by Twyla Turner
Gage scowled deeply. “I think I’d kick his ass if he were here right now.”
“Thanks, but it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. You deserved better than that.”
“Yeah. He was coddled by his mother and she never taught him how to treat a woman. Mainly because I don’t believe she ever wanted him to have one.
“Anyway, while we got food for ourselves and our dates, all the guys went and got drinks for us, except mine. My friend had to scold him to get him to get me something to drink. Us girls would go out on the dance floor to dance together. And then during every slow song, here he’d appear all awkward and off beat wanting to dance. It was just awkward and terrible. Not to mention, I wasn’t comfortable with my body back then, so I wore this hideous shapeless floral print dress that was designed for somebody’s granny. You were lucky you missed it. I really don’t know if prom ever meets your expectations,” Lyris finished.
“Yeah, you’ve got a point. Maybe those who are already coupled up enjoy it. But otherwise it’s just awkward and painful,” Gage agreed.
“Pretty much.” Lyris reached over and tucked a few loose strands of hair behind Gage’s ear. “If we would’ve met back in high school, what do you think would’ve happened?”
“That’s easy,” Gage said quickly. “We’d be married with several kids and on the road like The Partridge Family.”
“Ah!” Lyris screeched before bursting into a fit of giggles. “You’re a mess.”
Lyris slid to the edge of the bed, grabbed a pillow to hold to her backside as she headed for the bathroom.
“Where are you going?”
“Well, I have to pee if you must know. I don’t want a UTI. And I need to clean up a little.”
“Why clean up, when I’m only going to get you dirty again?” Gage said as he moved to the edge of the bed.
“Again?!” Lyris exclaimed. “Aren’t you tired?”
“I’ve been waiting to get my hands on you for months. I’m not sure I’ll ever get tired. So, why don’t we kill two birds with one stone. I can get you dirty again in the shower and then we can wash it all off.”
“You might be ready, but I’m not sure my vagina is ready for your giant salami just yet.”
Lyris laughed and then screeched as Gage leapt towards her. Lyris smacked him in the head with the pillow and then ran for it.
“This means war!” Gage shouted and ran into the bathroom.
They didn’t hear the door open and their bandmates enter the house. But the band definitely saw the trail Gage’s clothes left and heard their playful banter that quickly turned into moans and cries of passion.
Gage gave Lyris a t-shirt and sweats to put on before they walked out of his bedroom late the following morning.
Lyris smiled thinking about the long night they’d had as she got dressed. They hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other throughout the night. They’d talked softly or slept in between. But they always found themselves back into each other’s arms and Gage burying himself deeply within her depths.
Lyris pushed off his bed with a deep groan.
“Are you alright?” Gage asked, his face a mask of concern.
“I’m just sex sore.” Lyris smiled at him. “We may have over did it just a smidge.”
“Aww…baby!” Gage came up and slipped his arms around her. “You want a full body massage?”
“You crazy?!?” Lyris jerked back to look up at him. “That’s just a slippery slope back into Poundtown.”
Gage released her with a shout of laughter.
“Okay, you’ve got a point. Come on.” He grabbed her hand and led her towards the door. “Let’s get some coffee in our system before the customary all-day pool party begins.”
They walked out of Gage’s room and they were greeted with loud clapping and cheers. Their bandmates were already up and chatting in the open kitchen. Lyris hid behind Gage and buried her face in his back as they walked forward.
“Nice job, you two!” Riley clapped them on the back once they reached the kitchen.
“I’m so proud of you.” Brandi looked at them lovingly. “It’s like seeing your babies all grown up.”
“Oh, shut it.” Gage rolled his eyes at his bandmates.
“Hey, it’s not our fault you two were loud as hell all night.” Neal slurped at his coffee nonchalantly, looking like Kermit sipping his tea, except with a top knot on his head.
“You two were going at it like a couple of wild animals when we walked in last night.” Brandi added with a chuckle.
“Okay. Okay.” Gage held up his hand. “Lyris is about to die of embarrassment. Could you get your noses out our bedroom, please?”
“Aw, come on! She’s a newbie. This is her initiation. How come she gets special treatment?” Riley cajoled.
“Because it’s me she’s fucking and not some groupie. That’s why.” Gage gave Riley a pointed look.
“Anybody else need something stronger than coffee?” Lyris said loudly as she opened the fridge to find alcohol.
“It’s five o’clock somewhere.” Brandi stated and came around to help Lyris choose.
~~~
At Gage’s insistence, Lyris grabbed her things from the bedroom below that she shared with Brandi and moved her belongings to his room. Then she shoved him out the room and showered alone.
Lyris pulled on her cute little bikini. The high-waisted bottoms were black with big white polka dots. And the top was a red off-the-shoulder ruffle. She piled her natural curls that had sprung back to life after their shower the night before, on top of her head in a puff. Then she slid her large sunglasses on and headed out to the patio.
Everyone was either relaxing on the lounge chairs in the sun or in the pool. Lyris’ warm brown eyes landed on Gage in the pool. She swore the man was like a cologne ad come to life.
