Lasting Lyric (14 page)

He pulls me in from behind, wrapping his arms around my middle, and settles his chin on my shoulder. “How about dinner, and video gaming tonight?”

Smiling, I say, “You’re on, Hot Stuff.”.

“Good. Then I have some heavy practicing while you’re out,” he kisses my neck and swats my butt before exiting the kitchen.

Crossing my arms, I follow him over to the couch. “Hey, no fair, you dork.”

“You leave the premises, I play,” he playfully argues, with a cocky smirk. “Besides, I need to learn how to whip your sweet ass.”

Standing between his legs, I laugh, “Not in a million, freaking years.”

He tugs on my sweatpants, and pulls me forward, causing me to fall into his lap. “Oh, is that so, Nerdette?”

Nerdette
? I love Slim language. “Yep.”

“You’ll be in for a real surprise, tonight.”

Laughing out loud again, I make a bet with him. “You wanna bet on it?” He stares at me, contemplating, or maybe he’s rethinking about
whipping my ass
. He knows he can’t win. “What, too afraid I’ll bury you?”

He scoffs, “Never.” I giggle in the process. Oh yes, he’s afraid. “Okay, so loser has to stay at the winner’s house for a week.”

“And winner?”

“Winner gets a hot scrub down, in a bubble bath, by loser,” wiggling his eyebrows.

Thinking about being in a bubble bath with loser sounds like heaven. Yes I said loser, because He. Is. Going. Down. “Doesn’t sound like a bad bet. I’m in.”

Without notice, Slim kisses me long and hard. My hands tighten around his neck, pulling us closer together. I don’t want to stop. I want this to keep going, but all good things have to come to an end. Therefore we unlock lips. “See you, tonight,” he breathes out.

Nodding my head, I repeat, “Tonight.”

That text from Sloane did not look good. Something is going on with Brock, once again, and I am needed up in LA tomorrow.
Soo
not looking forward to whatever the heck crap I’ll be walking into. Once I texted Sloane, letting him know I’ll be up in the morning, I called the band’s LA agent and got information about the Europe tour. Things are coming along nicely, and it looks as if next summer the guys will be traveling overseas.

After showering, and getting dressed, I decide to make a stop at the studio. June always seems to be there, even on her days off. Wondering how she and Phillip stay together, with their tight schedules, is beyond me. They’ve gone through a lot together in their short amount of time being an item. Phillip and Faith were together at one time, but when Lucky came back into the picture, Faith swayed away from Phillip and ended back in Lucky’s arms. Without anyone knowing, Phillip and June had a one night fling; June ended up pregnant, but unfortunately miscarried. Long story short, June and Phillip fell in love. They’re an odd couple, but fit together, and make their relationship work no matter how many hours they spend at their jobs.

The doors to the studio are locked. So I press on the buzzer to get someone to let me in. June, herself, greets me with a warm hug. “Well look who the cat dragged in!” Like always, June is simply adorable. I love how she dresses, how her hair is styled, I love everything that is June. She’s a tiny thing, with tattoos all up and down her arms, a couple on her upper chest, pink and blonde striped hair, nose ring and the cutest, petite body. Her personality is the icing on the cake.

“Hey, how are you?”

“I am just peachy!” She loops her arm with mine, and leads me upstairs to her office. Walking in, I am pleasantly surprised to see Faith and Harmony. They’re both seated on June’s red leather couch, looking as beautiful as ever. Faith has dark, black hair with tints of purple in it, and a gorgeous rose tattoo around her bicep. Her eyes are almost the color of the ocean, they are unbelievable, and sometimes I catch myself staring at them. She and Lucky are truly my favorite couple. They have the kind of love that speaks volume; you notice it the second they walk in a room together, how strong they are as a team.

Harmony is a sweetheart. She may look innocent and withdrawn, but she is smart, a leader and can handle stress, and chaos like no other. Being the hotel’s event manager, allows Harmony to do her magic; Helene, (Faith’s mom) and Harmony kickass at the events they pull off. Wanting to have an event at Montgomery Suites, you may have to wait at least two years - that’s how long the wait is. It seems every weekend there is a different event taking place.

