Always the One, page 10
part #1 of Always and Forever Series
“I need my mud facial, babe. Do you have some on you?” I throw my head back in laughter; beyond happy that he can make me laugh when we are in the middle of all this crap with our friends.
“You are something else, honey.”
Stepping into his room, I look around the space, noticing the basic bed with a mahogany headboard and footboard and the chair next to the bathroom door with his guitar stand. I’ve been in here before but the small things seem more meaningful now. I reveled in the mundane things with Trey that I witnessed before we started dating—from watching him get ready for work to his first sip of his morning coffee. I guess that’s why seeing his room tonight feels so surreal. It’s amazing how you can view things differently when you’re just there, existing as a friend, than when you’re involved intimately.
Trey’s room is clean, but still manly with the scent of cologne and him. The pieces of instruments throughout telling his love for music, his passion. Feeling his approach from behind me, he slips his hands up the hem of my shirt. Grazing my sensitive skin that’s acutely aware of his presence. He arouses a strong need in me. Lifting my cotton shirt from my hips and up my sides, I moan when his hands touch the sides of my breast before my shirt is removed swiftly.
“You’re my world, you know that?” Letting my shirt fall to the floor, I turn, facing him.
“Yeah, I do,” I state simply. “Do you?” I retort the question, craving the need to remind him that he’s everything to me just as much as I am to him.
“Yes, baby, I think I do. So that’s a good thing, because I don’t ever want anything to stop us, or keep us from falling in love and growing together. Not ever.”
Still seeing a hint of insecurity in his eyes, showing just enough of his past creeping into the back of his mind, like it always does, I place my hands on his stubbled jaw. “Trey, I know that I mean a lot to you, and believe me, you mean the world and more to me. Remember, I was fighting for us to get here one day, too.” I watch his inner battle with himself unfold in front of me, as he tries to hush the demons. The demons that keep him from receiving the love he so badly desires. Hopefully, the things I say are enough to help him fill in the cracks his heart holds from the pain his mother put him through.
“You are way too good for me, and I would be a fool to think otherwise, baby. Shower with me?”
He doesn’t need to ask me twice. Trey, plus me, plus a shower, is an equation I want to be in. We watch each other strip down, and I pay extra attention to his muscular butt as he turns the water on and climbs in.
“How was she when we left?” I ask, pouring some shampoo in my hands to wash his hair.
“Lana’s about as big of a mess as Kingston is. Those two are the most complicated people we know.” He offers me his head, tilting it down so I can wash it for him. This is my favorite thing so far, sharing a shower with Trey. I used to be told about the intimacy that taking a shower with someone could bring. Being bare to all your flaws and washing away your baggage and sins down the drain together. It’s almost like we’re curing each other of any insecurities or doubts that are lingering between us.
“They are, aren’t they? But you’re lucky, because they’re just your friends. That big caveman in there is my brother.” I point toward the direction of Kingston’s bedroom, not missing the smirk on Trey’s face and the water dripping from his strong jaw.
“Yeah, you’re screwed, babe, sorry. Now turn around, it’s my turn to wash your body.”
I turn willingly and instantly feel a sharp sting on my butt. Did he just slap my butt? “Ouch, you have big hands. That hurt,” I bark at him, soothing the sting with my palm.
“Well, I have to have big hands to hold my big—”
“You’re cut off! Geez, you are so cocky.” He laughs and that sound makes my insides melt like heated chocolate.
“I am, literally, cocky.” Rolling my eyes, I smile, unable to ignore his playful jokes.
“I saw that.” He slaps my butt again, but this time on the opposite cheek.
“Ow! You saw what?” I shout, turning and slapping him on his chest.
“You rolled your eyes, sassy.” His abs contract as he laughs, one hand on the tile wall, and the other splayed open on his lower abdomen, right by his sexy V.
This man turns me on so much, especially during these playful moments. It’s not just sexually; he turns me intellectually as well.