He broke through the water like Poseidon. The water glistened and dripped off his beautiful face, muscled shoulders, and chest as he rose up. His dark hair was slicked back off his face, making his chiseled jawline stand out sharply. And the sun sparkled onto the water, which reflected back up onto Gage’s face, making his eyes look like they glowed gold.
Lyris came forward on unstable legs. Her knees felt like jelly. This man really wants me? Am I in a dream?
“Why did you do that?” Gage chuckled but scrunched his face in confusion.
“Huh?” Lyris blinked, coming out of her stupor.
“You just pinched your arm. Why did you do that?”
Lyris bent over and a laugh burst from her throat.
“Did I really do that out loud?” She said as she walked down the steps into the water.
Gage pulled her into the cool welcoming water. Lyris immediately wrapped her legs around his waist as he walked her into the deeper water.
“You did.” His eyes searched hers and she had to look away for a moment to catch her breath.
“You came up from the water like a cologne ad. I was struck dumb for a second. I pinched myself to make sure this is all real.” Lyris felt the flush in her cheeks even if he couldn’t see it.
“I do believe you’re blushing,” he teased.
“You can tell?!” Her eyes shot to his.
“I can tell in the way you hold your head and refuse to look at me.”
“It’s just because I’m being silly.”
“You are. You know my past. You know I’m not that guy.”
“You certainly look like that guy.” Lyris stroked her fingertips over his cheek. “But I know you’re beautiful on the inside too.”
“You’re not the only one dumbstruck. You drive me to distraction. Have you not noticed how much I stare at you?”
“True.”
“From day one.”
“Yeah, I often wondered why you were always staring at me.”
“I was imagining what it would be like to kiss these lips,” Gage said before slowly moving in to kiss said lips.
“Oh! Yay!” A voice shouted o
ut happily followed by excited claps.
Lyris and Gage broke apart and looked in the direction of the voice and found Gage’s parents walking out to the patio. Adriana had her hands clasped together in front of her and tucked under her chin as she gazed at them dreamily.
“Just look, Nathan!” She nudged her husband with her shoulder. “They finally got their shit together.”
Everyone laughed.
“We’ve brought the ingredients,” Nathan held up reusable grocery bags. “Let’s get to cooking.”
“Hey, Lyris.” Adriana called to her. “Come help me get started.”
“You better go. If you noticed she didn’t ask. It was a polite order.” Gage grinned.
“Noted.”
Gage kissed her nose before releasing her. Lyris waded over to the stairs and walked out the pool. She felt his eyes burning a hole through her backside. Lyris turned and sure enough he was eyeballing her ass.
“I hate to see you go, but love to watch you leave.” Gage gave her a proper smolder.
Lyris tripped over her feet, but caught herself.
“Nobody saw that,” she called out as she grabbed one of the large white fluffy towels piled on a chair for everyone.
She heard Gage’s deep belly laugh as she walked into the house.
Lyris walked into the kitchen and Adriana gave her a big hug.
“Thank you,” Gage’s mother said as she squeezed Lyris.
“For what?”
“For making my son smile like that,” Adriana nodded out the window to the pool beyond.
Gage was still in the pool, but he’d moved to the wall. His arms were folded on the concrete floor as he talked to Mack who was sitting on a lounge chair. Gage’s smile was stretched wide and reached his eyes.
“It’s honestly the happiest I’ve seen him. I don’t think he was this happy when he told us he’d been offered a record deal.” Adriana confessed as she passed Lyris some veggies and a knife.
“Chop those for me, dear.” She instructed before continuing. “Anyway, you have no idea how much I’ve worried about that little boy right there. Well, he still feels like my little boy.”
“I can imagine.”
“Did he tell you about how his life was when he was younger?”
“He did.”
“I figured he’d tell you. That really does mean he cares for you. He doesn’t like to talk about his life growing up.
“He was my awkward, shy, plump little boy. Girls ignored him for years. My heart broke for him. And then he was determined to lose the weight and start his music career. He accomplished both, but then all the girls he attracted, worried me to death. I go from wishing he could find someone to wishing these phony women would leave him alone. I wanted him to find happiness not someone that would take advantage of him. And then you came along.”
“How do you know I’m not some phony, materialistic woman come to take all his money?” Lyris asked half joking, half serious.
“Because my intuition is never wrong, my dear. You’re good people.” She winked at Lyris. “Besides, my son said that all you did was push him away for months because you were afraid to date a rock star. That doesn’t sound like someone wanting to take advantage to me.”
“I’m still afraid, honestly.” Lyris sighed. “But I was more afraid to walk away and not see where this feeling leads.”
“No matter what, following your heart will always guide you in the right direction.”
“Even if it’s towards heartache?”
“Absolutely!” Adriana stopped and looked at her. “Because even if whatever your heart wants doesn’t work out. Love, career, dream, etc. Your heart guided you there for a reason. To learn. To grow. To change. Or turn towards the direction you need to go. Not all paths are straight, sweetie.”
“You sound like an old Chinese proverb.”
Adriana patted her hand, “That’s because I am old.”
Lyris giggled and shook her head.
“No, you’re not!”
