by K. T Fisher
“Sorry.” I frustratingly run my hand through my hair, which I’ve been doing a lot of today.
“Don’t sweat it Kenny!” Liam shots. “He’s just looking forward to seeing a certain someone tonight.”
I shoot Liam a look, but Kenny shocks me. “Ah, is Riley out of town?”
How the fuck did he know? And then I remember, he has eyes of his own and either would have seen me with her right here in the studio, or would have read the gossips about us. My guess it’s a bit of both.
“Speaking of Riley,” Caden adds. “I think she should be on more songs.”
Kenny nods from his seat. “I agree, she has a distinctive voice that brings out the best in your songs, even just a few vocals under Finley’s’ would lift the songs. We can run it by her?”
“Sure.” I nod. My phone begins to vibrate and when I get it out my pocket, Kenny shakes his head and I do feel a little guilty, until I see Riley’s name across my screen. I hold my finger up to Kenny as I answer. “Hey.” I can feel the big smile on my face, and I give Liam and Caden the finger as they laugh at me from across the screen.
“Guess where I am?” Riley asks, and I can hear the cheeriness in her voice.
I’m dying to see her, I didn’t realize how much I had gotten used to seeing her until I’ve spent these three days away from her. That photo she sent me last night of her in that shirt nearly fucking killed me right there. My dick was so hard, I was very nearly in pain with it.
“On your way home?” I guess, escaping the recording area, so the guys can’t listen in on my conversation so easily.
“Nope.” She giggles and hangs up. I look down at my phone, did she actually fucking end the call? I’m about to try and call her again, when I hear the elevator doors open and out jumps Riley herself, her arms open wide and a big smile on her plump perfect lips. “Surprise!”
Liam and Caden look around in shock, but I quickly get over it and make my way over to her. I don’t care who is fucking looking and what I look like, I really don’t give a shit. Riley laughs sweetly as I wrap my arms around her and spin her around.
“Fuck, you look good.” I growl into her ear.
I set her back down and her hand rests on my stomach, her eyes look up to me and I see the obvious need in them. “Thanks for the photo last night.”
Fuck me, that wanting look on her face has my cock jumping to attention but I don’t have time to respond because Liam and Caden rip her from my arms and wrap their arms around her neck, leading her away from me.
“Thank fuck you’re here.” Liam shakes his head. “My boy has been fucking up his vocals because he’s too hung up on you.”
“Maybe he can get something recorded today, now we have you back.” Caden adds, and Riley laughs, looking back at me through the guys hold.
Yeah, thanks for that you fuckers.
Kenny immediately talks business with her, and suggests her vocals being on more songs, if not all of them to give it that something extra.
“Of course!” She happily agrees. “I actually wanted to ask you all something,” she looks around at us all. “April told me you aren’t going to add, ‘Lifted Wings’ to your album?”
“That songs too chick flick for us.” Caden frowns.
“Well, I was wondering if I could have it on my album?”
“Definitely.” I nod, I would love to feature on her own album.
“Really?” She asks and we all nod.
“As long as it’s me who features.” I point to myself and she nods.
“I wouldn’t have anyone else.” Riley winks back.
Riley is set free when Kenny sends Liam and Caden into the recording area. Riley joins me on one of the sofas, both of us sat on opposite ends, looking at each other.
“Nice to see you.” I say, deciding to end the silence.
“And you.” She giggles a little. “It was nice to see my family though, I need to visit them more.”
“I’m close to my family, so I get that.” I would hate not to live so close to mine, so I get why she feels the need to visit them as much as she can. I do, and they only live five minutes away from me. “So, now you’re back home, you wanna meet up tonight?”
“Sure.” She nods, and I’m shocked she agreed so quickly.
“Well shit.” I laugh, and Riley joins in with me.
“I’ve thought over a few things this week.” Riley fills me in, fiddling with her painted black nails. “There’s a few things you need to know, so we’ll talk tonight.”
