In A Heartbeat, page 1
In a Heartbeat
Hilary Storm
To those who believed in the possibility
before it became a reality.
~Chapter One~
Eaven
Today is the first day in the next chapter of my life. My best friend, Ivy, and I are leaving home to finish college. We will be roommates and have the time of our lives. She has been staying at our house since November of our senior year in high school. My parents agreed to help us both with college if we would take two years of basic courses at the local junior college. Now we are moving to Springfield, Missouri to attend Missouri State University.
Ivy’s home life has been anything but stable and my parents have taken her in as one of their own. I am so thankful for everything they have done for both of us, but we are ready to take the world by storm. Ivy and I have been there for each other since after the first day we met in sixth grade. She has been dealt a rough life and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for her.
"We love you girls! Please do well in school and stay away from the parties." My mom is going to miss us. She won’t admit it, but she will. My parent’s named me Eaven and decided to spell it like heaven without the ‘h’. I am sure she would reconsider my name now if given the chance. Ivy and I have been quite the handful the past eight years, but mom loves us. Dad is just dad. He goes with the flow and is pretty easy going. I have to say not many parents would take in another child when they already have two girls to raise themselves.
My parents have helped us move everything into our new apartment today. I am not sure what Ivy and I would do without their help. They are doing everything they can to help us get an education.
We hug mom and dad goodbye, but never make any promises we know we can’t keep. Watching them drive away, I notice an amount of weight leave my shoulders that I never knew I held. I am free! Free to be me! I am so ready!
"Eaven, get ready, we are going to the club!" Ivy is ready to get our party started.
"Hell ya, let's do this!" I say, bursting with excitement thinking about the possibilities.
We race up to our apartment to beautify ourselves. After my shower I notice that I missed a call from my cousin Luke. He goes to school here too. He left a message saying that his band ‘Rebel Walking’ will be playing at the club tonight.
"Ivy, Luke wants us to go to Smitty's tonight to watch him play. Are you in?" I ask her hoping she says yes, because I can’t wait to see him on stage.
"Oh yea! We are going to find us some boy toys!" I can hear the naughtiness in her voice as she struts off with pure confidence.
"Luke said that if we can get there, the party bus can bring us back.” I yell at Ivy from my bathroom.
Ivy has beautiful dark brown hair that flows over her shoulders. She has a curvaceous body that moves unlike most girls I know. Her skin is always flawless and she seems to have a tan like she just spent the week at the beach no matter what time of year. It is not fair that she has it and knows it. I wish I had her self-confidence. She has on jeans with heels and a tight fitting t-shirt. Damn, I could never wear that tight of a shirt.
"Are you ready? I am ready to go.” She looks over at me and instantly the look of distaste flows throughout her face.
“Um, what are you wearing? You are not going out with that top on. Here put this on." She hands me one of her hot pink shirts that is cut so low that her cleavage is always showing in it.
"Ivy, I can't wear that. Your shirts are too small for me. Plus my girls would fall right out of the front of that damned thing."
"Oh no you don't, Ev! Your ex is not here to tell you what you can't wear. You are wearing this and going to love the attention you get all night long. Now hurry up, our men are waiting."
"I can't Ivy, that shirt is just too much, or should I say not enough?"
"PUT IT ON! You are going to step out of your little box and enjoy life if I have to drag you out of it each and every day."
I put it on. I know she will never give up on this issue. The shirt makes me feel completely self-conscious and I don’t know whether to pull it up to hide some of the cleavage that is showing or pull it down to cover the top edge of my jeans.
"Hot damn! Your girls are ready to say hello to the world tonight!" I frown at her cat calls and hooting like a fool. She grabs my arm and yanks me out the door.
I can't believe I am doing this. I have been able to live a little in our home town, Ridgedale, but always hid under the façade that my mom or ex would never let me do certain things. Ivy is going to enjoy ripping me from my comfort zone. I may as well just enjoy this, because she will never let up.
"How are we going to get there?"
"Oh Ev, just let me handle this. There is bound to be someone in the parking lot we can get to take us to the club."
"What? Are you insane? I am not riding with some freak to the club."
"You will see, it's going to be just fine. Smitty's is just three miles from here. Someone will be more than happy to take us, especially when they see our gorgeous bodies."
The only person she sees in the parking lot is this guy getting out of a piece of crap car. He looks like a very smart guy though, sporting some killer eye glasses. She doesn’t miss a beat.
"Excuse me, would you be so kind as to drop us off at Smitty's? You see my friend Eaven here needs to go because her cousin is playing guitar in the rock band that is out there tonight. We are all dressed up and we have no way to go."
Then she cocks her head to the side and puts her lips out just enough to make them look even more plump. She grabs his arm and slowly slides her finger up, then back down it. The poor boy doesn't stand a chance. She will eat him alive. He stutters a bit and is very nervous because of Ivy's advances.
"Uh, ok."
Ivy leans over and gives him a peck on the cheek. He about drops his laptop on the ground. I'm pretty positive she will be in his visions for many nights to come, and I mean that literally.
