7
Chapter 7
Paisley’s POV
A week later
"We're going camping?"I asked Claire in sheer shock. "Really?"
Had I misheard her somehow? There was no way my glamorous sister all of a sudden wanted to go camping. She was more used to five-star hotels these days.
She shrugged and grinned from ear to ear. "Yeah, why not? We have some time off—I'm not needed back at the venue for a couple of days now."
"I know that," I exclaimed. "But I didn't know you liked camping. I thought you wanted a comfy bed and a hot tub in your room these days."
Not that I needed to think about a hot tub in a Vegas suite, because it took me immediately back to that place with Sly where we had the absolute best night ever. Something I seriously wanted to reenact some time.
"Are you kidding?" She flung her arm around my neck all playfully. "Don't you remember all our camping trips from when we were kids? We used to have so much fun. When we couldn't afford to go to Disney World or on a fancy abroad vacation like all our school friends, Mom and Dad would take us camping by that lake."
A smile spread across my face. "Yeah, I do actually. And I remember going back to school and people feeling sorry for us because we hadn't been on an airplane, but I never cared because we always had so much fun."
"I know, right?" Claire bounced excitedly on her toes. "So, why not recreate that now? I haven't been camping in such a long time. We can do some of that fun stuff we used to do. We can play games and tell ghost stories. We can run and swim, and I don't know, whatever." She giggled. "We can just let loose, you know?"
She was the one who stopped our camping trips. One year, when she was in high school, she stomped her feet and kicked up a stink because camping was "gross." Until now, apparently.
"Right, so who else is coming?" I asked, blinking away my shock.
"Everyone." Claire giggled. "Including the RedEye guys. They are actually the ones who came up with the idea. They want to go camping, so I thought we should tag along. I think Daisy might be staying behind to keep everything under control, but everyone else is coming along for some fun."
"The RedEye guys." I cocked a knowing eyebrow at her. "I thought you didn't like the RedEye guys. I can't believe you want to spend time with them."
As a tight knot twisted in my stomach, I tried my absolute hardest to push that jealousy to one side, but it remained thick and heavy, going nowhere.
"I don't like being looked after," Claire corrected me. "But the guys aren't too bad. They are good for partying and having a good time."
Now that was true. Every time the team went out for drinks, it was always awesome. Just a little awkward for me because of the burning tension between myself and Sly, and obviously Jake as well. Then there was Vinnie…
Nothing might have happened between Vinnie and me, but it always felt like something could happen. Like we could kiss at any given moment. We just hadn't found ourselves alone yet. Not after that first time anyway.
Well, that might change. If we were going on this camping trip, which it really seemed like we were, that chance might come around. I wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. It certainly felt incredibly dangerous.
"So, are you going to pack up, then?" Claire giggled. "You're going to need to bring a swim suit at the very least. There is definitely a lake where we're going. Unless you want to jump in the water naked in front of all those guys."
She might have been teasing me, but her words sent an intense shudder racing down my spine. That would be another bold move, wouldn't it? A bit like the stunt I first pulled when I met Sly in that bar that night.
God, if only I had known then how much time I would spend with Sly.
"Yes," I answered quickly. "Yes, I'm going to pack right now."
"Good, because it is going to be fun." Claire danced around a little, silently letting me know how much she intended to let loose. "I'm bringing a selection of beers with me. Enough for us to have an awesome night."
I wasn't sure I liked the sound of that. I already felt like I was out of control around the RedEye guys. Adding booze to the mix wouldn't help. I was going to need a damn fine excuse so no one could talk me into drinking.
If I really thought about it, Daisy would tell me not to drink so I could look after Claire. She would demand it actually, so that could be a good excuse.
"I'm kinda looking forward to it." I smiled at Claire. "It's been some time since I got back to nature. It could be fun."
Was I really thinking about the tents and the trees? Or was I more looking forward to spending some time with the hot guys? If there was a lake, and people were going to be swimming, maybe I would be able to see them all half naked as well. Now that was something inspired me.
I hugged Claire before I left her room and headed to my own to pack up my stuff. Hopefully, during that time I would also be able to get my damn head in order because this weekend was going to be insane. One way or another, I had a feeling it would change a lot.
* * *
We had so many tents.It felt a bit more like a festival than just a camping trip. But Claire was right, this was a lot of fun. Even setting up the endless tents felt less like a chore. It probably helped a lot that I was working very closely with Sly, who'd loosened up a lot now that we were here.
He wasn't quite so straight laced and strict in a relaxed setting, which was nice. I kind of liked seeing this side of him.
