by Twyla Turner
Brandi and Rainey remained quiet. It wasn’t a question to be answered.
Adriana walked out. She looked ready to say something insightful.
“Adriana, please. I can’t.”
The older woman held up her hands defensively. “I was only going to say that I’ll take you to the arena. They have locker rooms for you to shower and get ready there. You can speak to Gage in your own time.”
“I’ll go grab your stuff,” Brandi offered.
“Thank you.” Lyris said.
She got back onto the shuttle bus and walked to the back. Before she could sit down, the tears came hot and heavy.
She should’ve known something that good wasn’t for her. But she’d allowed herself to relax.
To hope.
Gage paced back and forth in his dressing room. The whole band had gathered there for the customary prayer and shots. All of them except one.
He hadn’t seen Lyris since she’d practically ran from his house. He knew how it must have looked but she gave him no time to explain before she ran off.
Once she’d walked out with the girls, and the guys had gone to their rooms to get ready, Gage had turned his focus back on Natasha. She had looked pleased with the way things had turned out. And that’s when Gage had exploded.
“Why the fuck are you here, Natasha? You haven’t been to one single show this entire tour and you show up now! What the fuck for?”
“I just thought it would be nice to come back to Rio and be with you. Maybe to reconnect.” Nat gave him a demure look.
Brandi walked back in and gave Gage the side eye.
“Hey, I’m gonna grab Lyris’ stuff. She’s gonna get ready at the arena.”
Gage could only nod. He wasn’t about to start a huge fight right before the show. He turned back to Natasha to finish their debate.
“You’re so full of shit, Natasha!” Gage sneered at her. “You only came here because you thought you were hurting my tour by not showing up to any of the shows. But then it turns out there’s someone more talented and more wanted than you. You couldn’t stand to see another woman winning and stealing some of your shine.”
“Oh, fuck off, Gage.” Natasha scoffed. “That fat bitch will never be more popular or wanted than me. And that’s a fact.”
Gage strode forward. Natasha stiffened her back and lifted her chin, daring him to do anything to her.
“Don’t ever part your lips to speak about her again.” Gage sneered in her face. “Or I will fucking ruin you. She’s ten times the woman you’ll ever be.”
“Yeah, I know. Ten tons of fun too.” Natasha joked.
Brandi walked back out. Her face was a mask of rage. She walked up and stood between Gage and Natasha. Her face was only centimeters from the pop diva’s.
“Gage would never hit you. But I ain’t him. I will drag your washed-up ass down to the curb with the rest of the trash. So, talk shit about my girl again and you gon catch these hands.”
Natasha backed up. Gage could tell she wanted to say something smart back, but thought better of it.
“I’ll see you tonight at the show. You’ll see that I can’t be replaced.
She had left and Gage hadn’t seen her since. But he knew she was somewhere ready to start drama. He didn’t give a shit. All he cared about was making sure Lyris knew she was loved. That he would never be with anyone else. Or want to for that matter.
Lyris waited until the last minute to come into his dressing room. When the door opened and she walked in, Gage’s eyes devoured her. She looked stunning.
She wore a silver and rose gold ombre sequin dress. The dress fit her form like a glove. The sleeves were long. The neckline plunged to the top of her stomach. Gage didn’t know exactly how her breasts stayed put and didn’t pop out the dress, but they did. He figured it was some kind of tape. The hem of the dress came down to about her mid-thigh. If she even thought about bending over her whole ass would show. And she wore sparkly heels that made the muscles in her legs stand out.
Her skin was oiled to a high gloss shine. Her legs and chest shimmered. Her makeup was flawless. Her hair was straightened again and parted down the middle to go with the sleek look she more than pulled off.
“Lyris, I-”
She held up one hand to silence him.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now, Gage. Not before the show. It took a while to get into the right frame of mind.” She said even though her eyes did become glassy and she blinked a few times to stop any tears from falling.
If only she’d let him talk. Let him explain what had happened. She would go on stage in a good mood. Or at least better than the mood she was in currently.
