My L490 - Part 1

Chapter 11 - The Team

As we pulled up to the house, he slowed down and parked in the driveway, now I was really excited, I had fluttering in my stomach the whole drive back from the airport, he glanced at me a few times after our eyes met earlier, but  I kept my eyes off the mirror. He turned the car off and unlocked all the doors, as I opened mine and got out the car the sun hurt my eyes it was so bright, I squinted and felt something being pushed into my hand, I looked down and it was the sunglasses, my heart raced as I saw his hand close to mine, so close, but he made sure not to touch me, I took them gladly and put them on, strangely, a perfect fit.

He stood looking at me for a moment longer and as I looked up our eyes met again, through the sunglasses I saw him grinning, "Sunglasses should be made to fit" and he walked through the gate to the house, leaving James and I to get the suitcases out of the trunk. As we walked through the gate, I looked around and it was beautiful, the garden was massive, with a large swimming pool in the center, as we walked down the steps Em came walking out to greet me, "Hey you made it! Welcome, we are all so excited you're here! It's a holiday today so most of the staff are off, but we planned a barbecue for this afternoon, to introduce you to the team informally, there will be about 10 of us I think", I smiled "Thanks, right now all I can think about is sleep" she laughed, "Of course! Come inside, I will show you to your room, you can have a shower and relax." 

We made our way into the double storey house and it really was amazing, everything looked like it had been placed exactly where it should be, it was perfect. Em showed me to my room which looked over the swimming pool and garden, it had an en suite bathroom, she left me to settle in and closed the door behind me. I heard music coming from downstairs, it sounded like they were rehearsing.

I showered and put on some comfortable clothes and made myself comfortable on the bed, I figured I have a couple hours to rest and then get ready for the barbecue. I woke up to the sound of music and the smell of coffee, and it smelled amazing! "Hey Charley? I brought you some coffee, best in the land!" Em smiled at me and set the coffee on the bedside table, "Wow, that smells amazing!" picking up the mug and taking a sip it felt like liquid caramel heaven. "Did you sleep well? I hope we didn't disturb you the boys are going through a rehearsal, we're going to be doing a live stream in a couple days so they're testing the sound levels." I smiled "No not at all, I was so tired I didn't even notice the music. Thanks, this coffee is amazing. Did you need me downstairs?" She smiled "When you're ready, everyone should be here in about an hour, so take your time. We're all in the garden when you come down". With that she got up and walked out closing the door.

I put the mug down and slowly got up, looking out the patio doors I saw the guys sitting outside, he was wearing a black tank top and I could see his tattoos on his ribs, and as I looked down, he looked up to the balcony doors and saw me, I saw a smirk spread across his face and he gave me a small nod, I smiled and turned away. I walked into the bathroom thinking I should freshen up, I opened the cabinet looking for my face wash, I remember putting in there earlier, I noticed a bottle of cologne, that wasn't there earlier, was it? I was so tired earlier I might have missed it, I picked it up, curious, as I opened the bottle the scent hit me hard, it was his, I almost dropped the bottle as it took over my senses, I closed the bottle and put it back quickly, closing the cabinet door and backing away like something had bit me.

I left the bathroom quickly and forgot about freshening up, I figured I would try and unpack some clothes, I opened the top drawer of the cabinet and saw a notepad, the paper looked familiar, I reached out and touched it and the memory flashed in my mind, the note, from the goodie bag, it was him, he wrote it. I went to my bag and opened a small hidden zipper and pulled the note out, I unfolded it and read it, once, twice, three times, the words swam around the paper.

I shoved the note back in my bag and zipped it up, I started unpacking slowly, I decided to wear a pair of shorts and a white tank top, I figured I might as well wear my black bikini top underneath, brushed my hair and made my way downstairs, closing the room for behind me. I slowly walked down the stairs and heard his voice, I stopped, he was on a call because I only heard his voice. "Yes, I told you, we can't do this anymore, you need to stop calling. Just STOP!" he slammed his hand into the door and hung up, he stood for a few minutes and I was shaking, he looked so angry, I wondered who he was talking to. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, I saw the tattoo on his neck and saw his beautiful face looked calmer and serene now, I stood staring at him, completely mesmerised. I took another step and the noise disturbed him, he opened his eyes and looked at me, "Everyone's outside, you better go join them", I smiled, "Are you okay? Uhm... you look tired?", as I asked this my heart raced, I saw a flash of irritation in his eyes, "I'm fine." and with that he turned and walked into the room behind him. 

