Rhythm, Chord & Malykhin by Mariana Zapata
Say what?
His eyes bore right into mine, drinking in the confusion that I’m sure was apparent in them. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“You’re—you—” I—what—
His fingers pinched my earlobes. “You haven’t been single for long. I didn’t want to rush you into anything, and I wasn’t about to let you out of my life even after the tour ends,” he explained in a low, even cadence. His voice was hypnotic and I was hooked. A small, frustrated smile covered his mouth. “You're an idiot if you think that you're no one special to me. You're the most special." His lips hovered over mine. "The most."
Dead. I was dead and this was the afterlife.
He slowly pulled me forward. His hand cupped my cheek; his soft lips were filled with purpose when they covered mine so tenderly I couldn't think to breathe. Sacha's mouth opened slowly, coaxing mine to do the same. Just as gradually, he angled his lips to kiss me as deeply as possible. He tasted faintly like mint.
Two hands cradled my face suddenly as he held us in one piece, like he was worried I'd try to pull away. He moaned deep in his throat when I kissed him back with the same intensity he kissed me. One of his palms drifted to the back of my neck, gripping it strongly while his other arm wrapped around my waist and brought my lower body flush against his. Every lean muscle of his upper body pressed against mine, bunching and flexing with the force of his actions.
Then he pulled away a fraction of an inch to give my cheek a wet, open-mouth kiss. "Do you need me to spell it out for you?"
I shivered and nodded, tilting my head more openly toward him. "I think so."
Chapter Twenty-Two
"You hurt my feelings," I told Sacha in a low voice after those awesomely wonderful first kisses.
I'd briefly thought about not telling him how much his words had bothered me, but I decided against it. I'd already jumped in with both feet by admitting that I liked him, and that it was him that made me feel stupid. At this point my dignity was around the block and it wasn’t going to return anytime soon.
"Gaby," he sighed, reaching forward to wrap his long fingers around my wrist. Tugging me toward him, he patted the open space between his extended legs. It didn't take a genius to understand that he wanted me to sit between them, but I couldn’t. At least not yet. Instead I sat a couple of inches away from his closest thigh. "That's the last thing I'd want to do."
I nodded. Something deep in my gut told me he was speaking the truth. "It's okay."
Turning his entire body toward me, one foot on the floor, his other leg bent and resting on the mattress, his hands landed on my shoulders and slowly inched their way down my arms. His smooth palms curved over my biceps and elbows. "It's not okay. I should have settled things when I saw her," Sacha replied. He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around me in a loose, comforting hug as one of his kneecaps pressed against mine. "I’ve been nuts about you. I guess I just assumed you knew.”
“Oh.” Knew? How? Okay, maybe the signs had been there but I hadn’t let myself get too attached to them.
"Gaby," he whispered, bringing one hand up to drape the end of my ponytail over my shoulder. "I don't know what I'm doing with you half the time." Sacha snickered almost lazily. "I like you so much it makes me stupid."
I couldn't help but snort, pulling back and glancing up at him. "I think you were already in that boat long before I came along, Sassy."
He chuckled softly, leaning forward a moment later to kiss my cheek. It might have made me snuck in a surprised breath. "See? Not liking you is like fighting gravity.”
This fucking guy was going to be the death of me.
"Lots of people don't like me, like Miles," I scoffed. "Everyone else just puts up with me because of Eli, probably."
Lips planted themselves high on my cheek twice and each time I had to battle the urge to crawl into his lap and ask for more. "You don't see things clearly." His nose made the trip down until he was nuzzling my throat. "You're special to a lot of people, but especially to me."
I looked at him, seeing those smoke-colored eyes much closer than I was used to. I wasn't fishing for compliments, or reassurance in the love that people like my brother and Mason had for me. I knew that they cared. Their love was easy and unconditional.
Whether this thing between us was just a whole lot of “like” or love—that I wasn't sure about. I'd grown up sharing things my entire life. There had never been a “mine” option with my siblings, everything belonged to the community, but with Sacha… there wasn't that option. There could never be that option.