“Okay,” Gage conceded. “But you do look beautiful.”
She only nodded.
Everyone got into the prayer circle. Mack did the prayer as usual. Teri brought around the shots. Lyris downed one and then asked for another. Gage sighed in frustration.
The door opened. At the first sight of the person who walked through, Gage closed his eyes, dropped his head, and squeezed the bridge of his nose as he tried to alleviate the headache developing there.
“Hey, everyone!” Natasha greeted the group.
No one spoke back.
“I just wanted to tell you all good luck. And I’ll see you on, later.” She said with a fake smile.
Natasha spotted Lyris and her eyes widened. Gage felt his soul smile. Natasha wore a dress similar to Lyris’, but she could never dream of filling it out quite like Lyris did.
Two women on different ends of the spectrum. Both beautiful. But one believed that the world didn’t think she was good enough and wouldn’t accept her. While the other expected the world to fall at her feet. To Gage the former was leaps and bounds more attractive than the latter. And he knew the majority of the world would think so too.
Screw the rest who don’t.
Natasha flipped her hair and sashayed from the room like she was somebody’s model at New York Fashion Week.
~~~
“Lyris you look stunning,” Adriana said when Gage’s parents walked into his dressing room.
“Thank you, Adriana.”
Lyris thought about Natasha in a dress very similar to hers, except it was silver and black. The woman didn’t have an ounce of flab on her body. And Lyris highly doubted the popstar was wearing control-top panties under her dress like she was.
“I know you don’t feel it, though.” Adriana grasped Lyris’ hands and held them tightly. “Just make sure that afterwards you talk to him. Communication is key.”
“I will. I’m just not ready right now.”
“I understand.” Adriana leaned in and gave Lyris a kiss on both cheeks. “Break a leg, my dear.”
Lyris nodded and watched as Gage’s parents left to take their seats front and center. She felt Gage’s eyes on her, but she refused to look at him. Every time she did, she saw him in nothing but a bath towel and a fading erection. Her stomach churned at the thought.
It was time for them to take their places. As they found their spots on the darkened stage, the crowd beyond roared. The arena was an open-air stadium mostly for soccer or football as they called it. The night air was balmy. And the energy coursing through the place was addictive.
Instead of wallowing in misery, Lyris chose to let the crowd’s excitement wash over her. If even for a couple of hours. Her problems would still be there when it was over.
Even though there was drama in the band, the crowd would never know it. Gage was a consummate professional. His energy was almost the same as usual. Only those who knew him best would know that anything was off. Rio loved him. Possibly more than any city they’d been in so far. To them, he was one of them.
It didn’t hurt that Gage did it up big for Rio. He added cajón drummers, Brazilian dancers, and a few other things to make it feel like Carnival 2.0. His became more than a rock concert. It became a massive dance hall.
During the third set, when the fans knew the duet
was drawing near, they began to chant like they did in every city they’d been in thus far. After Gage finished the second to last song, he stopped and let their chant wash over him.
“Are you ready for some sex? Or maybe a little sweat?” He shouted into the mic and the crowd went nuts. “Or how about Sex & Sweat?”
The cheers reached a deafening level.
“Alright, let’s give ‘em what they want!”
Riley beat on the drums. Then Gage, Neal, and Brandi came in on their guitars. The crowd jumped up and down. The rumble of it could be heard miles away. Gage let go of his guitar and grasped the mic. He sang the first verse and the audience sang with him.
As the chorus came in, a feminine voice came over the speakers. The audience knew it wasn’t Lyris. They knew her voice after watching the version of the duet with her online for weeks. A shockwave rippled through the crowd.
Then as the female verse began and Natasha started singing, part of the stage from above moved. She came down on the catwalk Gage used for another part of the show. When the audience realized it was really Natasha, there were cheers that spread through about a quarter of the arena. The rest of the audience became quiet before a loud boo came from within the thousands of people.
