by Woods, L. R.
When I hear the water turn on, I walk over and stand at the doorway, watching for a minute through the glass shower as she massages the shampoo into her hair, leaning back under the water to rinse it out. I start to make a move when she sees me. “Evan Stone, don’t you even think about coming in here. Hangovers are not sexy!”
“You are always sexy, Wildfire. Hangover or not. But I need to call James anyway. I was just admiring the view.” That’s a lie, I was going in, but what am I supposed to say.
When the girls started in on Drunkfest, we decided to table the Steve discussion until today. One, because the bar was about to open and two, Drew and I were having a hard time focusing on anything other than Wildfire and Tall Girl. So we still need to figure out a next move.
I dial James, asking, “Hey, man, what’s the plan?”
He replies, “We are all heading over to Frankie’s for food. We can talk there. And I hate to sound like a jerk, but you need to leave Kimber at home. This is band business and isn’t going to affect the two of you. We all need you present and focused on us. I’ve told Drew the same, although I don’t think Penny will be a problem.”
“And what? Wildfire will be,” I ask, trying to not lose my temper.
James speaks, “No, don’t put words in my mouth. I’m just saying this is a huge deal and we need to talk without distractions. And yes, I’m saying Kimber is a distraction.”
“Whatever, man. I’ll be there in twenty.” I hang up. I’m pissed but he does have a point. I sit down on the edge of her bed, wondering how long I’ll have to wait before I move myself in. I’ll have to be in LA for the album, but I plan on moving here as soon as I can. I don’t think I’ll even risk asking her. I’ll just show up with my shit and force her to accept it.
Wildfire is wrapped in a towel, drying her hair as she comes out of the bathroom, saying “What was all that about?”
I can’t help but stalk over and start kissing her neck, licking the water that is still resting there. That neck is becoming my greatest weakness. She leans her head to the side, giving me more access, knowing full well what I’m thinking. My hands start to tug on the towel as I respond in a low voice, “Nothing, band stuff.”
“Mmmm, and what about you being somewhere in twenty?” she teases as she brings her arms around to my back, clawing her way up from my ass to my shoulders.
“I’ll be late.” I pull the towel free and push her back over to the bed.
Chapter 25
Kimber
I cannot get enough of this man. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw myself in the mirror looking like death warmed over, but the desire and lust in his eyes erases any self doubt I might have.
He’s nipping my neck and earlobe with his lips and teeth, moving his hand up to my breast, leaving a trail of heat over my skin where his fingers connect. He presses his hardness into me, grinding, as he massages my breast, stopping to pinch my nipple, causing a wave of desire to flood through me. A gasp escapes when he bites my neck and I buck up slightly, loving the slight pain and pleasure he is giving me.
I reach down in his boxers and wrap my hand around his length, feeling the smooth skin as I slowly move my hand up and down. “Fuck that feels so good,” he groans out before he replaces his hand with his mouth, sucking and flicking my nipple with his tongue. He wraps his hand around mine, showing me exactly how he likes to be touched.
He slowly pushes a finger inside me and it’s my turn to groan. He adds another and begins pumping into me with the same rhythm he commanded me to use on him. It’s all too much and I breathe out, “Oh God, Evan, I need you right now.”
He doesn’t waste any time getting up and pulling off his boxers. I’m once again taken with the body on this man. He is hard everywhere that counts and his tattoo begs to be touched and licked. My tattoo on my man. Mine.
“Like what you see, Wildfire?” He smirks at my obvious approval as he comes back over to me.
I meet him before he can reach me, attacking his mouth, digging my nails into his back as I pull him tight to my body. He rolls us over and settles me on top, silently letting me know to take charge. I sit up on my knees and slowly lower myself onto him, feeling every inch as he enters me.