"It's over, though?" I asked him, looking down at the bed. "Between you and Ron—I mean, Liz?"
Another slow kiss landed on my throat as he kept eye contact with me through his lashes, lingering the heat of a thousand fires. "I swear."
"I can smell your bullshit a mile away," I warned him, trying my best to focus on what I was saying and not how he was making me feel with all those kisses.
Sacha laughed low. "Oh, I know, Princess. I don't expect any less, but I promise. There’s nothing there and there hasn’t been for a long time. Even when there was, it was nothing close to this." He touched my ear. “You know you can trust me.”
The hell of it was, I knew I could.
“We’re fine then?” he asked with hesitation stamping his tone. “Better than before?”
I nodded and blinked at him, needing and wanting to make sure that we were on the same page. “Just to make sure… you have feelings for me too, right?”
Those light colored eyes rolled before he pressed his forehead against mine, his nose touching my own. I could sense his breath on my mouth as he whispered, “So many feelings you have no idea.”
Well, shit. What came out of my mouth was probably the dumbest, most understated reply that I could have possibly come up with: “Okay.”
“Okay?” he asked. I could feel his grin, though I couldn’t see it from how close we were.
“Yes. Okay.” I felt like I could breath for the first time in hours or longer. Did that mean I knew what was going on? No. I guess I’d missed the guidelines on when people were officially dating and when they weren’t since my past experiences were nothing to compare against. Brandon had simply called me his girlfriend one day when introducing me to people and that had been that. My boyfriend in high school had asked me to be his girlfriend. How the hell were you supposed to know?
A loud knock on my door snapped us out of our bubble. I groaned and jumped up to check the peephole. My brother stood on the other side with his arms crossed over his chest before I let him in.
"We're going on one of those double-decker tours. Put some shoes on," he said quickly, before narrowing his eyes. “And some make-up. Definitely put some make-up on.”
Asshole.
I stood there with my mouth open a second, which made him frown and then peek over my shoulder to spot Sacha sitting on my bed. A slow grimace covered Eliza's face before he shuddered.
"Oh fuck, I'm going to be sick," he groaned before gagging.
I laughed and socked him in the stomach. "Shut up. We're fully clothed, you idiot."
Eli smiled quickly and winked at Sacha, only confirming the man-crush I felt he had on him. "Come on, Sach. You can translate what those tour guides are saying."
"They're speaking English," I told my brother, feeling one of my eyes begin to twitch.
"But they have accents, Flabby, hello."
I looked over my shoulder to find Sacha shaking his head, so I snickered. "Luckily for you, E, Sacha speaks stupid, so he can translate."
* * *
"And you wonder why you don't have any friends."
Sacha shot me a look as he raked both hands through his hair. He'd just finished telling me that I was out of my fucking mind for wanting to get on the ride. Those pale eyes peered up again, taking in the Ferris wheel-type thing that was currently scaring the shit out of him. He blinked and swallowed hard. "I can't do it," he stated.
"You're re
Eli and Gordo were standing close by, my brother busy gesturing and leering at a group of women to our right. Knowing him, he was planning on which girl he would hit on first. The poor, poor soul. Thankfully, no one was witnessing the freak-out that I thought Sacha was about to have. He glanced at me again before looking at the London Eye warily.
"You're scared of heights?"
Sacha swallowed. "I can handle normal heights; getting on a ladder or on a counter, but that is too tall. Way too tall," he let out in one breath, watching the huge contraption.
I turned around to look at the looming attraction. It was pretty damn tall. Even though I wasn't scared of heights, it was intimidating. Eliza had been the one to suggest that we get on after our double-decker tour bus adventure. I was more than glad that we'd gotten through it without my brother insulting someone with the dumb shit that came out of his mouth. Gordo had been the one who got stuck sitting next to him, while Sacha and I crowded together on a seat. Now that I thought about it, it was me that had hung off the edge of the bus taking in the sights while he sat up straight and took everything in that I know he’d seen before.
