by Kaci Rose
Making my way upstairs, I see the light on in her room, so that's where I head. She’s sitting in bed with her back against the headboard, checking her phone. When she sees me, she puts it down, as I climb into bed, facing her with my back to her footboard and just take her in.
"I was at school, when I found out my mom died in a car crash on her way home from work." I start. "They pulled me from class and told me. When they asked who to call, I said Landon. I learned later he called his mom, too. I stayed with you guys a few days, until my aunt could pack up and move down. Do you remember that?"
She nods. "It broke my heart how sad you were, and I had no idea how to fix it. I was scared to say the wrong thing, and Landon told me to just leave you be, so I did. I baked like crazy, hoping it would help, if even a little."
"I remember. I ate everything, because it was you who made them. That night I couldn't sleep. It was about one a.m., when it started raining."
I pause, hoping she remembers that night.
"It was the first night we shared a bed." She whispers.
I nod. "I didn't want to be alone. I was hurting, and I didn't care what Landon or anyone said, I needed you. I meant to just come and watch you sleep for a few minutes and slip back to my room. No one would have known, but then loud thunder crashed, and you woke up, and your eyes landed on me."
"You said you didn't want to be alone, and I said neither did I. You laid down in bed over the covers, and we held each other all night." She smiles.
"I didn't sleep even a moment that night, and I snuck back to my bed, before anyone woke up."
She chuckles. "I never put it together that our little routine started off that night. I always thought it was after my parents died."
"I lived for those nights, even when you slept on the other side of the bed and wouldn't touch me. Just getting to see you sleep and watch over you for the night was such an honor."
"You were always up and gone, when I woke up, no matter how early it was." She says.
"Because every morning, all I wanted to do was wake you up by making you cum. I imagined it hundreds of different ways, and I had to leave at the first light of dawn, so I wasn't tempted."
"I would have let you." She whispers, and I groan.
Needing to get the rest of my story out, I try to put those thoughts out of my mind.
"After the funeral, I started channeling my feelings into songwriting. Some of those songs have been number one hits. Being around you, helped more than you know. You were and still are light, smiles, and sunshine. On my darkest days, I just wanted to be in your light, and you would lift me up without even knowing it."
"I wanted to help you, Dallas, but I just didn't know how. I would have done anything you asked. If you just wanted me to sit with you, I would have and still would. That hasn't changed. Whatever you need, just ask."
"This right here is what I need right now. I want you to know me. Opening up to you like this, I've never done it. Not even with Landon, but I need you to know me, all of me."
She looks at me hesitantly, like she wants to say something, but isn't sure where to start.
"What is it?" I ask her.
"Well, I don't know if you want to hear this." She pauses.
"I want to hear anything you want to tell me," I say and hope I won't regret that statement.
"Your mom, well, I think she knew we would end up here someday."
That statement knocks me a bit out of balance. I want to ask her how she knows that, but I can't seem to find the words. Like she can read my thoughts, she continues.
"One day, we were baking, and you and Landon were outside in the yard. It was the day she was watching the neighbor’s dog, so you two were running around with her."
"I remember," I say.
"Well, she caught me watching you through the kitchen window and smiled. She said you kept things inside, but for the right woman, you would open up one day. She made me promise that if I wasn't that girl that I would vet anyone who tried to get close to you." She chuckles. "Your mom laughed, when jealousy surged through me at the thought of you with another girl. She said she didn't think I had anything to worry about. That was the day I realized I needed to get my feelings for you in check. So, I learned to hide them better."
We are both quiet for a bit. The silence is comfortable and welcome, as we both process what was said.
"When Landon and I got on the road, girls were just easy." I admit. "I could shut my brain off for a while with someone, who didn't know my past, and only knew rock star Dallas. But I'm telling you now, I never knew we'd be here to today. If I knew I'd be given the chance to be with you today, I wouldn't have touched a single one of them. I would have waited for you." I admit to her.
She strokes her foot up my leg.
"Hey, none of that. We were different people, and we both have pasts. We had to go on that journey to figure out who we are, so we would be good for each other. The girl I was back then wasn't good for you. I know that with my whole heart now. It wasn't our time. Our time is now, and the girls don't matter to me, so long as you don't touch them again." Her voice gets stern, and she glares at me.
"Fuck, you’re sexy as hell. When I made the choice to stop the one-night stands and flings, that was it for me. I still didn't think I had a chance with you. Even before you showed back up, when a girl would touch me, it made my skin crawl. Then, you came back, and we fell asleep on the couch. Waking up with you laying with me, I felt… peace."
She nods. "I felt safe. For the first time in months, I felt safe."
"I will always be your safe place, Austin. No matter what happens, I will always be your safe haven."
She smirks. "You know you weren't the only one with fantasies, when we were in bed together."
She licks her lips, and my cock is already starting to get hard.
"What where your fantasies, baby girl?" I ask her.
"Why don't you lay down like you’re sleeping in bed with me, and I'll show you."
