EXCERPT FROM THE ORIGINAL SUMMER SERIES
(before it became A Little Like Destiny):
When Reese Met Mark
© Lisa Suzanne 2017 [Unedited]
I pulled my long blonde hair into a ponytail, double checked the
lines of my pink bikini, did a once over in the mirror, and decided that I
looked pretty good. It was July 1, a month into my magical summer with my best
friends in Roca Hermosa, Mexico, and I was about to meet the lead singer of Sugar
Grove, my favorite band, who also happened to be the brother of the man who I had
fallen in love with. I had met this man, Brian Fox, a month earlier when I
arrived at Roca Hermosa for my summer vacation. We had fallen hard for each
other quickly, and we were both thinking in terms of the future. He had asked
me to attend his cousin’s wedding at the end of July, which meant that he
wanted to introduce me to his family. And more importantly, we had a plan to
move in together when the summer was over; Brian, or “Fox,” which most people
called him since it was his last name, was going to be moving to Phoenix from
Chicago to live with me once the summer was over. We were both ecstatic and
totally, completely in love.
I yelled to my best friend and
housemate for the summer, “Jill! Are you about ready for the beach?”
I wasn’t sure where my other
housemate, Eva Peterson, was. The last time I saw Eva, she was on her way out
to meet (hook) up with the brother of our evil neighbors, Jessica and Ashley,
after a… complicated… situation. But that’s a long story.
Jill Hart emerged from her
bedroom in her black bikini, looking very pretty with full makeup and her glossy
brunette hair cascading perfectly across her shoulders and down her back. “I’m
not only ready for the beach, but I am ready to meet Mark Ashton,” she said
excitedly. We had attended every Sugar Grove concert that came through Phoenix
since the first time we heard their song on the radio over ten years earlier,
and she was as excited as I was to meet Mark Ashton, the star of both of our
fantasies for so many years.
“Me too! He should be at the
guys’ house by now,” I jumped up and down excitedly. The guys included Fox and
his two housemates, Ryan Becker (who Jill had fallen for, been cheated on by,
and ultimately took back) and Jason Davis (who once upon a time had a thing
with Eva but also had feelings for Jill after a one-night affair and a big dose
of drama). But again, that’s a long story.
“I can’t believe that we are about to meet the lead singer of
Sugar Grove!” I was absolutely giddy. I was minutes away from meeting my number
one celebrity crush.
“Me either!” Jill exclaimed.
The plan was for Jill and me to hang
out on the beach while Mark dropped off his luggage and got situated. When the
guys were ready, they would meet us out on the beach. We went down to our
favorite lounge chairs and set out our towels. We reserved four additional
chairs for the guys. We just finished lathering on our sunscreen when Fox,
Becker, Jason, and THE Mark Ashton started making their way down the beach in
their swim trunks. Just looking at the four of them was enough to make me pant.
All four men were attractive and athletic. Fox looked foxy as always, but it
was his brother, the tallest of the group of four men, that I couldn’t take my
eyes off of as they walked down the beach toward us.
Mark Ashton was famous, rich, powerful,
and incredibly talented. He was also very sexy, and he was known for his
numerous affairs with the women of Hollywood. The rock songs that he wrote
ranged from deep, sweet love songs to dirty, sexual songs. I had loved his
band, Sugar Grove, for over ten years; their sound was a mix between Maroon 5,
Nickelback, and Matchbox Twenty, my other three favorite bands. Both Jill and I
had daydreamed about Mark Ashton for years, and here we were, getting the
chance to meet him. I was still in awe that he was my boyfriend’s brother.
I saw them approaching first, staring
at them as they walked toward us. A tingle darted through my body when I saw Mark,
and my heart started beating faster and faster with every step he took closer
to us. All of the sudden, my mouth went dry and my hands felt clammy and I was
nervous as hell. “Fuck, he’s hot,” I murmured just loud enough for Jill to
hear. He was even yummier in person than he had looked in all of the magazines
and on television.
Jill turned to face the oncoming
men. “Holy shit,” she murmured as the two of us stood there, gaping at the guys
as they approached.
Mark wore only white swim trunks
with palm trees on them and dark sunglasses, presumably to try to hide his
identity. The first thing that I noticed was his incredibly sexy body; he was
built, muscular, and athletic, and he sported several tattoos. His abdomen was
a perfect six-pack washboard that narrowed down to a cut hipbone, and his broad
chest and shoulders were attractive and sexy, but not overly bulky. Normally, I
didn’t go for guys with tattoos, but something about them on the lead singer of
my favorite band only made him that much sexier. His dark hair was perfectly
mussed in every direction, and he sported a perfect, sexy five o’clock shadow
on his face. I wanted to feel that hipbone under my tongue. I blushed at my
totally inappropriate thoughts, wondering where it came from. But holy hell,
was he sexy.
