by Hilary Storm
“Our songs did ridiculously well when I was gone. I have plenty of money for us to buy a house of our own.” I don't know what to say. How did we go from barely making it in California to being able to buy a house using cash now? It's just crazy to me.
“I’ll start looking tomorrow.”
“I want you to look for a building to put in a gym. I know it's your passion and this town could use a great gym like Lou had.”
“Luke. I'm just not sure we should jump into all of that right off.”
“I've learned you don't wait in life. You conquer your dreams. Life is too fucking short for anything less.” He sets the frame back on the ledge and walks toward me once again. “I'm going to grab our things and take a shower. How much time do you need before you're ready?”
“I can be ready in thirty minutes.”
“Sounds perfect. I’ll get that shower and we’ll take off for the night. The master room is back that way, so make yourself at home. That's where I'll be taking my shower.” He goes outside and brings in our bags.
“Have you heard from the movers?” he asks when he walks past me.
“They'll be here in the morning.”
“I bet you're ready to have your stuff.”
“Yeah, it'll be nice.”
“Alright, I'm off to shower!” he yells as he walks out of the room. I let my mind continue battling the curiosity of him being a dad. I stand to pull out a few more envelopes, trying to figure out which one she was talking about. It seems like half are opened, so I focus on those.
There's one without an address, so I open it. My heart hurts when I read the words.
Luke,
I can't keep this from you any longer. I love you and miss you every single minute of every day. Please know I had to do it to protect you and my family. I would never put you in danger and I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me.
You deserve to know about him. He's the love of my life. I hope one day I can let you meet him, but until then just know you'll always have a special place in my heart.
I'm sending you his very first picture. I've placed kisses on it with tears in my eyes just thinking of how hurt you'll be to read this, but I know I just can't keep him from you. He'll have your last name and I promise to tell him that he was conceived in love and that his father is the best man I've ever known.
I Love you forever and always,
Your Freebird
How can this be? She died, right? I know Freebird is Lilly. I know this letter is meant to make Luke think she’s alive. His emotions cannot handle a scam like this. I'm going to show this to Holden as soon as I can. Maybe he can get to the bottom of it. Luke deserves to remain like he is emotionally. Hell, he’s fought so hard to let her go. How would he take someone pretending to be her?
I tuck the letter in the bottom of my bag and drop the others back in the box. This is one sick joke and I can't take any chances that he'd see this letter.
The ultrasound makes me sad. Someone who would play around like this shouldn't be using a baby to get to him.
I sit down at the table and try to process this. Lilly definitely died, right? There's a few ways to find out, but I cringe at the thought of asking any of the crew. They'll think I'm insane.
We live in a world of technology and right now I'm going to let that be to my advantage.
I bring up the Internet on my phone and search for the ‘Lilly of Rebel Walking’. She was gorgeous. I'm instantly intrigued and see so many pictures of Luke with her. His face is so happy. A happy I can't even describe.
I change my search to include the word ‘death’ and her funeral information comes up. A picture of Luke playing in front of a casket breaks my heart and I close the screen immediately.
Someone is playing a sick fucking joke on Luke and I won't allow it to get to him.
Luke startles me when he enters and I try not to jump. He's walking around in a towel and he knows I hate when he teases me like this.
“A towel?”
“I could lose it if you want me to.” He encloses on me, grinding his hips into mine as I stand in front of the table.
“How firm on that thirty minutes are you?”
“I'm very firm.”
“Your flirting is funny!”
“You're harsh on a man’s mojo when you laugh, you know.” He doesn't move away an inch and in fact, he’s grinding me into the table as he fills his hands with parts of my body.
“Are you gonna make that thirty minutes?”
“Not if you distract me.” He pulls my earlobe in between his lips and sucks on it enough to make me question my concern for timing tonight.
“I can stop.”
“You could….” A phone rings, interrupting his advance. He walks into the kitchen and picks up the handset from the wall.
“Hello.” I wait to see what else he says.
“Hello. Anyone there?” He holds the phone to his ear for a few more seconds before he hangs it up. “I guess it was a wrong number.”
He steps toward his room again and calls for me to join him and I follow without hesitation.
Chapter Nine
Luke
I can do this. Taking each moment at a time, I can get through this. I've never had another woman in my bedroom, so having Kimber in here doesn't feel awkward.
She's beautiful and she deserves to know that even if I've been impossible to be around. I know this has been difficult on her. She doesn't know a single person and I've uprooted her entire life to come with me. She’s been great at understanding, but it's time I show her some appreciation.
“Lie on your stomach.” I grab the lotion that I just used and straddle her hips. “Pull your shirt up.”
“You're so demanding.”
“I am. Now do everything I say.”
“Yes, your majesty.” I unhook her bra before applying lotion to my hands, rubbing my hands together before I touch her. “I'm going to pamper you.”
“Oh, I could get used to this.”
“You’d better. Because in my experience, a back rub turns into hot sex.”
