Being In Love (Siri's Saga Book 5)

by Cindee Bartholomew

  "I love you, Sugar Bare."

  "I love you too, Wild Thang. Are you crying?"

  "Maybe a little. That was so sweet."

  "Oh dear." He frowns as he smiles, then he kisses me sweetly again as Bob’s voice fills the air to the song "If" by Donny Osmond.

  When he lets me go, I repeat his words. "Oh dear." And a tear slips down my cheek.

  His finger wipes it away. "Please don’t cry, Baby Thang. We’re going to be ok."

  I hang my head, then look up at him and say as I smile. "I know. If they can do it, we can too."

  The song ends and Zita steps back up to sing. With her first words, Aurei cups my face and holds my eyes with his. He says. "Yes. We will." His green gaze is so intense it sends shivers through me as Zita sings "You’re Still The One" by Shania Twain. His thumbs stroke my face as the tears slide down. "I got ya, Baby. We will face our life together, side by side. You’re my one and only for life."

  The song ends and he wraps his arms around me. I bury my face in his embrace and hold on. Then I hear Ann step up to the microphone. I try to pull away, but Aurei holds me tight. As soon as she starts to sing, I know why. She sings "How Do I Live" by Trisha Yearwood. "Oh My God!" I mumble against his soft but firm pecs. My hands slip into his back pockets and he kisses my hair as I sob while we sway. The words of the song turn me to mush. They describe not being able to live without the love of her life and although I’m not used to being reduced to crying, it feels so good to be able to do so without having to suck it up and be strong. To just let go and be a woman who needs a man to be a man. I know that Aurei loves me and he will do whatever it takes to make us work. He knows what true love is. His whole family has it.

  Heaven is here. Right here! Being Aurei’s love is heaven. When he tells me he loves me, he doesn’t just say the words. He knows the level of commitment it means and he says it with that devotion. My shoulders shake and he hums as he sings with her.

  The song ends and he whispers. "Shush now."

  He lets me go and I wipe my tears on his shirt.

  "I melted a little right on your heart." I smirk, a little embarrassed I became a blubbering mess, and touch the wet spot with my fingers.

  He chuckles as he spins me around. "Let’s see what Bee will sing. She never sings the same song twice."

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Bee steps up to the microphone and tells Ann. "Don’t go anywhere." She walks over to the DJ and gets another microphone, then walks over and hands it to her. "I’m going to need you to pitch in on this one, babe."

  Bee’s song choice is "Mockingbird" by James Taylor and Carly Simon.

  I ask Aurei as his arms drape my shoulders again and he mashes my tits and nuzzles me so hard I have to brace myself to maintain our balance. "So what happened to the rules?"

  "The real rule is that there are no rules."

  "Ah! So basically anything goes?"

  "Affirmative."

  Ann and Bee have a blast together, swagging each other and letting their playful love show. When they finish, they have lightened the mood. Ann jumps down and waits for Bee as she announces. "Up next, I give you the master crooner himself. Augustus!"

  Ann helps Bee down and they hold hands back to the table as Augustus takes the stage to cheering.

  I slip my arm around Aurei’s waist and ask. "I guess Augustus is really good."

  "He is. His voice is deep."

  "Seductive, I bet."

  "Affirmative." He grins at his mentor.

  "Your family is unashamedly romantic, Aurei. That’s amazingly refreshing."

  "We’re Italians, Siri. It’s in our blood."

  Augustus glances sheepish at Oriana and clears his throat.

  That’s too sweet to see. This alpha male flirting with his baby bride.

  When the music starts, he sings an absolutely, sexy version of "Behind Closed Doors" by Charlie Rich. His voice is deep and he knows how to use it.

  Aurei and I slow dance, swaying because the dance floor is too crowded to move. "I like getting you behind closed doors." I squeeze his ass.

  "I like it when you let your hair down." He tugs a hand full of my hair.

  "I’m glad you’re a real man!"

  He chuckles. "I’m glad you’re in great shape."

  "Oh? Because you’re always needy?"

  "Affirmative." He grinds me.

  "People are gonna talk about us."

  "Screw ’em. You’re My Bella Signorina."

