss. "You need to get to work."

  "I'm already late. What's another few minutes?" I kiss her.

  "Go." She pushes on my chest. "I don't want you getting in trouble."

  "My brother's the boss." I kiss her again. "I'm not too worried about it."

  "Still. You need to get going. But will you call me tonight?"

  "Well, yeah. What kind of question is that? I'm not going to wait until tomorrow to call you. I'll probably call you on my break too."

  I try to kiss her but she pushes me away, smiling. "Go. Get to work."

  I give her one last kiss but keep it quick, then open the door and we go back inside. "Have a good day."

  "You too." She heads back to the free weights. I'd like to stay and help her, but I know Nash will yell at me for not being at work. My phone's already buzzing with his text. I text him back and tell him I'm running late.

  The day goes by quickly, as it always does when I'm doing construction. That's one reason I like it. The days go fast and it's always something different. One day I'm installing floors and another day I'm knocking down a wall. And I like that at the end of the day, I've accomplished something. I've built something or made something look new again. To me, construction is a creative outlet, just like music. That's why I do it. But if I had to choose between construction and music, I'd pick music, which is a problem because I'm supposed to help my brothers run Wheeler Construction when my dad retires.

  I never got back to him about his suggestion to get more involved with the business. It's not that I don't want to, but I don't want it to be at the expense of my music.

  "You playing this weekend?" Nash asks. We're having dinner at a restaurant near his apartment. His fiancé, Callie, is having a girls' night with Ivy, Jake's girlfriend, and Jen, Bryce's girl.

  "Yeah, on Saturday," I tell him. "You coming?"

  "We can't. We're going down to visit Lou." Lou is Callie's old boss. He lives in a small town a couple hours south of here. He's like an uncle to her. "We're coming back on Monday. Callie starts classes on Tuesday."

  "That's right. I forgot you guys were going there."

  "You got any plans for the holiday?"

  "Not yet. I haven't really thought about it."

  Next Monday is Labor Day. We usually have a family cookout in the back yard, but this year, my brothers are all taking off for the weekend. Jake is taking Ivy to our cabin in Wisconsin, and Bryce and Jen are going camping in Minnesota.

  "Dad and I will probably just throw some burgers on the grill."

  "You gonna invite your girlfriend over?" Nash grins.

  "Maybe. I haven't asked her yet." I haven't told Nash about Kira, but in my family, word travels fast. I'm sure my dad or Bryce told him about her.

  "So when do I get to meet this girl?"

  "I don't know. Maybe I'll have her come to family dinner."

  Every other Sunday we have family dinner at the house. The next one is a week from Sunday.

  He cuts into his steak. "You'd bring her to Sunday dinner? Must be serious."

  "I can bring a girl to dinner without it being serious." I take a bite of my salmon. It's usually served with rice but I got broccoli instead. I try to limit my carbs.

  "You really like this girl, don't you?"

  "Yeah. I do. We have a lot in common. She even works out at my gym."

  "That piece of shit gym? How'd she even find that place?"

  "I don't know, but I'm glad she showed up there because she never gave me her number that night we met. I probably never would've seen her again if she hadn't joined that gym."

  He checks his phone. "Dad just texted me. He wants to know timing on finishing the floors."

  For the rest of dinner we talk work, then I head home to get my guitar before meeting up with Dylan and Van. I called Kira on my way over there. She was having dinner with her roommate so we didn't talk long.

  At seven I get to Van and Dylan's house for practice. I al
ways enter through the garage, then go in the door to the house and straight down the stairs to the basement.

  "Where's Van?" I ask, since Dylan's the only one there.

  "He's on the phone. He'll be back in a minute."

  Moments later, Van walks in. "Wheeler. You just get here?"

  "Yeah. What's up? Something wrong?" I ask because he looks upset. He wears his emotions on his face. I always know how he's feeling.

  "Just the usual." He goes to the mini fridge and grabs an energy drink.

  "Family problems," Dylan says to me. "His dad's being a shithead again."

  "What'd he do now?" I ask.

