by Regina Frame
"Oh, Levi. Feels sooo good." She moaned and pressed her hips flush against mine. I ever so slowly kissed my way down to her bellybutton and dipped my tongue inside, before moving farther south. I pressed a kiss on her bare mound and inhaled her sweet scent. She leaned up on her elbows. I opened my eyes and stared up at her from between her legs.
"Did you just sniff me? Oh-my-god, Levi!" A look of panic crossed her face.
"You smell heavenly," I said, and then licked her slit from back to front. "And you taste sweet as honey." Her head dropped back onto the pillow. I continued to suck and lick her pussy, until she was panting and fisting my hair.
"Fuck me! Fuck me now, Levi. I can't wait any longer. I need you inside of me, now!" she breathed. I reached into the nightstand, pulled out a condom, and handed it to her.
"Would you like to do the honors?" She took it with trembling hands and rolled it down my shaft, before working it up and down in her small fist.
"Whoa! If you keep that up, I'll blow my load before we even get to the best part," I said, taking her hand in mine and placing it over my pounding heart. "Feel how fast my heart beats?" She smiled and gave a nod. "It beats only for you, Peyton. That's what you do to me. I love you, Peyton." I said, as I entered her body. I couldn't take my eyes off hers. Our bodies began to move as one in a beautiful rhythm, rocking back and forth, writing the lyrics to our own beautiful love song.
"What do you mean, it's too late to change the line up?" I asked Jeff Morrison, one of our label execs. "It's my fucking fund raiser! I should have a say in who plays and who doesn't!" I shouted and then slammed my cell phone repeatedly against the wooden desk in the recording studio. I picked it up and stared at the now cracked screen and that just pissed me off more. Jinx took the phone from my hand, put it to his ear, and walked to the other side of the room. I could barely make out what he was saying to Morrison. I watched him from behind and when his shoulders slumped, I knew that was a bad sign. We couldn’t do anything about Nuclear Disaster being added to the play list.
"It's too late, man. I'm sorry. Morrison said that billboards have gone up and the media now has a hold of it and it's all over social media. I hate to say it, but, they're a big pull and if we refused to let them play, that could hurt donations and I know that's not something you want to do." Jinx explained.
"Fuck! Don't you think I know that?" I said, shoving my hands through my hair and yanking hard. I looked around the room at where Chance and Honor sat on the sofa with their heads together discussing something on Honor's phone. I took a deep breath and let it out in one swift whoosh. "What do you think?" I cocked my head in Chances' direction and eyed Jinx in question.
"What?" he asked.
"He looks clean today," I stated, but it was really more that I needed Jinx to confirm that he thought so too.
"Yeah. He looks fine to me. Had a long convo with him earlier and he seemed perfectly fine." I nodded my head in acceptance. If Jinx said it, I took it as truth. He's a solid leader and he'd never led us wrong. Now, I had to face Peyton and tell her there was nothing that I could do to get her asshole ex-boyfriend's band kicked out. I just hope she was gonna be okay dealing with him.
"Are we gonna do any work today or what?" Chance asked from across the room, shoving a handful of skittles in his mouth.
"Yeah man, Let's hit it," Jinx said, and we all followed suit into the sound area. It was gonna be a long fucking day.
Peyton
"So,
you're going to meet the mom," Jules said, sitting beside me on her barstool, while swirling the little umbrella around in her drink. "You do realize that's some serious shit. Right?"
"I know and I'm so nervous. I-What if she hates me? What if she thinks I’m just some groupie that her son picked up after one of his shows?" I asked.
"Well, he did pick you up after one of his shows. Didn't he?" She quirked an auburn brow and smirked at me.
"I'm no groupie!" I said, a little too loud, causing the people around us to turn and stare.
"Back to what you were doing people. Nothing to see here." Jules announced, flicking her hand in their direction.
"I am no damn groupie and you know it!" I repeated myself again, a little lower this time.
"Calm down," she giggled. "I know you like the back of my hand." She held up her right hand and looked at it with scrunched brows. "What in the hell is that?" I couldn't help but laugh.
