Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 87091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
It was pretty obvious from that kiss that she was giving up a night of insanely great sex.
Perhaps she could have his body for a night, maybe a few, maybe weeks, even for as long as he stayed in town. But that was never going to be enough.
All she’d do was fall even deeper than she already was… and she would end up hurt, alone, and worst of all, without her best and longest friend.
Chapter Thirteen
Damien was still reeling when he got back to his place. He felt as though Crystal had slapped him. Treat her like one of his groupies? Where had that even come from?
There was no way he could sleep with the frustrated desire coursing through him, so he did what he always did when he was troubled. He picked up a guitar. As he sat there, playing familiar tunes, a song began to play inside his head. It was just the first line, but he felt his feelings begin to take shape, as they so often did, through songwriting.
With the song almost writing itself in his mind, his fingers tingling as they plucked the guitar strings, Damien knew he had to lay it down. Normally, he liked to have two people—one producing or handling the synthesizer while he was actually singing—but he didn’t want another person with him right now. He had to play both roles.
He wanted the simplicity, almost the rawness, of his voice and the guitar alone. Somehow, it felt more truthful. So that’s what he did. He wrote a song. For Crystal.
He played it back and then did one more take. By the time he was finished, it was six in the morning and he’d helped clarify his own feelings. He felt calmer. Stronger.
The sun was coming up, and he felt a lot better. He was still confused, but maybe he was wrapping his head around what had just happened with Crystal. The song had revealed his true feelings to himself in the way that only music could.
Damien showered and then made himself some green tea and his usual plant-based breakfast concoction. His siblings might mock it, but he swore by it. It kept him healthy, and he was convinced his clean diet got him through rigorous tour schedules without getting sick. He wiped up a few stray chia seeds, then wondered if he should finally go to bed and try to get some sleep. But he was still too full of energy. His first thought was to go for a run on the beach, to exhaust his body so his mind could finally rest, but then the real solution came to him. He needed to talk to somebody—preferably someone who would listen before rushing in with advice.
Erin was the one he could really talk to. She was the listener in the family, the one busy observing and not so busy flapping her mouth.
It was getting on for seven and he wasn’t sure whether it might be too early to call her, so he sent a text. To his delight, she responded right away, and they agreed to meet on the beach and walk the dogs. He hadn’t specifically said, “Don’t bring Jay,” but Erin, perceptive as she was, would doubtless show up alone.
He swung by the family home to pick up Buster, knowing how much the dog loved the beach. His mom was reading the paper when he let himself in, her first coffee of the day in her hand. She looked surprised to see him.
“Thought I’d take Buster for a walk with Erin and Boswell,” he said by way of explanation.
His mom smiled. “It’s nice to see you spend time with your siblings now that you’re home for a while,” she said. “It’s the small moments, like walks on the beach or grabbing a quick coffee, that you don’t realize you’ve missed until you have them again.”
His mom was right. She was always right. It was the small things he missed about being home. Buster, who was acting like he hadn’t seen Damien in at least a year, was jumping up and down at the sight of the leash.
Damien shook his head. “Don’t you ever walk this dog?”
She laughed. “Twice a day. But you could walk him seventeen times a day and he’d still act like a shut-in.”
So he and Buster bounded off on their adventure and soon caught up with Erin on the beach with both her dog, Boswell, and Jay’s rescue, Nelson. How Erin handled both excitable dogs as well as Jay and worked a full-time job was impressive. He gave his sister a big hug, and Buster and the dogs greeted each other with ecstatic enthusiasm, even though they’d all been at breakfast together only the day before.
They settled into step with each other, and Erin immediately asked him what was up.