by Sm Donaldson
Here we are, rolling into Birmingham. I walk back to the bedroom and gather my things to take to the hotel room. I feel hands slip around my waist. I texted ahead and let them know that our band would only need two rooms tonight.
“How are we going to explain that? They know we always get three rooms. Mine, yours, and those two.”
He nuzzles into my neck. “I told them I was staying with some local friends tonight. If anyone asks later, I’ll say that my plans fell through. Hell, we all stay on the same bus together, and we’re adults. It’s really none of their damn business.” I lean my head further over to give him better access to my neck. I feel his crotch hardening against my ass.
“Alright you two. We’re okay with this, but you can’t fuck right in front of us.”
Gable grunts at Stoney standing in the doorway. “We aren’t fucking, man. Although, if you don’t get the hell out of here, we may just put on a damn show for you.”
Stoney storms out of the room, grumbling about us being assholes.
I pop Gable on his arm. “Don’t say shit like that. I’m not putting on some sort of exhibition for anyone. Plus, just because they’ve given us the go ahead, I’m just not there yet. You know?”
He nods. “Yeah, I do. I was just bullshitting. If he hadn’t walked in here and started trying to bust my balls, nothing else would’ve been said.”
“I know, it’s just still a little weird for me. Okay?”
He kisses me on the lips. “Yeah, babe. It’s okay if you wanna keep me as your dirty little secret.”
I punch him in the arm. “Asshole. Trust me, you aren’t anywhere near the dirty secrets I have.” With that said, I walk out of the room.
It’s true, I really wonder if he knew all of the secrets I have, if he’d still be interested in me at all. I make my way to sit in front of the TV until we arrive at the hotel.
As soon as we enter the hotel room, Gable grabs me by my hips and I laugh. “You do know we have plenty of time, right?”
He strips my t-shirt over my head. “Yes, but I want to use all the time.” He leans down, kissing my chest above my breast line. “Look, the guys know about us, and we aren’t having to sneak around. I just feel like it’s perfect and in my life, if it’s perfect, it can be snatched away. I just don’t want to waste any time.”
I nod breathlessly. “Sure, I get it.”
~*~*~
Standing under the stream of hot water pouring over me, I relax. I hear the bathroom door open and Gable speak. “Hey, you want company?”
I shake my head. That boy never ceases to amaze me. “If you get in here, we won’t make it to the show. I’m almost done and then you can get in.”
He sticks his head in the curtain. “I guess you have a point, because if I join you,” he shakes his head. “I won’t want to leave.”
I turn off the water and step out. “Stop looking at me like that, you perv.”
“Right now I want to lick all that water off of you.”
I wrap my towel tighter. “Well, you’re just goin’ to have to wait.” I laugh as he strips down and jumps in the shower.
I hear my phone ringing as I walk out in the room. Looking down, it’s from an unknown number. “Hello.”
It’s a recording letting me know that I’m receiving a call from an inmate at a federal prison. Knowing it’s my dad, I accept the charges.
“Ivie.”
“Yes, Dad.”
“How are you doing?’
“I’m doing fine. What’s up?”
“I was calling to check on you.”
“Why? You haven’t called just to check on me in years. Normally you need money for your account.”
“Well, not this time. I heard you were having some troubles.”
I shake my head. “What are you talking about?”
“Well, that last boyfriend you had-”
I cut him off. “How did you know about Chad?”
“Look, there were some people asking about him. Then they put the word out that you weren’t to be messed with. I heard that he didn’t follow the rules.”
“How did you hear all of this?”
“Don’t worry about that. Look, I know I’ve been a shitty father, but just watch your back. He’s a desperate man now.”
“He’s in jail, so I’m not worried.” I hear the shower shut off. “Look, I appreciate the concern, but I have to get ready for a show.”
“Yes, I heard your band was doing really well.”
I shake my head, annoyed. “Really. Well, how is it that you know more about my life while you’re in prison than when I was living under the same roof with you?”
“Ivie. Like I said, I know I’ve been a shitty parent. I’m sorry. Look, you get ready for your show. Take care.”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, and Ivie? I love you.”
Complete shock is how I would describe the feeling. “A- yeah- you, too.”
I hang up the phone, confused about many things. I’ll wait until after the show and talk to Gable about it. I can’t help but think about the fact that when we are in Hilton Head in a few days, we won’t be far from where he’s doing his time.
“Hey, babe.” His kisses my neck. “Were you talking to someone?”
“Yeah. My dad called.”
“What in the hell did he want?”
“We’ll just talk about it after the show, I need to get ready. Plus, I’m not sure I’m ready to rehash it.”
He nods, knowing that I’m done talking at the moment.
“Okay, well let’s get ready.”
I don’t know what her dad said to her, but she’s quiet. When Ivie is quiet, it gets scary. She withdraws from everyone and everything. Her dad calling and Chad showing back up doesn’t feel like a coincidence. Shit. Did I fuck up by bringing Cade into this?
My mind is racing, even after the show. I can’t wait to get her back to the room and talk to her. I know her dad is in prison just north of Hilton Head. Does he want her to come see him or something?