"Like the back of your hand, huh?" She scowled at me.
"You know what I mean and besides, my guess is that if he didn't have feelings for you, he wouldn't want you to meet his mother. Am I correct?" she asked.
"I guess. He did tell me that he loved me . . ." I wasn’t able to finish my statement, because Jules practically spit her drink across the bar top. She whirled on her stool to face me and placed both hands on my knees.
"Are you telling me that the Levi Cross, rock god of all rock stars, told you he loved you?" I gave her a nod and couldn't hold back the smile that spread across my face. It was so wide that my cheeks hurt. Jules squealed and threw her arms around my neck, almost knocking us both off our stools and onto the sticky bar floor. People were looking again.
"Mind your own business," I said, earning me an eye roll from the bleached blond sitting beside Jules. "Okay," I wheezed. "You're cutting off my air supply." I pushed her back onto her stool.
"So?" She bounced on her seat; both brows arched high into her hairline.
"So?" I shot the question back at her and her excitement turned into a scowl.
"You're a bitch. You know that right?" It was fun to mess with her for a change.
"For your information, I told him that I loved him too. I've never met anyone like him before, Jules. He's nothing like Teake. He's caring and kind. He really is a giving person. Did you know that he has a charity benefit every year to raise money for families who have lost loved ones in the line of duty in law enforcement?" She looked at me with tears in her big, green eyes.
"That's awesome! That's . . . Wow!" She held her hand over her heart and I could tell that it really touched her, too. "If there's anything that I can do to help, I'd love to," she said.
"I might just take you up on that, if you're sure." After all the research and planning that I did at the studio today, I knew there was a lot to be done and there was only one of me. "We did get some news today that I'm not very happy with, but there's nothing we can do about it." I scowled, picking up my ‘Sex on the Beach’ and took hefty sip. "Teake's band has been asked to play, and even after the guys discussing it with the label, they were informed that everything has been set into motion, meaning there's nothing that can be done about it." I blew out a breath and looked to my friend, who also had a scowl on her face.
"Well, fuck a duck."
"Yeah, something like that." I said and finished off my drink. "Maybe I'll get lucky and we won't even cross paths." I said, with wishful, thinking.
"Okay. No more of this ex talking shit. Girl you got the hottest guy out there, in love with you. You know what this means, right?" Her lip curved upward into a grin. I shook my head in question. "No more B.O.B! You have your very own hot rock star vibrator and I bet he's better than that bunny on the commercials. I bet he can go all night long and then some!" I could feel myself blush from head to toe. "Well? Am I right? Give it to me girl?" She threw her head back and laughed at my embarrassment.
"Bartender!" I held my hand up and shouted to get his attention. I was going to need a stiff drink, if we were going to be talking about Levi and sex. I could feel my sex pulse just thinking about him.
Levi
"Relax
, babe. She's going to love you," I said to Peyton, as I grabbed our bags from the back of my car. She had fidgeted nonstop on the way over here. It was only supposed to be dinner but, Mom called and talked us into staying overnight, so that she could cook us my favorite breakfast in the morning. Since I didn't get to see my mom that often, because the band traveled so much, who was I to turn
down her special, strawberry pancakes. I threw our bags over my shoulder, wrapped my other arm around my girl, and headed up the sidewalk just as the front door flew open. Out flew my mom. Something was different. She looked a little thinner and paler than the last time I'd seen her.
"Levi Preston Cross!" My mom cried happy tears while she met us halfway. She took my face in her hands and pinched my cheeks, like I was a two-year-old and not twenty-six. "What is this?" she asked, pointing at the two-day growth on my chin.
"I'm trying something new, Mom. You don't like it?"
"I do not," she replied. I remembered her saying the same thing about my first tattoo, but now I had full sleeves and I never heard another word about them.