  Van pops open the tab on his drink. "He was supposed to take Anna to the movies on Saturday and now he's telling her he has to work." Anna is Van's younger sister. She's ten. "She called me just now, freaking crying, because he canceled on her. She hasn't seen him in weeks. She was really looking forward to this."

  "Your dad hasn't been going over there?"

  Van shakes his head. "He's spending all his time with some chick. He told me he's not seeing anyone but I saw her leaving his apartment when I drove by there last week. I know he's lying about Saturday. He's not working. He's going out with his girlfriend." Van sits down at his drums. "So now I'll be the one taking Anna to the movies. She wants to see some cartoon. And then I'm taking her and Brit out for pizza."

  Brittany is his other sister. She's 14.

  "What about Saturday night?" Dylan asks. "I thought you had a date."

  "I called her and told her I can't make it."

  "Couldn't you still go out? Just take your sisters home after dinner."

  "I would, but Brit needs some big brother time. She's been acting out at school and giving my mom a hard time. It's because she's pissed about my dad. The asshole doesn't even call her back when she leaves him a message." He picks up his drumsticks. "Enough about my family drama. Let's play some music."

  He flashes that stupid, lopsided grin of his, but I know he's still upset. He worries about his sisters, especially with his dad no longer around. He said his dad cheated the whole time he was married to his mom so it's good they're divorced but it's been hard on his little sisters, and Van too.

  He starts up on his drums but Dylan stops him. "Wait. Before we get going, I want to hear about this new girl Wheeler's got."

  Dylan called me last night when I was on my way to pick up Kira at her apartment. I told him I had a date but didn't say who it was with.

  "Who's the girl?" Van asks.

  "The one I talked to at the bar last Saturday."

  "The one who refused to go out with you?" he asks.

  "Yeah. Her name's Kira."

  "That was the girl you were out with last night?" Dylan goes over and sits on the shitty brown recliner that's shoved against the wall, next to the equally shitty red plaid couch. It's the furniture that came with the house. With all the college students who've rented this place over the years, I hate to think what's on that furniture. "I thought she didn't give you her number."

  "She didn't, but she showed up at my gym."

  Van grins. "And you turned on the Wheeler charm and convinced her to go out with you."

  "Yeah, something like that." I set my guitar down, knowing they're going to ask me more questions. I really just want to practice. If we finish up early, I might stop by Kira's place. I haven't seen her all day and I miss her.

  "So was last night your first date?" Van asks.

  "We went out the night before too. And I'm training her at the gym. Well, sort of. She's an athlete so she already knows what she's doing but I offered to train her anyway."

  "So you'd have an excuse to see her more." Dylan smiles. "You really like this girl."

  "Yeah. I think this might actually go somewhere."

  "What kind of athlete?" Van asks.

  "She's a gymnast, or she used to be. She had an injury so she's not competing anymore."

  Van laughs. "A gymnast?" He tosses his drumstick in the air and catches it. "Congratulations, man. Your sex life's about to become freaking amazing. You do it with her yet?"

  "No, and stop talking about her that way or I'll shove that drumstick up your ass."

  "I'm just saying, gymnasts can do things with their bodies you wouldn't believe. Same with yoga instructors. Remember Gia? The girl I dated last year?"

  "Yeah, you already told us," Dylan says. "We don't want to hear any more of your sex stories. You give way too much detail, man."

  "I'm just—"

  "So is she in school?" Dylan asks me, interrupting Van.

  "Yeah, she starts college next week. She's 21 so she's starting late. She moved here from Michigan. She lives in an apartment with one of her friends from high school."

  "Is her roommate hot?" Dylan asks. "Maybe I could date her."

  "I've never met her, but I know she has a boyfriend. And since when are you looking for a date? You have girls begging to go out with you."

  "Yeah, band groupies. You know I don't want that."

  "You haven't wanted anyone in months," Van says. "You've barely shown interest in a girl, so why now? You finally over the one-night stand girl?"

  He shrugs. "I guess. I'll never see her again, so what's the point?"

  "Ha!" Van points his drumstick at Dylan. "I knew you were hung up on that girl. I finally got you to admit it."

  Dylan gives him an annoyed look. "It wasn't exactly a secret, idiot. I wrote a damn song about her."

  "Still. You'd never admit it until now."

