Breathe (Sea Breeze 1)

We pulled into the driveway, and I immediately spotted Amanda watching for me and my bike.

I turned to Jax. “When Amanda sees me step out of this vehicle with you, she is going to flip out. So get prepared.”

He laughed. “You act like I am not used to being treated like a celebrity.” He squeezed my hand. “It’s fine. Stop worrying. I am used to this. I don’t normally live in hiding like I do here. I know how to handle it.”

I took a deep breath and exhaled. “Let’s go.”

Jax put his hand on my leg. “I’m getting you out, so stay put.”

He held my hand as we made our way toward Amanda, who stood frozen in place with her mouth hanging open.

“Hey, I, um, brought a guest. I hope it’s all right.”

It sounded stupid, but I didn’t know what else to say. She covered her gaping mouth with a trembling hand

“Yes, it’s fine,” she said through her hand, staring at Jax in disbelief, and I smiled because I completely understood her disbelief.

“Amanda, this is Jax, Jax, this is Amanda, a friend of mine from school.”

Jax held out his hand and unleashed his lethal grin on her, and I was afraid she might faint. She shook his hand and gawked at him, but she didn’t seem to be able to speak.

“It’s nice to meet you, Amanda.”

Amanda whimpered.

Jax finally broke the handshake and stepped back.

She gathered herself back together. “Okay, great, um, you guys come this way. Dylan is going to, uh, want to meet you.”

I turned to Jax, and he smiled to reassure me. We followed Amanda, who kept glancing back at us every few seconds to make sure we hadn’t vanished. The house seemed nice, but nothing like what Jax lived in. A two-story, yellow beach style house, people occupied every door, and a few windows. We went past the house toward the sound of live music. In the center of the backyard stood a large stage. People were dancing in front of the stage and all down a bridge connecting the house to the sandy, white beach.

We followed Amanda up a set of steps and onto the large party area. A bonfire blazed down on the beach, and more people were out there. I began to notice people staring at us, trying to decide whether or not this was, in fact, Jax Stone. Amanda led us to a group of guys sitting around a hot tub, drinking with a few girls in tiny bikinis. She cleared her throat, and a tall, lanky guy with a shaved head turned

toward her.

“Dylan, this is my friend, Sadie, I told you about.”

He looked at me and gave me a slow smile. “Amanda said you were at school last year. How did I miss you?” he asked, his smile turning into a cocky grin.

Before I could think of anything to say, Amanda cleared her throat, again, and said, “And this is her date tonight, Jax Stone.”

Dylan went from leering at me, to switching his gaze toward Jax, who slipped his arm around my waist. Jax acted so calm and comfortable, almost as though he knew everyone here and wasn’t about to get slammed with crazy fans.

“Jax Stone.” Dylan stood and stared in disbelief.

Jax once again, ever so politely, held out his hand. “I’m sorry about crashing your party.”

Shaking his head, Dylan recovered a bit and took Jax’s hand. “No way! Hell, you aren’t crashing my party. You’re Jax freakin’ Stone. You don’t need an invite anywhere, man. Especially here!”

The girls in the hot tub stirred from their initial shock and got out of the water to come around to where we stood.

“Oh. My. God! I am such a big fan! My name is Gabby Montess. I have your newest CD in my car will you please sign it for me?”

Jax smiled politely and nodded. “I’d be glad to, Gabby.”

Gabby grabbed her still speechless friend’s hand, and they squealed together as they ran for the CD and a pen. Others, realizing what was happening, had us surrounded within seconds. Girls, calling Jax’s name, shoved paper and pens toward him, as well as shirts and shoes and bags and even a pair of panties. Jax had been forced to release me to sign autographs, so I decided to get out of the chaos. I stepped back, and a girl standing behind me pushed me aside. I sank further back out of the crowd, getting elbowed, and I forced my way to freedom. Once one person lost control, it became a frenzy.

The band stopped playing. I listened to squeals and proclamations of the crowd, saying they must be dreaming. Girls pushed and shoved, and yelled his name. Guys even fought to get close to him. I overheard some guy say he had written a song he wanted Jax to listen to. This was crazy, and I had let him walk into it all. I sighed and turned when I heard a girl ask someone standing beside her, “I wonder if he will autograph my stomach?”

I realized how much I didn’t like other girls throwing themselves at him. I’d had him to myself, and it was easy to think we were normal, but he would never be ordinary. He would always be someone I couldn’t hold onto. I stared out at the water and decided to escape to the serenity of the now deserted beach.

“Excuse me! Excuse me! Listen up please!” Dylan McCovey’s voice came over the sound system. I turned to see him standing on stage. He appeared to be very pleased with himself. “I realize we have a special guest tonight, but if you want to stay at this party, I am going to have to ask you to act like he is just one of us and give Jax some breathing room. If you can’t do this, I am going to have you escorted off the property.”

I glanced back at the crowd around Jax, and several girls protested and complained following Dylan’s speech, but they listened to him. Even through the thinning crowd, I didn’t see Jax and figured he would still have to deal with several more fans before he managed to get free. I turned toward the shore and wondered if he would be able to find me if I went down to the beach.

Hands slipped around my waist. “Don’t tell me you were going to leave me to the crowd and go down there all alone,” Jax whispered in my ear.

I leaned against him and enjoyed the comfort of his arms. I hated how lost I’d been when he’d been everyone else’s, instead of mine.

“Dylan’s not a bad host. All it took was my letting him know I wanted freedom tonight with you, and he took over.”

I smiled. “Well, you are making his party the hottest event this town has ever seen.”

Jax kissed my head. “Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

I nodded. “I’m fine.”

