Breaking New Grounds

by Amy DeMeritt

  Sam and Shannon are smiling but blushing and slightly biting their bottom lips.

  “God, they’re so adorable.”

  Jaime nods as she loops her arm through mine and lays her head on my shoulder. I’m so excited for all of them. They’ve done collaboration pieces with Giz and Mia Chang (a famous violinist), but now that Madison and Sam have graduated from college, doing these songs opens up the doors for them to do even more collaboration pieces if they want to. Madison is starting her solo singing career, so doing pieces like this will really help her career significantly. This isn’t just for fun anymore. This is the start of their actual careers taking off. I’m so glad I’m here to see the start of something so wonderful and exciting for them.

  The music starts again, and as they start the verse over, my eyes close in pleasure from the combination of Sam’s raspy voice and Shannon’s soft mature earthy voice. Madison’s and Awenasa’s voices join them then Giz joins for the last line.

  “Shit, that was amazing.”

  Jerry looks back at me with a smile and nods before he turns back to speak into the microphone.

  “That was perfect. Let’s do it from the top leaving in that modification.”

  Jerry leans back with an arm over his chest and caresses his beard in thought while he watches them. They’re writing in a note on their music and taking sips of water. They motion they’re ready and the music starts again.

  I love listening and watching the whole process of them creating a new song. All of them have beautiful voices and they’re all unique from each other. To hear them harmonize together is something really amazing.

  It has been Madison’s dream to sing since she was a kid, but the rest of my wives had never thought about singing for a living. That wasn’t till Madison insisted on them singing with her for mine and Jaime’s victory dance for the ballroom dance competition TV show a couple of years ago. People really reacted positively to all of them singing together and it really boosted their confidence to do this. Awenasa grew up singing, so she wasn’t shy about singing in front of people. Sam and Shannon on the other hand were pretty self-conscience just singing in front of us, let alone for the world. That first performance they did really opened them up. We already know Madison is going to get more serious about singing professionally, but I think Awenasa, Sam, and Shannon will also embrace their talents much more as well – they love it too much not to.

  They get to the middle of the song and Sam’s voice suddenly rises. I step up on my tiptoes to get a better view over the parents’ heads and I hold my breath. Her eyes are closed and she’s holding her chest as she belts out a solo verse. I gasp for air as her voice reaches a level of power that I’ve never heard from her.

  I stumble forward, forgetting Jaime is laying on my shoulder and holding my arm, but she promptly releases me. I place a hand on the window of the sound booth door while placing my other on my heart.

  As her solo ends and the others jump in to continue singing, Sam opens her eyes and her beautiful tear glossed sage green eyes lock with mine. She smiles lovingly at me and her milky smooth cheeks blush pink, but she doesn’t lose her momentum in finishing the song. Sam points to me and brushes a hand under her eye. I quickly reach up and wipe my eyes dry and release a happy laugh as Eliza, Sam’s mom offers me a tissue.

  “Did you hear my wife? Holy shit, she’s amazing.”

  Eliza releases a giggle and grabs the waist of my shorts, yanking me over to stand next to her so she can wrap an arm around my waist. We watch in silence till they finish, but as soon as the music ends, everyone, including Jerry and the sound techs start clapping loudly.

  Jerry speaks into the microphone, saying, “Fucking fantastic! That was money! Great work, ladies. Sam – fucking fantastic! Let’s do a playback to be sure each verse sounds clean.”

  Oh, my god, I want to run in there and pick Sam up in my arms and kiss her till we melt into a puddle on the floor. That was so amazing. I had no idea they gave Sam a solo on this song. When I was here Wednesday for the rehearsal, she didn’t have one. This must have been one of the many changes they worked out yesterday.

  “Alright, ladies, that’s a wrap. Nice work pulling it together to get these recorded today. Let’s take a break, then Madison, we need to record your acoustic love song. Is your guitarist here today?”

  Madison nods, and as they come out of the sound booth, she says, “Yes, she’s working though.”