  "So you know anyone?" he asks me.

  "For you to date? No. But you're going back to college next week so I'm sure you'll meet someone there."

  "Speaking of college," he says, "we're going to have to change our practice times. Van and I have a couple night classes this semester so we're gonna have to meet earlier."

  "I can't," I say. "I have to work."

  He gets up from his chair. "Then we'll just have to practice less. And we won't be able to play as much. I have a tough schedule this year and I'm trying to set up an internship for the spring."

  "What are you saying?" I ask. "You're ditching the band?"

  "No. I just won't have as much time to play."

  "You too?" I ask Van.

  "Yeah. Sorry, man, but school comes first, you know?"

  Actually, I don't know, because I'm not in school. I have work and the band. And the band is important to me. So important that I've told my dad I won't work nights or weekends if it interferes with my music. My brothers all work overtime but I won't do it. The band is a priority to me. But I guess Van and Dylan don't feel the same way.

  So what does that mean for Vandyl? Is the band going to eventually break up? I'd counted on us doing this for years. I wanted us to be more than a local band. Maybe even do this for a living. But that's not going to happen if they're giving it up.

  Maybe they're not. Maybe they were just letting me know they'd be busy this year and would have less time for the band. I hope that's what Dylan meant because I really need this band. And I don't want to join another. The three of us work well together and we all get along. We're friends. And I need to play. My music is important to me and I need to play.

  So they can't break up the band. Vandyl has to continue. If it doesn't, I don't know what I'm going to do.

  Chapter Twelve

  Kira

  My phone rings and I see Austin's name.

  "Hey," I answer. "You done with the band?"

  "Yeah, and I want to see you."

  "It's almost ten."

  "Yeah? So?

  "It's too late to go anywhere."

  "We don't have to go anywhere. I'll just come over."

  "Sorry, but you can't. Amber's asleep and I don't want to wake her up."

  "She's asleep before ten?"

  "She had a really bad headache so she went to bed." This time I'm not lying. She got a migraine after dinner and it wouldn't go away so now she's in bed.

  "Then I'll meet you dow
nstairs," he says. "We'll go get something to eat or just hang out in my truck."

  "I don't want you driving all the way over here."

  "I'm already here. I'm in the parking lot."

  "You are?" I smile and feel my heart beating faster.

  "Yeah, so get that hot little ass of yours down here and come see me."

  "I'll be down in a minute." I toss my phone on my bed and check myself in the mirror. I'm kind of a mess, with no makeup on and my hair in a ponytail. But I don't have time to do much so I re-do my ponytail, then yank off my t-shirt so I can put on a bra. But then I decide not to. If we start making out, he'll just take it off, so why bother? I grab a lightweight button-up shirt and put it on, because I like it when he undoes the buttons, all slow and sexy. I'm getting hot just thinking about it. I leave on the shorts I'm wearing, grab my phone and keys, and head downstairs.

  "What took you so long?" Austin asks. He was waiting just outside the door, and when I came out he pulled me into his arms and kissed me.

  "I didn't take long. You're just impatient. And I had to get ready. I didn't know you were coming over."

  "I didn't know I was either, but as I was driving home, I decided I couldn't wait until tomorrow to see you. So you want to go somewhere?"

  "I'd rather just go in your truck and make out."

  He laughs. "Okay, that works."

  "Why are you laughing? You told me to be direct."

  "That's true. I did. Let's get in the truck and you can tell me exactly what you want me to do to you."

  "I don't want to be THAT direct. I like it better when you surprise me." I push out of his arms and walk to his truck, fast and determined. "You coming?"

  He catches up to me and scoops me up in his arms.

  "Hey!" I laugh. "What are you doing?"

  "Surprising you." He kisses me. "You said you liked that."

  "I do." I kiss him back, noticing how good he smells. He has cologne on tonight, a clean fresh scent that mixes well with his skin. He's wearing dark jeans and a bright white t-shirt that shows off his dark tan and muscular arms.

  He sets me down, then opens the door to his truck and slides the seat all the way back. Then he gets in and helps me up and I sit on his lap, straddling him.

  "I really need to get my own place," he says, kissing me. "But for now, this will have to do."