“You feel so fucking good, Wildfire,” Evan breathes as I begin slightly rocking back and forth, watching his eyes change from sparkling green to desire-filled emerald. I put my hands on his chest and slowly raise myself until he is almost out of my body and then slowly lower myself back down until there is no space between us. I circle my hips and we both groan, digging our nails into each other.
I continue my slow assault, relishing in the feel of him every time he fills me, but soon I need more, so I start to pick up the pace. Evan thrusts into me from below, hitting me in all the right spots. I feel my orgasm already building inside as Evan takes hold of my hips, slamming me down to him as he pushes up, driving me closer to bliss with every stroke.
Too soon I’m arching my back, screaming out his name, while stars twinkle behind my eyelids. I feel him growing inside as my walls shudder and a few seconds later, Evan screams out too, his head falling back to the pillow.
I collapse onto him and he wraps his arms around my back. “You’re mine. I’ll never let you go again.”
I don’t move as I assure him, “I know, because I’ll never let you.”
The doorbell rings and I groan as I lift away from his warmth. I rest my forearms on his chest and take in the face of the man I love. It’s so much like the boy I knew, but altogether different at the same time. You can tell he’s been through some rough times even though his smile is wide and honest. What would life have been like for us if we’d never been separated, I can’t help but wonder.
“I’ve been thinking about that too, Wildfire. But we’re here now and that’s what matters,” Evan says, bringing his hand to my face and caressing it.
The doorbell rings again and after a few more seconds, I moan, “Guess I better see who that is.”
Evan rises up with me still against him and kisses me in a way that has the tingles growing again. I move to get off him and he slaps me across the ass. “I have to meet the guys anyway. I’m already late.”
I wrap my robe around my satisfied body and head to the door. I peer through the peephole and see Penny, wondering why she didn’t let herself in, but glad that she didn’t. Oh, that’s why.
When I open the door, I can immediately tell she’s been crying, even with the heavy make-up, but she looks more mad than upset. “Kimber, I’m sorry for just barging over, but I didn’t feel like being on my own.”
I pull her into a hug. “Hey, it’s ok, come on in. I’ll make some coffee.”
As she comes in, Evan walks up behind me, kissing me on the head. “I’ll be back after the meeting, Wildfire.”
“I will wait here for you,” I respond. He smiles and jogs down the front walk. I turn back to Penny, who is standing there with something I would only describe as longing on her face.
“So, you two are really back together after everything?”
“Yeah, I guess so. It’s weird though because we don’t really know anything about each other, but I know I love him all the same.”
“Yeah,” she sighs, “anyone can see that.”
“So what’s going on with you, Penny? And you know you can talk to me about anything.”
“I know that, Kimber, it’s just, before, when Drew and I were hooking up, you were so upset about Evan, I didn’t feel right talking about it. I wasn’t hiding anything from you but you weren’t really paying attention.”
She’s right. I do remember her taking off for the weekend every now and then. I never asked where she was going.
“Oh, Penny, I’ve been such a horrible friend to you.” I run over and give her a bear hug, tears slipping out.
She hugs me back. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I know what losing Evan and your parents did to you and I’m glad I could help lessen some of the hurt. I wouldn’t have wished
that pain on my worst enemy.”
We release and head into the kitchen, holding each other in a side embrace. I start up the coffee pot and get the milk out of the fridge for Penny. “So, what’s the deal, then? With you and Drew?”
She sighs. “Nothing.” I look at her with raised eyebrows. She continues, “Really. We had an instant attraction so we started hooking up. I already knew he was leaving town so I thought I’d never see him again. But then on tour, he would send me a date and I’d show up for another fun time.”
I set a cup in front of her, asking, “And this was ok with you?”
After pouring way too much milk into her coffee, she takes a sip, answering, “Yeah, you know me, I don’t do relationships, so it was sort of perfect. Drew and I had fun together outside of sex, and we came up with this pact, laying out what was and was not expected, so I let it continue. I guess it went on for about a year or so.”