“Hey, perv, quit daydreaming over me, I need to clean you so I can get my beauty sleep, remember?” He brings me out of goo-goo land, and I spend the next thirty minutes cleaning him, kissing him, letting him clean me—very thoroughly—and kissing some more. We finally make it to bed and sleep off the past couple of hectic days. This is paradise.
Trey
THIS HAS, BY FAR, been the longest week of my life, but tomorrow it will all be worth it. Between Shayla being at the store and in meetings with her investor, and Kings and I taking on three new bands, Shayla and I have spent most of our time “together” via text messages and forty-five minutes of FaceTime. But starting tomorrow, I get my girl to myself for ten days. Ten days of uninterrupted nights.
Shit, I don’t know how I’m going to keep my hands to myself. Well, not completely, but you know, like a gentleman. I’ve never been here before, this is uncharted water. I fuck women and that’s it. Wham, bam, see you never again, ma’am. But Shay’s my everything, my little woman, and all I want to give her is time. Honestly, I can handle the occasional heavy petting and be completely satisfied, because getting her time is more important than getting into her fucking tight as hell, sexy jeans.
“Should I pack this shirt too, bro?” Kingston shouts from the hallway before entering my room with two shirts. Two shirts that look exactly the same, just different colors.
“They look like the same top, dude.” He looks like a little kid, and I can’t hold back my laugh when he spends a solid thirty seconds realizing what I just said is true. His head flying back and forth, assessing each top.
“No, they aren’t. Really? You think so?”
“Yeah, bud, what’s going on?” I ask sincerely. Curious to know why he seems uneasy and a little unsure of himself.
“Lana agreed to stay in the same room with me and,” he emphasizes, “she agreed to go to dinner with me. Her and I, no one else. That hasn’t happened before, T.” I have got to admit, that is a big deal. “So long story short, this is my shot. I have one fucking shot to really make her see how good I am for her and how great we are together,” he states earnestly, trying to emphasize his point further.
“You really aren’t going to stop chasing this girl, are you?”
“No, never. Not until it’s me and her, every day and every night in my bed.”
I’ll give it to him, he may be the big, bad, tough guy, but Lana is his damn kryptonite. He’s a lost cause where she’s involved.
“In that case, the blue. Now get out of here before we both need to stock up on maxi pads.” I throw my pillow at him and he barely dodges it, slipping out of the room. “Hurry up, I need to go pick up the rental car!” I shout after him. Within ten minutes we are on the road, letting music be the source of entertainment.
We leave for Park City tomorrow, just Shay and I, and I’m chomping at the bits. We decided to road trip it and take a rental car so we could spend time with each other, before everyone else meets us there in a few days. Shay will be here after her supper with Evan, and yes, I still have a bad taste in my mouth about this guy. I’m not sure why, he really hasn’t done anything to make me not like him, but then again, any guy who looks at her makes me angry. That’s just the jealous part of me.
It’s just your mind, Trey, let it fucking go.
My mom cheated on my dad with God knows how many men; I had my suspicions at a young age, then it was confirmed when the information wasn’t told to me by choice but by accident when I overheard him on the phone with his friend. For the longest time I thought she just left because she didn’t love us. How wrong was I? She left because other men piqued her interest. My dad was a great husband, I see him with Kathy, he’s charming, kind, a true gentleman, and he treats her like gold. I know damn well, with how hurt my dad was when Mom left, he treated her the same. He loved her with everything he had. But she still left.
Pulling up to the rental station, I end our quiet car ride and walk up to the counter and collect the key after signing the paperwork. Walking back out, I toss my keys to Kings so he can drive my truck back home.
“You got a fucking SUV? Geez, it’s you two, not the whole fucking soccer team!” I open the driver side door of the rental and climb in. Starting it up, I hear Kings shout before I close the door.
Shouting over the hood of my truck, he comments, “You trying to make up for a small package with a big car?”
“Shut up, dick!” I laugh, flipping him the bird. “No, I’m not compensating. It’s all they had left, since we decided to drive there last minute.”
“Yeah. Sure.”