“Eh. That’s debatable.”
They smiled at each other and continued working on the food.
Lyris ended up helping Adriana with most of the cooking. Lyris really enjoyed being around the older woman. She radiated motherly energy. The kind her mother never really had. Lyris soaked up as much of it as she could.
Gage popped in every now and again to steal a kiss and a taste of food. To which, they shooed him away.
They made the traditional Brazilian drink, Caipirinhas. It was a simple drink made of lime, sugar, and cachaça. Lyris and Adriana got tipsy as they cooked. The conversation flowed and the laughter was plentiful.
Once dinner was done, everyone helped set the table on the patio and brought out all the delicious smelling dishes. Lyris and Gage sat next to each other. Touching, laughing, and feeding each other bites of food. His parents looked on happily.
Lyris had to admit that she felt more at peace and content than she ever had.
Is it really possible to be this happy?
Gage jumped in the shower while everyone else was gone. Their first show in Rio was later in the evening. The girls and Mack had gone shopping with his mother earlier to get some things they needed, while Neal and Riley went with them, to stock up on more liquor for the house.
Gage had told everyone that he wanted them to wear whatever they wanted for the shows in Rio. The more colorful the better. Lyris, Rainey, and Mack only had black items, so they headed into town with his mom since she knew all the best places to shop.
Warm water cascaded over Gage’s head and down his body. As he soaped his body, he thought of the first time he and Lyris bathed together in his shower. His body immediately hardened at the memory. Gage was addicted to this woman. His woman.
He slicked his hands down his chest, over his abs, and to the thickness that jutted from his body. He wrapped his hands around his length and with his soapy fingers, he began to glide his hands up and down his cock.
Gage’s head fell back. A groan escaped his throat just thinking about Lyris’ legs wrapped around his waist.
He felt a warm body press against his back. A smile spread across his face. She made it back just in time.
Another hand reached around him to give him a helping hand. He growled as she stroked her fingers over him.
“Hmm…let me help you with that,” a familiar feminine voice said that wasn’t Lyris’.
Gage whipped around and found Natasha behind him dressed in tiny shorts and tight tank top. The tank was drenched from the water and became see-through, displaying her lacy bra underneath.
“What the fuck, Nat?!?” Gage backed up and wrapped his hands around his dick in an attempt to cover up. “Get the fuck out!”
She smirked, “Oh, you know you like it. Admit it, you’ve been missing this.” She gestured down her thin frame.
“Not even close. Now… Get…The fuck…Out!”
Natasha strutted out of his bathroom. Gage grabbed a fluffy white towel and wrapped it around his hips. Furious, he padded out the bathroom into his bedroom. She wasn’t there, so he walked out his room.
“Natasha…” He was about to say, “What the fuck are you doing here?” But his words stuck in his throat at what greeted him.
“Lyris…”
~~~
“Hey, check it out!” Brandi leaned forward as Gage’s dad parked the bus in front of the house.
She held out her phone to show Lyris a video on her Gram page. It was a video of Lyris and Gage dancing in the street the other night.
“The videos of you two dancing are already going viral. And more and more people are speculating on if you’re dating for real or if it’s publicity. There are actual heated debates going on in the comment section. You know the majority of black women are going hard for you. They’re saying, ‘Hell yeah they’re together! Are y’all blind?’ Where the other half are saying,” Brandi changed her voice and started speaking like a Valley Girl. “‘No way! It’s just not possible.
He’s still with Natasha.’”
“Personally, I hope they keep thinking it’s a publicity stunt. I am not trying to have everyone in my business.” Lyris sighed.
Most of the comments hadn’t reached hurtful yet. But she knew it was only a matter of time. The moment the public knew they were really a couple, the half still rooting for Natasha would turn ugly.
They all got out of the shuttle bus and headed for Gage’s front door.
“I can’t wait for Gage to see what you’re wearing. You’re gonna look so hot on stage tonight,” Rainey waggled her eyebrows at Lyris, trying to brighten her mood.
“Gage is for sure going to love it,” Adriana said as she punched in the code to unlock the door.
They all walked in right as Natasha walked out Gage’s bedroom door. Everyone halted where they were.
Lyris’ eyes traveled down the woman’s body. Her small frame was made more apparent by the little booty shorts she wore and skin-tight tank. A tank that was made sheer from the water that drenched the front.
“Natasha…” Gage said as he ran out from his room.
He was wet and a towel was wrapped around his hips. A telltale bulge pressed against the terrycloth. He froze and stopped whatever he was going to say when he saw all of them standing there.
“Lyris…”
Her name fell from his lips breathily. She wasn’t sure if it was shock, guilt, or a combination of the two.
Lyris’ eyes came back to Natasha. She stood with her hip cocked. A satisfied smirk on her smug face.
“Lyris, I can explain.” Gage said as he started moving towards her.
She turned quickly. Her body collided with Brandi. She and Rainey placed a hand on either side of Lyris’ back and swiftly walked her back outside.
“Gage, don’t.” Lyris heard his mother say before the door closed.
“Did that really just happen?” Lyris asked no one in particular.
