Save Me From Myself (Nashville Nights)

by Stacey Mosteller

  I come awake slowly realizing that I’m in an unfamiliar place, when David trails his fingertips down my back making me shiver. Then I stretch, noticing the slight ache in muscles that haven’t been used in a while. It’s a delicious ache, and one I wouldn’t mind having again.

  He hasn’t said anything to me yet, and I hope that it’s not because he’s regretting what happened. I know I’m not, but I’m not sure how to act around him now. Sex can sometimes bring people closer, but it can also tear them apart. That’s what I’m afraid of this morning. I don’t say anything to him either, because I’m waiting for him to make the first move. I don’t want to put myself out there and be embarrassed. So I lay here, tracing small circles on his chest and listening to him breathe.

  Just when I think I’ll go crazy if he doesn’t say something, he clears his throat. “Are you going to avoid me for much longer?”

  Turning my face into his chest I nod my head. I should have known he would call me on not even so much as looking at him. He doesn’t let me stay like this for long before he tugs my hair, forcing me to lift my head and meet his eyes. His have a soft look in them, while I know mine are wide and unsure.

  “Good morning darlin'.” He’s smiling at me, and I feel infinitely better just seeing the look on his face.

  I mumble, “Good morning,” which seems a little silly. I feel like I should thank him for last night. For how gentle he was with me, the fact that he made sure I was okay through everything. He definitely put me first, and it was amazing!

  He frowns at my obvious discomfort, “Hey, what’s the matter?”

  “Nothing.” He hasn’t released my hair, so he’s still studying me with his brows furrowed. I can tell he doesn’t believe me, but I don’t want to sound clingy.

  All of a sudden, I’m staring at David above me. He’s flipped me onto my back and is now leaning over me. Shocked, I can’t do anything but lay here, waiting for whatever is going to happen next. I am so out of my element with this man.

  “Don’t do that, Lyric. Don’t say there’s nothing wrong when there’s obviously something bothering you. I thought we were finally past that.” He’s frustrated with me now, which is the last thing I wanted to happen today.

  I turn my head away from his heated look, “There really is nothing wrong, David. I’m just not sure where we go from here.”

  “What do you mean?” He sounds genuinely confused, which is only fair, because I am completely confused right now.

  “I mean exactly that. Where do we go from here? Was this a one night stand, are we in a relationship now? I don’t know how to do this…this thing we’re doing.” Now I’m frustrated too. I wanted him to qualify things this morning, but we were both waiting for the other to say something. “You haven’t said anything to me about what you want, so I don’t know how I’m supposed to react today.”

  Running a hand through his hair, he sits up so that he’s kneeling beside me, “I didn’t know there was any confusion. This ‘thing’ as you so eloquently put it isn’t just a one night stand for me. I thought you knew what I wanted. Why are you even here if that’s the way you think I feel?”

  Wonderful, now he’s upset with me. Sighing heavily, I try to explain the thoughts running through my mind. “I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant-“

  David interrupts me, “What do you mean, that’s not what you meant? That’s what you said!”

  “Please let me talk,” I implore him. “I know this isn’t a one night stand. I’m just feeling awkward and unsure. This obviously isn’t something I do often and I’m completely messing it up. I don’t know how I’m supposed to act now.”

  “I don’t want you to act like anything. I want you to be yourself. I like the person you are Lyric. Even when you’re running from me and driving me crazy. I thought it was obvious that I want to be with you.”

  I am definitely turning what should have been a fantastic morning into a horrible one. “Ugh, can we please just start over before I totally screw things up?”

  David laughs and pulls me up so that I’m sitting in front of him. “Darlin', you haven’t screwed anything up or ruined it. You’re still here, in my bed, so we’re good.” With that, he kisses me softly, then gets off the bed. He looks even better in the late morning sun than he did last night in the moonlight. I don’t get to admire him for very long because he pulls me up from the bed to stand in front of him. “As much as I’d love to spend all day in bed with you though, I do have some things planned for us to do, so you need to get dressed.” Pushing me towards the bathroom, he smacks me lightly on my backside making me jump because it was so unexpected.

