Life After Taylah
Page 4

I step past him, staring around my brother’s unit. It’s so disgusting—yet the tragic thing is it’s a brand new unit. There are pizza boxes that have become soggy and moldy all over the coffee table. Beer bottles are strewn about, and there are clothes everywhere. People are filling the couches, the kitchen and apparently the bedrooms. I shove through them, needing to find my brother.
“He’s busy, Avery.”
I turn and see Liam’s best friend, Kelly. He’s standing with his hand on his hips. He’s a gorgeous man; I’ve always thought so. Kelly is a surfer, and he makes a living out of his skills alone. He’s got beach-blond hair that lightens at the tips. It’s only short, but it has soft curls that give him the ideal look for the beach. He’s olive, that beautiful kind of olive that makes his light-blue eyes look as though they’re almost translucent. He’s always here, trying to help Liam.
He never gives up, no matter how bad Liam treats him.
“I know,” I say, stepping closer.
Kelly reaches out, putting a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll round him up soon. Go and get a drink. Sit outside, it’s nicer out there.”
“How are you?” I ask.
He smiles, showing me two, gorgeous dimples in his cheeks. “Competition next week. It’s a big one.”
“You’ll nail it.” I smile.
“What about you? How’s the dancing and the studying?”
“I’m doing okay. My mind just isn’t in it right now.”
He pulls me closer until my body is pressed against his. He wraps his arms around me and I sigh, leaning into him. Even though Kelly is Liam’s best friend, he’s always been extremely close to me, too.
“Don’t let people choose how your career goes, Avery. You have to fight for it.”
“I’m trying,” I murmur against his chest. “I truly am.”
He pulls back, and smiles down at me. Without Kelly, there are times I’d have sunk. He keeps me afloat. We’ve been friends for about five years, and he’s managed to be my rock through some seriously hard times. He’s got that beautiful kind of soul you don’t see often in people anymore.
“You just keep trying.”
He gives me another smile, before turning and heading off. I shove my way through the people around until I reach the back door. My brother’s unit is ugly as they come because of the damage he’s inflicted upon it, but the entire block share a dazzling courtyard. I don’t know why it’s so nice, but somehow they all manage to keep it as the highlight.
I walk down the back steps and past a couple who are kissing so passionately I can see their tongues. I shudder and walk into the middle of the courtyard, taking a seat on the old garden chair. I breathe in the fresh air, and wonder who and what Liam is doing upstairs. He turns to women to make him feel better. To make him forget.
It doesn’t work.
“What’s a beautiful girl like you doing sitting out here all alone?”
I hear the husky, deep voice and turn, but I can only see the dull orange glow of a cigarette. I squint and I can see a shadow of a man leaning against a pole. I want him to come out. If his looks match that voice . . .
He steps out and my mouth drops open as he slowly walks towards me. My heart hammers when I realize who he is. No. No way. I must be imagining things. When the light is shining down over him, I actually rub my eyes to make sure I’m not crazy. It’s Nathaniel Alexander. He’s a world champion motocross racer.
My mouth drops open as I take him in. Not only is Nate extremely talented, he’s also a favorite amongst women around the world. Girls go to his races just to see him. He’s the rock star of the motocross world.
It takes me a moment to be able to speak, because all I want to do is babble incoherent nonsense that won’t do me any good.
“That’s a bad pick-up line,” I finally manage to blurt out. The urge to smack myself in the forehead is overwhelming.
He chuckles softly. “I was never good at them.”
“So it seems.”
His smile widens, and he shoves a packet of smokes at me. “Want one?”
I shake my head. “My trainer would kill me.”
He cocks an eyebrow and steps forward. His big, black boots are unlaced, giving him that lazy, sexy look. “Trainer?”
I stare for a moment now he’s up close. I’ve seen him on television before but he’s so much better in person. Nate is all man. His hair is dark and about three inches long, sitting messily on his head. His jaw is square and covered in a few days’ growth that gives him the ultimate rugged look. He’s got full lips and a perfectly sculpted nose.
It’s his eyes that make him truly breathtaking, though. The eyes are what suck you in. They’re green. I don’t just mean any green, either; I’m talking a sparkling emerald green that blends with his gorgeous olive skin to create a look that is very rare in a male. They’re out of this world. They’re what women adore him for.
“I’m a dancer. Well, I’m training to be a dance teacher,” I finally stammer, answering his question.
He studies me. “Is that so?”
“It’s so.”
He hooks a finger through the faded denim jeans he’s wearing. They look incredible on him. “Do you have a name, Dancer?”
I smile. I can’t help it. “Do you have a name?”
“Don’t we all?” He smirks, running a hand through his hair. “I’m Nate.”