Authors: Grace Walker
They'd been back for about two hours and Mike was still wound up. The New York celebration wouldn't be starting for several more hours. Mike was playing back the live broadcast from the two hours of music. They had a similar set up for New York and Miami, then Chicago and New Orleans, finally Vegas/LA. They each had three stages at three locations set up in a block party atmosphere and roving cameras, boom, rooftop and fixed camera locations, the bands were the full gambit from blues and rap to western and metal. Each stage would have a major headliner on stage right at the countdown and four groups would play each stage over the course of the evening. LB&R Enterprises had joined with several labels to sponsor the shows. They'd make a fortune in sales over the next three or four days then again when the video of the performances was released in a month. Toni was extremely quiet, especially for Toni. Mike was finally collapsing and had his head on Ty's lap and Toni tucked under his arm on the other side had her head resting on his chest and had fallen asleep. He couldn't have been happier. He figured Mike must have nodded off and shifted to let Toni curl up on the sofa while he carried Mike to the bedroom.
Ty came back, picked up Toni and carried her to his master suite. He considered crawling into bed with her after the idea of undressing her was bludgeoned out of his head. He stood there watching her sleep. She really had a nasty smile when she slept. Tommy was right. After a few minutes he kissed her cheek and turned toward the door. Toni caught his wrist and pulled him back. His heart was thudding in his ears. He was dazed as she kneeled on the bed and started undressing him. His lungs were clogged and air entering and exiting seemed so thick, it was almost painful. His whole body was tense, and he couldn't move. His sweater and shirt hit the floor and she pulled her sweater off and began unbuttoning her blouse. He grabbed her hands to stop her and she raised her eyes to his, it was there, in her eyes, it wasn't her usual friendly sexy look, it damn near floored him. The need; the passion. He gently brushed her hands aside and looking into those eyes, drowning in those beautiful cat eyes he unbuttoned the blouse, he ran his hand up the separating material brushing her stomach, beasts and chest as he slowly lowered the blouse from her shoulders and down her arms. He took a slow steadying breath.
Toni couldn't breathe, couldn't think. She could only feel and she needed to feel his mouth, she needed to touch. She raised her arms up his chest to his shoulders. He reached around her and unfastened her skirt and slid it over her hips as he pulled her up and to him, kissing her. With her arms around his neck, her lips on his. He quickly reminded himself she was a big girl and knew what she was doing. He wasn't taking advantage of their friendship or relationship. She reached between them and unfastened his belt and jeans. His lips never leaving hers, his eyes open, as were hers and watching the other. He broke away for a moment as his pants dropped to the floor. He reached around and unfastened her bra and she pulled his mouth to hers. The power of the kiss the intensity of feeling was a blow to his heart, his mind, his soul. He started to lean forward and lowering her to the bed. He was kissing her jaw and neck.
"This better not have anything to do with that bet." Ty whispered and he felt her smile and laughter rise in her throat.
"Only that I couldn't go 24 hours without kissing you." Toni laughed.
"We've never kissed like this." Ty growled into her shoulder as he lowered her bra strap with his teeth off her shoulder.
"Thank God." Toni framed his face in her hands and pulled his mouth back to hers as they fell onto the mattress. "I hope you plan on making a habit of it though." Ty was smiling and nodding as he removed the lace bra and thong. She felt as amazing as he'd always imagined. He knew this body so well, he'd known her forever, there'd never been anyone like her or anyone for him but her. He took her to places that he never dreamed as they made love into the morning and well after sunrise.
Ty found her curled on the sofa with Mike. She was wearing his sweater and drinking coffee. He felt heavy and drugged. He detoured to her and framed her face in his hands as he kissed her good morning.
"Good morning beautiful." Ty smiled, pulling back but not releasing her face.
"Morning." Toni smiled, her eyes dancing in a private joke. "Have a seat they're just starting the Vegas/LA show." She patted the cushion beside her.
