Unexpected

Chapter 11

JOANNA

Gabriel Morales will be the death of me. Mark my words. He's making me insane with his cute blue eyes and sexy husky voice.

But one thing I have to confess, he's provoking my creative side too - daring it to come out and play.

We've been here down the beach for hours, and he keeps pushing me to make notes, come back with better words, and step out of my comfort zone.

Without even realizing it, he's helping me to get out of my fog and to get in touch with a side of me I have abandoned over the years-one who loves to create love stories.

"And I want to lose myself in you..." he sings, making me cringe.

"Hell no!" I frown, getting the pencil from his hand. "That's awfully cheesy."

"What? Come on, every man wants to lose himself in the curves of his beloved one."

"Ew, no!" I laugh. "I don't want any man losing himself inside me."

"Oh, yeah?" He raises his eyebrows. "And what do you want from a man, Joanna?"

"When it comes to sex, or generally speaking?" I tease.

He chuckles. "Do you want different things regarding sex and things in general?"

"You know what?" I reach for the thermal bag in front of us to get a bottle of water. "You wouldn't understand. You don't need to work hard for a woman. They fall easily over your feet."

"What in the world does that mean?" He smiles, but I see a trace of red on his cheeks. He knows I'm telling the truth.

"I'm saying I enjoy being chased. I mean, I enjoy knowing the guy will put some effort into being with me, you know? Not that I play hard-to-get or anything, but..."

His eyes spark with mischief. "Go on."

"I like sex when it's bold and just a little dirty." I swallow, feeling my cheeks get hot. "I like when the guy works for it. But outside the bedroom, I want someone who is also a friend, someone I can fully trust... Someone that clearly doesn't exist."

"You want someone who's a hundred percent in." He gives me a small smile. "Someone who gets you on a deeper level and understands all the nuances that being with you involves."

"Yeah..." I bite my lower lip nervously. "Don't you want that someday, too?"

"I guess..." He studies me for a second. "But it's hard to find something real nowadays, especially with the music industry behind our day-to-day lives."

"Well." I take a deep breath before going back to our notes. "In the meantime, we write."

"And sing." He starts playing an old song from the band on his guitar. "I wanna hear you sing too."

"No way." My eyes widen. "That was not part of the deal."

"Come on, I'm much better at playing the guitar than singing."

"Uh? Are you seriously fishing for compliments right now?"

"I'll tell you what." His eyes shine with humor. "We could do a duet to throw in with that marketing campaign for your book."

"One would think you're the one trying to leave the band if you're not careful." I joke and he looks down, a small smile on his lips.

"I can't ever imagine playing without them."

My hand finds his knee, and I squeeze it slightly. "Do you really think Josh will leave the band?"

He lets a long deep breath before answering. "I don't know... And that's the fucked up part. I think we have all drifted apart so badly over the years that I have no idea what's going on in his head."