Conflicted Read Free Page A

I didn’t see you,” I apologized, scrambling to my feet and trying to stop from gawking at her face, so I looked at her legs as I stood. Shit!
    Long. Tan. Go for miles… boner. Maybe I wasn’t broken after all. Her once short blonde hair was now lighter, longer , and had black streaks that complemented her sky blue eyes. She had that natural Arizona tan going on too.
    “Thanks for coming to collect me. I can’t wait to see my niece,” she cooed, bouncing playfully on her feet.
    What was it about women and babies that made them go ga-ga? I mean sure, some of them are cute and all, but I guess I’m just not that guy.
    “No problem,” I said, reaching to take her carryon bag.
    After double-checking that the “lady-killer” was under control, we walked over to the turnstile and grabbed her other three giant suitcases.
    Damn, was she planning on moving in? I never, and will never, understand why girls feel the need to pack so much shit. They go through all the trouble of picking out the perfect stuff only to get there and have the nerve to complain that they have nothing to wear.
    With one bag on my shoulder, I wheeled the other two, leaving Joss to take the smallest of them. I was sincerely hoping that they all fit in my trunk. Good thing I’m a Tetris pro. Leading the way out to the parking lot, I tried not to think about the uncomfortable silence between us.
    “It’s been a while. How’ve you been?” Joss asked, looking over at me.
    Fucking-A, she got gorgeous. Sure, she was always pretty, but now she was a heartbreakingly beautiful young woman. The sun was shining on her blonde hair, making her orbs of blue twinkle. She stopped and dug a pair of oversized sunglasses out of her purse, obstructing my view. It was probably for the best since I was feeling hypnotized.
    “Things have been good. It was insanely busy while we were on tour, but it’s good to be back. It’s nice here, much more low key. You’ll probably like it.” I shrugged.
    After loading the suitcases in the trunk and sitting on it to get it closed, I climbed into the driver’s seat. Joss was struggling to get the seatbelt on, causing me to have to lean across and help her, which in turn caused my “lady-killer” to stir again. My dick needed to realize that Joss was off limits; that was not a road we needed to be on right now. Putting the car in gear, I took off back toward the hospital. Joss kept stealing glances my way and I offered her a small, polite smile in return. It was not a smart idea even for me to look her way, since if Blake ever found out he would want to kill me for sure. She also didn’t deserve for me to be a complete dick to her, either.
    Merging onto the highway, I stepped on the gas hoping to get to the hospital and finish up my duty, so I could get the hell out of dodge with my manhood still intact. I felt like such a fuck up sometimes. It was hard not to when I had to carry around everything that I did up until now, especially what happened two months ago. I couldn’t help but speculate if the guys were still going to be supportive once I told them what happened. We were like brothers and to do anything to damage our friendship, or the band, would be a fate worse than death in my opinion.
    “Don’t think too much. You’ll create a problem that wasn’t there in the first place,” Joss said, breaking me from my racing mind.
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied coolly, gripping the wheel tighter and hoping she’d drop it.
    What the hell was with everyone being so fucking perceptive all the sudden?
    “Whatever. I can see something’s eating you, Gilbert Grape. If you don’t want to talk about it, fine. I was just stating a fact that whatever you’re thinking about is just going to create a problem that wasn’t even there to begin with. Hell, what do I know? I’m just a kid,” she spat and turned to look out the window, effectively ignoring me for the rest of the ride.
    Finally, after