It wasn't his first time visiting London, and it wasn't my brother's either, but I liked that they both went out of their ways to do things that they knew I hadn't done. Things that they wouldn't have done if I hadn’t been around. I couldn't imagine Eli or Gordo riding along on a tourist bus for fun. Hell, I was surprised Eliza wasn't hitting up a pub instead, but I wasn't about to bring it up.
"If you really don't want to get on, we don't have to," I told him, smiling just a little at his fear.
He groaned and looked up at the contraption behind me again, teeth grinding. "But you already got our tickets—"
"Oh lord, Sassy, I'd rather stay down here with you than have you flipping out up there," I poked him in his stomach, enjoying how normal everything felt after the conversation we’d had in my hotel room. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. I'm scared of the dark, so don't judge me."
He raised an eyebrow at me, giving me the tiniest hint of a smile. "The dark?"
"Yep," I told him. "I have a nightlight in my room."
He laughed, taking a step forward. "For some reason, I'm not surprised." His hands reached up to land on my shoulders, squeezing them lightly and I let the flutters of attraction fly through my belly. "You know there's nothing to be scared of, right?"
I shrugged and looked behind me. "Have you seen scary movies? There's plenty of stuff to be scared of. Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, Chucky. I didn’t want to shower alone for about a month after I watched It. No thanks."
Sacha smiled that big grin that made my chest flutter. This was all new and sudden, but at the same time, not really. This had been coming, hadn’t it? Even Eli wasn’t teasing me or making faces. That had to be a sign. This—him—was easy. Effortless. It just felt right.
It probably should have been strange that less than a few hours ago, I didn't even want to speak to him, but it wasn't. He liked me. I liked him. And Ronalda was out of my Happy Meal.
What more could I want, besides a naked Sacha?
"If they come after you, I'm there," he chuckled.
I laughed, thinking of how my baboons would leave me to die if it came down to it. "Unless we have to climb up the side of a building."
"In that case, it was nice knowing you,” he snickered.
Oh dear God. I loved it. I really loved it.
"Disgusting and Gross, ready to go?" Eli asked.
Taking a step back, I turned my head to see my brother and Gordo standing there, smirking. I rolled my eyes. "I don't think we're getting on."
He gave me an incredulous look. We'd been riding roller coasters together from before I was even tall enough to ride, so he knew there was a legitimate reason I wasn't getting on. "Why the hell not?"
Sacha made a noise in his throat, and I knew he was getting ready to say something. But I didn't want to do that to him. To tell Eli Barreto you had a weakness was the equivalent of bleeding within a mile of a shark.
"I need to go number two," I blurted out before thinking and immediately cringed. Of all the things I could have said…
Sacha snorted.
My twin nodded without batting an eyelash. "Got it." Of course he would. If there was anything in the world he took seriously, it was taking a shit.
A few minutes later, he and Gordo trotted off toward the entrance to the Eye. Sacha groaned for a minute before leading me after them. "Come on. If I pass out, at least break my fall."
My chest tightened again at his small act of braveness. For me. Because he knew I wanted to get on. "I swear I won’t tell anyone if you faint."
"You're too kind," he smirked with wide eyes, looking up at the attraction again.
As soon as Eli spotted us in line, he threw his arms out to the sides and asked in a voice that was way too loud, "I thought you needed to take a shit?"
Chapter Twenty-Three
"Flabby, I'd love a massage," Mason blatantly suggested, bumping his shoulder against mine.
I bumped his back. We were sitting in our new bus: a fancy double decker that made our U.S. bus seem tiny. The first floor had the kitchen and living space, while the upstairs had the bunk area. At that moment, Mase and I were sitting on one of the couches eating fish and chips that my brother had scrounged up somewhere before the show ended.
It had been a great first day. The first two legs of the Rhythm & Chord tour had been amazing, taking us all over the U.S. and Australia, but London had been beyond perfect. The crowd was different. The energy was different. And I was enjoying the hell out of the fans with their accents.
