by Dawn Burton
“Yes, I think that’s my limit!” she said relieved.
“You were supposed to tell me!”
“Yeah, I will next time, I promise. I kind of just needed to reach my limit to recognise it.”
He looked at her arse in front of him. “Annie, can…can I touch you here?” He tapped his finger along her back passage.
She tensed, “I’m not sure. Maybe try and I’ll say if I don’t like it?”
“Thank you.” He pushed his finger back into her pussy and brought her wetness up to her rear entrance, repeating several times. “Touch yourself again.”
She moved to her clit, and Tay gently circled the entrance, pushing the very tip of his finger in and out lightly. She arched out and called his name, continuing to touch her clit. He felt her body stiffen and he kissed her back as she came, her body shaking against him, before she quickly turned and pushed herself into his arms for comfort. He held her tight, kissing her hair. When she’d composed herself, he held her chin up. “Was that all ok? We didn’t really plan any of it?”
“It was fine. I don’t think I’d want that to become our new normal for every time, but happy to do it as a now and again. Maybe we could get some toys to use together? And the arse sensation felt good, but slow and steady on that one.” She kissed his nose.
“Great! I think I just needed to push a couple of boundaries, to try something new with you and you alone. To make my mark.”
She turned and tried to peer at her burning arse. “Yeah, I think you did that!”
“Hold on, I think there’s some aloe vera body lotion in the bathroom. Let me check.” He returned with a small bottle and applied some liberally to her arse, the soothing coldness causing her to shout out.
“At this rate, you’re gonna have to buy me that gag!” she grinned.
“Hmmm, now there’s an idea!” he pondered, flinching as she whacked him.
She wriggled her arse, “So are you gonna take me doggy-style? Make sure you get the right hole though, no slipping it in just yet, thank you!”
He laughed and came up behind her, guiding his erect cock into her vagina and gently grasping her hips as he started slowly, then increasing his pace until he was pounding into her, shouting as he came, shuddering to a halt and collapsing onto her back, kissing her skin.
◆◆◆
After showers, Tay called Sally-Anne, thanking her for her story and assuring her it had really helped him to understand what had happened and why. He offered to put two tickets on the VIP guest list for her, but she said she couldn’t get a babysitter at short notice, so Tay took her address and sent her a bunch of flowers and a basket of gifts to thank her.
He checked the time back home. 1am. “It’s too late to call them but I’ll drop the parents an email to say I’ll call them tomorrow morning at 8am our time, 4pm theirs. I’m going to say to them that Charlie was having an affair with Lizzie, she planned to tell me, and he couldn’t face me knowing so killed himself. Keep it simple and stick to the truth. And what will be after that, will be.
“I let go of him before we came out here, and you know what? Now the initial shock’s wearing off, it doesn’t really change anything other than now I finally know why he killed himself and can stop tormenting myself. The outcomes can’t be changed, they’re both dead and they both made their choices when they were alive. I should never have married Lizzie, but her actions are kind of irrelevant. If it wasn’t Charlie, it would have been someone else, so, gone, done with her.
“But Charlie? The only positive is that I have peace about his death. Something’s clicked inside; you mentioned it in your Visible intro, like a joint being out of alignment and you click it back in. He did some bad shit and now I know why he killed himself. There’s a whole other level of anger I could go to with him, but he’s not here, so what purpose would that serve? He’s the past. You and me, we’re the future. So, I’m just gonna concentrate on making you happy and making me happy. And if this way of dealing with it comes back to bite me at some point, then I’ll deal with it then.”
Annie bowed her head to him, “Wise words, my love. And I love how you are choosing to deal with this. I expect dips in the future and tears and anger, but if letting go gets us through today, then that sounds good. But in the meantime, can you put some more of that body lotion on because my arse is on fire!”
Lotioned up, they met the rest of the band for dinner, heading to the arena where Sasha styled Annie into a classic little black dress for their song, Annie taking care to keep her red arse hidden at all times.
At the appointed slot, Tay introduced Annie, and this time, she came striding on straight into Tay’s arms, full of confidence. Their love shone out of their performance, the constant touches, smiles and looks conveying their connection. Tay sobbed into her ear when they’d finished, and she could feel him shaking. “Walk me off,” she whispered.
At the side of the stage, she held him as he struggled to regain his breath. “Come on, my love. Just get through the next hour and then we’ll cosy up in a corner somewhere. You can do this.”
But when they did cosy up in that corner, Annie could feel how distracted Tay was. “What are you thinking?” she asked, knowing his mind had returned to Charlie and Lizzie.
“When did they do it? How did it happen without any of us seeing it?”
“We only see what’s presented to us sometimes. If they didn’t want to be seen, then it was probably quite easy for them.”
“Hmmmm. Anyway, and so as much as it hurts my masculine pride to say I passed out, it turns out I’ve never had sex as a married man. So, when we get married, please will you be my first?”
“I’d be delighted to! When should we get married? Did you want to wait until the tour is over?”