  “I’ll go see if we can steal her, but first…” I pick Sam up with her wrapping her legs around my waist. She laughs as she gives me a brief kiss on the lips. “Sam, where the hell did that come from? Did you hear yourself? Oh, my god, you were just… That was amazing.”

  She firmly sucks my bottom lip, before pulling back smiling really big. “Thanks, baby.”

  “Alright, let’s not lose focus. Kayla, go get the guitarist.”

  I roll my eyes at Jerry’s demand. “Yeah, yeah, I’m going. And her name is Jo, not ‘the guitarist’.”

  Sam steps down off of my waist and gives me a pat on my ass, saying, “Go on, baby.”

  I dart forward to get another kiss on her lips, then I leave the sound studio. I race down the hall and take two stairs at a time to the ground level of the barn. I race across the lawn, and as I enter the house, I have to dodge between family members so I don’t mow anyone over.

  I reach the foyer as two guys are walking in the front door carrying a large sheet of drywall.

  “Hey, is Jo upstairs or outside?”

  “She’s outside cutting the drywall.”

  “Thanks.”

  I skip out the door, and as I step out onto the porch, I holler at Jo, “Hey, rock star!” She looks up from measuring and marking lines on a huge sheet of drywall and rolls her eyes with a laugh. I jog over to her, and she stands upright with her hands on her hips and an eyebrow quirked upwards in an inquisitive way. “Your awesome guitar playing skills are being requested in the sound studio. Jerry wants to record Madison’s acoustic love song. And before you try to use this drywall as an excuse to postpone it, I’m firing you. Jerry is being a jackass and I’m not dealing with him when you try to act all honorable by insisting on finishing this job first.”

  She chuckles and shakes her head. “You’re not firing me. I’ll talk to Rod so he can send someone else out here to measure and cut these panels. I’ll get cleaned up and meet you out there.”

  “Awesome. You’re the best.”

  Jo gives me an awkward bashful smile then turns away from me to walk in the house. I follow her back inside, and after I update my family on the recording progress and give my babies kisses, I rush across the lawn to get to the sound studio.

  “Hey, Jo will be here soon.”

  “I’m here.”

  I look over my shoulder to see Jo turning the corner with her guitar case.

  Jerry claps his hands once, then jabs a quick finger towards the sound booth, saying, “Alright, let’s make some magic. Head into the fishbowl and let’s get you tuned up. We already prepped your station.”

  Madison and Jo walk into the sound booth, and while Madison stands at her microphone with her music stand in front of her, Jo takes a seat on a stool on the other side of the booth with a microphone that has been positioned to be in line with the face of her guitar. She bends down to open her case and pulls out a very nice shiny acoustic guitar. She uses a digital tuner to get each string just right, then after she’s happy with the sound, she puts the tuner in her case and pushes it aside.

  Speaking into the microphone, Jerry says, “Jo, run through the song once to get warmed up, then we’ll try you and Madison together.”

  She nods, then after adjusting on her stool, she begins to play. Every time I have watched Jo play guitar, as cliché as it sounds, it’s like I’m watching a butterfly break free from a cocoon. Jo wears so many shields all the time that it’s hard to see the amazing person she really is. But when she plays guitar, those shields fall away. I can see and hear her passi
on for the music and in that passion is real joy for life. And joy for life is not something that typically emanates from Jo.

  I’m really glad we decided to hire Rod’s company to finish the attic. If we hadn’t, we never would have met Jo, and that would have been a pretty big loss. I think she is going to end up being a pretty great friend. I don’t have many people in my life who can relate to many of the things I’ve been through. Jo can. Plus, she has an instinctual need to protect, which will give me some peace of mind when Madison has to rehearse or perform and I’m not able to be there. I’m going to have bodyguards with Madison, for sure, but to have someone like Jo in her main circle is good for my peace of mind. Our first encounter was rocky, but I actually do trust Jo to be around my family. I don’t believe she would ever do anything to hurt any of us.