Fox walked up to me and planted
a kiss on my lips. I felt embarrassed that he would do that in front of his
brother. “Mark, I want to introduce you to Reese. Reese Brady, this is my
brother Mark Ashton,” he said.
Mark held his hand out for me to
shake. I grabbed it and felt my knees buckle at his touch. If I thought a spark
of electricity passed between Fox and I when we first met, this was like
getting hit by a bolt of lightning. “Nice to meet you, Reese,” he said. I immediately
recognized his sexy voice from the songs he sang, and my name coming out of his
mouth was like hearing angels sing to me or some other appropriate cheesy
metaphor that I can’t even come close to describing. I wished that he wasn’t
wearing sunglasses so that I could look into his eyes.
It felt like my tongue was glued
to the top of my mouth. “I’m such a fan,” was all I could muster. I felt like a
dork immediately after I said it, but I was completely star struck. I realized
that I was still holding onto his hand, and I also noted that he wasn’t letting
go, either. When I finally pulled my hand away, after maybe just a moment too
long, I felt just the slightest squeeze first before he let go. It sent a bolt
of electricity up my spine as I momentarily forgot that I had recently fallen
in love with this man’s brother.
“Hi, I’m Jill,” Jill started
toward him flirtatiously.
He shook her hand, too, and said, “I’m Mark.”
“I know who you are!” she squealed, acting like an even bigger
dork than me. It didn’t escape me that he dropped Jill’s hand much quicker than
he had dropped mine.
We stood awkwardly staring at him until Fox ran interference. “Are
these chairs taken?” he asked, breaking the silence.
“Oh yeah, they are for you,” I giggled nervously, finally able to
move my mouth into the shapes of words. I noticed that my hands were shaking as
I adjusted my towel to lie back down in my chair. Fox claimed the chair on my
right, and Mark claimed the one on my left. I felt a buzz of excitement run
through me just at the prospect of sitting next to Mark. Jill claimed the chair
on the other side of Mark, and Becker took the one on the other side of her,
leaving the final chair on Fox’s other side for Jason. Both Jill and I found it
difficult to rip our eyes off of this man. I was in love with Fox, who was
super hot himself, but I had never seen a more attractive man in person than
his brother.
After concentrating on my breathing for awhile to calm myself
down, I finally got up the courage to speak. “So how long are you here?”
“Just for the next five days,” he answered as he adjusted the
level on his chair.
“Nice,” I said, trying to play it cool.
“He’s touring right now,
and he usually doesn’t get breaks like this,” Fox added.
“Well, the US tour’s almost over. The show in Tucson is on the
third, so I thought I would come down and see my favorite brother. Then a show
in Phoenix on the sixth, and then we wrap in Vegas next week,” he replied in
his deep, rich, sexy voice.
“I really wanted to go to the show in Tucson,” Jill said. “I’ve
seen every show you’ve had in Arizona for the last eight years, but I knew we
were going to be here for the summer so I didn’t get tickets.”
“So are you super fan?” Mark chuckled, eyes still closed.
“Yeah, you could say that,” Jill smiled warmly at him. Becker
reached over and took her hand. “Reese is, too. She’s come with me to all of
the shows,” she continued.
A brief smile tugged at the corners of Mark’s sexy lips, but he
didn’t say anything. After a brief moment of silence, Jill continued babbling:
“So my favorite song is from your first CD, and I have loved it since that CD
came out. Actually, I love all of your songs, but the one I love the most…”
Silence ensued when Becker placed his hand over her mouth. “Sorry,
dude. I think she’s a little star struck.”
Everyone laughed except Jill. It was clear that Mark was here to
relax, so I decided just to lie back in my chair and play it cool, even though all
I wanted to do was to stare at him all day. The day passed quickly (and mostly
quietly, as all four of the guys somehow managed to fall asleep in their lounge
chairs), and Fox suggested a barbeque for dinner at the guys’ house, so I dedicated
plenty of time to making sure that I looked perfect. I knew that the afternoon
was a relaxing time, and the night would be more of a chance to hang out with
Mark and talk to him. I was nervous; this was one of my idols that I was going
to spend time with. How many people got the opportunity to do that? Before the
summer started, I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would be sitting
down to dinner with a rock star, much less the sexy lead singer of my favorite
band.
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