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Talon
“Taron, get your ass ready. We have to be there in less than an hour. Smitty won’t put up with your shit. We are lucky he is letting us play in his club.”
“Bro, quit being so damned pushy. I will be ready.”
I am tired of babysitting his stupid ass. We may be twins, but we couldn’t be more different if we tried. He loves to party and has a new girl, or should I say girls, every time we go out. I just haven’t been able to let go like he has. Our high school years were no different. He lived it up. I liked the calm lifestyle I had with Nicole.
“Dude, Luke will be here shortly with the party bus. Is Holden going to meet us out there?” Taron yells at me from his room.
“Yea, he is going to get lil Lilly and meet us there.” Holden is our older brother, and Lilly is like our cousin. We grew up with her and our parents were best friends. We vacationed every year together. She is pretty special to us Walker boys. I pity the guy who tries to hook up with her. He will have three angry big brothers on his ass. She plays bass in our band.
Our friend Luke is the guitarist, Taron sings and prances around like he owns the stage, and I bring the beat on the drums. I love playing the drums. It is one of the things I can do to escape my life and just live in the music. I can actually let go.
“Luke is here, Taron, come on.” I yell as I head out the door and hear him hit the door right behind me.
“It takes time to look this good brother. You should try sometime.” I didn’t remind him that people constantly confuse us for each other at first glance. People who know us usually don’t because of our different personalities.
“Hey Luke! Thanks for hauling our asses to the club! I plan to get toasted and tempted tonight!” Taron says jumping in the bus.
“Tempted my ass, Taron you are tempted with the mail box.” Luke owns an old RV that we always take out when we go. Each time we take it out crazy shit happens on the way home. We all take turns driving home, except for my twin that is. Taron is never in a position to drive. If he didn’t drink too much, he has his mind and body busy with other issues.
We get to the club and our table is reserved since we are the house band tonight. Taron gets an order of tequila shots at the bar. This is going to be an interesting night.
Holden and Lilly join us for a shot. Luke remembers that his cousin is coming and texts her to see where she is. She replies saying that she is outside. We have never met his cousin.
We met Luke last semester. We have been trying to put together this band for a while now. Someone told us he is a kick ass guitarist, and they were right.
I see Luke come back in with two beautiful girls. He has obviously been holding out on us.
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Eaven
Ivy’s new ‘friend’ Owen safely gets us to Smitty's. Luke texts me asking where we are just as we arrive. I tell him we are stuck at the back of the line waiting to get into the club. He came outside and led us past everyone. He whispers something to the bouncer at the door and we are in.
"Girls are you trying to get yourselves laid tonight looking like that?" Luke says as he frowns at both of us.
"Luke you can lay me down anytime." Ivy says. She loves to boldly flirt with him. I am not sure what I would do if they ever did hook up.
"You two need to get a room, I am going to hit the dance floor. What time will the band start?" I ask, hoping to break up whatever they are going to say to each other.
"I am going with you, chica, we will tear it up together out there. Luke, honey, will you see if you can get us some shots?"
"Sure, the band will be out in an hour, so enjoy your beats while you can. We are pure rock and I know you girls don't dance to that, but before you do come with me to our table to get your shots and meet some of the guys."
"Oh yea, we will meet the guys, Eaven are you ready?" Ivy doesn’t even let me answer. She grabs my arm and off we go.
Luke introduces us to the group. "Guys this is my cousin Eaven and her best friend, Ivy. Girls this is Taron, Talon, and Holden. Taron is our lead singer, Talon is the drummer, and Holden is their pain in the ass older brother."
It is obvious that Taron and Talon are twins. They look identical except Taron is smiling and playful looking and Talon is quiet and just observing me.
Taron is standing immediately rubbing on Ivy and whispering in her ear. Ivy has the most sensual smile on her damned face. She is going to ditch me and I know it. Seriously?
Ivy turns to me and says "I'll be right back. He wants to show me their ... uh, dressing room."
"I bet he does." I smile at her and she knows I know what she is up to.
I look down and see Talon still staring at me. He is sitting there with his arms crossed with such a serious look on his face. He is gorgeous. He has dark hair that is just long enough for me to run my fingers through. I begin to imagine what it would look like all messed up from my hands and notice how his sexy green eyes are piercing right through me. Why is he staring at me like that? I can't even look in his direction anymore because it is like he is taking away all of the oxygen in the room. My heart is beating so fast and it is extremely hot in here all of a sudden.
"I thought you were going to dance, Cuz." Luke interrupts my confused thoughts.
"I don't know. I should probably wait on Ivy." I say distracted by my recent reaction to my cousin’s friend.
"You always have to have her to do anything fun, don't you?"
"No, why the hell did you say that?” He got my attention with that comment.
"Because I know you, Ev, she is your balls. She is your guts. You like to play it safe and she takes you out of your safety net and makes you live a little."
Ok why are these people that know me so well ragging on me so much about this living thing? Just because I am more reserved and cautious doesn't mean I am a stick in the mud.
"Whatev, Lukie, you promised me shots. Where the hell are they?" I remember that I have decided to live a little. It’s time that I do just that.
