Sea Breeze 01 - Breathe

need an invite anywhere, man. Especially here!”
    The girls in the hot tub stirred from their initial shock and got out of the water to come around to where we stood.
    “Oh. My. God! I’m such a big fan! My name is Gabby Montess. I have your newest CD in my car. Will you please sign it for me?”
    Jax smiled politely and nodded. “I’d be glad to, Gabby.”
    Gabby grabbed her still speechless friend’s hand, and they squealed together as they ran for the CD and a pen. Others, realizing what was happening, had us surrounded within seconds. Girls calling Jax’s name shoved paper and pens toward him, as well as shirts and shoes and bags and even a pair of panties. Jax had been forced to release me to sign autographs, so I decided to get out of the chaos. I stepped back, and a girl standing behind me pushed me aside. I sank farther back out of the crowd, getting elbowed, and I forced my way to freedom. Once one person lost control, it became a frenzy.
    The band stopped playing. I listened to squeals and proclamations from girls in the crowd saying they must be dreaming. Girls pushed and shoved, and yelled his name. Guys even fought to get close to him. I overheard some guy say he had written a song he wanted Jax to listen to. This was crazy, and I had let him walk into it all. I sighed and turned when I heard a girl ask someone standing beside her, “I wonder if he’ll autograph my boobs?”
    I realized how much I didn’t like other girls throwing themselves at him. I’d had him to myself, and it was easy to think we were normal, but he would never be ordinary. He would always be someone I couldn’t hold on to. I stared out at the water and decided to escape to the serenity of the now deserted beach.
    “Excuse me! Excuse me! Listen up, please!” Dylan McCovey’s voice came over the sound system. I turned to see him standing onstage. He appeared to be very pleased with himself. “I realize we have a special guest tonight, but if you want to stay at this party, I’m going to have to ask you to act like he’s just one of us and give Jax some breathing room. If you can’t do this, I’m going to have you escorted off the property.”
    I glanced back at the crowd around Jax, and several girls protested and complained following Dylan’s speech, but they listened to him. Even through the thinning crowd, I didn’t see Jax and figured he would still have to deal with several more fans before he managed to get free. I turned toward the shore and wondered if he would be able to find me if I went down to the beach.
    Hands slipped around my waist. “Don’t tell me you were going to leave me to the crowd and go down there all alone,” Jax whispered in my ear.
    I leaned against him and enjoyed the comfort of his arms. I hated how lost I’d felt when he’d been everyone else’s instead of mine.
    “Dylan’s not a bad host. All it took was my letting him know I wanted freedom tonight with you, and he took over.”
    I smiled. “Well, you’re making his party the hottest event this town has ever seen.”
    Jax kissed my head. “Are you okay?” he asked quietly.
    I nodded. “I’m fine.”
    He relaxed his hold and came to stand beside me, still holding me against his side. “Do you want to escape down there by ourselves, or do you want to attend this party we came to? Just so you know, I’m good with whatever you choose.”
    I wanted to escape and keep Jax to myself. But I’d also come here tonight because Amanda had invited me, and I wanted to hang out with her and meet some of the others. The crowd was slowly getting back into the party. Many still watched Jax. I couldn’t blame them. I wanted to stare at him myself.
    “I guess I should go find Amanda and mingle,” I said reluctantly.
    Jax took my hands and pulled me close. “When this is over, we can have some time alone.” He grinned wickedly at me. “Maybe I can show you my room again.”
    My stomach did an excited little flip at the thought of being with him in his room. We turned back toward the heart of the party. As we passed people, they introduced themselves, and Jax never failed to be nice and polite. He shook hands, and some of the braver guests asked him to autograph their items.
    Amanda came up beside me. “Hey, I’m sorry about earlier. I hope Dylan has made it easier.”
    “Yes, he did. We expected it, or something similar, so it wasn’t a big surprise.”
    Amanda grinned. “Well, he
is
the hottest teen idol in America.”
    Jax