I nod, already knowing she’s talking about TJ and as much as I don’t want to hear about the prick, I want to hear this from her. Kenny grabs Riley’s attention, and puts her to work while she’s here. He wants her to sing a little on the tracks we have been recording this week, and when the guys come to sit next to me, Liam flashes me a knowing look.
“Fuck off.” I glare at him, but he just snickers.
“You got it bad.” Caden shakes his head. “You don’t even party anymore!”
“You’re leaving me and Cade alone.” Liam laughs. “I mean, more girls for us, so I’m not complaining, but this has gotta be serious.”
“We’re friends.” I point out, knowing they don’t believe a single word.
“Now maybe,” Liam looks over to Riley, her beautiful voice filling the studio. She looks gorgeous today too, in her usual casual stylish look that works perfect for her. Her hair is pulled into a messy do on top of her head with ones of those retro bandanas and I’m struggling not to go over there and claim those plump lips of hers. She seems different, Riley did say she’s thought about a few things, so maybe one of those topics was me? I fucking hope she’s going to stop hiding her true feelings toward me because it’s getting too hard to hold back with her.
I decided to have Finley come to my place tonight. Cassie is out with whoever is holding her attention right now, so we have the place to ourselves. He should be here any second, so I check myself over and prepare myself for what’s about to take place. Nothing sexual I’m afraid because tonight I plan on telling Finley everything about why I’m scared to get too close to him. Well, after this past week I don’t think I am afraid of becoming close with Finley and if I’m being totally honest with myself, I want to see how interested he is in me. I know he says he wants me, and he likes me but is it just because of my looks? Does Finley want me for me, or just my body?
I don’t love myself or anything, but a girl has to check these things before she puts herself out there for the first time since her heart was ripped out of her chest. I have a feeling, this ‘talk’ that Finley and I are going to have is going to be tough and emotional. I feel as though I made a good choice in putting on waterproof mascara this morning, and not much else. I’m a true believer in true beauty, but then again a little, or a lot of concealer goes a long way. A knock on the door has me freezing in the mirror. I’m ready for this.
I take a long, steady breath before I leave my bedroom, closing the door behind me and approach the door. “Who is it?” I ask, spying at Finley through the peep hole.
“A very handsome man.” Finley growls and I open the door laughing.
I look around the hall and past Finley. “Hmm, where’s this ‘handsome man?’”
Finley quickly wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close, kicking the door behind him as I squeal in shock. “Don’t play with me Riles,” He places me back down on the floor, and holds me still with his hands on my shoulders. His hypnotic grey eyes burn into my baby blues. “Don’t be making me all jealous and shit.”
“Ah.” I giggle, patting him on the chest. “Don’t worry Fin, you’re all I need right now.”
His eyes widen and I shock myself, stepping back and creating some distance between us.
“So where’s Cassie?” He asks, looking around.
I lead us towards the sitting area. “She’s out tonight, so it’s just the two of us.”
Finley looks to me, a naughty smirk making me giggle again. Honestly,
all I do around Finley is laugh. “Ah, want me all to yourself huh?”
I ignore the embarrassing burn on my cheeks as Finley takes the empty space next to me on the sofa. “We could order some food. I thought it would be a lot more private being here than somewhere else because of what I want to talk to you about.”
Finley tilts his head, studying me. “What do you want to talk about?”
“My ex, TJ.” I sigh, and Finley nods. Cassie told me why Finley came around the day I went to visit home, another reason why I decided to sit down with him and explain everything. It’s needed, if we’re going to explore whatever this is between us. If Cassie hadn’t given me the warning, I would have known he knew something about TJ by his minimal reaction.
“Ok.” He sits back and relaxes. “Tell me anything you want, I’m here.”
“I know that you already know about TJ,” I begin. “But I want you to know from me, what happened.”
