Keep (Seaside Pictures 2)

I had to give myself credit.

I’d been prepared.

And if memory served right, I’d only been given a few hours.

I froze.

Two hours?

The headache.

My head started to pound all over again.

I was recording at the studio.

The news had upset me—why was I upset about the news?

“Baby steps,” I muttered to myself as I slowly shuffled back to the bed, pulled on the blankets and shoved my headphones into my ears.

I clicked on the first track and scrolled over to my photos.

The minute the first song started playing, chills erupted up and down my arms.

“I need you to tell me I’m worth it. I need you to tell me that when you walk away, it’s because you want me to beg you to stay. Be my addiction—it’s always my aim—to make them fall at my feet—to make them beg. Until you, I wanted it all—but had no idea of what it meant—until you.

Say it now.

Say it once.

Say it twice.

When you say it, you better mean it.

Hearts can’t break twice.

Hearts can’t break twice.”

The music swelled, calming my headache down as the pictures of Fallon and me flooded the screen. A lot of the pictures were at the house or on the beach and every single time I had my guitar with me or a pen and paper.

A few of the pictures had been taken at sunset.

She was looking out at the waves.

Playing with the sand, her hair whipping wildly around her face.

Another one she didn’t have glasses on.

No glasses.

And a really short dress.

It was dusk.

“Take me home,” she’d whispered.

“You’re my home.” My own voice floated around in my head as the song ended.

The very next song was about home.

The third one was an angry ballad about fighting.

The fourth—the fourth was about sex.

Damn. I’d slept with a girl—the only girl—and I somehow couldn’t conjure up the memory? Seriously? Maybe if I just propositioned her again. Right, I’m sure that would go over well. “Hey, I don’t remember you but will you take off your shirt? I think staring at you naked may jolt my memories.”

I groaned and then nearly dropped my phone as the pictures shifted into something much more private.

Fallon sleeping.

In nothing but a sheet.

A selfie of both of us in bed drinking coffee.

My guitar lying next to her naked thigh as the blanket curved around her hips just barely covering her nakedness.

I gaped like a teenager.

She was gorgeous.

The next photo was a video.

I turned off the music and pressed play.

“Fallon, Fallon, wake up.” I plucked a few chords from my guitar and chuckled while she moaned in her sleep. “Fallon, don’t you want to play?”

“Go away,” she grumbled, throwing a hand in my general direction. I set the guitar down and held the phone closer to her face.

“You’re beautiful.”

“You’re just after more sex.” She yawned and refused to open her eyes.

I backed away and whispered into the phone. “I think I could love this girl.”

The video ended.

Another picture of Fallon and me kissing in a hotel room that looked familiar.

I went back to the pictures of us in bed.

Just as a hand waved in front of my face.

“Shit!” I fumbled to turn the phone over and jerked off my headphones. “The hell! You scared me!”

Jay’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you looking at tits? Be honest, man, I won’t judge.”

“No!” My face heated like I really had been looking at porn or something, and I rubbed my eyes. “Just…pictures, trying to jolt my memory.”

“She wants to see you.”

My head nearly came off my body as I jerked to attention. “Fallon?”

“No. The queen.” Jay said in a dry tone. “Yes, Fallon, the girlfriend and marshmallow hater.”

“She hates marshmallows?”

“Holy shit, you should have seen your face. It’s not like she drowns puppies, man, and no, she doesn’t hate marshmallows.”

I let out a loud exhale. “Why isn’t she familiar?”

“She will be. The doctor said this is normal, and in a few days we’ll all laugh about this.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Good news!” His smile was bright. “You should make a full recovery, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Chin up, mate.” Jay winked. “There are worse things than having a pretty girl waiting to take away your virginity again.”

I closed my eyes. “I can’t deal with you right now.”

“You’ve never been able to deal with me. Why should now be any different?”

“Go.”

“Have fun.” Jay waltzed out of the room.

Meanwhile, my palms were sweaty, my body was itchy, and I was suddenly very aware that I probably smelled like surgery and sweat and hospital.

The hell? We were already together, right? So she had to love me the way I was.

But I would do anything for a shower and cologne. I’d probably murder Jay just so I could brush my teeth.

“Hey.” Fallon breezed in the door, her face bright and happy like she wasn’t depressed that the first words out of my mouth had been. “Do I know you?”

Auburn hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and her glasses were perched on her nose, they made her look adorable, pretty and smart. She looked like all of those things, things I knew that I would be attracted to.