  "Yes, I am!" I offer him my neck and he gently mauls me.

  "You make me glad I’m a man too."

  "You’re a REAL man!"

  "Yes, I am."

  "I’m glad you decided to tame my tail too."

  He puts his mouth on that bone behind my ear and hums. The vibrations drive me crazy. His tone makes me melt.

  Then his lips touch mine and they suck, drawing my bottom lip into his mouth. His tongue tickles it and my knees get weak. I stare into his eyes. Boom. The world falls away.

  He whispers to me. "Tonight, I’m going to tell you what Heaven means."

  For a split second, the truth bounces between us, but then the song ends, and everyone around us claps, breaking the spell.

  I push him away, turning my attention to the stage. Augustus is smiling at Oriana as she crosses the stage to join him.

  "Angel Thang, look at me." Aurei commands my attention, knowing what he saw and needing confirmation.

  "No, we’re missing the show." I peek around him to see Augustus opens his arms and Oriana step into his embrace. I join the "Bravo’s" with an "Awe" when he kisses her.

  Aurei steps in front of me. His voice is husky. "Look at me."

  I close my eyes. "No, I’m not going to."

  I giggle when Augustus asks her, "What’s this?"

  And she answers, "I’m going to sing too. The girls are going to win this year."

  Cheers erupt from the ladies and I open my eyes, laughing into Aurei’s, put my hands in the air and join them. "Whoop! Whoop!"

  Aurei catches my hands, puts them behind my back, and draws me against him, forcing my submission. His eyes search mine.

  Oriana says. "Stay right here. I’ll be right back."

  I quickly close my eyes again and squint them tight. "Now is not the time or place, Mr. Moore. Laters, under the picture of heaven would be perfect. That way, everytime I lay there, I will remember that special moment." I roll up on my tiptoes and pucker my lips. "Now, we’re missing the show."

  He lets me go, cups my face, kisses my puckered lips, then moves to hug me from behind. I open my eyes to see Augustus standing right where she told him to stay as she looks over the songs with the DJ. When she confidently walks back to center stage, I tilt my head to tell him. "I like her! She’s a strong woman."

  He laughs, "She must be to boss him around."

  The music starts and she says. "Dance. Yes." Then sticks the mic in Augustus’s face and tells him. "Rap." He goes blank and she giggles into the mic. "I’m JLo. You're Pitbull." Then she sticks it under his nose again.

  Aurei leans down to say in my ear. "She reminds me of you."

  I giggle and squeeze his arms tighter to me.

  Augustus grins and takes the mic from her, then says. "Yeeeeee Oh!" And they are off! He raps and she dances around him, then she takes the mic to sing Jennifer Lopez’s "Dance Again" while he grooves with her.

  The crowd comes alive and the dance floor rocks. Oriana proves to be every bit the equal of Augustus.

  Aurei spins me around and tells me. "Go, Baby, Go! Show me your stuff."

  I lift one eyebrow and instantly Surreal settles over me. I give him an authentic JLo performance, dancing too close, while he gives his sexy shit right back.

  When the song ends, Augustus bows to Oriana and claps his hands harder than anyone. She grins at him, then puts the mic back in the stand and calls, "Maximus."

  He grins at me, then jogs up to the stage, jumps up and strolls over with his Golden God gait to
the DJ.

  He is the sexiest man alive!

  When he comes back, I blow him a kiss. The music starts as soon as he steps up to the mic and I die laughing. He’s picked "Cherry Pie" by Warrant.

  "Hahahaha!" I laugh as I pump it up with the people standing next to me. He speaks the words in the opening, then sings the first verse in the rock song about the girl being a good drink like water. "Ummhmm!" I point my raised fingers at him.

  "Yeah!" He plays air guitar, leans back and screeches. "Wow!" Then chuckles at me. "Hey. Hey." He sings the next verse about swinging and pumps his hips with the air guitar. He is so owning the stage, the crowd, the song and me! I grin up at him, pumping the ceiling with fierce girlfriend attitude! "Yeah!" He winks at me. "Yeah. Yeah." He arches back. "Huh!" He keeps it going singing and hitting every nuance perfectly. "Hey. Hey!" He claps his hands over his head and gets the crowd in sync.

