by Cary Hart
“Yeah!” I nod.
“Come here.” He reaches around, pulling me close. “You were absolutely amazing tonight.”
Hiding my face in his chest I thank him, but even though tonight was one of the greatest nights of my life, I can’t help but replay the moment I thought he was leaving again.
He walked out on that song in the coffee bar and he almost walked out tonight.
How can someone who keeps running from me stay?
I’m so confused.
He planned on staying. I see that he’s showered and in a pair of shorts, which means he wanted to stay.
“Lee?”
“Yeah?” He lets me go and heads into the kitchen, where he starts opening cabinets. “You want some tea?”
“Tea’s good, but I need to talk to you.”
“Okay?” He opens a couple more doors, looking for what he needs.
“Stop!”
“What?” He turns around with a mug he finally found in one of the cabinets.
I walk over to him, take the cup out of his hands and place it on the counter. “Why did you leave?”
“I didn’t.” He seems confused. “I stayed.”
“I saw you walk away.”
Rubbing his face, he leans his head back. “You did.”
“Why?” I take a step closer and reach out to touch his face, but he stops me, holding my hand in his. “You walked away the first night and
again tonight. I was playing the same song.”
“Fuck.” He sighs. “My situation is so damn messed up. I’m not sure if you will want to stay after you hear all my fucked-upness.”
“Try me.”
“My mom was obsessed with Elvis.” He points to himself. “Presley Aaron Scott—which I don’t let anyone call me but—”
“Grans,” we say in unison.
“Right.” He continues. “When my mom left I was seven, I hated her. I went two years before I realized she wasn’t coming back and that was when I started going by Lee and refused to listen to anything by Elvis.” He takes me by the hand and pulls me to the bed. “I despised my mom’s career choice. I thought all of you guys were the same, always looking for the next big thing.”
“We aren’t all the same.” I roll over on top of him so that he’ll listen to what I’m saying this time. “I will not leave.”
“Don’t.” He carefully rolls me off and stands up. “You can’t promise that.”
“I can,” I dispute, sitting up.
“You are so much more than Spotlight. I saw it tonight,” Lee says, leaning against the wall across from the bed.
“I wouldn’t go that far.” I blush
“I know you are. I believe in you.”
“If you believe in me then believe me when I say I’m not going anywhere.”
“Ellie, my mom left because she fooled herself into thinking she was someone. She lived a lie, but you? You are the real deal, living the truth.” He tilts his head back, pushing himself off the wall. “I can’t let
you stay.”
“Don’t!” I exclaim, moving in front of him. “You don’t get to tell me what I’m going to do. Maybe this,” I wave my hands around, “is enough for me. Maybe you are enough.”
“Being enough isn’t always enough to stay. You do realize that, right?”
“First my parents and now you.” I begin to pace. “All I’ve ever wanted is someone to believe in me enough to support me. To protect me.” I stop in front of him. “My parents failed me and now you.”
“I do believe in you, I do support you. And now I’m protecting you from a life of regret. Which is what you’ll have if you stay.”
“Bullshit. You are protecting yourself.”
“Ellie,” he pleads. “Just—”
“What happened to taking chances, Lee?” I walk past him and head to the bathroom but turn around to give him something to think about. “Maybe I will leave, but that doesn’t mean this,” I reach up and rub my chest over my heart, “doesn’t stay.”
“You don’t see it now—”
“I’m going to take a shower.” I cut him off. “And you can choose to leave if you want to, but I’m asking you to stay. I need you to stay. Because just like you have your demons, I have mine. So please don’t leave me.”
“Okay,” he agrees.
“Okay.”
I head to the bathroom to take a shower and give him the time he needs to let this all soak in.
I am not going anywhere. What Lee doesn’t understand is, I never
had a reason to stay.
Until now—Presley Aaron Scott.
Lee
Every moment I’m with her she plays on my heart strings, strumming the chords of a song I desperately want her to sing.
Play me.
I’ve been so careful to not let our worlds collide. I’ve kept a protective barrier up, but I can’t help but want to break it back down, busting through the walls to expose what could be.
Us.
I need her, but taking Ellie would only be selfish, sealing our hearts to a disastrous fate. And as much as I want to worship every single inch of her body, I can’t. I won’t. It would destroy us both.
So, I lay here, because she asked me for the one thing I couldn’t deny her.
To stay.
Stay and be the man she needs to me to be.
Support her.
Protect her.
Don’t leave her.
Even if it destroys me, I will give her this. Not only because she has never felt any of these things, but because I haven’t either, and just for once, I’m going to throw all hopes and fears out the window and hold on. Even if it’s just for one night.
Rolling over to my side. I watch the girl who flipped my world upside down with one little swivel of a stool. Padding across the room in her barely there boy shorts and tiny tank she leaves nothing to the imagination.
With each step closer, I find my resolve slipping. The spark within igniting the flame. Her smile, the fuel.
“Hey.” Her voice is quiet, but the underlying meaning is heard loud and clear.
“Hi,” I say as I pull back the covers and she begins to climb in.
She’s lying on her back, and I know she is wondering what will happen next, but I told her, warned her, nothing could.