"Coffee first." Ty smiled and drug himself to the service set on the table behind the sofa. "How are you feeling, kid?"
"Not as good as the two of you obviously." Mike smiled into his sweet creamy coffee. "You owe mom a hundred bucks."
"I'll pay this one gladly." He smirked. "Haven't they gotten up yet?"
"No." Mike turned up the volume of the television. "They're sleeping in."
"Yeah, right." Toni laughed. "The shower was running a half hour ago."
"Well we'll see them in another three or four hours then." Ty laughed. He sat down next to Toni and pulled her over onto his lap. "Wanna shower?"
"In a couple of minutes." She sipped her coffee and started stripping him with the intensity of emotion and lust in her eyes. "I need some coffee."
"Thanks for taking us down to the concert Uncle Ty." Mike said and switched off the TV and went back to the other room to watch TV alone.
"Don't leave on our account." Toni called over her shoulder.
"The kid's a genius. I thought he'd never leave." Ty had his hands going up her legs, hips and under the sweater. "He's still a little young for a group thing."
"I've never been into the group thing." She set her coffee aside and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as he stood, then her legs were around his waist. "Think you can make your room?"
"No." His shirt hit the floor along with the sweater. He got into the room and the door closed but missed the bed by several feet. A while later as their breathing slowed and a peaceful calmness enveloped them. He was rubbing her back as she lay on him. Her head on his chest, her legs still tight against his hips. He took a deep breath and looked down at her.
"Your brothers aren't going to kill me are they?"
"You know them as well as I do. What do you think?" She leaned up slightly. Her thick hair falling to one side over her shoulder. Terribly tangled and mussed. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
"I'll die a happy man." He kissed her. "They'll have to find me first."
"Aren't you coming back with us?"
"I might." He teased. He suddenly rolled and slipped out of her. "Stay right here." He ordered and pulled on his jeans and left the room. Toni heard Em whoop and the three of them laugh. She was just swinging her feet over the edge of the bed when he came back in. "You're not staying put." He stepped out of his jeans and came back to her. "We're taking a later flight. Charles is making some calls." He leaned her backwards and pulled her with him as he tumbled across the bed. "We'll meet them for supper in a couple of hours." He lowered himself to her again, and they began the dance anew.
Ryan just had a feeling it was over. It was more than the holidays. It was more than the ending of one year and the beginning of another. They had all abandoned him. Here he was on New Year's Day, Tommy working the bar and him hiding out in the closed restaurant. He was feeling sorry for himself, thinking for the most part he was alone. Stacy got married, Toni's restlessness and now Em engaged.
It wasn't like he was holding Em in reserve or anything. He'd made his choice when they were still teenagers, fifteen or sixteen that they would only be friends. He'd played them, but she'd always been there. Just been there. It was probably one of the reasons he never worked as hard as he could have to dissuade Connor. There
was
nothing between them,
had been
nothing between them and
would be
nothing between them. He hadn't seen her much in the last few years with work and Mike's activities, school, sports and detentions. He smiled and swirled the amber liquid in his glass. He would have been one of their little gang. He really was something.
But, he'd always regret introducing Em to Bob. Bastard. Oh, he'd bragged about the conquest. Stewed and wondered when she suddenly took off, never enough to ask, never enough to look for her. His knowing about Mike had been an accident. Just as well he's out of the picture, the guy was a jerk. Unfortunately still local, Ryan saw him around. He didn't frequent the bar, was hardly there at all except on occasions, sports playoffs, some guys night out occasionally, but he never asked, never said a word after the one time he'd gone to see her. Knowing Em she probably said the boy wasn't his. As if. The bottle slamming on the table brought him out of his revelry.
"Looks like you could use a drink brah." Tommy pulled the chair out and turned it around then sat astride. "You were a million miles away."