I move to lay down next to her, as she turns off the lights. I pull the blanket up and lie on my back and close my eyes, like I'm asleep. There’s no movement or sounds at first, then the bed shifts, and she pulls the covers back. My heart races, and I want nothing more than to open my eyes and watch her, but I want to give her this fantasy, too.
Her hand rests on my knee and slowly makes its way up to the waistband on my sweatpants, before pulling them down, and my cock springs free. I'm already hard and ready for whatever she has in mind.
The bed shifts again, and it almost feels like she’s straddling my leg. I'm trying to make sense of it, when her warm, wet mouth takes my cock. She doesn't start slow with some licks. No, she sucks half of me down in one stroke.
"Fuck!" I groan, unable to pretend to be asleep now. I look down and see her perfect lips around my cock, sliding up and down, taking a little bit more of me each time.
I reach down and move her hair out of the way, so I have a better view. It's then I notice her bathroom light is on, and it’s enough light I can see the blush on her cheeks, as she slides off my cock and looks up at me.
"Good morning." She whispers. Ahhh, still playing.
"Don't stop, baby girl," I growl, and she smiles, before taking me into her mouth again. "Grind that sweet pussy on my leg. Take what you need. I want to watch you cum." I tell her.
She obeys and lowers herself on to my leg and starts grinding on me. When she moans around my cock, it's the sexiest thing in the world.
"If you had woken me up like this? You would have sealed your fate. You would have been mine. I never would have let you go. Now? Nope, there’s no way I’ll let you go. You can run, but I’ll always find you. You. Are. Mine." I growl and cum down her throat, screaming her name.
She lets out a long moan, and I can feel her pussy flutter through her barely there shorts, as she cums and soaks the leg of my pants.
Sliding my cock from her mouth, she gives the tip a kiss, before I pull her up to me. She lays he
r head on my shoulder, and I kiss her head.
"Feel free to wake me up like that any time."
I strip down to my boxers and crawl under the covers with her. I don't remember falling asleep, but I never thought I'd wake up the way we did either.
Chapter 27
Austin
"What the fuck is this?" Is not the phrase, you want to be woken up by. It takes me a minute to get my bearings. I'm in my bed with Dallas wrapped around me. I feel warm and safe, but when I turn towards my door and see Landon, standing there fuming, the warm feeling fades fast.
Shit, this is not how I wanted him to find out. What is he even doing home?
"Dallas." I nudge him siting up, but he's already waking.
No time like the present to bite the bullet and get it out in the open, right? Though, I had this worked out in my head much different than this clusterfuck. Several different ones in fact. If I know my brother, straight to the point will be best.
"Landon, Dallas and I are dating; we have been for a few weeks." I tell him.
His eyes shoot to Dallas, like this is his fault. Feeling the need to protect Dallas, I continue, "Now, head downstairs, let us wake up and get dressed, and we will come down to talk about this like adults." I use my stern voice.
Pure anger like I've never seen is all over Landon's face, but after a moment, he turns and slams the door. I can hear his pounding footsteps going downstairs, before I flop back down on the bed. He's been gone barely forty-eight hours, and we were supposed to have two weeks.
Dallas pulls me in close. "Hey, we’re in this together, okay? I choose you. It will hurt like hell to lose him, but I can't live without you. I made that choice a while ago."
My heart races. I look over at him and see the vulnerability in his eyes. He's worried I don't feel the same.
"Dallas, it's the same for me. These last few weeks proved that even more." I tell him and lean in to kiss him soft and sweet. This moment, even with my brother mad as hell downstairs, is everything I've ever wanted, to be someone's first choice. Isn't this what every girl wants?
"This is not how I planned for you to wake up this morning." He smirks at me, and I laugh. After talking about all the fantasies of waking each other up last night, it definitely wasn't on the list for how I expected to wake up.
"Let's get dressed and go try to talk to him. Though, I doubt there will be any talking to him." I sigh and cover my face with my hands and dig the heels of my hands in my eyes, trying to fight off the building headache.
"One more thing." He says and waits for me to look over at him. "Now that the cat's out of the bag, I want you to consider moving to my room. Or I can move in here, but I want our stuff together."
"Dallas..." I start, but he holds up a hand.
"Just think about it, okay?"
I nod. If he’s sure this is what he wants, then I have no doubts about it. But I want to ease Landon into this, no matter how big of an asshole he's about to be. I don't want to overwhelm him all at once.
As we get dressed, Dallas can't seem to keep his hands off me, despite his angry best friend downstairs. It's like after all the talking yesterday he's happier, lighter, and more like the boy I remember. If I thought for one moment, we had the time I'd let his hands wander and give us both the wake up we had planned.
We make our way downstairs hand-in-hand to find Landon, sitting at the kitchen island with coffee in front of him and his back to us.
"How long?" He asks, before we are even in his line of vision.
"Officially, since the last day of the tour," Dallas says.
"We had decided to tell you, when you got back from this trip. All we wanted was a few more weeks in our bubble."
"Who else knows?" Landon asks.
"Mason, and that's it," I tell him.
Landon looks right at Dallas, his voice even but angry. "You should have talked to me first!"