The booing caught on fast and spread like wildfire. Gage and Natasha tried to sing the second chorus, but the audience drowned them out. Gage pumped his hand downwards trying to get them to calm. But they only started a new chant.
“Lyris! Lyris! Lyris!”
The chant began at the front of the stadium and like a drop of water in a still pond, it rippled until it swelled to the entire stadium.
Lyris felt like her chest was going to explode. Her eyes became damp with emotion. The band had given up playing. They turned to look at her. Gage turned to her. He looked hopeful. Then he gestured for her to come forward.
“What’d ya say, Lyris? You want to sing for them?” He said into the mic.
Half the crowd cheered, while the other half kept up the chant just to be sure.
Lyris smiled, pulled her mic from the stand, and stepped forward. The audience lost it. Natasha stuck up on the catwalk was forgotten.
Gage turned to Riley and nodded. Riley started the beat all over again. Gage sang his verse and when Lyris joined in during the chorus, the fans jumped up and down and sang along with them.
Lyris let her anger and heartache fuel her passion in the song. The song was angsty anyway, so it worked out.
Once the song came to an end. Gage gestured to Lyris. She took a bow and the audience showered her with so much love. She waved to them before turning to walk off stage. She looked up at where she’d last seen Natasha. She was gone.
Lyris walked down the back steps and waved at members of the crew who she’d grown fond of. She walked down the corridor towards where she left her stuff in the women’s dressing room. A hand gripped her under her arm and began to pull her.
“We need to talk. Now!” Gage growled low.
“Gage! I told you I didn’t want to talk,” Lyris hissed.
“Not another second is passing with you not knowing the truth.”
“Gage, I don’t want to know,” Lyris held firm and tried pulling her arm from his grasp.
She was no match for his strength. He pulled her into his dressing room.
“Everyone, can you give us some privacy?” Gage asked even though it was more of a polite command that he would only ask once.
Neal, Riley, and everyone else in the room immediately got up and left. Once the room was empty except for the two of them, Gage walked to the door and locked it. Lyris folded her arms tightly in front of her in a protective stance. Gage turned and looked at her for a few moments.
“What, Gage? You’ve got me here alone. Talk.” Lyris rolled her eyes.
Gage walked towards her and she began to back up. Once her ass hit the counter of the vanity, she had nowhere else to go. Gage put his hands on either side of her hips and leaned in close.
“I know what you saw earlier looked bad. But it’s not what you think,” Gage said.
“Oh, come on, Gage. Her top was wet. You were wet and naked. And you had a fucking erection. What else could it have been? Ugh!” Lyris pressed her hands against his chest and then jerked back as if she’d been burned. “It disgusts me to even look at you.”
Lyris turned her head away. Gage’s hand gripped her jaw and forced her face forward. Lyris clenched her teeth and her nostrils flared. His eyes sparked silver with his anger.
“I’ve wanted no one else but you since the moment I laid eyes on you. I forgot all about Natasha, when I met you. That erection wasn’t for her. It was for you, damnit!” Gage barked as he took her hand and placed it over the fresh erection under the material of his jeans.
Lyris ripped her hand away from his hard on and brought it across his face before she could stop herself. Gage’s head swung to the side with the force of her slap. He slowly turned his face back to hers. His hand came up and gripped her neck tightly. He didn’t fully choke her, but it was close. It was tight enough to make her stop moving. He leaned in until their noses touched.
“I was in the shower thinking about you. She still has the code to get into my house. I was about to masturbate to the image of us in the shower together that first night. I didn’t know she was there. She reached around and touched me,” Lyris struggled against his hold hearing that last sentence. “I thought it was you. She spoke and I realized it wasn’t. I turned around, saw it was her, and I told her to get the fuck out. When I ran out, I was coming to ask her what the fuck she was doing in Rio. That’s when you saw us. That erection you saw was for you.”