"Hey, smile!" Claire laughed as she caught mine and Sly's attention. We turned to see her phone in our faces. Not the best photo, I was sure, but Claire didn't care.
"Claire, you must remember not to post anything about this trip online until we’re back at the hotel," Sly reminded her, snapping back into professional mode for a moment. "We don't want anyone to figure out where we are."
"Yeah, yeah." She waved her hand dismissively. "I just want to document this. It doesn't all need to go online. I'm not obsessed with the internet."
Now that was a joke. Claire was absolutely obsessed with the internet. It was her whole life. That was how she built up her career, after all. But I really did hope she listened to Sly this time around because her safety was at risk. Just because Claire didn't see that she had something to worry about, didn't make it untrue. We hadn't seen anything to panic about, but I wouldn't let my guard down.
I shared a look with Sly, and we both burst out laughing. It was nice to share a laugh with Sly because he was usually such a serious man. It intensified the powerful heat surging between us the entire time. I knew with absolute certainty that if Sly leaned down and kissed me right now, in front of everyone, I would let him. I wouldn't be able to stop myself from caving to temptation.
"Hey, do you guys need this?" Jake interjected, handing tent pegs to Sly. He had his shirt off in the heat and, holy shit, I could really see that muscular body of his. "How are you doing? Do you need a hand?"
There was a strange burning energy between the three of us. Like a strange passion, or maybe a thick tension instead. It wasn't quite jealousy, but it was something akin to that. Something that heated up in my chest and made my heart race a little bit faster. I grew dizzier as I became unable to breathe.
I darted my eyes between the two men, trying to stop my lips from curling up into a smile. I wasn't supposed to like this, not as much as I did, but I couldn't stop the excitement from blooming. This wasn't like me at all, but it was kind of fun to think such wickedly thrilling thoughts. It was a fantasy I enjoyed so much, it was going to be hard for me to keep myself in check while we were here.
* * *
The cracklesof the bonfire were addictive. I enjoyed watching the flames dance and dart around in front of my eyes. The drinks might have been flowing for everyone else, but I'd stuck to my resolve to stay stone cold sober. My excuse that Daisy wanted me with my faculties intact had worked out well, and I was actually pretty glad. I really had been dizzy enough all day long.
"Come dance with me," Claire wailed as she dragged me to my feet. "Come on. Have some fun. Let's let our hair down. I want you to dance with me."
I would have thought that she wouldn't want to be dancing around like a fool on her time off, but it seemed like Claire couldn't get enough of the music. She had Jake and Vinnie on their feet and dancing as well. Clearly she hadn't managed to work her magic on Sly or Ollie yet. But she would soon enough.
"Hey there!" Vinnie rested his hands on my hips as we danced together. "How’re you doing?" He leaned in a little closer, and I could feel his breath on my cheek. "It seems like forever since we had time to chat."
He was right about that. In response, I looped my arms around his neck and edged a little closer. My hips rolled against him as I dragged my tongue along my top lip. This guy was a lot. Should I kiss him? A big part of me wanted to rise up on to my tiptoes and press my lips to his. I wanted to taste his tongue, to feel him press up against me so I could feel his entire body.
"I've missed you," he whispered, his eyes darting all over me like he wanted to eat me alive. "We need to make sure we spend more time together before our time in Vegas is up, don't you think? We've got to make sure we have fun."
The way the word "fun" rolled off his tongue sent a shudder racing down my spine. I knew exactly what he meant by that, and I wanted it. Vinnie rested his forehead on mine, showing me the intense desire in his eyes. He wanted to eat me alive, and damn it, I wanted to let him.
Whenever I was with any of these guys, the rest of the world melted away. I knew I could easily lose myself in whichever one of them was right there in front of me, which was tantalizingly dangerous.
"Come here, guys." Claire grabbed both Vinnie's arm and mine, pulling us both closer to her. She was more than a little tipsy now, and getting loud and wild. If she hadn't posted on the internet now, it would be a miracle. "Come and dance."
We had to separate, which was a real shame, but probably for the best so I didn't get too wild with Vinnie. I was trying to be smart here.
We danced for a little while, and Sly even joined in. But Ollie didn't. I hadn't had much time to talk to Ollie while this residency was going on, but I was starting to feel like this was my chance to do so. He was off at the side of the bonfire, quietly thinking to himself. Not joining in with the fun.
I slipped away from the dancing, allowing the others to continue with their fun, and I took a seat beside him. He didn't even seem to notice me at first.
"Oh…" He blinked a couple of times. "Hey, sorry, Paisley. I was in my own little world. Is everything okay with you? Are you enjoying the party?"