For some reason, this sets me off. We tried on the tour, but any time we looked at each other, as more than friends, he would go off on us. Did he really think we'd chance upsetting him, before we even knew what this was?
"Why, so you can tell him yet again he isn't good enough? Do you realize we have both been fighting this, since before his mom died? Do you understand how miserable you made us, because we didn't think we could have the other? Then, to tell Dallas he isn't good enough, because of choices he made, because you kept us apart?" I yell.
I know it isn't fair, but I'm so mad I want to hurt him. I want him to feel an ounce of what I've felt over him keeping us apart.
Dallas wraps his arm around me from behind. "Baby girl, don't. Don't say something you can't take back. We talked about this, and it's in the past. We are where we are meant to be. I have you now, you have me, and that's all that matters." Dallas's voice is steady, soft, and calm.
I take a deep breath and look back at Landon, who is watching us his face still full of rage.
"Why would we chance upsetting you, when we didn't even know what this was? I was the one who didn't want to tell you, because I knew you'd act like this, and Dallas and I are in a good place. I didn't want you to ruin it, like I knew you would. He's your best friend, the one you trust most in the world. If he isn't good enough for me, then who is?" I ask surprised at how steady I was able to keep my voice.
"No one!" Landon shouts.
I stumble back against Dallas's chest, almost like Landon slapped me. Dallas's grip on my hips tightens, a silent warning to think, before I speak.
He can't mean that, can he? I always thought no matter what, Landon had my best interests at heart, even when he made things difficult. But this? I don't want to believe he really thinks this.
"So, I'm supposed to die alone and miserable to make you happy? Fuck you, Landon." I break from Dallas's hold, grab my purse, and the first set of car keys I can and run out to the garage, ignoring Landon and Dallas, yelling behind me.
Seeing I grabbed the keys for Dallas's SUV, I hit the unlock button and leave, before one of them can stop me. Tears are rolling down my face, and I have to pull over, once I’m out of the neighborhood to get myself in order, so I can drive.
I take a few deep breaths and realize these aren't tears, because I'm hurt, they are tears of anger. The one quality of myself I have always hated was when I get really mad, I cry. And I can't remember the last time I was this mad at someone, much less my brother of all people. We've always been a team, him and me. There’s no way he believes that, but he still said it.
Once my emotions are under control, I start driving. I get on the highway not even paying attention to which way I'm going, but I end up downtown. I randomly take a few major exits and put Nashville in my rearview mirror. I crank up the music and try not to think. I want to let all the anger and emotion go and clear my head.
Of everything I expected to come out of Landon's mouth, I never thought it would be that no one was good enough; that he could be that selfish.
Then again, I never thought I'd see the day he was so harsh to his best friend either, and that he'd put him down that way. It makes me wonder what else he has been feeding to Dallas over the years.
For a fleeting moment, I have a thought, is all this worth it? I can easily pack up and point my car west and be somewhere new in a day or two, and everything can go back to normal.
But it can't, can it? After having this time with Dallas, my heart will never be the same, and we will never be the same. The thought of walking away from him rips my heart out, and I know I'm in this for the long haul no matter what happens with Landon.
There’s a sign for a scenic overlook ahead, so I take the exit and park. The view is amazing. I’m on top of a small mountain, overlooking a small town with more mountains in the background.
I sit on the low stone wall and let the wind hit my face. Here all my problems feel so small.
A car pulls in a few spaces down, and a couple, slightly older than me, gets out. They have huge smiles all over their faces, as they take in the view
. You can tell how much in love they are just by the way they look at each other.
He stands behind her and wraps his arms around her, as she leans back into him. My eyes water, because I want that so badly. I thought I had it, and if I'm honest, I still do if Dallas meant what he said, and I know he did.
In that moment, I know I will fight for Dallas and me, because I meant what I said this morning, too. He’s worth it, and I choose him. I choose us.
I sigh. If I'm honest, I didn't run, because I was unsure of my feelings for Dallas. I ran, because I was unsure if I can live with Landon right now. I don't want to be around him; I want our bubble back.
I want to be wrapped in Dallas's arms. I want to fall asleep that way and wake up that way.
I get back in my car and reach a spot where the highway splits. I can go south towards the beach or keep heading towards the mountains. With how small my problems felt on that overlook, the choice is easy. I continue towards the mountains.
The highway narrows, and I'm not sure what I'm looking for, but I see an exit labeled scenic drive, so I get off, figuring at the very least, I can have some pretty views, while I figure things out. I only make it a few miles, before the answer to everything sits right in front of me.
Talk about a sign.
Chapter 28
Dallas
Now, it's my turn to be mad. The hurt is Austin's eyes and making her run out of here like that, fuck. No one does that to her. I don't care who you are; I won't even let Landon treat her like that. What the hell has gotten into him?
I turn to Landon, who is still staring at the door Austin just slammed.
For a moment, I think about running after her, but I know she needs to think and clear her head, and I will give her that while I deal with Landon. Even though, all I want to do is tell him to fuck off and go after my girl.
When he finally turns his gaze back to me, I speak the one truth that trumps everything else. It's also the last thing I'm sure he's expecting me to say.