“I’m gonna pick you up so we can take the girls lunch, I’ll see you back at the apartment, fucker.” I slam the door and cut him off.
I drive back to our place, listening to music and thinking about Shayla, thinking about the way I acted the other day. Getting jealous and shit. It wasn’t cool of me to do that; I need to stop overreacting every single time something happens that I have insecurities about. I can’t thrust my issues onto her because I can’t control them. I don’t want her to be the pawn in my weaknesses.
Pulling up behind my parked truck, Kings jumps out and heads over to the rental, climbing in and shutting the door.
“Thanks for taking my truck back, man.” I give thanks as I head out of the parking garage and onto the busy street. It’s the lunchtime rush, so we are already sitting in traffic when I pull out. Kings just nods, looking out the window, not even giving me a word of response. He’s thinking about something, he has that face he makes when he is concentrating; it’s the same one he makes when he is curious or sometimes worried.
“Have you guys, you know…had sex?”
Shock register in my expression at his question. “Not your business,” I state coolly, not really keen on having this conversation with him. He’s her fucking brother, and no way in hell would he truly be okay if I was sleeping with his sister.
“You can tell me, bro, I may not like it, but I want to make sure you aren’t rushing her. Besides, I told you about me and Lana.”
Well, no shit.
“Yeah, Kings, we know that. The whole city of Seattle knows that. The sexual tension was one thing, but the second you two started hooking up, the whole West Coast could see it,” I huff, and I see the pained look on his face. Sex with Lana is obviously affecting him; he about had a psychotic breakdown the other night. I want to play devil’s advocate and advise him to let that shit be, but Kingston Donovan does what the fuck he wants.
“No, we haven’t.” I visibly see his chest fall, the air he was holding finally being released. Glancing back to the road, I roll to a stop at the red light and look back at him.
“Good. I’m not five, it happens. People have sex. Last time I checked, I’m doing it and so is any grown ass adult. I also know you aren’t dumb enough to break her heart. So, if she’s going to have sex with anyone, I prefer it be you. But don’t take that as me giving you permission; take it as an understanding with a hint of warning. Break her heart, I’ll fucking bust your face in, bro or not. She’s my everything and she comes first. Comprende, my friend?” Serious Kingston is almost an extinct beast, he never comes out, but when he does, he runs wild and kills you with a simple look and killer hook line.
“Ah thanks, big guy.” I imitate my best baby voice. I get it…I won’t break her heart. Never even crossed my mind. Having this conversation isn’t something I want to do either, and not because Shay is his sister, it’s because she’s mine. I don’t want to share what’s mine, especially that part of her. When we have sex, no one needs to know about it but her and me. No one, not even Kings. I rub my arm after he hits me with a hard punch.
“Fuck off, weirdo. Eyes on the road. I would like to get home to finish packing. So we need to hurry and get lunch over to the girls.”
I nod. Changing the conversation, I pick back up with work. “You sure you don’t want me to call someone in to help out? I know Jeff’s taking over when you leave, but he can come in earlier, if you want to come with us.” We met Jeff the first week we opened the studio. We clicked instantly and he’s been on our team for the past six months. It was pretty awesome how quickly he caught on, but also his creative side is off the charts when he’s working with the bands. Like Kings and me, he can sing and play multiple instruments. I trust him to take care of the studio when we’re gone.
“No, I already booked Lana’s and my plane tickets. Plus, I already promised Ben that I would help him get his band’s last song recorded.” Ben is a part of the band the Roes, and he is, by far, one of the most creative geniuses of our time. I’m going to be bummed when they head back to Arizona after recording with us.
“They’re going to blow up the charts, man. Seriously, it’ll be huge for our business when it gets out that they recorded with us.”
He agrees with me, nodding his head and pointing at the sky. “Shit’s coming down hard.”
I’d prefer if Shayla didn’t drive home in this, so maybe I can convince her to leave early with me. We can get her car later. “Yeah, it is.”
I grab my phone to shoot her a text.