We bid our good nights to Keeg and Stoney as the driver drops us off at the hotel. I’m sure they are on their way out to hit up the clubs and find some ass.
“Do you wanna order a pizza or something?” I ask as we walk through the door.
“If you find a place that can bring me a salad.”
“You just sweated off like a million calories, and I know I’ll work some more off of you before the night is over. You need food, not garnishes.”
“I can’t keep eating like I am, I’ll gain all of my weight back.”
I step in front of her. “I’m going to tell you this one time. I don’t care if you do gain it back. I was happy with you just the way you were.”
She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, whatever.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
She walks over to the sofa and drops down. “Just that you say that, but you didn’t seem to pay much attention to me before I lost the weight is all.”
“That’s bullshit. Just because I didn’t make a move on you, doesn’t mean I wasn’t thinking about it.” I flop down next to her. “Honestly. I’ve had a fucking hard on for you since I was seventeen. I’m just tired of ignoring it.” I grab her hand as she’s trying to not look me in the face. “Now, I’m going to order a fucking pizza and some beer. Then, you are going to tell me what the fuck is going on.”
She goes to the bathroom and I order the pizza, some wings, beer and a little side salad for her. I’m fucking starving after a show, but maybe the salad will make her eat. She can eat some other food with it.
When she comes out of the bathroom, she’s in her sleep shorts and tank.
“Hey, food is coming.”
“Look, I’m tired and I want to sleep.”
“Damn it. Ivie, if you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’m gonna spank your ass until you can’t sit down.”
“Fuck you!”
“Yeah, I’m kinda hoping that’s going to happen. Until then, tell
me what your dad said because this…” I point to the frown she has on her face. “Isn’t working for me.”
She sighs. “Fine.”
She starts relaying her conversation with her dad, and I realize, yep, I have to come clean.
Once she stops talking, there is a knock at the door. I stand up and get our delivery. Setting it down between us, we start chowing down. As I suspected, she’s hungrier than she tried to make me believe.
After I finish off the last beer of the six pack, I put my hand on hers. “Ivie, I need to talk to you about something.”
She looks up at me, lost. “O-kay.”
I take my time, carefully explaining my conversation with Cade.
“Gable, I- I just really don’t know what to say. I don’t know whether to be angry or to be somewhat relieved.”
“Babe, I wanted to do whatever I could to keep you safe.”
“I know this is going to sound strange, but I think when we get to Hilton Head tomorrow, I wanna go up and see my dad.”
I nod. “Okay, I’ll go with you. Well, if you want me to.”
She nods. “Yeah, I think I’m going to need you.”
I kiss her forehead. “Hey, baby I’m here for whatever you need.”
“Oh shit. Isn’t your sister coming in?”
“Yeah, but not tomorrow, it’s Thanksgiving. Ryder is telling her tomorrow night and they’ll come in on Friday.”
“Okay. Can we just go to sleep tonight?”
“Baby, I want to be with you. Whether it’s sleeping or fucking, I want to be with you.”
She curls up on the bed and I slide in behind her, rolling her over so that she is curled into my side, with her head in my chest. I switch the lamp off. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.
“Gable?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for saying you’ll go with me tomorrow. I’m really nervous about this.”
“Babe, how long has it been since you’ve seen your dad?”
“The last time I actually visited him, I was fifteen, I think. He told me I needed to make better grades. The last time I talked to him was about six months ago, he needed money for his account and none of his friends would send it to him.”
I’m angry. “He said you needed to make better grades? You were a fucking genius in school.”
She tenses. “How did you know that?”
Shit, I forgot. “One of the times that we were moving you, your transcript fell out. We looked at it. Sorry.”
“It’s nothing, I shouldn’t get upset about it. It was just after he told me that, I let my grades tank. It pissed me off because he was telling me to do better when I was doing the best. He didn’t really know and he didn’t really care.”
I pull her in tight. “Well, he was an idiot, and it’s his loss for not being a part of your life.”
“I never understood what I did to them. Why they couldn’t just love me.”
“Baby, I understand, kinda. I mean, why did my dad have to be such a douche and have two, possibly more, wives now? Why did my mom have to be such a push over? I honestly worry that she would take him back if he showed up tomorrow.”
“Our parents have really done a number on us, huh?”
“Yeah, babe. Let’s get some sleep, you have a big day tomorrow if you still want to go.”
“Yeah, I still want to go. I need to face him.”
I sigh and pull her into me so we can sleep.
Waking up with my head resting on Gable’s chest, I hear the slow beating of his heart. I feel the rhythm of his breathing and realize this is my favorite place to be. I kiss his chest.
He moves in the bed. “Good morning, babe.”
I smile. “Good morning. I’ve decided you are my new favorite pillow.”
He laughs. “Oh, am I now?” He quickly shifts, rolling me onto my back. He leans down, taking my nipple in his mouth through my shirt. “But you are so much softer than me.”
“Mmm, but I like sleeping on something firm.”
I feel the hardness of his cock pressing against my inner thigh and he starts kissing my neck. “Well maybe we can flip back and forth.”