"Mason," I bit into a fry. "I'd love to not have a period, but we don't always get what we want."
He barked out a laugh, dipping his fish into my vinegar. "Well, I'd love it if you didn't have a period either, you damn psychopath." Mason winked at me before pulling on the end of my ponytail.
I snorted. "I'd love it if you took a shower."
"I did!" he gasped, knowing he was full of shit.
"Yesterday," I laughed.
Mase just smiled this sideways, teasing grin as he finished off his food. He stole a small piece of fish from my plate, and then tried to distract me from his thieving ways by throwing an arm over my shoulder and leaning into my side. "So, Flabby, are you and that kid finally together?"
"What kid?" I asked him in a low, secretive voice.
"Sacha," he whispered back.
We were pretty much alone on the first floor with the exception of Miles and Julian who were on the other end of the bus. Everyone else was on the second floor doing God knows what. There really wasn't a point in him trying to be secretive, but I thought it was amusing anyway. The bastard tried to be quiet at the wrong times.
"He’s older than you are,” I noted before adding, “and I don't know, why?"
His dark blue eyes narrowed. "Because I need to know whether to tell him what’ll happen if he does anything stupid," he said matter-of-factly.
I had to tuck my lips in to keep from smiling at his form of a threat. "Really?"
Mason nodded, tightening his hold around me. "Flabby, you know I don't have any sisters—"
"Thank God," I let out one tiny snort, imagining a female Mason.
He sniffed. "But if we aren't getting married—"
I snorted.
"Then I need to make sure some douchebag isn't going to break your heart," he said before wincing. "Again."
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his addition. "Thanks for the reminder, asswipe."
Mason simply smiled and shrugged. "I got him back for you, don't you worry there." The reminder of what had gone down in San Antonio just made me grin. They had been so quiet about what exactly happened that required Brandon to get three new tires, that I still had no clue. Why he hadn't gone for all four was beyond me, but knowing Mason, there was a reason.
That didn't mean
“Did you tell him about Laverne and Shirley already?”
Yeah, I had to pinch the bridge of my nose after that question. “You mean Lucy and Ethel,” I clarified. “No, I haven’t told him. I don’t know how.”
“Don’t ask me, Flabs. I say surprise the shit out of him.” He did his best Striptease reenactment by pretending to rip his shirt wide. “What is he going to do? Barf? Say oh no? Pssh. No way.”
"Oh, Mase," I smiled at him, "what would I do without you?"
He shrugged, all loose muscles and languid smiles. "Dream about me."
"Ha!" I leaned toward him and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "In my nightmares."
Mason snickered and squeezed me one more time before dropping his arm with a sigh. "Speaking of nightmares, your brother and your honey bun are coming over; I think we made him jealous."
I rolled my eyes and got up to throw away both of our plates. Sure enough, Eliza and Sacha were right behind me in no time. But my gray-eyed friend, who had told the sold-out audience that night how much he liked brunettes, didn't seem flustered at all. The last thing I'd want to deal with was someone jealous over the likes of Mason. My Mason, who was like a hot adopted brother that escaped from a mental facility.
Once the other two joined us, we hung out for a couple of hours playing Spoons while they told me places we should try to go while the tour was in England. I wasn't really tired, but I went to bed at the same time as Eliza anyway, leaving Mason and Sacha in the living area watching television.
At some point once I’d dozed off, I woke up sensing pressure on my hand before I saw light coming through a crack in my curtains. Squinting, my eyes adjusted enough for me to be able to see it was Sacha touching me. His bunk was located directly above mine once more.
“You okay?” I whispered.
Those long fingers I admired on a regular basis stroked my jaw. “Yeah. I didn’t mean to wake you. Go back to sleep.” He didn’t give me a chance to ask what his intention had been. He ducked his head into my bunk, kissed my cheek, squeezed my shoulder and shut the curtain.