I don’t mention the fact that Penny has never been with a guy longer than a few dates, other than the time she went out with the three-date guy. She might say it was nothing, but it wasn’t nothing.
“When I saw him again the other night, I wanted to have fun again. It was good to see his face after all this time. You know?” She takes a sip of her coffee and the sadness in her expression is unmistakable.
I nod because I don’t know what else to do. “So if you were both having fun, why did it stop?” I ask.
“It stopped because of the time Drew was talking about. We had rules. So when I walked in on him and another girl, that was the deal breaker. And it was honestly for the best, anyway. What could have come out of what we were doing?” Again, I don’t point out that a lot could have come out of them being together.
“Well, Drew thinks something was coming out of it, obviously,” I say cautiously.
“Drew is full of shit,” she spits out, anger returning to her face. “One, he knew the deal and he broke it. And two, a man who loves a woman does not let strange women warm his dick every night. And it’s fine, I knew what it was and now knowing what I know, I’m glad it ended when it did. I don’t need some man whore going around telling people he loves me.”
She’s doing the best she can to hide it, but I can see the tears starting to form. She has feelings for him, there is no doubt about that. But if she will accept it is another story. Penny would never admit she cared for a man whether she did or not. It’s how her mother raised her.
“So, what happened this morning, then? Evan said Drew took you home last night.”
She shrugs. “Nothing, James called and woke me up. Drew was on the couch so I told him to leave and handle his shit. Now I’m here.”
“And you guys didn’t talk about what he said?”
“No, he tried but I told him there wasn’t anything else to say. And that he needed to go on. So he left.”
“Penny…” I start but she stops me.
“No, don’t Penny me. I’m not interested in anything more than casual and I don’t know if he can do that now.”
“But what if…”
“Kimber, stop. We are more than done. I shouldn’t have even started anything back up. Now, enough about me, let’s hear all about how juicy and delicious Evan is.”
She smiles a weak smile and I let it go. For now.
Chapter 26
Evan
I jog over to the diner, thankful it is only a few blocks away because I’m running on empty right now. I really need to get a driver’s license at some point. I drove us home in Wildfire’s car last night and between her hanging out the window screaming to the world she was going to have sex with Evan Stone and me panicking every time I had to cross lanes, I’m surprised we made it.
Yes, driving is just one of the many things I didn’t learn growing up. And now that I have money, I just hire people to drive me wherever the bus can’t take me. That, or one of the guys takes me. Not sure if that makes me a loser or a genius, but I’m going with genius.
As I’m walking by the storefront of Frankie’s, I see them in a corner booth staring out the window at me. I give a middle finger salute and walk in, the door chiming as it’s pushed open. I stroll over to the table, not about to apologize for shit. I notice it’s mine and Wildfire’s table. Seems fitting somehow.
“So nice of you to join us, Evan,” Alex deadpans. “Wouldn’t want you to actually make the band a priority when you are the one fucking things up.”
My fingers start to roll into my palm as I change my direction from the empty seat at the left to the other side where Alex is sitting.
Drew is out of the booth in a flash and puts himself between me and Alex. “Don’t start this shit right now. We need to talk and I’m too hungry to be kicked out.”
I relax but keep my stare right on Alex. “You know what. You are right, Drew. I’m pretty hungry myself after the workout I got this morning with my top priority.”
“You piece of shit,” Alex seethes as he starts to get up from the booth, but Drew shoves his chest and he falls back into his seat. James jumps in now, “Knock it off. You are both being assholes. Can we please just eat breakfast and act like adults for fucking once!”
The waitress is heading our way so I sit down like a good boy and wait to place my order. She comes over and almost stumbles into the table when she sees all of us. Her face goes red as we all instantly turn on the sexy smirks, except for James, who throws on his all American good boy smile with a wink. Not a single one of us smiles for real. I never noticed it before, but Steve trained us well.