  After Jo finishes the song, she stretches her fingers, then Jerry instructs Jo and Madison to do the song together. I have watched them rehearse this song several times, but its impact is as powerful as the first time. Madison wrote this song for all of us and it hits me right in the heart every time I hear it. It talks about her love for us and the beautiful energy that we share and create as a family. It’s a very moving song. Madison doesn’t play any instruments, but she has a great program that allows her to fake it. The program allows her to write the sheet music, then the program plays the song with the instruments she selects. She had the song completed before she graduated college and it was one of her major bargaining chips with Jerry and the record label in securing a great contract with them.

  Once Madison has a full band, they’ll record more music, but this acoustic love song is the only solo song she has recorded this week. She’ll build her band when we go to California next month, then they’ll get started on making some more music. Jerry wants to release an EP record by the spring, which I think is ambitious, but Madison is excited to try to reach that goal.

  She really is a natural. Watching her in the sound booth is exhilarating. She has an incredibly beautiful voice, but she also has star-presence. She looks like this is exactly what she should be doing. I’m so excited for her.

  By the time the song ends, I have tears streaking my cheeks and my chin is a bit wobbly from the intensity of the emotions Madison’s voice and words stirred up inside of me. I have to wipe my face on my tee shirt. As I’m lowering my shirt, I notice the parents and the rest of my wives are also wiping their eyes, which increases my emotions.

  “Damn, this song really gets to me.”

  Jaime nods as she wipes her eyes again, saying, “I know. It’s beautiful. She’s beautiful.”

  After we listen to the playback, Jerry claps and pumps a fist in the air, saying, “It’s money! Great work. Looks like we’re done for today.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  After drying my hair and body, I hang my bath towel on a rack and walk out to the bedroom.

  “Oh, damn.”

  Jaime is stretched out on the chaise lounge chair in the bedroom. She’s wearing a matching peach lace pair of panties and a short halter top style bra that doesn’t have any padding. The color looks great with her complexion and the cut is very sexy and really accentuates her shape. She is leaning back reading a book with one arm behind her head and one leg slightly bent. She slowly tilts her head to look at me and smiles. I swallow hard as I’m reeled into her by some unseen strings. When I reach her side, Jaime places her book on the floor and takes my hand.

  Without a word, she pulls me down to lay on top of her between her thighs. With her glittering golden eyes holding mine, she runs a hand through my damp hair and pulls me forward to press her lips against mine. As our tongues glide together, we inhale deeply, stealing each other’s breath from our lungs and replacing it with hot arousal.

  Jaime’s hands glide down my back and grip my bare ass, pulling me in harder against her. I moan deeply into her mouth, causing her to release a vibrating hum into mine.

  I sit up, and while trying not to break our lips apart, I pull her up from the lounge chair and relocate us to the bed. Jaime pushes me down on my back with an adorable grin and dives into the curve of my neck with sucking nipping kisses.

  Our bedroom door opens and Symone walks in. She smiles and starts stripping down. As Jaime is latching onto my breast, Symone lays down next to us and pulls me into a kiss. Their hands palm over my torso like soft feathers tickling my arousal into jumpy fits in my veins, causing my body to rise to meet their touch.

  I feel another tongue on the outside of my mouth and open my eyes. I release a deep moan as Symone tilts her head enough to allow Jaime to press her mouth against ours and both of their tongues start beating my tongue around. My eyes roll back in pleasure and I wrap my arms around their backs, pulling their bodies against me.

  While the three of us kiss, their hands firmly slide down my torso and between my thighs. I gasp and my body bucks against them. Jaime kisses my cheek and makes a fast descent down my body, kissing, biting, and licking my neck, breasts, and abs. She pushes Symone’s hand inside me and latches onto my clit with her mouth.

  Symone suddenly releases my mouth and starts working her way down my body.

  “Wait, baby, I’m lonely up here.”

  Symone gives me a naughty grin and places a hand on the back of Jaime’s head. I watch as their faces press close together and release a long moan as both of their tongues start lashing over my clit and folds. I watch while they kiss each other while their lips and tongues continue to batter my clit, making my insides contract.

