Everything I Need by Natalie Barnes Page B

shake my head at him; I don’t feel comfortable talking to him about this. Am I that fucking transparent that he picks up on it? If I am . . . then is she, too?
    Without saying a word to Caleb, I lounge back on this tiny fucking sofa that obviously wasn’t made for anyone my size. When the flight attendant tells us we’re getting ready for takeoff, I doze off.
     
    ************
     
    “Hey man! It’s showtime!” Caleb says to me as he stands.
    Blinking my eyes a few times, I realize that we must’ve landed. Holy shit! I crashed hard. Letting out a groan, I look up and notice Sophia coming out of the room. She has sunglasses on now and takes a seat next to Dave on the sofa opposite me. I can feel the tension radiating off of her and I can tell she’s uncomfortable.
    She’s so different around us than she is with her band. That could be because she hasn’t been around us since the last tour and maybe shy . . . or because I’m a fucking dick and she’s just wary of me. I can’t help it, but I keep staring at her. Dave starts up a conversation with her while we wait for the attendant to open the doors.
    “Have you ever been to Hawaii before?”
    He smiles big at her, probably trying to loosen her up. Fucking instantly, she starts smiling. God damn.
    “No, I haven’t. It’s so fucking cool that Lux is letting us use his place.”
    She’s starting to get excited now and I fucking love it. Sophia glances at me quickly but then goes back to staring at Dave. Motherfucker. Lucky son-of-a-bitch. I’m a greedy man and I want all of her attention to myself.
    Dave, throwing his hair back and tying it in a loose knot on his head, goes on.
    “It’s a little warmer here than LA right now, Soph. I think you overdressed a little. You might want to . . . I don’t know, take off some of your clothes.”
    WHAT THE FUCK?
    Sophia giggles at him all girly and shit and shakes her head ‘no,’ flipping him off with her middle finger. Good.
    “Shit. I tried.” Dave smiles at her and leans back.
    The doors are finally opening and everyone is starting to make their way out. I glare over at Dave as Sophia is walking by so she won’t notice me doing it. That cocky fucker just shrugs at me.
    I’m the last to leave the jet and once I step out of it, the sun blazes down on me. Only eight-thirty in the morning and it’s already hot as a motherfucker out here. I notice Lux sent a couple of SUVs here to wait for us.
    I stomp my way down the steps as Sophia climbs into the first one with Dave and Caleb. I’m going to give my girl some time, so I decide to get into the second one with Gunner and Ryan. Opening the door with more force than necessary, I get in. Ryan and Gunner are already squeezing into the back.
    “So, are we doing this when we get there, or what?” Gunner asks me as he’s playing with his phone, probably texting. Clearing my throat, I pull out my shades and slide them on my face.
    “Yeah,” I say back.
    Gunner is nothing like Caleb. You can have short conversations with him and get right to the point, whereas Caleb drags shit out on everything, whether it be personal shit or even where we’re gonna fucking eat and shit.
    I haven’t been here before, but after driving for a little while, I can tell we’re close by looking at our surroundings. I think it’s funny. I asked Lux why he doesn’t come out here himself, and he said he doesn’t really have the time for it. He just wanted the property to piss off his ex-wife who used to cheat on him.
    The grounds are lush, I see as we pull up to the gate, and it’s right on a cliff overlooking the ocean. I heard from some other guys that came out here that it has a badass studio. The exterior of the place is simple though, which I like.
    The dark weathered wood siding and dark textured shingles along with the grounds are what you would typically expect for something in Hawaii. It’s covered in nothing but palm trees and shrubs and flowery shit that lie all over the