She glances at each one of the guys, a sparkle in her deep brown eyes.
“Well then. Are you going to introduce me to your friends or are we going to skip over all that and allow me a moment for a proper fan-girl swoon?” All the guys simultaneously blink then blush. “I’m a huge fan, boys. Yours was my first ever concert. I think my last one too,” she laughs in a slightly self-conscious way. “Holy hot potatoes, this is insanely surreal. I didn’t expect to be this nervous, but I am.”
“You weren’t nervous when you met me,” I challenge.
“I had just been in a major car accident and was not only bleeding from my head but in a lot of pain with a broken arm. Besides, I don’t even know them, and I think I already like them better than you.”
An incredulous burst of air flies past my lungs. “That’s only because they haven’t said anything yet.”
“Right. Already an improvement to you.”
Jesus. This girl. I run a hand through my hair.
“You’re gorgeous. Will you go out with me?”
Maia tilts her head at Henry. “You know I’m a virgin and broken beyond repair, right?”
He laughs, a bright smile gleaming across his face as he looks at her. It makes me want to hit him again. “I didn’t, actually. But I don’t scare as easily as Keith does. That all actually works for me.”
“He didn’t tell you?” A fresh bloom of rose colors her cheeks.
“Believe it or not, I felt it ungentlemanly to discuss your sexual and personal history.”
“Oh,” she states, finally staring directly at me. “Right. I guess that makes sense.” She shrugs and then laughs, her expression a mix of uncomfortable and mortified.
“But hey, I bet all this heat is why your cheeks are so red. Clearly not because you’re embarrassed or anything.”
She ignores me completely. “Kindly disregard everything that just happened in the last thirty seconds,” she says to the guys.
“Does that include my asking you out?” Henry pushes. He looks crestfallen.
“I wouldn’t have a clue what to do with a man like you, Henry. But I’m flattered beyond words.”
He points at her while looking at me. “I like her. I approve.”
I bark out a laugh. “Maia, these are my bandmates, Jasper, Gus, and Henry. Guys, this is Maia Angelo.”
“Like the poet?” Jasper asks.
She gleams at him, nodding. “Only spelled differently. I don’t think my parents had any clue when they named me. They weren’t exactly known for reading poetry.”
She turns back to me, an accusatory brow raised in my direction. “You’re not wearing a shirt.”
“Do you need me to?” I can’t help but tease, hoping she’ll blush again.
Her eyes trail over every single inch of my waist, abs, chest, shoulders, and arms. My cock jumps in my track shorts, and without the benefit of briefs beneath to hold me in, I have no doubt all are witnesses to his enthusiasm at her perusal.
“I think I might. As a virgin, six-pack abs and well-defined muscles scare me to death.”
“You’re fucking with me now?”
She smirks. “Absolutely. But I’d still like you to put on a shirt.”
“You sure about that? Because your eyes are telling me something different.”
“Yes. I’m sure. And while you’re at it find somewhere else to park your ego. It’s a bit too crowded out here with it taking up all this space.”
“I’m a go on hiring her as well,” Gus remarks with a delighted grin. “She doesn’t take your shit so that’s an automatic win in my book.”
“Agreed,” Jasper concurs, his smile matching his twin’s.
She stares inquisitively at the guys. “It doesn’t bother you that your friend brought in a stray and is now trying to pawn me off on all of you? Especially when you know absolutely nothing about me or my qualifications?”
“No,” all three of them say in unison.
“Yikes. Okay. Well, since I have no idea what this job actually entails or why Keith believes I’d be so perfect for it, I think I’m going to need more details. And then I’m going to have to think about it because Keith seems to have a problem with trying to be my hero, and while I appreciate all he’s done for me, I don’t want any more of his charity.”
“It’s not charity. Nothing I’ve done has been charity,” I growl through clenched teeth.
“Then what would you call it?” she retorts, the fire in her eyes growing.
“Helping someone who needs it.”
“Right. Like I just said. Charity. I may talk slow, but that doesn’t mean I am.”
I run my hands through my hair, gripping the back of my neck so I don’t throttle her. “You are the most infuriatingly stubborn, prideful woman I’ve ever met.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing for a woman to be all those things.”
I open my mouth to continue arguing with her when Jasper interjects with, “I think we’re going to go. Keith clearly has this under control. Or not since it looks like it might be Maia for the win. Despite that, we’re just in the way.”
“Speak for yourself, dude. I’m about to go pop me some corn and pull up a seat to watch the show.”
Jasper and Henry snicker at what Gus said. I don’t. This woman drives me crazy. I don’t know if I want to strangle her or kiss the hell out of her.
“Come on.” Jasper tugs on the back of Gus’s shirt propelling him into action. “It was very nice to meet you, Maia. I hope you end up working with us.”
“Yeah,” Henry continues, gazing at Maia with some combination of awe and appreciation. “What he said. And if you don’t work with us, consider that date.”
“I’ll be sure to do that. At the very least, it was wonderful to meet you guys.” She throws them a wave and takes a step back toward the house.
The guys retreat into Jasper’s SUV, loaded with car seats, and they leave. Just like that.
Abandoning me with the hellcat.
“I like them,” she says after they’re gone. “They’re… normal. Hot as fuck, but still normal.”
“Hot as fuck?” I pivot, crossing my arms over my chest as I gaze down at her.
She purses her lips, her tone unconcerned as she toys with a lock of her hair that hits her chest in the breeze. “I just call ’em like I see ’em.”
“What did you expect them to be?”
She twists to face me, staring up into my eyes through her thick lashes. “I don’t know. Rock stars?”
“Do you have any idea how much you exasperate me?”
“I think I do. It’s not intentional. Well, not fully anyway. Maybe it partially is. I’m not sure anymore.” Her contrite, innocent expression quickly morph into something playful. “You’re kind of sexy when you’re all fired up.”
“Kind of?”
She shrugs noncommittally.
“Do you believe people are one-dimensional? That their job dictates they mold to the cliché?”
She shakes her head slowly. “No. I believe we’re all multifaceted. But still, y’all have been larger than life in my head since I was young, so it’s all a bit much to take in.” She reaches out and places a hand over my bare chest. Over my heart. Her eyes are still on mine, her touch soft and warm and my insides quake. “You’re hellbent on saving me, but I need to be the hero of my story. I need to stand on my own two feet or nothing I’ve done to get myself out and away is worth a damn. I’ve already taken more from you than I should have.”