“I’d rather get married sooner rather than later. From June time, it’s festival season so the actual tour ends at the end of May, we then have that week off in June, and then it’s European festival time. I only want my family and the lads and partners and kids, plus Davy, for the wedding. We could do a big party to celebrate once the tour’s over, but do you think we could organise something for that June week? I’m not sure how long these things take. Or did you want a big wedding, in which case, we’re probably looking at October time?”
“Nah, I just wanna be married. If you hadn’t been a twat and already done the Vegas wedding thing, I’d say let’s go and do it right now, but I’m not following in those footsteps, so let me see what I can sort out for June and we’ll go from there.”
“Sorry.”
“S’ok. I think you’ve been punished enough for your impetuous fun.”
“I fucking love you.”
“Good. And so you should. And I fucking love you. And I love fucking you. So, you know, it’s a win-win.”
“Can I remind myself of how much I love fucking you?”
“Hmmm, you need to be very careful of my arse, and show it some tender loving care, but yeah, can we slope off yet for you to worship me some more?”
They said their goodbyes and left the lads in the bar, Con whispering to Annie that he was so glad Tay had her on his side, but to call him if she needed help. She smiled her thanks at him, reached out to her man and held him close as they walked to their room, ready to display their love to one another.
Chapter Eighteen
In the morning, Tay held the difficult conversation with his mum and dad. More tears were shed, but Tay assured his parents that it felt good to finally have the answers, even if the answers were hard to deal with. Annie arranged to come around and see them when she was back in Coventry; the reality of that hitting Tay and Annie hard.
They packed quietly, ready for the final journey to LA, before Annie caught the plane back to London that afternoon and the band played one last west coast gig before hitting the east coast.
They joined the lads for breakfast. Annie was on the verge of crying, Tay pestering her to eat but she felt too sick, and the reality of separation was affecting
everyone. Hilly asked her to say hi to Will for him, his eyes filling with tears, and that was it. Annie flung herself into Tay’s arms, sobbing and refusing to let go. He had to carry her out of the hotel and onto the tour bus, heading for the tv room, as everyone gave them space and left them to it.
Tay lay Annie down and grabbed a blanket, covering them up and holding her close. They kissed and cuddled for the four-hour journey, desperately trying to stave off the impending farewell.
The bus pulled into their LA hotel, and the car was waiting to take Annie to the airport. Tay had been scheduled for a radio interview so he was in a foul mood with Tams that he couldn’t take her to the airport. Annie said goodbye to everyone else with long hugs, and then they all melted away, leaving a sobbing Annie and an angry, tearful Tay.
“It’s April next week and we finish the tour at the end of May. And then I’ll be home on and off over the summer, before a final Australia and Asia tour, and then that’s it. We can do this, sweetheart, bit by bit, day by day. If we can get married in June, let’s just concentrate on that. I love you.”
Annie could only nod, her throat too constricted to talk.
“C’mon. Into the car otherwise you’ll miss your plane and that won’t be good for anyone. Say hi to Will and the kids, and Davy and my parents. Go on, go, before I lose the plot.” Tay’s voice was wavering, on the edge of him breaking down, and again, she could only nod. She leant forward and they kissed, a deep, drowning-in-each-other kiss, then she was in the car and it was pulling off.
“Remember, I’m always coming back to you, Annie. You are my home.” Tay shouted, and then she was gone. He sank to his knees, sobbing for a moment or two, before he felt the strong hands of Con pulling him up. “C’mon big fella, let’s get you inside.”
◆◆◆
Annie barely remembered the flight home. Somehow she got on the plane, somehow she made it to London, somehow she found the car waiting for her, and somehow she arrived back at Watch House; Will, Nish and a couple of the kids waiting in the lobby. Somehow she chatted and told them all her exciting stories, and then somehow she was sinking into bed, alone, so alone, sobbing herself to sleep.
She checked her phone as soon as she woke, a message from Tay wishing her goodnight and that he was missing her. She worked out the time, 10am here was…5am there. She sent a message, not expecting a reply for a couple of hours and headed into the shower.
She dressed and went down to the lobby kitchen, her phone beeping to say someone was at the driveway security gate. “Delivery for…Lady Spencer?”
Annie frowned; she wasn’t expecting anything, but opened the big gates to allow them to drive in and went to open the door. A brand-new, shiny red Range Rover Evoque was being released from a small transporter, covered in a huge red bow and filled with red balloons inside.
A man handed Annie a fob and an envelope. “Please read these and sign the paperwork by the sticky notes. Call me if you have any questions and I can drop back round this afternoon or whenever you want, to pick up the paperwork and give you a run-through. There’s a message on the driver’s seat for you. Please sign this to validate your insurance and you’re good to go!”
“What? But I don’t understand?” Annie laughed, unsure at what the hell was going on.
The man just grinned and got into the transporter. “Call me if you need me and I can pop round later. Enjoy!”
She approached the vehicle, realising the fob was a smart keyless entry and opening the door. The wall of balloons didn’t move, and she realised they were tethered together. She was going to have to pop them to get them out. She ran into the house and found the kitchen scissors, returning to pop them furiously, laughing as she did so. This had to be Tay but what the hell was he up to?