Nothing.
I say the word over again in my head, reminding myself of the reasons why, but now I’m wondering if it’s the right thing to do or am I just running from the truth?
“Look at me.”
She rolls over to face me, her mouth calling to me. Her body screaming for me.
For me.
One taste—one kiss to punish my memory.
Reaching out, I lift her chin and whisper the promise across her lips. “I’m here.”
“You are,” she agrees, breathing life I didn’t know I lost back into me. Closing my eyes, I inhale all she has to give. “Kiss me.” And I do.
Soft, slow, demanding—a kiss meant to be remembered. A kiss that catches me in a moment of weakness.
I need more.
My tongue traces the seam of her lips, swallowing the moan that escapes. The only invitation I need to keep going.
Urgent.
Desperate.
My thumbs brush her cheeks but it’s not enough. Flipping my calloused palm over, I run the back of my hand down her neck, over her shoulder, down her body. Imprinting every curve to memory. Never to be forgotten.
“Ellie,” I groan her name, asking her to tempt me for more.
“Please,” she begs, rolling over on her back, inviting me to take what I promised myself I wouldn’t.
“Ellie,” I growl as I begin to seduce her.
Climbing on top of her, I kiss, lick, nip my way to where I shouldn’t be.
Just one taste, I tell myself.
My hand moves lower, dragging her shorts down while she pulls her tank up. Looking up at her, I wait for her to stop me, because in this moment I can’t. Being with her, all control is thrown o
ut the window.
Keeping my eyes on Ellie’s, I take it.
One lick.
One swipe.
One taste.
But it’s not enough. Her moan is a siren’s call, taking me under.
As I slide one finger in, she falls back, losing all control. Her movements are wild, abandoned. Then two. Twisting, pumping, giving her what she wants.
A few more licks and a swipe, her hands fly to my hair.
Tugging.
Pulling.
It doesn’t take long before I can taste the tidal wave of pleasure that crashes through her. I lap it up greedily, humming my approval. I lick her until she screams out my name.
I shouldn’t have done it, but as soon as our lips met, I knew she wanted it.
I needed it.
Placing tender kisses up one thigh and down the other, I wait as her body works its way back down.
“Presley, I need you.” Her voice is strained, tired.
Shaking my head, I follow my path upward. Pulling her shorts up and her shirt down as I go.
“I just want—”
“I need you, like this,” I confess, lying beside her, pulling her close. Ellie’s back to my front we just lie here.
The song is over.
She sleeps.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ellie
“Ellie.” I hear Lee beside me, but not next to me. “Ellie, I have to go,” Lee whispers as he brushes hair out of my face.
“No you don’t. Leaving is a choice, Lee. I thought we discussed this.” I open my eyes, expecting to see his sexy-as-sin smile.
Wrong.
“Ellie.” Lee stands.
“I’m sorry, Lee. I’m an asshole in the mornings. They aren’t my thing. I thought I was being cute trying to get you to stay.” I pat the empty side of the bed. “It’s cold. I’m cold. Heat me up,” I blurt out, unsure of what I’m saying because mornings suck and apparently, I do too.
“I wish I could, but I really need to check on Grans,” he says before bending over and stealing a lingering kiss.
“You brushed your teeth?”
“I came prepared.” He winks.
“But I didn’t.” I hold my hand up to my mouth and breathe out.
“Don’t worry. I held my breath.”
“Shut it.” I reach over, pick up the first pillow I can find and chuck it in his direction.
“Do you care if I make a cup of coffee to go?” Lee asks but is already in the kitchen pulling out mugs and fixing the coffee before I answer.
“Not if you make me one too.” I climb out of the bed and sneak up behind him. “You know, if you were coffee grounds,” I whisper as I wrap my arms around his waist, resting my head on his back, “you would be espresso because you are so damn fine.”
His laugh vibrates through me. “That’s a good one. Here.” Lee hands me a mug while he twists the lid on his.
“Good enough for you to stay?” I pad over to the freezer, dropping a couple ice cubes into my coffee to cool it.
“I really need to go. Even though I’m trying really hard to have faith in my mom, I need to see for myself that Grans is okay.” Lee only has to take a couple steps to the door. “Call you later?” He opens the door. “Kiss me.”
Closing the distance, I rise up on my tiptoes and bare my neck. “Morning breath.”
“Uh-huh. I think you’re trying to tempt me.” He leans in, placing a soft kiss on his spot. “Dammit.” He drops his bag, puts down his coffee and lifts me into his arms.
“It worked.” I smile and he turns us so that my back is against the wall.
His kisses are slow and needy as he works his way up the curve of my neck. “It did.” He nips at my ear before he lets me fall slowly down his body.
“I really have to go.” Lee gives me a look of regret. “Next time I’ll make sure this is taken care of.”
“I get it.” I follow him out. “Call me later?”
“Of course.” He throws his bag over his shoulder and rounds the corner.
Just as I’m about to head back inside I see the girl from the other day carrying a basket of something that smells delicious.
“Whatcha got there?” I ask just as my stomach lets out a big growl.
Nothing.