Gage released her neck and his hands slid down her body. Lyris wanted to believe him, but just the thought of Natasha touching him, made her furious. Gage’s hands found the hem of her dress. His hands reached underneath. As he lifted the dress, his hands stroked up her thighs, slipped up over her hips, and cupped her ass. He found the top of her control-top panties and began to pull them down. As if he didn’t give a damn about her not so sexy underwear.
Realization of what he wanted to do hit Lyris. Her anger bubbled over and she pushed and smacked at his hands.
“Don’t fucking touch me! How can I believe you?” Tears formed in Lyris’ eyes as she fought off his hands.
Gage grabbed her wrists and pulled them behind her back. He held them together with one hand. She struggled against it but it was no use. He was too strong. His other hand pulled her girdle down the rest of the way. He quickly undid his jeans, shoved at them and his briefs until his cock was free.
“Tell me you don’t want it.” Gage groaned against her lips.
He flicked his tongue against her lips. Lyris gasped and he took the opportunity to dip his tongue inside. Lyris pulled back and bit down on his bottom lip hard.
“Fuck, Lyris!” He gasped and brought his hand up to his wounded mouth.
She wanted him so badly she could feel him inside her already. But she didn’t dare admit it.
Gage spun her around, bent her over the counter, and lifted her dress up to the middle of her back exposing her ass and glistening labia. His cock was at the perfect height with her heels still on. Gage held her wrists with one hand and stroked his cock over her wet slit with the other. Lyris bit down on her tongue to keep from crying out.
“Say you want it.” Gage looked at her through their reflection in the mirror.
“No.” She scowled at him.
Gage pulled his cock away from her entrance and she cried out in reluctant protest. He had her. He knew she wanted it.
“Don’t you get it? You’re mad at me, because she fucking assaulted me.
“Yeah, that’s right, she touched me without my permission.” He said after Lyris gave him a surprised look. “And you’re making me pay for it. And I’m so damn mad and hurt right now. I’d fuck you senseless right now. Just to take it out on you for thinking I’d ever fool around on you. But I won’t do it without your say
so.”
His explanation took the steam right out of her. But not the heat. Her anger had subsided, but not her need.
Lyris looked at him through the mirror. “I want it,” she confessed.
Gage slammed into her the moment the last word cleared her throat.
“GAGE!”
He leaned over her and covered her mouth with his hand. Her mouth opened on a gasp as he stroked into her angrily. Gage’s index and middle fingers slipped into her mouth. Lyris sucked on them and moaned around them as he fucked his frustration out on her.
Gage watched her intensely. Seeing her suck on his fingers made his mouth pop open and his hips lose their rhythm for a few deep strokes.
“Fuck, Lyris! You drive me fucking crazy!” Gage groaned.
He pulled out and Lyris cried out her protest. Gage quickly spun her around, wrapped his hands around her backside and lifted her up onto the counter as if she was light as a feather. He gripped her neck and pulled her to his mouth. He kissed her deeply as he plunged back into her depths. He caught her cries with his hungry mouth. His tongue dipped into her mouth with every smooth thrust within her slick folds.
“Your pussy is so fucking good. I don’t want anyone else’s.” Gage leaned his forehead against hers. “I fucking love you, Lyris. It’s only you.”
Lyris cried out and clenched around him as she climaxed to his confession. Tears slipped from her lids and down her face. Gage kissed away her tears. His strokes slowed as he calmed down. Lyris’ head fell back and she gasped as her first orgasm rolled into another.
“Look at me,” Gage commanded. “I want to see your eyes when you cum.”
Lyris lifted her head and looked at him. He licked at her parted lips. Gage rolled his hips on each inward pump. Lyris felt another one coming. He was the first man to ever give her multiple orgasms. She hadn’t even thought it was possible. Her eyes widened. And before she screamed out her ecstasy, three words passed breathlessly through her lips.
“I love you.”
Gage grasped her face and kissed her fiercely as they both cried their release into each other’s mouths. His cock rippled within her, heightening her orgasm. And she milked every last drop from him as her pussy flexed around him.