Finally she saw the edge of an envelope and grabbed it, sliding her finger under the flap, and pulling out a piece of card:
You might not spend money on yourself, but I will.
Yours forever,
Tay xxx
Her eyes prickled with tears once more. No, no more fucking tears, she thought. She checked her phone and could see Tay was online and writing her a message, the three dots bouncing on the screen. She called him instead, “Taylor Anderson, what the fuck have you done?!”
“What do you mean, sweetheart?” he laughed.
“I’ve just had a shiny new Range Rover delivered and read your message!”
“Well, I feared you were going to be welded to that Zafira until it conked out on you in the middle of the ring road, and I wasn’t risking that. So now I know you’ll be safe and I can sleep easy at night. You wouldn’t want me worrying and not sleeping now, would you?”
“Ohhh, emotional blackmail now? But no, I wouldn’t want that obviously, so thank you for your wonderful gift. It looks lovely.” She popped the remaining balloons and got into the driver’s seat.
“Phew. I was a bit worried you’d throw a fit and refuse to accept it. But now maybe I can sleep tonight because I sure as hell didn’t last night without you next to me.”
“Oh poor baby. I slept all night along, but I did cry myself to sleep, if that’s any consolation.”
They chatted for a few moments and Annie asked how Tay was feeling about Charlie.
“Angry, I think. I still can’t quite believe he did that to me. I know we were drinking and taking too many drugs, but I just never would have thought he’d do that.”
“But you did say he’d always been jealous of what you’d got. Could it have been as simple as that?”
“If you’re jealous of your brother, you push them over, you steal a fiver out of their piggy bank and then you fucking grow up. I’m just really angry at him one minute, but then I’m shrugging my shoulders and thinking did it really matter?
“There was a two week overlap where she slept with us both and that’s just nasty on their parts. I don’t understand why she went through with the wedding and why he let me, but that was it, we never consummated the wedding, and I wonder now if that was deliberate on her part? But it doesn’t change the fact that they both screwed me over.
“And then I get angry that he would rather die and put us all through hell, then own up and take responsibility. I wasted so many tears on loving that fucker and he was just laughing at me behind my back.”
“Maybe he was suffering with his own mental health. Perhaps he wasn’t thinking straight.”
“He knew exactly what he was doing, I’m sure of it. I just have to accept he was even more flawed than I thought. But maybe I should just choose to shrug my shoulders and let him go. I’ve wasted too much time and heartache on that twat, and I’m not going to let his actions consume me for a moment longer. I love you, and every hour apart is an hour closer to coming home to you. You’re my future and that’s all that needs to matter.”
They finished their conversation and said goodbye, Annie knowing he would probably have a few more ups and downs before he truly embraced his final words about his brother, but Con was with him, and she’d always be here for him. She text Con, ‘I know I don’t need to say this, but look after him, please.’ He replied immediately ‘On it and doing my duty, m’lady!’
Annie started to feel hungry. She’d felt sick from the jet lag when she first woke up but could definitely do tea and toast now. She got out of the car and locked it. She’d sort the paperwork after food and then come back out and have a play.
The rest of the day was spent sitting in Range Rover, getting a demo from the garage, then taking it out for a drive out to Kenilworth and back. By 8pm she was shattered and crawled into bed, a quick chat with Tay who had just arrived at the venue for rehearsals, and then falling straight asleep.
◆◆◆
Over the next week, she quickly adjusted to being back in Coventry, the April sunshine lifting everyone’s spirits. She spent time with the kids, with Will who made her talk about Hilly over and over, and with Tay’s parents.
But she so desperately missed Tay. They needed to give no
tice at a registry office at least 28 days before they could get married, but they both needed to have been resident in the UK for the week before that. They were going to have to wait until the week in June to give notice and then plan the wedding on their one free weekend in August. But that would mean taking everyone’s free weekend which seemed very selfish. Or should they just wait and do it next year? She changed her mind from day to day, and Tay wasn’t much help, saying it was up to her, which was mildly pissing her off.
She sighed and took some more paracetamol. She’d had a headache for a couple of days now and drinking ridiculous amounts of water seemed to help. Probably her period due. But then the thought of that made her feel weepy as that smear of blood would mean she wasn’t pregnant. Part of her had hoped it would happen, but she knew it took people months to fall pregnant, and from how rubbish she was feeling, it didn’t look like it was going to be this month.
Tay had a few days off coming up, but one of her kids had a court case and no matter how much she researched the logistics, she couldn’t find a way to get out to him for those days off, and she’d promised Scott she’d go to court with him. Her head hurt, too many thoughts running round and not enough of her to stretch around everything she wanted to do. She went for a lie down and fell asleep, missing a call from Tay, which made her cry when she woke up. She called him back.
“Hey, sweetheart! How are you?” he asked.
“Miserable,” she cried. “I miss you and everything feels a struggle and I feel like I’m letting everyone down. I need to be here for Scott, but I want to be there with you when you’re off. Maybe I can come out in a week or so, but I’ve got a couple of charity things I’d have to cancel, so then I’d be letting them down. My head hurts and I can’t stop sleeping. I just want to curl up next to you and not move.”