"Wondering what everyone's up to." He'd snap himself out of it. He wasn't a brooder. Not like his Dah. Now that man could brood. Speak of the devil. Connor wondered in looking like he'd never been in the restaurant before. "Dah." Connor slapped Tommy's back and sat between them snagging the bottle before either of them could get it.
"Ha!" He turned a water glass and filled it. "What bug crawled up your arses?" Connor downed half the contents in a single swallow. Tommy just shook his head. He'd have to wrestle the keys from him if he couldn't get him to pass out.
"Just thinkin'." Connor poured more scotch into his son's glass. "It was quite a year. The wedding, the funeral, the reunion, Stace's pregnancy."
"Can't be accusing the girl of using that to snag Parker." Connor chuckled. "She waited six months so there wouldn't be any such guessin'."
"Guess she's off days then too." Tommy held out his glass to Connor. "Teri bartended until her eighth month I heard. She always had the strength of six people."
"Wasn't like she was doing Coyote Ugly on the bar every night like in the day." Ryan slammed back the drink and set the glass down. He covered it when Connor went to pour again. "I'm done."
"Not a good thing drinkin' alone boy." Connor glared at him. "Must be thinkin' of women if you're drinkin' alone."
"Matter of fact." He swept his hand around the empty restaurant. "They're all gone. Stace, Em, Toni… It'll never be the same."
"What about Toni?"
"Nothing." What business was it of his to tell him? He'd hear it soon enough. "She'll get around to telling you."
"SHE QUIT!?!" Tommy leaned forward and prevented Ryan from making an escape. "She's supposed to be back tomorrow."
"Couple more days she said." He looked at Tommy's hand on his arm. "She'll explain when she gets back. I just have a
feeling
she's out of here."
"She's been restless." Tommy couldn't remember her being so dissatisfied. Everything seemed more challenging, she'd fuss and fight over the littlest things lately. "Outgrown this nonsense like the rest of them."
"The rest of who?" Connor had finished another six ounces and was well on his way.
"The girls." Tommy sat forward resting his chin on his arms on the back of the chair. "First RW, then Em, then Stace, now Toni. Stacy came back."
"Yeah for a year. She'd only work hostess and occasionally in the kitchen with David. Never wanted to work the bar nights again."
"You don't think it had anything to do with the robbery?"
"Probably, it freaked them all out. Both waitresses quit, I was still working the bar nights then. I don't even like working Saturdays anymore."
"Can't blame you. It's the only one of the bars to be shot up like that."
"Yeah, you had that one robbery but there was that one time that that guy had a knife."
"He was on his back with a broken beer pitcher covering him before he could reach the door."
"Must have been some satisfaction in that at least. They never got the other bastards…" His voice trailed away. A couple of patrons in the parking lot had caught bullets, the first one didn’t survived but the second one did. [He] still comes in every once in a while too on Taco Tuesday. With free drinks for life he'd probably stick like fly paper.
"[They] didn't have much to go on. They were probably some dumb ass college kids that graduated to banks and became a federal problem."
"Fuckin' feds." Connor toasted and finished another. "Got my fuckin' citizenship now though, don't I?"
"Yea Dah." Ryan smiled. "Can't deport you back to Clary again."
"Fuckin' expired visa. I'd lived here 25 years, not as much as a parking ticket."
"Don't count the two drunk in public and the DUI do you?"
"Bastard never had any respect." He slapped Tommy in the back again. "Never hurt a soul. 'cept for breakin' your brother's nose." He snickered. "Of course that was being an accident." His Irish accent became more pronounced the more he drank. "Make's him not so pretty as you boy."
"He's shorter too." Tommy stood up and went back to the bar. When the door opened the party was still in full flight. He knew that would lighten his mood, some rowdy drunks with Connor leading the charge.
"Come on Dah I'll buy you a decent whisky." He tipped the empty scotch bottle. "I've stashed your favorite in case you dropped by." He lifted the man's keys and led him into the bar through the kitchen. He'd have someone park the car around the corner and call him a cab in an hour or so.