"But, Mom, all the guys are doing it," I said, teasingly, because that's something I used to pull on her when I was growing up. She didn't fall for it then, either. "I'm only joking. I just didn't take the time to shave this morning. I was in a hurry to get out here to see you!" I wrapped her in my arms and gave her a squeeze. "Mom, this is Peyton Frost." I wrapped my arm around Peyton's waist, pulled her in close to me, and placed a kiss on top of her silky, blond head. My mom stepped closer, and took Peyton's face in her hands, just like she'd done mine. Peyton froze like a deer in headlights, unsure of what to expect.
"You are absolutely beautiful dear!" My mom smiled and I could see Peyton visibly relax. It warmed my heart, when Peyton wrapped her arms around my mom and gave her a hug. I could tell that it made my mom happy, by the way that she beamed. This was why I loved my girl so much. "Come inside! Levi, take the bags upstairs, and Peyton, you can set the table, dinner is almost ready," she said, turning toward the door. I bent down and kissed Peyton on the lips.
"I told you she'd love you." She gave me a big smile, rolling her eyes at me. We stepped into the house and Peyton followed my mom into the kitchen, but I stopped and gazed around the den. Everything still looked the same, same pictures on the wall, and my trophies on the bookcase across the room. There were pictures of my dad in uniform, surrounded by his unit, as he received one of his many awards. I took the stairs and stood in the doorway to my old room. I'd love to have Peyton sleep in there with me, but I knew my mom, and she was old-fashioned. She'd never stand for that, even though I was a grown man. I dropped my black duffle bag on my bed and turned to cross the hall to the guest room, but Peyton was standing in the doorway. She took a minute to look around, taking everything in.
"Did she change anything about your room?" She smiled and looked up at me through thick lashes.
"Nope. Nothing. Everything is the same, right down to the blue, plaid bedspread. If I had to guess, my Hot Wheel’s track is around here, somewhere," I said jokingly, while looking under my bed. She walked around my room and looked at old drawings, which my mom had framed. There was my old notebook full of song lyrics, lying on my dresser, where I'd left it years ago.
"How cute!" She said, and I turned to find her looking at the picture of my dad and me, standing side by side, with our fishing poles. I had the biggest smile on my face because I'd just caught my first fish, a Sunfish. I didn't even remember how much it weighed, I just remembered it was about the size of the palm of my hand, and I'd caught it on my Spider-Man fishing pole. I gazed at the picture and my heart sank. I missed my dad so much.
"Dinner's in twenty minutes," Peyton said, wrapping her arms around my waist and hugging me tight. "I like your mom. She's sweet."
I bent and kissed her on the tip of her cute, little nose. "She likes you too."
"How can you tell?" she asked, then quirked a blond brow.
"Trust me. I know my mom, and she likes you," I said. "I hate to do this, but your room is across the hall," I said, cocking my head toward the door. She pouted her full, pink lips, causing me to laugh.
"Don't get any ideas, either. We used to call her ‘whisper 2000,’ because any time the guys were over, we couldn't even think about getting into trouble without her knowing about it, first. I'm telling you it's some weird shit!"
I winked, and my mom yelled from the bottom of the stairs. "Dinner's ready!"
"Be right down," I yelled.
"Did you get Peyton settled in the guest room?" I cocked a grin at Peyton, and her brows shot up.
"See what I mean? I think she reads minds!" I laughed and tossed her bag on the floor inside the guest room. "I'll have to try and not have any impure thoughts about you during dinner!" I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the stairs.
Mom was placing the last of the dishes on the table, when we entered the room. I inhaled deep. Oh, how that smell brought back memories. "Smells like heaven in here," I announced and pulled out my mom's chair for her to be seated, before doing the same for Peyton. She looked up at me, and grinned with appreciation and love in her eyes. We stuffed ourselves to the max, with my mom's chicken casserole and delicious, warm apple pie topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Then, we all headed into the living room and took a seat in front of the TV; only Mom didn't turn it on. She turned to me where I sat on the sofa, holding Peyton's hand.