  I have to add Rocker to his list of awesomeness too!

  When he finishes, he comes to the edge of the stage as I reach my hands up to him like a groupie. He pulls me up easily.

  I throw my arms around him and tell him. "You’re my guitar hero!"

  He laughs. "I knew you would like it!"

  "I loved it! Now it’s my turn." I push him off the stage. The crowd laughs as I adjust the mic to my height. "Ann?" She tilts her head when she looks at me and I wave to her. "Would you, and Gio join me? Come on. The girls are going to win this year!" She looks at Gio and shrugs. They both stand and while they walk to the stage, I speak to the DJ.

  "Ciao." He smiles and I give him my song request. "Wait for my signal to start."

  He grins and hands me two microphones.

  I strut back to where Ann and Gio wait. Ann is watching me with curiosity and a mischievous smile. Her eyes have the same crinkle as Aurei’s. Gio has an 'I’m not too sure about this' look. I spread my arms out and huddle them together. I explain my plan to my team of two. "We are going to bring the house down."

  Ann says without reservation. "I’m in!"

  We both look at Gio. "Gio, I don’t know you, but I know you. You are a young woman trapped in an old woman’s life. It’s time to bring you back and resurrect the fun loving girl."

  Her eyes narrow and her brows draw together. "I don’t know what you are talking about."

  "I met Yanni. Aurei and I went dancing with her and Antonio." Her lips harden. "And here’s what I see. Antonio enjoys Yanni because she is fun, but he loves you and misses having fun with you." Ann starts to rub both our backs with her hands, working to ease the tension in Gio and offering her approval to me. "Let’s set that fun loving girl free again."

  Ann says. "She’s right, you know. I see it too. The way his eyes look at you. They long for the old you."

  She looks down at the ground. "Is this an ... how do say it? ...intervention?"

  I laugh and look at Ann who winks. "We’re just giving it to you straight."

  "Okay." She nods.

  "Here’s what I want to do. My song choice is 'Bang Bang' by Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj. I can sing the whole thing, but if we each assume a part, we can put the girls in the lead."

  Gio asks, "What do you want us to do?"

  "Groove. Whatever comes natural."

  "What are you going to do?"

  "Blow their minds, of course."

  Ann laughs and volunteers, "I’ll do Jessie J, but you’ll have to sing the end. I can’t make those high notes."

  Gio says, "I can do Nicki."

  "Perfect. I’ll do Ariana then. Ready?"

  "Ready!" They say and we break the huddle.

  Gio stands to my left. Ann is at the mic. I stand on the right and strike a diva pose. Hand on my cocked hip, hair hanging off my back, face and finger pointing to the sky. Ann spreads her legs and gets ready to deliver the goods. Gio cocks her hip and mimics my pose. I count to three then corkscrew, starting with my finger. Right on cue, the DJ hits play and the music starts. Ann sings and points at me while I show them what I got! The twirling spin flies down my arm into my head and hair, around my waist as I bend over, then through my hips. I spin around and around, ending with a full blown hair toss. I show them my caddy booty, and she hikes her thumb at me, then she pats her chest that she’s the one who can take it into overdrive. I strut over to Gio while Ann sings that she’s the good girl that will blow their minds. Gio is grooving, but not nearly enough. I put my arm over her shoulders and lean us towards Ann, then wag my finger, no. Gio pouts her lips and follows my lead, giving her some swag.

  That’s better!

  The chorus plays and we do some "bang bang" poses, playing off each other, while Ann struts off to the right. When she arrives, she pretends to drive a car, ignoring us. Ariana’s vocals are next, so I dance to the microphone to sing my part. Gio decides to drive a car too.

  Following the song lyrics, I motion for each of them to wait a minute and they do a grooving step, following my lead. I arch my back, cock my ass and sing to the crowd that it’s time to graduate! My hands mimic talking, while I sing that I’m going to show them what my mama gave me. Then I drop low, grab the microphone stand and powerhouse the vocal run. I thrust it back and rotate my hips, letting them go, but keeping it just above erotic as I turn my back to the crowd. I look over my shoulder, put my finger to my lips and "Shhhh." My eyes connect with Aurei’s and his grin is as big as I’ve ever seen.