He relaxed his hold and came to stand beside me, still holding me against his side. “Do you want to escape down there by ourselves, or do you want to attend this party we came to? Just so you know, I'm good with whatever you choose.”

I wanted to escape and keep Jax to myself. But I also came here tonight because Amanda invited me, and I wanted to hang out with her some and meet some of the others. The crowed was slowly getting back into the party. Many still watched Jax. I couldn’t blame them. I wanted to stare at him myself.

“I guess I should go find Amanda and mingle,” I said reluctantly.

Jax took my hands and pulled me close. “When this is over, we can have some time alone.” He grinned wickedly at me. “Time alone with you is my favorite pastime.”

I blushed and turned back toward the heart of the party. As we passed people, they introduced themselves, and Jax never failed to be nice and polite. He shook hands, and some of the braver guests asked him to autograph their items.

Amanda came up beside me. “Hey, I’m sorry about earlier. I hope Dylan has made it easier.”

“Yes, he did. We expected it, or something similar, so it wasn’t a big surprise.”

Amanda grinned. “Well he is the hottest teen idol in America.”

Jax smiled at her, and she looked like she might faint, and I elbowed him in the ribs. He needed to work on not overwhelming girls with his smile. Amanda got a grip on herself.

“Okay, so, I want to introduce you to some friends. But,” she said, “they are probably going to be more interested in meeting your date.”

“It’s okay, I know.”

She led us over to a group of girls who seemed familiar. I remembered a few of them from school.

“Hey, girls, I wanted to introduce you to Sadie. She was at school for the last few weeks. She will be a senior this year too. Sadie, this is Jessie,” a petite blond with pixie hair, “Mary Ann,” a petite redhead, with wavy hair and surprisingly tanned skin, and “Peyton,” a tall brunette. All the girls smiled at me, but their eyes strayed to Jax.

“I remember you from Spanish,” Peyton said, looking from me to Jax.

When I glanced over at him, Jax attention seemed to be solely focused on me. He smiled reassuringly.

“So, how do you two know each other?” Mary Ann asked, and all three sets of eyes went to Jax. Only Amanda seemed to remember my presence.

Jax squeezed my hand. “I met her through a mutual friend. Then I fell under her enchantment, and I can’t seem to get enough.”

I blushed, and all four girls got sappy smiles on their faces, and one of them even sighed. “Wow, I can’t believe Jax Stone’s girlfriend lives in Sea Breeze.”

I started to correct her. I wasn’t Jax's girlfriend, and he would be gone soon.

“Well--”

“She worries about my privacy. But then, I like the fact she wants to keep me all to herself.” His hand squeezed mine, and I bit back a laugh.

Amanda sighed. “Does my brother know about Jax?”

I glanced up at Jax, and he nodded. “Yes, he does.”

Amanda shook her head. “I swear, he knows something like this and doesn’t even think it’s important enough to share with me.”

“Don’t be so hard on him. It was by my request he not tell anyone,” I assured her.

Amanda wasn’t appeased, but she shrugged. “Well, I don’t think I will ever forget my shock when you stepped out of his car holding his hand. I swear, I thought I was hallucinating.”

I laughed, and Jax chuckled beside me.

“I’m going to introduce them to some other people,” said Amanda to her friends. “And I am sure they are hungry. See you girls later.”

Over the next hour, we were introduced to so many people I knew I couldn’t remember them all. But I had no doubt they’d remember me. I somehow appeared famous in their eyes. I happened to like not being the center of attention. It worried me that I wouldn’t be able to deal with the way this changed my life. We sat down by the bonfire and listened to the boys talk about the upcoming football season. They all seemed excited and ready for it to begin. They were trying to impress Jax with their stories, and a couple even broke down and asked Jax about his tour and his playing guitar by ear. He answered their questions as if he’d known them forever. His ability to act comfortable in any situation amazed me. We drew a small crowd when others began to realize he was answering questions and talking. This crowd didn’t seem as crazy as the earlier one, just curious. I ate a hot dog Jax roasted for me while he talked. He’d fixed it for me as he answered questions about Star. Guys all seemed to have questions about the pop princess.

When we finished eating, he stood up and took my hand. “If you will excuse us, I want to go dance with Sadie.”

Their faces shone with disappointment, and I think I even heard someone sigh. We walked close enough to hear the music. He reached down and slipped off my heels and placed them beside his discarded shoes. He pulled me out of the light and onto the moonlit beach. He nodded to the D.J. who had taken over for the band, and then back at me. The song began, and I instantly recognized the voice coming over the speakers. Jax held me closer as his velvet, smooth voice sang softly with the words of his song.

“Let me hold you close just for tonight. When you’re not in my arms, nothing seems right. Just to see your smile lights up my darkest night. So, baby, please dance with me in the moonlight.”

Jax leaned back and tilted my face to his.

“Your touch is my only addiction. Your heartbeat takes my breath away. You’ll break my heart if you don’t stay. Your whispers sing to me each night, and your laugh is my only sun.

“Hold me and whisper you love me. Hold me and tell me there’s no world without you beside me. Hold me, I need you to guide me. I can’t live without you. Hold me and whisper you love me. Hold me and tell me there’s no world without you beside me. Hold me, I need you to guide me.”

The song ended, and I stood in Jax's arms, unable to look away from his steel blue eyes darkened with emotion.

“I’ve never understood those words until tonight. I sang them, but I didn’t write them. I didn’t want to record the song, but I lost the battle. Now, when I sing those words, I will have a face to put behind them.” He paused and traced a line from my ear to my chin. “I just hope I am able to get through those words when you’re a thousand miles away.”