A tear slides down my cheek and I hurriedly wipe it away. “You don’t need to hide how you feel from me.” Finley sits closer, settling himself on the sofa and reaching out for my hand.
I look up to the ceiling, trying to hold back the emotions for as long as I can. “It’s just, TJ brings out all these old feelings I thought I had buried a long time ago, and it just pisses me off that he still makes me feel this way.”
“Do you still love him?” Finley asks quietly and I snap my head back to him.
“What?” I snap. “No!”
Finley holds his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t mean to piss you off, I just want to know where the tears are coming from.”
I let my anger fade, knowing that he’s coming from a good place. “I don’t love TJ anymore, my feelings for him are purely hatred, but I get upset because I trusted him. He was with me when I got the news I had my big break, TJ was there when I did my first live performance and I thought he had my back.” I sadly laugh at myself. “But instead he loved my sudden increase of money more and spent it on women to get their legs to spread. He let them believe he was a rich man, and not living off me. I was stupid to believe he was loyal, I used to stay up late and wait for him to come home, writing my songs and thinking he was just out with his ‘friends’. I even trusted him when the rumours of his cheating began, I just thought these girls were jealous of us, but really they were doing me a favour.”
“And when you realised it was all true?” Finley gently pushes.
I wipe the wetness from under my eyes. “He blackmailed me.” I laugh at myself and Finley’s grip on my hand hardens. I look down at our joined hands as I continue. “I remember that day so clearly, TJ seemed like a completely different person. The way he talked, looked and acted towards me was scary.”
“Did he hurt you?” Finley growls and I look up to see how pissed he looks.
“Not physically, no.” I answer him and I see the slight relief wash over him. “But those last couple of months together, we were different people. TJ was arrogant and did what he wanted, knowing I wouldn’t do anything and I sat around like an empty shell and accepted what he was doing to me. Cassie saved me, she brought me out and helped me take control but TJ was true to his word and sold stories about me. Some of them weren’t true, but some were. Our intimate moments meant nothing to him, and he sold them like I was nothing. This is the man that I thought I would marry, and I was watching him share everything for money.”
Finley wraps an arm around me, and pulls me into him. He lets me cry on his chest, soaking his shirt but he doesn’t care. He strokes my hair and tries to calm me, and when I eventually do, Finley kisses the top of my head. “Do you realise how much I wanna fucking kill him?”
I laugh, wiping my eyes again and leaning up to look at him. “As much as I would enjoy that, I don’t want you to.”
He holds me tighter in his arms and I love the safety I feel in his strong hold. “You know I would never do that to you, right?”
I nod. “I know, but I wasn’t scared you would do exactly what TJ did, it was that you would break me and I don’t know if I can be saved next time.”
Finley leans back so he can take a good look at me. “Even if you won’t be mine, I will look out for you Riley. Nobody will hurt you ever again and I will make sure of it. Liam and Caden are the same, you know they love you too right? Trust me when I say, you will never go through anything like that while I’m around.”
“You can’t know that for sure.” I sniffle.
“I do.” Finley declares. “I want you Ry, and not just because you’re unnaturally beautiful but because you’re feisty and you don’t take any shit from me.” I laugh at this. “You’re caring and you’re a family person, just like me. You appreciate what’s important in life, and not just who I am.”
I look up at him in question. Finley is saying everything that I want to hear, but I didn’t realise he had similar feelings. “What do you mean?”
Finley flashes me a smile. “You’re not the only one who is suspicious of anyone new who comes into your life. I’ve grown up in a famous family, and now that I’m a celebrity in my own right, I have even more attention. Women throw themselves at me, and yeah it was great in the beginning but it gets boring when it’s just an endless sea of open legs and tits.”
I burst out laughing, almost coughing at how much I’m screaming in laughter. It’s just what I need, and Finley watches me with a wide grin. His eyes look sad though and I smile up at him. “Thanks.”
“For what?” He marvels.
“For making me laugh.” I sit up straight and I’m amazed at how much lighter I feel.