What is it with this girl? “I promise I’m not the big bad wolf ready to take your basket of goodies. Although this thing here,” I point to my growling stomach, “says to knock you down and take the muffins and run.”
Her eyes are wide. She hurries inside and quickly locks the door. My apartment only has two basic locks. Deadbolt and the one on the doorknob. But every time Shapiro leaves I can hear his girlfriend or whoever lock up at least three more bolts. Which is really weird because there is already one lock and one keypad on the outside of the door.
I go back inside and debate: Do I fix myself something for breakfast, climb back into bed, or accept it is morning and start my day by actually getting ready?
Looking over at the bed, I swear it’s calling out to me. “Pick me. Choose me. Sleep on me.” How can I say no to that?
Giving in to the oversized pillowtop perfection, I make my way over there, but just as I’m getting ready to climb back in I hear a knock at the door.
Muffins!
Maybe she felt sorry for me. And if not me, maybe my belly. Running over to the door in hopes of all things lemon poppy seed, I swing it open, but instead of seeing my neighbor, Myles is standing there with some guy who has his back turned, talking on his cell.
“Myles? I thought you went back last night?” I close the door a little, peeking my head around. I’m suddenly feeling a little underdressed.
“I was going to, but…” She nods toward me. “How about you change and then we all can talk.”
“Talk?”
“Don’t ask questions. We have to be at the airport in three hours and it takes one to get there.”
“Okay. Give me one minute.” I shut the door and rush around to get ready.
Tossing on an oversized sweatshirt and last night’s jeans, I hurry and brush my teeth. Grabbing a hair tie, I secure my hair in a messy bun just as I reach the door and open it.
“It’s about time,” Myles jokes and pushes her way past me. The guy with a way-too-serious look, who is still on the phone, follows. “Ellie, I would like you to meet Jagger Richards.” She gestures at his hand. “Jagger, meet Ellie Thorne.”
“The Jagger Richards?” I take his hand, giving it an overly eager shake.
“Yeah, I’m him.” He swings his leather bag off his shoulder, setting it on the table. “I’m going to make this quick. As Myles just told you, we have a flight to catch.” He flips through some papers. “Here they are.” He hands me a thick envelope.
“What’s this?” I take it from his hands.
“It’s a contract.”
“A contract?” I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
“Ellie, you’re going to Nashville!” Myles screams.
“Nashville?” I’m in disbelief.
“Listen, I don’t have time to go through all the details but…shit!” he exclaims as he pulls out his phone again. “I’m sorry, I have to take this.
“Ellie, it’s everything we ever talked about.” Myles is standing in front of me, both hands clasped on my shoulders. “Your dreams are coming true.”
“Yeah.”
“Why don’t you seem more excited?” She scrunches her brows, confused, I’m sure, by my lack of freaking out. Nashville was a dream of mine. It was where I was going to find my freedom, my escape from all the expectations.
“I am, it’s just—”
“I’m sorry about that. Myles, we have to go,” he demands as he slides the phone back in his pocket. “Ellie, look over the contract and give me a call by next week.”
“You’ll need a lawyer too.” Myles winks.
Jagger shoots her a look.
“My card is in there. I’ll be expecting to hear from you sooner rather than later.
Have a great day!”
“See you soon!” Myles waves and just as quick as they were here they are gone, leaving me standing here in the middle of my loft apartment, struggling with what I want.
Before Lee, Nashville was my one and only dream. After Lee, I want more. Crave more. Something I’m not sure Nashville could give me.
If I left now, would I be running? Would I be doing the exact same thing I accused Lee of doing?
If I stay, will it be enough?
Lee
In a perfect world, I would have been able to stay. To hold her, love on her, show her how much I need her in my life. But my world is far from perfect. It’s chaotic and unpredictable. It’s everything she doesn’t deserve.
Ellie, she deserves to have everything she has ever dreamed of. Unlike me, who had the love of two grandparents, she’s had two parents who cared more about themselves than about their only child—a beautiful, talented woman who is destined for great things. Dreams be damned, she will make it her reality.
My reality is far from wonderful, but it’s the hand I’ve been dealt and I’m playing it the best I can.
I’ve walked up this same path more times than I can remember, but today it feels different. With Grans you always knew what to expect, but now…I hang my head as I reach the door. The house which once was a home is now a building of foreign memories.
Pulling the storm door open, I walk in, the same as I do every day.
“Katie?” I call out.
“There you are. Did you have a good night?” She gathers her things she had set on the counter. I’m sure she’s been counting down the minutes till she can get home.
“It was.” I look around for Grans. “Where is she?”
“She’s lying down. Lee, there is something I think you should know.” I can tell from Katie’s eyes she’s beginning to worry.
I reach out and grab hold of the counter, bracing myself for whatever bad news she’s throwing my way but when I do, my hand slips and papers go flying everywhere.
“Well shit.” I squat down and gather the loose pages and straighten them on the counter. “I’m not sure if I got them back in order.” I quickly flip, through double-checking the page numbers when I see my grandmother’s name. “Katie?” I narrow my eyes, quickly going through the rest of the document.
