Montana
Peyton enters the elevator first, presses the button for the casino, then leans against the rail on the left side of the car. Carson’s hand never moves from the exposed skin at the small of my back. The warmth from his strong hand heats my entire body.
Man buns were never my thing. However, Carson sports one today, and I’m loving it. Holy hotness. Who knew he could look even better than yesterday?
His dark dress pants cling tight to his thighs and glutes. His button-down, royal-blue dress shirt accentuates his athletic build. His biceps bulge against the silky fabric. My breath catches at the thought of that fabric brushing against my bare skin.
“Everything okay?” Carson asks me.
As we descend to the casino level, I cover my mouth to hide my giggle. In the metal reflection on the opposite wall, I see Carson raise an eyebrow and erupt with laughter.
“She’s always uncomfortable in qui
Montana The next morning dawns bright… a little too bright.“Make it stop,” I groan, placing a pillow over my face to block out the much-too-bright sun as the incessant pounding in my head continues. “Uh,” I whimper, clutching the pillow tight. I’ve never had a hangover that caused such a loud pounding in my head.“Montana,” a woman yells. “Open your door.” Immediately, the annoying pounding resumes.I throw the pillow from my face, moaning as I roll to place my feet on the floor of the spinning room.“Hey, why’d you do that?” Carson grumbles from the other side of my bed. I freeze, staring dumbfounded.Well, I guess that happened. I search my foggy brain. I can’t recall the two of us returning to my room.“Montana,” the woman’s voice calls again from the other side of the door.I grab a t-shirt from the floor, pulling it over my head while approaching the door. I quickly check to ens
Montana I lean my forehead against the cool window glass. Though my eyes peer toward the Vegas Strip, I see nothing. The cool air-conditioner feels good on my face. I’m married. I got drunk and married to a guy I met only two days ago. I married a freaking rock star.My parents will be ashamed. They raised me better than this. They instilled in me that marriage isn’t a frivolous decision and should be a lifelong promise.My older brother will kill me. I fear his impending lecture more than my father’s. An annulment is a quick fix for a fuckup. Carson’s too good to be a fuckup. He’s so sweet.When he sat by me in the hallway, a cozy, warm feeling surrounded me. Not a temporary sensation, a full, complete feeling. I’m me with him. I’m not fake. Carson is a gentleman. I haven’t had a first date since high school that the guy didn’t try for more at least once. Two days together, dates of sorts,
Montana I do my best to concentrate on his words as he shares his idea with me, but I fail. My body’s reaction to his gentle touch grows exponentially. My mind drifts to him caressing other parts of my body, causing me to miss his entire plan.“So,” Carson drawls out, “what do you think?” His eyes ping pong back and forth, searching mine.I blow out a long breath as I search my brain for any clues to the plan he shared. I’ve got nothing. “Sounds good to me,” I lie. Well, is it a lie if I don’t know what I’m agreeing to?“Awesome!” Carson taps on his phone several times, then his thumbs type. “I’m scheduling a band meeting in my room in fifteen minutes. I need to apologize to the band for the negative publicity. We’ll share the plan with them and see if they’ll agree.” **** Carson Of course, Meredith shows up early for the meeting. I don’t want to deal with
Carson I scan my band members’ faces. “First, I want to apologize for the publicity storm you woke to this morning. I’m sorry my actions last night might have placed you in a negative light because of your association with me.”Lying starfish-style on my bed, Eli raises his head. “Negative, dude. Your marrying Montana did not put a blemish on Communicable.” He scoffs. “There’s a bit of speculation, but your ‘Prince of Rock’ image remains untarnished. Fans want to know all about the girl that stole your heart.”“Well, trust me when I say my actions last night were careless on my part. I would have liked to drink less and remember every second of it.”Laughter fills the room.“You don’t…” Jake laughs.“Neither of us remembers much from the time we left the club,” Montana confesses.“Seriously?” Peyton asks, voice rising as she moves to stand beside her friend. “You didn’t seem wasted. Did she?” She looks to Eli
Montana “With that settled,” Peyton starts, “look at these photos I took last night.”Her fingers scroll through photo after photo. Unimpressed, Meredith leaves the room. Eli pauses beside Carson.“Here.” He places his palm flat upon Carson’s chest. “It’ll work. The two of you, I mean. Watch this, and you’ll believe like we do.” His index finger moves between Peyton and him.When he pulls his palm from Carson’s chest, I see he’s given him a flash drive.“What’s this…?” Carson asks.“It’s a video of last night.” Eli grins.A video of our wedding. I’ll need to thank him for recording it. As we can’t remember, it’s our only window into the ceremony, our vows, and our drunken behaviors last night.“Can you send me the photos?” Carson asks Peyton. “Montana has my number.”It seems he’s as eager as I am to relive last night.“Watch the video. I’ll head to our room and send the pics to Montana.”
Carson “Montana, we’re here,” I murmur near her head which is resting on my shoulder. “It’s time to wake up.” I can’t believe she didn’t wake up when we stopped at the security gate at the entrance to the neighborhood.It warms my heart that she feels comfortable enough with me to sleep on my shoulder. We shared a long night of sex last night that neither of us remembers, and except holding hands while watching the wedding video, this is the first physical contact we’ve had since. My body craves her touch and loves having her near.Her groggy eyes take a moment to focus on me before turning to my house.“It’s not the over-the-top mansion I thought it would be,” she states, taking in my simple three-story beachfront house in Huntington Beach, CA.“I’m not a mansion type of guy,” I tell her. “Oh, fuck.”“Are those your…?”“Yep. Those are my parents,” I groan under my breath. “They’re supposed to be in San Diego
Montana With our empty wine glasses in hand, Kurt and I join the others in the kitchen, Denali, the Malamute, trotting behind us.“Let me give Montana a tour, then we can meet on the rooftop,” Carson suggests to his parents.“So, this is the kitchen.” He swings his arms wide.I’m already very familiar with this open space, with the large island with seating for five, and the bar area to the side, near the floor-to-ceiling glass doors, leading to the outdoor grill.A few steps away, also on the first floor, we walk through a giant living room, complete with a wall of glass, two French doors to the patio where we ate, a small powder room, and a mudroom with a shower off to the patio side.Near the table where we ate, the stone patio holds a wicker sectional with large, cushioned chairs, a glass railing all around, and a glass gate that opens to a wooden ramp which leads down to the private beach he promises to show me
Montana The next morning, while eating breakfast, my phone vibrates, signaling a FaceTime call. “Excuse me. I need to take this.” I scoot my chair from the breakfast table and Carson’s parents.“It’s my brother,” I whisper to Carson as I pass by.“Hello,” I greet nervously, aware of the lecture coming my way.“I didn’t wake you, did I?” Joe asks.“We’re eating breakfast. It’s eight o’clock here,” I answer. “What time is it in Africa?”“About five. We’re getting ready for dinner,” he explains.In the background, I see bare dirt and huts in the distance.“I miss you,” I whisper, fighting back my tears.“I’m sure you do, but we’ve got other stuff to cover.” My brother’s voice takes on an authoritative tone. “What were you thinking?”“Joe…” Tears fall, and my throat swells shut.“Let’s put aside the fact that you were blitzed in an unfamiliar city with strangers that are rock stars. Mom says y