On the white wooden coffee table, in front of my friends, is a big pink box. Inside the pink box is a birthday cake with Faith’s name swirled on top. I had no idea it was Faith’s birthday! Why did I not know this. Ugh, I feel horrible.

Walking toward her, I put my purse down on the red chair, across from the couch. “Hi, girls, did I miss the memo, or something?”

Faith stands up. “No, this was totally unplanned. June surprised me.”

I make my way around the table and give her a hug. “Aw, how sweet, Happy Birthday.”

“Thanks.”

Pointing at me, June says, “Yes, totally unplanned, so don’t even
think
I left you out.”

Chuckling, I respond, “I wasn’t thinking that.”

“Good,” she claps once, “…because I am planning a huge birthday party for my girl, next weekend. Harmony’s here to help me. Since Melody and Wayne aren’t home yet, I thought we should wait.”

Sounds like this party is going to be a good time. “Good idea,” I say. Once Harmony and I have greeted each other with a hug, I take a seat next to her on the couch.

June settles in the chair across from us, and crosses her legs. “So, what brings you here?”

“Oh, well, not much.” Leaning my elbow on the arm of the couch, I continue, “I just spoke to the band’s LA agent, and he’s updated me on the Europe tour.”

“Fantastic!”

“Yeah, most likely, this will happen next year. For now I think we should get them on a local tour. What do you think?”

“Absolutely,” she firmly agrees. “California fans will go nuts over this.”

“I agree. I’ll get back to him and let you know.”

“Great. I’m pleased to know they have another good agent to work with. I was a bit iffy on the guy, but their publicist insisted we try him. Glad we did.”

“So far so good,” I shrug. Hoping this guy stays loyal, I’d hate to think him screwing anything up. But my instincts tell me he’s a good guy, and will do the right thing for the band. Getting an agent rather surprised me. I thought having just me as their manager was enough, but since I am only based out of San Diego, and not working for the state, I was convinced the guys needed to add another limb to their tree. The more support, the better. To be honest, the agent - Christopher - has taken a lot off my shoulders. Allowing him to take over on the Europe tour has helped. It gives me more time to work around the guys schedule, and to manage other things, such as music video’s and local concerts. Speaking of video’s, they’ll be doing another one, possibly next week. It’s going to get very busy once Wayne gets home.

After catching up, the girls bring up the selfie. “Ugh, that picture!” On the brink of laughing out of craziness, I cover my face with my hands.

Faith asks, “Did it bother you Slim posted it?”

“No. No, that’s not it,” I say. “I’m the one who told him to tag me. I just didn’t think people would make such a big deal of out of it. I was only…” What else can I say? Am I ready to tell my friends about me and Slim? Not that I am superstitious or anything, I just don’t want to jinx anything.

“You were only smooshed up to one of the hottest bachelors in the music world? Women who want him all to themselves?” June inputs, with a smirk upon her face. “They’re jealous of you, you know that, right?”

“The whole thing was taken out of context,” I try to explain, even though I’m not doing a very good job at it, I can’t even convince myself.

“That’s only
if
you were just good friends,” Harmony suspects.
She suspects right.

“Exactly,” June agrees. “…but looking at the two of you, through the media’s eyes, that picture told a whole different story.”

I can’t disagree with June. She can see right through me - right through that selfie.

Harmony asks, “Are you…just friends?”

I can’t deny her question, my face says it all. “I knew it!” June exclaims.

My face must be beet red by now, as I confess to my three friends. “Nothing major happened between us before he took that selfie.” They all stare at me like -
Yeah right, surrrreee, like there was nothing major going on before. Whatev sista.
For the life of me, I cannot keep a straight face, I begin to laugh. “I’m serious!” The girls sit quietly with grins on their faces, waiting for me to spill the beans. “It wasn’t until I got back this week that things really started changing.”

“Well, don’t keep us waiting, chickie, tell us,” June urges.

“Okay, well…we’ve admitted we are attracted to one another. But we’re going to move things slowly, though. Date. See what happens.”