"Yeah, but I could use a break." I chuckled. "How are you?"
He nodded a couple of times. "I'm good, thank you. Enjoying the fresh air."
"You seem like an outdoorsy person," I commented. "So, the Las Vegas Strip must be a bit of a challenge for you."
"It's very…bright," he replied carefully. "A little like your clothing."
I glanced down at my pink, orange, and red outfit. Maybe it was a little bright. But I was really into clashing colors at the moment. It was fun.
"Oh, right, yeah. Sorry, my outfits aren't for everyone…"
"No, no, I love them," Ollie insisted. "I really like the way you dress. I'm always attracted to your clothing when I see you while I'm working."
"Oh!" I was a little taken aback by that. "Well, that's really nice. Thank you for the compliment. My fashion is important to me. I actually hope to be a fashion designer one day. It's what I've studied for, and what I'm hoping to do with my life once all of this is over." I corrected myself when I realized how Ollie might have taken that statement. "Not that I'm not enjoying working on Claire's tour, of course."
"Wow, that's really interesting," Ollie agreed. "I actually used to work in fashion myself. Not the sort of fashion you're into, though, I'm sure."
"You did?" Shocked, I stared at him with wide eyes. "How?"
I thought, stupidly, that Bennie was going to be my connection to the fashion world, but perhaps that was actually sitting here in front of me the whole time.
"I used to own a men's only swim short line."
"Used to?" There was something here, right? I could sense it. I didn't know if it was a subject that wanted to be poked at, but he did bring it up.
"Yeah, my ex-wife took it from me in the divorce."
Whoa.All the air was sucked out of my lungs. I wasn't expecting that statement at all.
Ollie dragged his fingers through his shaggy blond hair, then turned to let me see the pain in his dark irises. This was clearly something that was horrible.
"When did you get married?" Shit, should I have asked that? It was too late, though, the words were tumbling out of my mouth at the speed of light. "And divorced?"
"I got married young." He nodded slowly. "And divorced a year ago."
"I see." I gulped loudly. This was a lot of emotion. I didn’t know what to do about this, I didn’t know what to say. "I'm sorry, that must be really hard."
"Yeah, well…" He offered me a one-shouldered shrug. "It is what it is. We weren't meant to be. There's a lot she didn't like about me, and there's nothing I can do about that. We didn't have a choice but to separate."
"I honestly can't imagine anyone not liking anything about you."
He shot me a thin-lipped smile. "Yeah, well, maybe you're saying that because you don't know everything about me. I'm sure you would feel the same."
I narrowed my eyes at him. What was he talking about? I suppose I didn't know much about Ollie, so I couldn't judge, but there was something magnetic about him that pulled me in. He didn't seem to have a bad bone in his body.
"You have some kind of secret?" I challenged him. "Some skeletons in your closet? Because I don't think there's anything that could make me not like you."
I shot him a look, trying to make him really see that I meant my words. Ollie surprised me by hooking his hands underneath the hem of his t-shirt and whipping it up over his head. Tattoos popped off his body and caught my eye immediately. I wasn't entirely sure what I was looking for, but I was fascinated.
He had a crest tattoo that I actually thought I might have seen on Sly as well, which was kind of wild. Maybe it was a military thing. But he also had a really cool wolf howling at the moon on his hip. It looked like it had been done by a very famous artist. Although I couldn't put my finger on who.
"I like this." I rubbed my thumb over the tattoo. "It's cute."
"You like wolves, huh?" There was definite mirth in his tone which I couldn’t quite place. I didn't know what could be funny about wolves. I wondered if this could be linked to his big secret somehow. "That's interesting."
"What does it mean?" I raked my eyes over his muscles, my mouth going dry.
"Maybe it's linked to my secret," he teased. "Maybe I can't tell you."
Our eyes locked and again I found my pulse pounding. Seriously, was I falling for this guy as well? What the hell was it with me and the RedEye guys? All of them. They all seemed to affect me in ways I could not handle.
"Do you want to go for a walk?" I asked him, the words almost falling apart on my lips. "Leave everyone to have their fun for a while? That way we can really get to know one another. We haven't had a chance to do that yet, have we?"
Yep, I was stepping right back into danger once more, only this time with Ollie, which s unexpected. I never thought I would be all jelly legged over him, but here I was. This mysterious, quiet, smoldering man with some kind of sexy secret.
What could be more intriguing than that?
No one seemed to notice as we walked away. They were so busy dancing and having fun. Ollie and I were free to leave them all behind to have a little private chat, just us.