“Oh really!” She's laughing at me as if I'm absurd.
“Yes, it does.” I begin to use my hands on her back, letting one slide around her body and massage her tit from the side. She's angling her body a little, giving me better access. I rub her neck, shoulders, and work my way down her spine until I'm at her lower back. Using my thumbs on both sides, I start to circle my movements and hear her moan at my touch. I know what I'm doing when it comes to the body of a woman. Even though she’ll have special areas that she’s more sensitive to, I know I can't go wrong with the basics.
“Why haven’t you done this before?”
“Because once I show this off, there's no going back. You’ll be beggin’ for it every night.”
“Oh yeah, I might be.”
I continue to move my hands over her perfect back, even sliding my fingers past her waistband, just before I lean up and roll her over. Her bra is open so her tits move around it, making me pull the lace out of the way of my view.
“Take this off.” She slides the straps off her arms and my towel comes undone at my waist, falling onto her legs. She looks down and smiles.
“Am I about to get the special package?”
“I think you deserve it. You've been such a good victim and all.” Her laughter shakes me.
“Victim?”
“I've never done a full body massage, I think it's time to try.”
“What happened to us being in a hurry?”
“They'll understand if we’re a few minutes late.” I unbutton her jeans and work to slide them out of the way. She watches my hands when I slide them over her legs and around her waist. She squirms when I slip a finger over her clit, rubbing her there only for a brief second.
I let my hands touch her entire body, watching as she responds throughout the entire massage. Her occasional moan tells me I'm doing something right.
“Roll over again. Hav
e you ever had a man give you a massage?”
“No.” Her ex is a selfish asshole, I should've known she's never been treated right with that father of hers dictating who she dated.
I continue pulling my thumb over her tight muscles, visibly watching her relax as I do. This is something I need to do more often and especially when we have more time.
“Kimber. We should probably go.” I don't stop after I step off the bed, spending more time on the back of her legs and down to her feet.
“I don't think I can walk. You've ruined me.” Her voice is muffled from the relaxation. “Thank you. I didn't realize how stressed my body was.”
“You're welcome.” My phone vibrates on the dresser, so I glance at it. “It's Talon saying they're holding a table at the restaurant so we need to head out. I'll finish this tonight.” She sits on the bed with her legs straddling mine and wraps her arms around my waist. My dick is touching her tits and I can't even comprehend leaving. The massage made me somewhat hard, but this is causing me to come to life.
“We could hurry!” Her eyes meet mine as she looks up, practically begging for more.
“We could.” She moves her hands over my cock and begins to carefully twist opposite directions while taking the tip into her mouth. She's careful with my piercing and my thoughts are chaos when she takes it deep into her throat. Ahh fuck. It's been so long since I've had a great blow job.
I'm not really wanting to go out this way, so I guide her head up and crawl over her on the bed. Remembering the condom, I reach for my bag and slide one on while she watches me. She's wet and ready, allowing me to slide in when I return. I go slow. I savor her body and put aside any rush that would prevent me from showing her how much I care about her.
We fit. Our movements are easy. Making love to Kimber relaxes me even further and before I'm done, I collapse onto her body. We move as one over the sheets until she's has an orgasm, then I follow shortly behind her.
Kimber
We’re extremely late to dinner, but Luke doesn't seem to care. He's calm and relaxed and it's easy to feel good around him when he's like this. I notice all eyes on us when we arrive, but I need to get used to that. This tiny black dress was his choice and I do feel extremely sexy tonight. He made me feel that way. I've never had a man treat me like he does.
I'm seated next to Lyndsey and across from Ivy and Eaven. The women all have the center of the table, allowing the men the outside.
“How are you adjusting?” Holden leans behind Lyndsey to check on me.
“I'm doing great. There's something I'd like to show you tomorrow though, if you have a chance.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Oh some crazy fan letter that I don't want him to see, but think you should see it so you can keep them at a distance.”
“Yeah, okay. Come see me tomorrow and I'll handle it.”
The dinner is full of entertainment while I watch them all catch up. I learn so much about everyone by just sitting back and observing. This group is close and they really missed Luke. It must be amazing to have this many people care.
"Kimber. Do you have any plans to stay busy here?" The table turns their attention to me after Ivy centers her question on me.
"She wants to open a gym. We're going to find a building and get one started soon," Luke answers for me. He's turned smiling at me when he finishes and I decide to finish telling my dream.
"I want to open up a gym and allow under privileged kids to come in to be trained. I'll offer classes in fighting and teach them the discipline they need to overcome anything life throws at them."
"That's a great idea, Kimber. Let us know if we can be of any help." Eaven looks genuinely happy as she offers.
"I may take you up on that when I get the building."
"I would demand to help, so it's good that you're willing to let me!"
"I'm going to look for a good building that's vacant and see what happens from there."
"Well, good luck with that! Hell, I'll be your first member. I could use some fight classes." Ivy smiles at Taron.