“I think that’s a really good idea. There’s no rush,” Harmony says.

“Totally,” Faith agrees. “I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks.” I feel a relief. Why did I think this would be so hard? These are my friends, people I can trust. I continue, “To be honest…I’ve had a serious thing for him ever since I met him. And
now
that he’s finally noticed me? It’s pretty surreal.”

“He didn’t just
now
notice you, sweetie,” Faith says. “Men are lame. They don’t know a good thing, even if it’s sitting on their dick.”

Faith can say things and keep a straight face, while the rest of us are dying of laughter. “Oh, my God, Faith,” I continue laughing.

“I’m only stating the facts. Sometimes it takes a tragic event to open up their eyes. I saw what the accident did to him, and how he wasn’t able to get in touch with you. It wasn’t pretty.”

“Yeah, he was really out of it for awhile,” June mentions.

Then Harmony adds, “Danny had never seen him quite so depressed before.”

“That’s what Slim’s dad said; he was depressed.”

“He was,” June confirms.

“Wow.” I really had no idea how bad Slim got. It breaks my heart to think he was feeling so down and alone. I should never have left him hanging for so long, and I vow never do that to him again.

Harmony puts a hand on my shoulder. “This is a really good thing, Lyric. You and Slim. It’s awesome.”

“Even if the world hates me?”

“Screw those haters,” June horns in. “You’re looking at two other women who are walking in your shoes.”

“She’s right. You’re going to have to ignore them,” Harmony agrees.

Shaking my head, and feeling somewhat doubtful, I chuckle out, “It’s going to be rather hard to do that since I’m smack right in the middle of their craziness, being their manager and all.”

Faith gets to the point of things, and becomes quite serious. “I hope you don’t hate me for this, when I say…you knew what you were getting yourself into, when you realized how you felt about him. And now that you’re dating? Just be prepared. Paparazzi will be all over you, just like they were when you were hurt. But you can handle this, Lyric. It won’t be easy, but you’ve got this. Just go with the flow and be happy. Take things slow, just like you said.”

Faith’s advice really hits home. “Thanks, Faith. And I don’t hate you. Your honesty is appreciated.” Looking at my three friends, I conclude, “
All
of you are appreciated. So, thank you.”

“You’re so welcome, lady,” June says. “So, how about we put some good use to this cake, with some nice bubbly, and celebrate. Shall we?”

So that’s what we did. We had cake, some bubbly and celebrated Faith’s birthday.

I packed a couple days worth of clothes in my suitcase before going back over to Slim’s. Not liking the idea of being away from Slim even for one night, but I need to go to LA. Sloane was very vague about the situation with Brock. Usually that means it’s not good.
Soo
not looking forward to what’s ahead of me. All the more reason I need this night with Slim. I have a feeling things will get even more heated tonight.

As I walk through his front door, a whiff of tomato sauce with herbs and garlic attack my senses. “Smells amazing in here! What’cha cookin’, Hot Stuff?” Before I get a chance to set my stuff in his room, Slim comes and takes them away for me.

He gives me sweet, quick kiss on the lips. “Well, I know pasta is your favorite, so a little Italiano for you,” he ends with a wink.

The man is too much. He knows exactly what I love. “Oh, yum! And there better be garlic bread.”

“Pffft! Of course!” He hollers, as he places my things in his room.

When he comes back out, and walks toward me, I ask, “Need any help with dinner?”

“Nah, it’s pretty much taken care of. But you can help me over to the couch.” He grabs my hand, and leads me to the couch. “On my lap, Sunshine.”

“Bossy,” I chuckle.

“Not bossy, just wanting to get my hands on you.” He plops me down on his lap, and I suddenly feel the tight bulge happening underneath. We both can’t seem to wait, so we immediately start kissing. My hands go behind his neck, while his go up my shirt, and tighten around my back. He massages, digs his fingers on my flesh, claims me, and somehow makes me feel he has imprinted himself on me. Good grief he’s intense. I have no complaints, whatsoever. He can do anything to me, and I’ll still want his intensity.