I walked down to the living room and towards the patio, I felt a pain in my chest, he looked so angry, how was I meant to enjoy myself now, "Hey guys!" as I walked outside everyone turned to look at me, "Hey! There she is!" Em looked so excited and I forced a smile, "Hey", my mind still on those angry caramel eyes. I walked over to where the gang were sitting and was introduced to Kyle, Donovan, Chloe, James, Tom and Jason were there too, we sat and spoke about the flight and what it was like back home, they asked so many questions it took my mind off him, for a while. 

He came outside after about an hour and sat next to Tom, they looked like really good friends, they chatted for a bit quietly and I wondered if he told Tom about the call. We had the most amazing vegan food I had ever tasted, and they lit a bonfire and we were getting ready to make s'mores, we sat around the fire and chatted away, he sat across from me and as the flames danced across his face, he looked smouldering, his eyes were shining and he laughed at something Tom said, and my heart skipped a beat, his smile made me catch my breath. I got up and excused myself, going up to the bathroom, I needed to breath. He overwhelmed me and I didn't know how I was going to get through this. I rinsed my face with cold water and took a deep breath, as I walked out of my room closing the door, I turned and walked straight into him, he wasn't much taller than me, but I had to look up to see his eyes, they burned into me and his scent filled my senses, "Uhm, hey!".

"They were wondering where you were, and I needed something from the music room." He slipped passed me and walked down the hallway, I turned and quickly ran down the stairs, needing fresh air. I got outside and sat down next to Em, we sat chatting for a while longer, and I felt exhausted, "Guys I am bushed, I am going to head off to bed, see you in the morning" everyone sang back "Good night!". Jason said "Tomorrow 9AM, we will start your intro", I smiled "Awesome see you then" and made my way inside. I walked upstairs and heard his voice, he was on another call "Yes, I told you to leave me the hell alone, I am done, I need to focus on my future, my company and the band, and I have someone else in my life, lose my number!" My heart raced, he had someone else? Who?

I opened my room door, went inside and quietly closed it, he had hung up, I heard him playing his guitar, it was a beautiful melody, it sounded heartbreaking, I wondered who was on his mind. He was obviously talking to the girl he was seeing, and he doesn't want her, which made me smile, but he said he had someone else, I wondered who that was. I listened to him playing and my heart soared, the song was sad, but I loved hearing him play, I took a deep breath and opened my door, slowly walking to the room where the music came from, the door was opened slightly, and I could see him sitting on a stool looking down as he played, his fingers moved over the strings so beautifully, it was like watching a paint at work, I watched, mesmerised. I moved my foot and it shuffled on the floor, my heart stopped as he stopped playing, as I moved away, he said "What do you want?", he sounded angry, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, "Sorry, I uhm... just heard the music... I, uhm.. wanted to see..." I trailed off, not sure what say, I started trembling. He looked at me and smirked "So, you ever going to answer my question? The one I asked you a few months ago?" I looked away and flushed "Well... I... can't remember what you asked?", he smirked "Who is your favourite band member?", I looked down "Uhmm... Well, I don't really have like a favourite, just... you know".

I stood shaking, he could see my hands trembling, "Mhmmm I am sure" he nodded. He put the guitar down and got up, walking towards me, "Better lock up", he stood toe to toe with me and I felt my body on fire, I stepped back and tripped over a box at the door, his arm reached out and grabbed me, pulling me up, my arm tingled and burned at his touch. "Be careful would you" he turned and locked the door. "Thanks" I mumbled and turned to go to my room, as I was about to open the door he said "I hope that note doesn't keep you up tonight" and he made his way downstairs, before he disappeared his eyes locked on mine and he smirked.

I went into my room, closed the door, looked down at my arm where he touched me and I could feel the heat coming from my skin, and then I took the note out of my bag again, reading it while laying on the bed, my eyes closed and passed out.