  Turning back to face him, I smirk, “I don’t think you could keep up with me if we stayed in bed all day, old man.” And with that, I run for the bathroom and he gives chase.

  ***

  I make it to the bathroom and try to close the door before he reaches me, but he’s fast! When I turn to shut the door, he’s standing in the way, staring down at me.

  “I believe I told you before that I’d make you pay for calling me an old man.” He sounds stern, but he’s grinning down at me so I don’t think I’m in too much trouble. Just to be safe though, I back up, hitting the shower door. David’s grin gets wider, and he pushes me into the shower as he turns on the freezing cold water causing me to screech. Now he’s outright laughing at me as I try to squish myself into the corner so that I can avoid the freezing water.

  Luckily for him, it doesn’t stay cold for long. I’m still shivering though when he follows me in, bringing the shampoo and body wash that were in my bag and putting them on the shelf in the shower. Still chuckling lightly, he reaches out to bring me into his arms and I go willingly. I’m not sure how I’m going to get payback for this yet, but I know I’ll get revenge somehow.

  Turning me so my back is to him, he pulls me under the now hot water, soaking my hair before lathering it up with the shampoo. “I love the way your hair smells,” he says as he rinses it, massaging my scalp and squeezing the excess water out of my hair. I start to turn and face him, but he stops me and picks up my body wash. Holding it in front of me so I can see, he squirts some into his hand and rubs them together creating a lather.

  He rubs the soap into my shoulders, then my arms and hands before running his hands back up to my throat. He soaps my back, and my body is so aware of everything he’s doing. Once he’s covered my back, he brings his hands up my sides, brushing along the sides of my breasts before moving them across my belly. I’m holding my breath when he finally travels up to my chest with his soapy hands, and he doesn’t stop at just washing me. He plucks my nipples with his slippery fingers until I’m moving against him. He knows exactly what to do to me to make me crazy for him.

  Just when I think I’m going to orgasm from his hands on my breasts alone, he stops and reaches to squeeze more body wash into his hands. Then, he kneels and washes first one leg and then the other, paying special attention to the bottoms of my feet and the back of my knees, making me moan. He travels back up my legs to my backside, running his fingers along each cheek and squeezing lightly.

  Finally, he turns me around and still kneeling in front of me washes between my legs gently, keeping his eyes on me. When he’s finished, he takes the shower head down to rinse me off. With a devilish smile, he adjusts the head so that the stream is harder before pointing it straight at the apex of my thighs causing me to jump at the first contact. Oh wow! The sensation of the beating water against my clit is intense, and there’s nowhere for me to go to get away from it. David has one arm wrapped around me from behind keeping me in place during his ministrations. It only takes a few seconds before my legs are shaking from the sensations, and when he notices, he removes the shower head and stands.

  I don’t wait to see what he does next before pushing him back so that he’s now under the water before I grab his shampoo to return the favor. He has to lower his head to let me wash his hair, which he does willingly before rinsing it himself. Grabbi
ng his soap, I follow the same path his hands took on me, and when I get to his bobbing erection, he inhales sharply. Taking my time, I stroke him gently with my soapy hands, paying special attention to the sensitive head. After I’ve rinsed him off, I drop to my knees and kiss his tip. When he doesn’t stop me, I pepper kisses all the way down his length before licking him from base to tip and taking him in my mouth. When my lips close around him, he groans and buries his hands in my hair.

  The sounds he’s making as I move my mouth up and down his shaft encourage me, and I suck harder when I reach the sensitive head. “Fuck,” he mutters as his fingers tighten. I speed up, running one hand up and down his shaft while sucking hard with my mouth. He’s so big that I can only take half of him into my mouth before he hits the back of my throat which causes me to gag. Deep-throating was never something I had to learn, and I’m not going to start right now.