Me: Hey, babe, whatcha up to?
Baby girl: I’m at the store. Evan had to cancel our supper, so he stopped by to go over some final shipment plans for our newest line.
I feel my chest puff up a little more knowing he’s there and I’m about to surprise her.
Me: Oh yeah, I’m sorry, babe. I wish I could be there to whisk you away. I guess you’re just gonna have to wait until tomorrow.
Baby girl: :( can it be that time already?
Me: Right, I can’t wait to get out of here and spend some more time together. This week without you has been shit.
Baby girl: Is everything okay?
Me: No, I haven’t seen you, so it’s been crap.
Baby girl: Aw, poor baby… I guess I’ll have to make it up to you ;)
Me: I’m with your brother. Don’t tease or he’s going to get a good view of my hard cock.
Baby girl: But what if I want to?
Me: What are you wearing?
Baby girl: Wouldn’t you like to know.
I’m about to respond, but the voice over the drive-in food joint blares in my ear.
“You shouldn’t text and drive,” Kingston busts my balls, gaining my attention.
“I wasn’t texting and driving, dude.” This guy is full of jokes today, isn’t he? “You’re annoying, you know that? Now, what do you want?” We order our food then continue to banter back and forth as we head to the store. It’s located right in the center of downtown Seattle and the foot traffic is constantly going. They were lucky to get this spot. One of my favorite moments was watching her get this place. She looked so happy and beautiful. It stopped me dead in my tracks; even my heart gave out for a minute when I saw that smile light up her perfect face.
Shay and Lana made the signage big and clean, with a white background and black letters. Inside it’s modern and chic. Yes, chic. Shay beat that into King’s head and mine when we helped them move in. I can hear her voice in my head now, ‘Trey, it has to be chic. If it doesn’t blend with the gray and white walls it will look dumb. Chic can’t look good if it looks dumb!’ The thought has a smile plastered to my face as we make our way into the store.
That smile is short-lived. Walking into the back of the store, I see Shay standing with Lana and some dude. Not just any dude. A decent looking guy who isn’t me. I’m not saying I’m insecure with how I look, but this guy looks like he knows his shit don’t stink. The cocky type. A guy like me.
Watching him closely as we walk across the dark wooden floor, I realize then how damn big this place is, it feels like it’s taking me an eternity to get to her. Making it so the longer I look at this tool the bigger the urge I get to begin sprinting, and I almost do when I see him put his hand on my Shay’s lower back, just above her ass, leaning to whisper something in her ear.
“Babe!” I shout to her in a panic; I want her away from him. I notice everyone else turning with her to look at me, and when I see his full face, I instantly want to throw her over my shoulder, slap her ass, throw her in the back of the car, and head for a deserted island. She looks at me in confusion and it fuels my fire, she should look excited to see me, not confused. Then again, I just yelled to her, randomly like a psycho.
“Trey, what are you doing here?” I hold up the bags of Chinese food in my hand to show her.
“I brought my woman some food. I couldn’t have her starving, now could I?” My heart rate evens out a little when I see that beautiful smile on her face as I zero in on her, standing right next to her.
“Thanks, that’s so sweet—”
I cut her off and use my free hand to grab her waist and pull her flush against me; he needs to see that Shayla is mine. I kiss her with a raw hunger and need. Staking my claim and showing this pretty boy that she’s with a fucking man. I haven’t kissed her in over three days and her taste is setting off fireworks and alarm bells in my head. I know I need to stop, but I can’t. Whenever we kiss or she lets me have her taste, I get selfish, wanting more.
I guide my hand down her waist and it forms to the roundness of her tight ass. I continue my kiss, taking her plump bottom lip between my teeth and tugging it, gently. That was obviously going too far for her as she pulls back. Reluctantly, I let her stop us, but I make sure he sees me smirk as I wipe the side of my bottom lip, making direct eye contact with him.
Yeah, she’s mine. I’m a smug bastard. He nods his head, showing me he got the message. I swear I smell victory, if it had a scent.