  “Holy shit, so fucking good. So hot. Oh, my god, don’t stop that. Oh, god, so good. Fucking amazing.”

  Both of them giggle at my breathy moaning outburst, but they don’t stop. This feels so incredible, and it’s so damn sexy to watch. Symone pulls her fingers out of me, and glides her hand down Jaime’s thigh. She lifts her knee, opening Jaime’s legs. She palms a hand over Jaime’s center on the outside of her lace panties, but then slips under the waist, eliciting a sweet moan from Jaime.

  With both of them working their hands between each other’s thighs, they use their mouths to turn me into a vulgarity spewing and moaning thrashing mess. I cum so hard and loudly that it causes me to sit straight up and my throat feels raw.

  “Holy fucking amazing. Shit, so fucking good.”

  Both of them giggle again as they lay their heads on my thighs to finish each other. Once they climax, they climb up the bed to lay on my chest. I wrap my arms around them and give them kisses.

  Sam walks into the room, and with her hands on her hips, she snaps, “What the hell are you doing? You were supposed to come tell them to get ready to leave for dinner.”

  Symone rolls across the bed and wraps her arms around Sam’s waist. “I’m sorry, baby. They were already in the middle of making love.”

  With a pout, Sam asks, “Why didn’t you come get me?”

  “I’m sorry, baby. Can I make it up to you?”

  Without waiting for an answer, Symone lifts the skirt of Sam’s pretty summer dress, bunching it up below her breasts, and starts kissing her pale white slender stomach and small baby bump. Sam runs a hand over Symone’s head, then grips her long black hair and pulls it back, jerking her head back to force Symone to look up at her.

  “I want you to pole dance for me when we get home from dinner.”

  Symone stands up and turns Sam’s back to the bed, and as she pulls her dress off over her head, she says, “I would love to dance for you baby. We’re going to make love to you now.”

  “You better.”

  ***

  I grab the door handle to The Firepit, pulling the door open for my wives and babies, and as we walk inside, my chest swells with pride and happiness. I’ve only been able to get here a handful of times since we bought the restaurant with Dana and had Hayley completely renovate it. Or rather, she turned it into a piece of art. The place is gorgeous.

  The foyer has smooth destressed light gray stone tiles for the floors, nice cushioned brown leathe
r upholstered bench seating lining the walls, and the walls look like we’re standing in the center of a wood pile. The first four feet from the floor up looks like a woven basket, with the wood slats rustically stained to give it a worn appearance. The remainder of the height of the walls up to the ceiling are covered in round cuts of wood logs in various shapes and sizes arranged in a way to fill nearly every empty space. It’s basically an installation art piece that Hayley created all by herself. The lighting in the foyer is from two large cast iron round chandeliers with old-fashioned style candle stick lights that cast a soft orange glow on the round log cuts.

  The front-house manager immediately escorts us from the foyer to the dining room to lead us to our favorite table, the half-moon booth that faces the wood fire grill in the kitchen.

  The dining area of the restaurant is made to look like a rustic lodge but with an upscale feel to it. The first four feet of the walls are flat rectangular gray stone brick, and the rest of the height is wood paneling that looks like a log cabin. The walls have nice sconces that glow with soft orange light and look like fire torches. The ceiling is wood rafters with hanging iron chandeliers like the ones in the foyer. The floor is dark hardwood, as are the tables and chairs. Each table is topped with frosted glass square votive holders with orange glowing and flickering LED votives and copper tone salt and pepper grinders.

  As we slide across the black leather bench of our half-moon booth, the manager clasps her hands behind her back, and says, “Your waitress will be here shortly with the house fruit water, dinner rolls, and honey butter. Can I get you anything else to drink?”

  Symone answers first, saying, “Yes, I’d like a vodka-cranberry, please.”

  “Absolutely.”

  The manager looks around the table and the rest of us order iced tea, lemonade, or bottles of local sodas made with natural cane sugar.