  “Shit baby, I’m going to come if you don’t stop,” he groans as he tries to pull me off of him. I resist, and continue sucking him as deep as I can. “Fuck Lyric, you need to stop now!” He pulls me off of him, and jerks me up so that I’m standing in front of him. His eyes are fierce, but I don’t get the chance to think about it, because he lifts me so that I’m pushed up against the wall and enters me swiftly. I cry out, because even though we did this last night, my body has to adjust and there’s a twinge of pain.

  David stills immediately, “Are you okay?” I nod, and he pulls almost all of the way out before slamming back in. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I pull his mouth to mine and wrap my arms around his neck.

  For a few minutes, we’re all lips and tongues, flesh slapping against flesh. We’re both moaning into each other’s mouths and his thrusts are getting faster and harder. “God, you feel so good.” His hands are gripping my waist, and he’s slamming me down as he thrusts up to meet me. This angle causes him to grind against my clit on each thrust and I’m about to explode.

  “Oh God, David,” I cry out as he hits a spot inside me that makes my eyes roll back in my head.

  “That’s it darlin',” he growls, and speeds up even more. “I want to feel you come.” A few thrusts later, I explode around him and he follows right behind me.

  We stay locked together, breathing heavy for a few minutes before I unwrap my legs from around David’s waist and he sets me gently on my feet. Laying my head against his chest, I listen to his heartbeat while we wait for our breathing to slow.

  ***

  I’m happy just standing here with our arms around each other, when he stiffens against me. I raise my head to find him looking at me apologetically. My heart stutters, and all sorts of thoughts start going through my mind. His eyes are wide, and he opens his mouth to speak before shutting it again.

  I’m starting to get worried, but after closing his eyes and swallowing hard, he opens them and finds his voice. “Fuck! Lyric, I didn’t use a condom. I was so caught up in everything that it didn’t even cross my mind. Shit, that’s the one thing I never, ever forget.” He looks like he’s worried I’m about to scream at him.

  “Oh. I didn’t think about it either. I’m, um, I get a shot every few months for birth control. And…” I trail off, looking away. I don’t want to bring Matt or the things that happened up with him.

  Cupping my cheek, he turns my face back towards him, “And, what baby?”

  Speaking quickly, I say, “I haven’t been with anyone but Matt, and I was tested after I found out he was cheating.”

  He visibly relaxes, “There hasn’t been anyone for a while for me either, and I always use a condom. Contrary to what’s happened this morning, of course. I’m clean, but shit darlin', I’m sorry I was so careless.” Cutting off the water, he motions for me to get out of the shower.

  When he follows me and hands me a towel, I look back up at him, “I trust you David. Really, it’s okay.”

  Cocking his head, he studies me, searching my eyes for any sign that things aren’t okay. Finally, he nods. “Okay, well I’ll let you get dressed in peace.” Kissing the top of my head, he wraps a towel around his waist and walks out of the bathroom, leaving me to study myself in the mirror.

  When I finally get dressed and come out of the bathroom, the bedroom is empty. David wasn’t kidding when he said he would leave me alone to get dressed! Opening the door, I walk out into the hall to go look for him, and notice all the pictures on the walls. There’s pictures of both David and SarahBeth alone, and with what must be their parents. Walking down the hallway is like walking through David’s past, there are pictures of him from newborn to High School and College graduations. I just can’t look away. He’s so young in these pictures, and there’s an innocence to him that is gone now. Poor SB, her pictures end at what must’ve been her fifteenth birthday based on the number of pictures.

  I’m so engrossed in the photographs that I don’t notice her come up behind me until she clears her throat and I whirl around to find her contemplating me silently. “David wasn’t exactly the take his sister to get pictures done type of brother,” she shrugs and gives me a small smile.

  My heart aches for her loss, and David’s. He was essentially thrust into fatherhood right after college. He hasn’t told me much about their deaths, just that they died while he was living in another state, and he and Jeremy moved back to be with SarahBeth. I turn back to study the photographs on the wall. “You and David look so much like your parents.” They really do. David is a much younger version of his father, and SB is her mothers’ twin.

