Feeling This

Chapter Three

                 

Tom tried to clear all thoughts of Nicolette from his head. He tried not to think about the water droplets that had been glistening on her skin, leftover from her shower. He tried not to think about the fact that she had been entirely naked under the towel that had barely covered her body. And he definitely tried not to think about what would have happened if he had taken up her offer and had stayed with her.

            Tom wasn't thinking about how Nicolette would have dropped her towel, revealing all her beauty to Tom. He didn't think about how she would have slowly gotten dressed in the lingerie Tom would have picked out for her, and how badly he would have wanted to take it off again. He most certainly wasn't thinking about how he would have wanted to feel every part of her under his fingertips. He wasn't thinking about how he would have kissed her if he had stayed on the bus any longer.

            Tom paused in front of the door to the practice room that was backstage of the amphitheater and shook his head. What the fuck was wrong with him? Nicolette was only seventeen for fuck's sake. She was five years younger than him, not to mention that it was fucking illegal. She just looked so much older, more mature. Tom just couldn't help it; she was hot.

            But there's no way he could ever act on his thoughts, no matter how much Nicolette flirted with him. Travis would fucking kill him if he did. The drummer had made it clear to both Tom and Mark that he was very protective over Nicolette, seeing her as his baby niece, which she practically was.

            Tom sighed, really trying to clear his mind of Nicolette this time, and opened the door.

            "What took you so long?" Mark asked, raising his head from looking down at his bass when he heard the door.

            Oh, I just ran into Travis' niece who was practically naked, and she asked if I wanted to help her get dressed, Tom thought.

"Um, I couldn't find it right away," Tom lied as he closed the door behind him. Mark raised an eyebrow at him, clearly not believing him, but he didn't say anything.

            "So you're going to use that guitar for 'Mutt' right?" Mark asked.

            Tom nodded. "That's kind of why I got it, Mark," he smirked. Mark just rolled his eyes.

            "Well hurry your ass up then so we can practice it," Mark retorted, a smile playing on his lips.

            Tom grinned back at his friend and placed the instrument case on a table. He opened it and took out his black guitar. He attached his rainbow shoulder strap to it and swung the strap over his neck, letting the instrument hang in front of his body. Tom plugged the instrument into the amp next to Mark and worked on tuning the guitar.

 

            Once everything was all set, Travis counted them off with his drumsticks and Tom let music be his escape.

*****

 

            Tom was slightly sad when Mark called it quits and ended the practice for dinner. Travis had suggested they go out to eat to celebrate both Nicolette joining them and the show tomorrow that kicked off the second leg of their tour.

            Tom wasn't sure if he could face Nicolette again so soon after their last encounter. It's not that he didn't want to, quite the opposite really. He just didn't know how he could look her in the face and not imagine her lips crashing against his.