"Oh hell. That's what I need. You beating my ass with some crazy Jiu Jitsu moves."
"You know you'd think it's sexy. Plus, it doesn't hurt us to know self defense."
"Yes. I'd love for you girls to know how to fight off assholes. It would make leaving you a little easier on my mind." Taron continues to show his support.
"Leaving me, huh? Do you think you can escape me if you try?"
"Baby, I don't even consider leaving you for good. Shit, my heart couldn't take the hurt." Ivy smiles.
"Oh, you're getting laid tonight." Her response sends the table into a laughing uproar.
"Again? Hell yes!" Taron is hard to read. He has such an aggressive approach, yet he has a huge heart. My first instinct was to shy away from him, but I can see him being a great person to have in my life.
The sound of a spoon hitting a glass interrupts my thoughts and I look to see Eaven getting the attention of the entire table.
"I just want to say a few things. First, I'm so happy to have Luke back and it's a wonderful bonus that he brought Kimber home with him. I can see a great relationship forming with her already and I can't wait to have many shopping days with her." The others add their short approvals before she continues. "And second. Talon would like to share something with everyone." He puts his arm around her and kisses her on the cheek. The happiness on his face is indescribable and contagious.
"Eaven is pregnant and I guess I'm going to be a dad." The whole table reacts with extreme excitement, myself included. I can tell this baby was completely conceived in love and the two of them deserve this.
Ivy wraps Eaven up in a huge hug and the feeling of support and love flows all around me. This shouldn't be something so new to me, but it really is. I make a vow to myself in this moment to never let it be any different in the future. I deserve to be around people like this who care, and it makes a huge difference when you get to share your excitement with others who are as thrilled as you are.
We end dinner and all decide to head home early tonight. Plans to have a small appearance at some place called Smitty's were made and I can't wait to see Luke on stage. He agreed to one appearance and then he'd let them know what he decides. I can tell he won’t be done with Rebel Walking for good. It's his passion. That's very apparent.
The ride home with Luke is easy and he even works his way through the living room again, slowly accepting the space a little more. I hear him talking to someone from the bathroom, so I take my time. I can really get used to this life. I feel complete for the first time in my life.
The sound of the door sliding open startles me as I'm taking off my makeup. I look up to see him peeking in.
"You about ready for bed?"
"Almost."
"So what do you think of my friends?"
"They're great, Luke. I've never had a single friend like them, and you have the whole group."
"I know. It has it's benefits."
"It's an amazing thing. Honestly, how do you not feel on top of the world with them by your side?"
"I did for sure. Sometimes being on top of the world isn't all it's cracked up to be." I wipe the last of my mascara off and turn to face him.
"I get that, but what's important is to have friends like that no matter where you are in life. At the top or hitting rock bottom. Let them balance you."
"You do realize, they're your friends now too. Just like I told you."
"I can tell. Thank you for letting me be a part of all of this."
Luke and I talk for hours. I enjoy the stories he tells about times of his past that included all the crew from tonight. How they met. How their differences make them unique and the very reason that they're so close.
I fall asleep shortly after he does. He's wrapped me in his arms, being so gentle as he holds me.
The sound of a phone ringing wakes me and I sit up on the bed, covering myself with a sheet while he answers.
; "Hello." He sits up with a rapid movement, frightening me.
"Hello. Lilly?" Chills spread over my body as I wait for him to say something else.
"Lilly? What's wrong? Where are you?" He's standing and pacing next to the bed as he listens closely. His breathing is erratic and I'm getting scared. Who would do this to him?
"HELLO. LILLY." He yells again and the look on his face is pure torture. He slams the phone down, grabs his jeans and storms out of the room. I wrap the sheet around me and try to follow, but he's in the truck driving away before I get the chance to reach him. Damn it!
I start to panic as I try to think of what to do. I have no idea where he'd go; hell, I don't even have a car to try to find him. I'm stuck here without any promise of getting to him.
I have to call someone. Picking up the phone, I say a prayer and hope Holden answers.
"Holden. I need you to come quick. Lilly must've called Luke. He left here without a word and I'm worried. Please hurry."
"Slow down. Kimber, I'm on my way. Which way did he go?" He went out of the driveway and headed towards the main street. I don't know anything else." My panic turns to hysterics and tears begin to fill my face. I can feel his hurt from wherever he is and it's killing me inside.
"Give me a few minutes. I don't live far." I look down and see the sheet still wrapped around me and rush to the bedroom to pull on clothes before Holden gets here.
I can hear the sound of his engine when he pulls into the driveway. Pulling the letter from my bag, I give it one last look. What are the chances this is really her? I can't even imagine it either way. This is going to break Luke and my stomach aches knowing that.
He barrels through the door and yells for me from the kitchen. I meet him quickly and hand him the letter. The one I should've shown Luke yesterday. The one I know has to be a sick joke and a terrible stunt to pull on someone who is grieving from the loss of someone they love.
He reads it slowly, processing it.