Yeah, another thing about the band is that James is completely out of place with us. It was bad in the beginning, but has gotten increasingly worse the more tattoos Alex, Drew, and I got. He looks like a beach boy in the midst of skater punks. Light hair with blonde streaks, overly tan skin, no tattoos, and always dressed in cargo shorts, t-shirts, and flip flops. I’m not sure he even owns a pair of pants or real shoes. Although, I’m not sure I own a pair of shorts so I guess who am I to judge.
After we’ve all ordered and signed a paper placemat for Pam the waitress, James gets down to business. “So, I guess we have a decision to make. We are halfway through this album, which is owed to the label. Steve will have nothing to do with that. But we are going to need someone to set up the tour, fee negotiating, radio spots, that kind of shit. And it’s going to be huge, because the label already doesn’t like the direction we are going with the music.”
“I thought you did all that with Steve. Can’t you just take over?” I ask, wondering what the problem is.
“No, I just made sure Steve was keeping things the way we wanted them. I have no idea how to put all that together and I definitely do not know how to make it all profitable. That was all Steve. So, I think we need to keep him on. He knows the band and knows how to keep this ball moving forward.”
“No fucking way, James,” I voice louder than I should have. James is not impressed so I lower it. “How can you even trust him anymore? There has to be someone else that can step in.”
Pam arrives with our food and everyone is silent as she sets each meal in front of us. She hesitates, as if trying to catch a piece of something, but we all smile and start eating.
With a piece of bacon hanging from his mouth, Drew chimes in, “I agree with Dumbass. We can’t keep working with him knowing what we know. Asshole, do you know anyone who could take over the band’s management?” Drew pins his eyes on Alex, who has his head down but eyes up, glaring at Drew, full of contempt.
“This asshole never even leaves the house, how the hell would he know someone?” I laugh, shoving my migas in my mouth, moaning slightly. They don’t have food like this in LA.
“Yeah, Fucker,” Alex smirks, not looking up this time, “how the hell would I know someone?”
Drew keeps on. “I thought maybe you would know someone that could help us out of this situation. Someone who knows the band and who knows how to run the business side.”
Alex throws his fork down on his plate
and in a controlled anger answers, “Well, I don’t, so fucking leave it.” Ok, I don’t know what that is all about, but something is going on between these two.
“Is anyone going to share with the group?” James questions, catching the same vibe I’m getting, but his eyes are on Alex too. I’m not sure if he’s in on this or not, but the silence is deafening.
I speak up, “Uh, am I missing something?” If I had a dollar every time I had to ask these assholes this question I’d be rich without 23 Strokes.
“Guess not, I must have been wrong.” Drew is shaking his head, his eyes down to his plate. Alex continues to shovel bacon and sausage into his mouth, not meeting anyone’s face now.
“Fine, if it’s not helpful, then shut the hell up,” James states, clearly getting frustrated.
I offer, “Maybe the label can send someone over to at least handle things until we can get someone ourselves. We’ve got some time before we are going to get on the road again anyway, right?”
“Yeah, that’s a thought. We’ll need to schedule a meeting with them once we all get back. We also are going to need a new lawyer, because our current one is Steve’s guy, and he is probably not going to be very happy helping to terminate Steve’s contract. But I may know someone to help out on that end.” James shoves a fork full of pancakes into his mouth and I’m impressed.
“You know a lawyer,” I ask over a mouthful of refried beans and tortillas.
Rolling his eyes, James replies, “Yes, Evan, I know a lawyer. Some of us do more than sit around playing Xbox crying over lost love.” I respond by giving him a middle finger pulled right out of my pocket.
Laughing, James sums this shit up, “Ok, so we get back to LA, set up a meeting with the label and see if they can get us a temp manager. If they can, then we start trying to get out from under Steve’s contract. If not, then we have to keep Steve until we can figure something else out. Agreed?” They are all looking at me, and I don’t like it, but he’s right so I concede, “Agreed.” Why do I feel like I just sold my soul to the devil?