"Levi, there's something I need to tell you, Son." Something in the tone of her voice told me that this was not something I wanted to hear. A knot formed in my stomach and it began to twist, as she said the words, I never thought I'd hear again. "The cancer is back." There it was, that fucking word, "Cancer." The knot in my stomach began to grow and a lump formed in my throat. "I haven't been feeling well for a while now, so when I went in for my check-up, I told Doc about it. He did some blood work, which led to other tests . . ."
"Mom, how long have you known?”
"A couple of months now. It's spread throughout my body, Son. The doctor suggested chemo. I might be old, but I'm not stupid. Mrs. Carson, up the street, had cancer all over her body a few years ago and chose not to take the treatments. I thought, I'd give it a try, but I'm really not expecting it to work, Levi."
I was on my knees now, in front of my mother, really seeing her this time. How I didn't see it earlier, I'd never know. Her skin was not only pale, but also had a yellow tint to it, and her hands and fingers were bony.
"You've known for a couple of months and didn't tell me! Why in the hell, would you keep that from me?"
"Language!" She slapped the arm of the chair. "You were at the end of your tour, I knew you'd be coming home soon, and I'd tell you then. It's a choice that was mine to make," she said with a tone that I knew meant not to argue with her.
"That's no way to think, Mom. You have to be positive that treatments can and will work. Your body reacts to emotions, in the way we fight off infections, and even heal. I've read that somewhere," I encouraged. She smiled sweetly and ran her fingers across the scruff on my chin again. "You make me so proud, you know. I always knew you'd grow up to be famous. I just wish your father had lived long enough to hear you sing. You have the voice of an angel, Son." Her eyes welled with unshed tears. It was all I could do to fight back my own. "When is your next treatment?"
"I had one yesterday and I have a mountain of pills to take everyday, so I'll go back in a couple of weeks for another treatment."
I awoke to the sweet smell of coffee and what I knew, was my favorite breakfast. What the hell? I jumped from bed, pulled on a pair of gym shorts, and bounded down the stairs. I should have been up, cooking breakfast for my mother, not the other way around.
When I rounded the corner into the kitchen, I stopped dead in my tracks. Peyton was at the stove, her long hair pulled back into a ponytail, and she was flipping my strawberry pancakes. My mom sat at the kitchen table and sipped a cup of tea, both of them chatting away about something. I cleared my throat to get their attention. Peyton turned to me and smiled. A smile so bright, it warmed my heart.
"Good morning." I walked over to the stove and kissed her on the cheek. She cut her eyes in my mother's direction, as if she were trying to silently tell me something. I took a seat at the table, where my mom sat now, with her head in her hands. "How are you feeling this morning?"
"Where's the doctor's number? We should probably call him." I got up and started for the old phone hanging on the wall. The one, I never could get my mother to update. Sure, she had a cell, but she refused to let go of the old thing, so I didn't argue.
"There's no need to call. It's just the normal side effects of chemo. I think I should just go lie back down." She tried to stand on shaky legs and I rushed to her side to help. This was a huge a difference from yesterday.
Luckily, my mom's room was on the lower floor at the end of the hall. I helped her back into bed and got her everything I could think of that she might need—a glass of water, and an empty wastebasket, in case she couldn't make it to the bathroom in time.
Then, I made my way back out to the kitchen where Peyton stood leaning against the counter, with a worried look on her face. She knew as well as I did, this wasn’t good. "Do you think you should call the doctor, just to be safe?"
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. She placed a kiss on my chest before pressing her face in the same spot.
"Yeah," I said into the top of her hair, still holding her close, taking comfort from the woman I loved. I held her tighter as it dawned on me, she'd just met my mom, but she loved her, too. I could tell. My heart broke for her, thinking about the kind of mother she had, and the life she grew up in.
The doctor confirmed everything my mom told me last night and earlier today. The fever, chills, and flu like symptoms, were all common side effects of chemo. He too, didn't feel that the chemo would be very beneficial, but the doctor told me something that my mom hadn’t. He'd explained to her, there was nothing they could do, except keep her comfortable. She wanted to try the treatments for me. Mom knew I'd want her to fight, and even though she knew it probably wouldn't do her any good, she was putting herself through that hell for me.