"Right here, cuz,” he says with a devilish smirk.
Damn it's tequila. Tequila does not like me. I glance over at Talon and Holden. Holden is purely interested, while Talon is still staring at me with those gorgeous green eyes and that freaking serious face that is making me nervous. Yes that's it, I am just nervous.
Luke hands me the shot and mocks me by saying, "Be careful lil cuz, I know how you react to tequila."
Screw him. I down that shot and grab the bottle to pour me another. Just about that time my bitter tequila face scrunches up and I am gritting my teeth trying to breathe. Holy shit, I hate tequila. How can I prove that I have guts?
What would Ivy do?
Let me think.
She would probably do a body shot.
About this time I find myself grabbing a chick that is walking by. I ask her if she would like to do body shots with me. She quickly agrees.
What am I thinking?
That’s right, now I remember.
Don't think, just do.
I lie down right on the table in front of Talon. The girl lifts my shirt just a little above my belly button. She takes the lime and smears juice all around my stomach and sprinkles the salt on the lower section just above my jeans.
She puts the lime in my mouth and pours the tequila around my belly button.
I am so thankful that I let her go first, because I really wasn't sure how this works.
She starts to lick the salt extremely slowly. I can’t help but feel the sensation as she nears the edge of my button.
She takes her time licking all of the tequila next. She makes sure to make eye contact with me often. Then she nears my face for the lime. Before I know it she has the lime inside her mouth and she is kissing my lips. She lifts her arms in celebration as people nearby begin to cheer her on.
Holy shit! I've just been kissed by a girl.
Luke is laughing at me because he knows I am shitting my pants right now. Damn him. Talon is still looking at me, of course. If I was trying to get him to stop looking, girl on girl body shots are probably not the best bet. Does this guy ever smile?
It's my turn. Ok, here goes nothing.
She lies down. I set the lime in her mouth.
She grabs the salt and shakes it in her cleavage. Wait, what? Salt goes near the belly button, not in the cleavage.
Oh. My. God.
I hear Ivy in my head. ‘Ev, just do. Quit thinking so much.’ I look around and notice that we have drawn quite the crowd. There is no way I can back out now.
I grab the tequila and pour it around her belly button.
I take a deep breath and go for it. What the hell, right?
I lick the cleavage….I mean the salt.
Then I head to her belly button to quickly get some of the tequila.
I hurry to grab the lime with my teeth only. Making sure not to touch lips, because you know that would just be awful since we've already been there. This bitch grabs my head and obviously wants my lime back. She begins to tongue battle me for the damn thing.
I yank my head up. What is happening?
This time Talon has a freaking smile on his face, Luke is bent over laughing his ass off, and I don’t even know what Holden thinks. There are so many people whistling and hollering that I can’t do anything but turn bright red.
When my cousin's stupid ass quits laughing he jumps up and introduces me to Lana. Apparently she likes girls and he knew that. He decided to wait until after my shots to tell me that tidbit. I'll show him!
"Lana it was so nice to meet you, maybe we can go out for a date sometime!" I say with a wink so that these guys can’t see.
The boys’ faces drop. I look around and admire the fact that I was actually able to shock them. Bingo! That is exactly what I was after.
I decide to follow Lana to the bathroom to clean up and let the boys wonder. Lana lets me know in the bathroom that she knows I am not into girls. I apologize for using her and she tells me that it was not a problem and that she enjoyed it. Oh man, I feel better. That was crazy shit.
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Talon
Eaven is freaking hot. I can’t keep my eyes off of her. She is feisty and nervous at the same time. I can tell she is out of her comfort zone. I watch her as she leaves our table. I have a hard time taking my eyes away from the sway of her ass in those jeans. Her legs look like they go on forever.
I notice her hair shining in the lights as I try to remember if her hair was blond with brown or vice versa. To be honest I had a hard time taking my eyes off of her hot pink shirt. Her chest fills it completely. When I did let my eyes move anywhere, they seemed to stop when I hit her eyes. She has the bluest eyes that I have ever seen. I know we were making people feel uncomfortable as we seemed to have this connection with our eyes that wouldn’t quit.
Then she had to go and drink the tequila. I like a girl that can handle herself. Most girls drink those wine coolers or fruity mixed drinks. She had my attention for multiple reasons. That stunt she pulled with the tequila shots will forever be embedded into my mind. Damn.
“Luke, why the hell have you not told us about your cousin?”
“Do I need to remind you of your man whore brother?”
“No, I guess not.” I frown because he has a point.
“Don’t even think about it, she is way too innocent for any of you boys.”
He did not just say that to me. Why do I give a shit what he says? Wait, I don’t. It is time to take the stage. I better find my man whore twin.
I go to the back room and find Taron, making out with a busty blonde.
“Taron, get your dick in your pants and take the stage.”
I rip off my shirt and take my spot on stage. I am in my zone. The first song we will play is a hardcore rock song. I have a huge solo part in it. I prepare to lose myself and get ready to put everything I have into my performance, like I always do.