I smile. “Maybe we can.” I run my hands down his chest.
He slowly slides my shirt over my head, then slides my shorts down my legs. Sitting back on his knees, he works his sleep pants down. He starts to slide into me, but I stop him. “Gable, condom.”
“Shit.” He jumps up and grabs one from his bag. Rolling it on, he leans down and slides into me. “I’ve never been this careless about condoms. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I just know we’ve already pushed our luck one time, we just gotta be careful. I promise, while we are home at Christmas, I’ll go back on the pill and we won’t have to worry so much.”
“Sounds like a plan.” He slowly slides in and out of me, paying attention, moving like every move is going to be his last. This is the first time we’ve made love. We’ve had several rounds of hot, sweaty, body slapping sex, but this is a first. It’s slow and meaningful.
An hour later, we shower and dress to go visit my dad. Gable knew I needed someone to show me how much he cares before we went to see my dad.
Walking out of our room, the tour company’s SUV is waiting. He must’ve talked to someone while I was in the shower because it’s just the two of us.
“I talked to Jana, you know, the lady who is over our cars and stuff. I told her you had a family matter you needed to take care of just north of here, but that you needed your privacy. So, she let me drive you up for the day.”
I smile with tears in my eyes. “Gable, you are the sweetest guy I know. Thank you so much.”
“Hey, don’t go around saying that. I have a reputation to keep up after all.” He winks at me.
“Ha ha so funny. So, how did you explain you driving me?”
He shrugs. “I told her you wanted one of us to go and that the others were busy. She really didn’t pry. I mean, we are a pretty quiet group compared to some of the others. So I guess she feels like she doesn’t have to babysit us like the other groups.”
“That makes sense, I guess. I mean, Ransom’s End is constantly having hotel security called on them. Hell, the only time security has even been called into our area was the other night.”
“Right. So I guess she’s counting her blessings with us being the good kids.”
We both laugh. Truth is we aren’t that band that likes to go out, tear up a town, trash hotel rooms and make a scene. We are all pretty laid back people, and we know that so many groups that act like it’s Spring Break every day, crash and burn all too soon.
Pulling up in front of the prison, I get nauseous. I step out of the SUV and run to a trash can, emptying the food I ate late last night from my stomach.
Gable steps to my side, rubbing my back. “Babe, are you sure you want to do this?”
I nod. “Yes, I have to.” I reach in my purse and grab some gum. “Okay, let’s go. I looked and they are only visiting certain hours today because of the holiday.”
Twenty minutes later, we’ve been searched, our belongings have been checked in and we’ve been patted down so many times I think I need a cigarette.
We sit down at a small table waiting for my dad to come out. I hold Gable’s hand under the table. Once my dad enters the room, I realize how much he’s changed in the past few years. He looks so much older and tired.
He sits across from us. “Ivie. I have to say, I’m surprised by this visit.”
“Yeah well, I needed to know what all you know about the Chad situation.”
“Is that the only reason for this visit?”
“No. I have a few other things to say, but I want to know the other first.”
He nods to Gable. “Who is he?”
“Dad, this is Gable. He’s in the band with me and one of my best friends.” I feel Gable flinch, but I turn my attention back to my dad.
“Once people asked me about you, I found out what he’d done. Then I foun
d out that some, let’s just say, influential people had been made aware of the situation. He was informed to stay clear of you. He decided not to listen to that advice and attacked you. Yes, he is in jail now, but if he’s ever released, watch out for yourself. He’s desperate and won’t think anything of taking you to hell with him. If he gets out again, they’ll kill him. So please, just lookout for yourself.”
I roll my eyes. “I always have. So anything else?”
He shakes his head. “Just I’m sorry.”
“Look, I just want to say some things and then I’m going to go.” He nods. “I think you and mom were really shitty to me. I walked around feeling like you guys hated me. Then, when you went to prison and told me to get better grades, it proved you never knew anything about me. I was at the top of my class, even though I never really had parents to guide me.” I swipe a stray tear I didn’t realize was falling until it hit my cheek. “Then, I had an aunt who treated me like a common whore. She said I was no better than my mother and she always made it painfully obvious that I was a bother to her. So, I quit caring, and once I got kicked out of school, she kicked me out.” I shake my head. “I guess I’m just saying I’m pissed, and maybe you can’t see past your own problems, but the shit you and mom did to me started a cycle. I know you said you are sorry for being a shitty father, but sometimes words don’t cover it.”
He nods and I swear I see tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry, I know that doesn’t cover it. I didn’t know your aunt was treating you that way. She always made it seem to me like you were a rough teen and that your grades were in the shitter.”
“My grades started out great, but once I lived with her for a little while, she constantly reminded me that the only reason I was there was because of my check. That she hated my mother, even though she was her sister. I didn’t care anymore and yes, my grades went to shit. As a sophomore, I already had colleges looking at me for their medical programs, but I lost all of that.”
We make small talk for a few more minutes, in which he apologizes numerous times for how I was treated. I decide I’m ready to go knowing that I didn’t want this visit to be very long. I wanted him to know how I felt and move on.