  We are killing it!

  I spin back to the mic, put my arms out and motion with my hands for Ann and Gio to come to me. While they strut over, I sing that they are the good girls, but I’m the bad girl that will blow their mind. Shimmy shaking from head to toe, I dance to the edge. Lifting my hands over my head, I groove and watch the girls arrive. Several times, I look over my shoulder at Aurei. Our eyes connect and he comes to the edge to stand in front of me. When Ann and Gio sing "bang bang" into the mic, my Golden God is in position. I lean back and fall into his arms. He sets me down, grinning while I dance on him. Rubbing my body over his. Exactly when Gio starts to rap Nikki, I strut back to the stage, clapping with my arms over my head to her rhythm. The dancers on the floor join me and she finally lets go. She sasses her ass and delivers the goods. I take Aurei with me to the far right, and he lifts me back up. When she starts to spell bang, I’m back in position grooving the same dance step as Ann. Gio sasses off with "hey" and exits perfectly. I step in front, scrunch my body and let my vocals go, singing that bad girls are the ones who blow minds. When I stand up to sing the chorus and groove to the end, I know we have done just that. We finish with a fist pump! "Ah. Hey!"

  The entire place explodes with sound and we take a much desired bow. Then we group hug, laughing. They walk off the stage while I return to the DJ.

  "Awesome!" He tells me.

  "Thank you! I’m a Vegas dancer."

  "I could have guessed that!"

  "Listen. I don’t have my phone and I don’t have any money with me to bribe you, but I’m going to offer you a deal you can’t refuse."

  "I don’t know. It’ll have to be a pretty sweet deal to break their rules."

  "I’ll give you the name of my agent who will hook you up with an all-expense paid vacation to Vegas if you will do this for me."

  He grins. "Hell yeah, I’ll do it. No one plays by the rules anyway."

  I tell him he’ll have to take over as MC and then I give him my song choices with my choice of who I want to sing them. Then I give him Cat’s number. "Text her that Seary." I spell it for him. "Says you have won a trip. She’ll verify it with me, then hook you up."

  He grins. "Best gig ever!"

  He follows me to the mic and says. "Milo, you’re next."

  Milo prances to the stage as I lean into Aurei’s waiting arms. His eyes are like stars and the crinkle in the corners are deep with happiness. "That was dynamite, Diva."

  "Bang, Baby, Bang! Happy faces all around!" I laugh and kiss his puckered lips. I feel as light as a feather as he swings me around, then sets me down. "I’
m thirsty after all that. Let’s take a break." He cinches us and walking hand in hand, the sea of people part with grins, winks, knuckle bumps and clapping as we go.

  Milo begins his song reading the script that runs before the music plays. His slight accent is amplified by the microphone as he recites a story about being a headline singer all alone in a Star Suite. I start to giggle, knowing what’s coming. We arrive just as he starts to sing "It’s Hard To Be Humble" by Mac Davis. His timing is a little off which makes his performance hilarious in and of itself, but his delivery of the lyrics once he gets it down and the spectacular way he dances to the catchy tune makes his version even funnier. He parades like a peacock, telling everyone how perfect he is and he knows it. The crowd is cackling with laughter and "Ha Ha Ha’s" burst out all around. Aurei gives me the 'you win' for best song choice look as everyone ignores us to watch him. At the end of the song, he encourages everyone to join him as he finishes. The people on the dance floor lock arms and sway with him, then he gets a bigger round of applause than we did. He receives his much deserved accolades then says, "Let’s take a 15 minute break. I need a drink!"

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  When the noise levels off, our waiter walks up to take our order. Aurei tells him our usual. "Crown neat with water."

  Ann and Bee stand and excuse themselves. "Bee is tired and needs to rest."

  "Jetlag."

  They come over to tell me what fun they had. Aurei and I both stand, and they hug our necks. I hear Bee tell Aurei. "Ann said she was a keeper, Bro in law. I have to agree."