“Look Riley.” Finley becomes very serious. “If you were with me, I would care of you every day and I would never hurt you. It’s the last thing I would want to do.” He suddenly looks very desperate and he reaches for me. “You would be treated like a Princess.”
“Finley.” I stop him. “I don’t want to be treated like a princess, I just want to be loved by a man and not get hurt.”
“I can do that.” He nods. “What do yah say?”
I take in a deep and shaky breath. “We would have to go slow.”
Finley is suddenly right in my face, looking very happy with himself. “I’ll take anything that I can get.”
I laugh again, and Finley leans in close. I know he wants a kiss and I’m suddenly really fucking nervous.
“And this is taking it slow?” I whisper, our lips almost touching and Finley pulls back. “Just kidding.” And I pull him in for a kiss, I take control and grip the back of his head but it turns very hot, very quickly and Finley takes control. He claims me like nobody else ever has, and I think I already knew this was how it was going to go. Finley will take over my heart like no other and that is what I was scared of, and I still am.
“Fuck.” He growls, gently biting my bottom lip and pulling me across to sit on his lap. His hands tangle in my hair as he kisses my neck. Goosebumps cover me and a sigh escapes my lips, just before Finley tilts my head back down and crushes his mouth on mine. A hunger erupts inside me, and not for food. I no longer care about ordering food, I just want to stay like this for the rest of the night.
Chapter Seventeen
I shut off my car, the sounds of Imagine Dragons turns to silence as I look at Finley’s house. He’s invited me round, and advised me to bring an overnight bag, just in case. Seeing as we want to take this slow, well, I would like to take this slow, Finley decided to have a ‘date night’ at his place and I thought it was a great idea but now that I’m here I’m really nervous. I see the front door open and figure I had better get out of my car. I reach for my bag and as I get out the car, I see Finley standing in his doorway, his arms are folded across his chest as he leans on his right shoulder. His white shirt looks like a delicious tight fit and his baggy jogging bottoms don’t hide the bulge that lays underneath. I try not to stare too much as I walk towards him.
“Don’t look too scared babe.” He laughs. “I won’t turn on the charm too much.” He winks, ste
pping aside so I have to walk past him to enter his house.
“You look happy.” I turn towards him as he shuts the door, his wide smile contagious. He takes my bag from me and places it on the floor.
“I am.” Finley stretches out his arm and pulls me into him, kissing me as if his life depends on it, before pulling back and letting his eyes search me. “I’ve been waiting all day to see you.”
“You’ve been with your brothers.” I laugh. “And you told me to be here at two.”
“I did.” He nods. “But my brothers are boring.”
I follow him inside his house and look around in wonder. This place is huge! It’s also really bright, because there’s a lot of windows and the walls are all white and his furniture black. One thing I feel straight away, is cold. It doesn’t feel very welcoming and warm. It’s not personal to Finley at all.
“You like my home?” He asks, standing in the middle of his living area.
“Erm.” I look around, not wanting to offend him, but Finley makes me jump when he bursts out in laughter. He bends over, holding his stomach and I look around to see if I missed anything.
“Don’t worry.” He comes to stand in front of me. “This place doesn’t feel like a home, it’s where I sleep and store my shit while I’m on tour. I either need to redecorate or move.”
I bite down on my lip. I’m so fucking relieved! “I don’t think you need to move, you just need to add little things to make it feel like it’s your home.”
He flashes me a smile before returning to grab my bag. “Come on, let’s go put your bag away.”
I follow him back towards the front door, and up the large stairway. Our feet echo as we climb and once we reach the top, Finley takes a right turn and we pass a huge bathroom on the way to his bedroom. I stop at the door, looking around as he places my bag on his bed. Now this looks better.
“This feels more like your home.” I step inside, looking at his photos and award trophies.
“This is my private space.” He shrugs, cautiously look over at me. “I don’t usually let anyone else in here.”