  SB sighs, “Yeah, David may look just like our father, but he’s nothing like him.”

  That piques my curiosity. “What do you mean?”

  “Our father was much older than mom. So, he was very set in his ways when David came along. They fought a lot when I was growing up. Dad wanted David to go to Vandy like he did, and then work with him. David didn’t want to, and ended up applying and getting accepted to a college in North Carolina. He told our parents the night before he left. God, I cried for days when he and Jeremy left. He and Dad didn’t speak to each other until he came home for Christmas. Their relationship was really strained after that. They spent the entire time David was here that Christmas fighting. In fact, he ended up leaving Christmas day to go back to Charlotte because he said he didn’t want to ruin my holiday with the amount of yelling they were doing.”

  Wow. I never would have pegged David as the type to fight with his father over what he wanted to do. But then, David is pretty focused, so I guess it makes sense that he would refuse to just blindly do whatever his dad wanted. I don’t say any of this though because I don’t want to interrupt SB and have her stop talking to me. This is information David would never willingly volunteer.

  I breathe a sigh of relief when she continues, “He didn’t come back again after that. I was only 8 when he left, but I was really close to both him and Jeremy. Not having them around anymore was awful. He and Dad were a lot alike though, both stubborn and unwilling to compromise. I don’t know a lot of what he did while he was in Charlotte, because even though he sent me letters and called me, we weren’t as close as we were when he lived here. Plus, what college guy wants to tell his Elementary or Middle School sister all his activities?”

  She stops talking, and I have to ask, “So, what happened? I mean, I know your parents passed away, but that’s all David told me.” I wish I could take back the words as soon as I say them. This isn’t fun Saturday morning conversation, but SarahBeth just looks at me before continuing with her tale.

  “It was a stupid accident. Dad was an executive for a record company here in Nashville. The company had just bought out a smaller label in Atlanta, and Dad was sent to make sure everything went smoothly. Since it was their anniversary, he took mom with him, figuring they could have a romantic weekend before he had to be at the label on Monday. Mom was an interior designer, and she had an important deadline that Friday, so they left very late. I was staying at Livvie’s, and since they weren’t supposed to return until Mon
day, the plan was for me to go to school with Livvie, and mom would pick me up Monday afternoon.”

  When she starts to speak again, her voice breaks, and I want to put my arms around her. I never should have brought this up, it wasn’t like I had to know. But, now that she’s telling the story, she doesn’t stop. “It started raining during the trip, and Dad was always a fast driver. He seemed to think that speed limits were for people other than him. From what the police told David, he took a curve too quickly and went off the road. They weren’t found immediately. David got the call really late Sunday night. Apparently Mom had listed his number under ‘ICE’ in her phone, she was always doing stuff like that. Always worried that something would happen. Anyway, when he got off the phone with whoever called him, he didn’t give me many details on that, he and Jeremy packed what they could and came home.”

  By this point, we’ve moved to the sitting area at the top of the stairs. I didn’t realize when we started talking that it was going to be such a long conversation, but I’m definitely not stopping SarahBeth from talking to me. The more she tells me about David and the accident, the more in love with him I fall.

  “I didn’t know anything had happened, so I went to school like I normally would have. David and Jeremy came straight to school when they got here, and told the principal what happened. I was brought down to the office, and David had to tell me that our parents were gone. With as hard as it was for me to hear, I know it had to be even worse for him to tell. I don’t remember much of the days after that. It’s all kind of a blur.” She shrugs, looking at me apologetically, and I get up and sit next to her, wrapping my arms around her thin shoulders before she starts talking again. “After the funeral, my grandparents all wanted me to come live with them, but they all lived far away. I didn’t want to leave, and since David didn’t want me to have to make any more changes, he decided he would move home and take care of me. He was only twenty six at the time, and had his own life back in Charlotte, but he didn’t even question giving it all up for me. I’ll never be able to thank him for that, especially after moving home cost him so much.”