by Emme Rollins
“I like you stripped down,” Jess said.
Johnnie smiled. “I’m sure you do. It’s just business. People see us and think it’s all about music. There’s so much more to it. Everything little decision... from touring to how the tracks are listed on the new album...”
“What do you want?”
Johnnie puckered his lips. “You know, we’re breaking the second rule here. Look how close we are, and we’re not kissing.”
Jess considered pressing Johnnie since he obviously ignored her question. But kissing him... well, that she couldn’t pass up.
Their lips touched, making up for a few broken rules, but Johnnie slowly opened his mouth, adding his tongue, tossing the rule book out the window. He pulled at Jess, keeping her body tight to his. Jess never enjoyed kissing someone so much. She moved to her toes to kiss Johnnie harder.
“Jess...”
She kept kissing him.
“Jess... wait...”
Jess finally succumbed and bit at Johnnie’s lower lip.
“I’ll make it up to you in a bit,” he said. “Let’s go outside and look at the stars.”
It felt so juvenile, but when Johnnie slipped his hand into Jess’s, it felt so right. He opened the door again and Jess marveled at that situation. It was just so many hours ago that Johnnie stood on the stage, commanding thousands of people with rock n’ roll music. And now he commanded Jess to the back deck to look at stars.
The air was cool, more crisp than before. Jess instantly shivered, waiting for Johnnie to wrap his arms around her. Even if it wasn’t cool out she would have shivered. She needed Johnnie to touch her as much as possible. Her mind reminded her that for each second that went by was another second counting down until reality would come. Reality meant waiting for her agent to call. Johnnie facing his decision. The two of them having to leave the cabin.
But for now...
Jess looked up.
She thought she could show off her intelligence and find at least one of the constellations in the sky. Everyone knew the basic ones, right?
That idea shattered to pieces as Jess saw more stars than she’d ever seen in her life. There were clusters upon clusters. The sky looked nothing like it did in the city. She couldn’t find one star that made sense. That didn’t matter though. The sight was beautiful. Breathtaking even.
Johnnie squeezed Jess, and locked his arms around her.
“Makes you feel alive, doesn’t it?” Johnnie whispered.
“Makes me feel small. Makes you wonder about the world, the universe...”
“Makes our problems seem so small. That’s why I love it up here.”
“I love it here too,” Jess said. “With you.”
Johnnie rubbed his cheek against hers and let out a breath. “Sometimes I think about stopping all together.”
“Stopping what? Coming up here?”
“No. Music.”
Jess broke from Johnnie’s lock and turned to face him. “What?”
“Being on the road is hard. Dealing with the business, the band, the life of it all. And now with this song...”
“You should be amazed at your ability. How many years after your first album and you can still write a song like that?”
“What if I want it to be mine?” Johnnie asked. “Everything you’ve ever written... has it been plastered across the world?”
Jess swallowed. She shook her head. “No, it hasn’t. That’s because it wasn’t very good.”
“I’m sure it was good to you.”
“And if I had a song like that, Johnnie, I would share it. Do you realize how important music is to people? How important your music is?”
Jess considered telling him about Marie’s personal story and the song “Chasing”, but she didn’t want to make Johnnie feel uneasy. There was something about being a creative artist that was beautiful but also held a curse. Jess could only wish someday people would tell her how important her books were, but she knew better. She wrote for the thrill of entertainment.
Johnnie wrote from the heart.
“Then keep the song,” Jess said. “Keep it for yourself.”
“I tried that once,” Johnnie said. “I ended up writing almost thirty songs and felt like I was alone, homeless, with no purpose, and that I was cheating the band and our fans.”
Jess opened her mouth but stopped. Against the small light of the evening, she saw the way Johnnie’s face looked. Beautiful, troubled. She saw the color of his eyes and could see how open he was at that moment.
“Just don’t cheat yourself,” Jess whispered. She touched Johnnie’s face, and her own body reacted.
“I think we need more wine,” Johnnie said.
“I think we need to follow your second rule... we’re way too close right now...”
“Fair enough.”
Johnnie kissed Jess and she felt his passion running through her. The passion of a man who acted as a fatherly figure to the rest of Chasing Cross. The man who made heavy decisions while bearing his heart and soul. Jess knew he needed someone in his life to be there and she wanted to be that one.
Her hands slid around to the back of Johnnie’s neck and she subtly dug her nails into his skin, just enough to signal to him that their star gazing adventure was over.
Johnnie broke the kiss and backed away. “Wait right here...”
**
Johnnie stormed through the cabin, his body feeling more alive than it had in years. In the living room, he paused and bent over, placing his hands to his knees, catching his breath. The room spun and it had nothing to do with the wine. Hell, he could drink a full bottle of wine on his own and feel fine.
This was because of Jess.
She somehow got to the core of him. She said things nobody else would say. She was honest in a way that most wouldn’t dare try. Worst of all, she was right.
It was his choice with everything in his life.
Just don’t cheat yourself.
She was like a poet. Words fell from her mouth in such a beautiful fashion.
“Just don’t cheat yourself,” Johnnie whispered.
He stood back up and decided he wouldn’t cheat himself. At least not tonight.
He hurried to the computer and turned on the song, putting it on a constant repeat. It sounded even better turned way up. Next he rushed to the bedroom and in the closet found two heavy blankets. On his final stop through the kitchen, he grabbed the half empty bottle of wine but left the glasses in the kitchen.
It was a drink from the bottle kind of night.
(17)
Jess stepped to the side and watched as Johnnie made a small bed for them on the deck. He handed her the bottle of wine and reminded her of the first rule. Jess tilted the bottle towards Johnnie in a salute and then placed the bottle to her lips. She took a small sip, one that Johnnie would have disapproved of, but he didn’t say anything.
The song blared in the house but came out of the house at just the right volume.
“Why the song?” Jess asked.
Johnnie stepped to her and took the wine bottle from her hand. He took a drink that made Jess’s mouth fall open.
“I need the song on,” Johnnie said. “Because I want to make love to you. Right here. Right now.”
Johnnie reached beyond Jess and placed the wine bottle on the small table on the deck and then set his sights on her.
Jess had never done anything this wild in her life. Ever. The first thing she did was look around, her mind expecting to find some kind of lights from another house or a car... or something.
There were none.
This was like being on top of the world. Lost in a special place. The backdrop being the tipped silhouettes of the mountains against the star filled sky. The moon offered little light and the only other light came from the kitchen windows.
Johnnie had one hand on Jess’s backside and the other touching her chest. Her pulled her close and kissed her chin. Jess sighed and let her head fall back. She kept her eyes open, se
eing the stars as she felt Johnnie kiss her neck. From her neck, she felt Johnnie nuzzle the top of her shirt. She giggled but then felt Johnnie’s nose as it rubbed down her shirt. She looked down with a gasp just in time to see that Johnnie had moved to his knees. Before she muttered a sound, his hands were at her pants.
This was dangerously erotic... but as Johnnie’s soft lips kissed just below her belly button as Jess stepped from her pants and panties, she caught a sense of romance too.
This was bad, very bad, but very good.
Jess wasn’t sure how far Johnnie would go but his tongue made it evidently clear. He enjoyed her body, leaving Jess trying to balance herself, reaching back to the table for support, missing it, and finally just bending her knees slightly. Johnnie’s hands touched the back of her legs, coaxing her into relaxing.
There was no relaxing, not with Johnnie in his current position.
After bringing Jess to a quick but effective climax, he retreated up her body, kissing her slowly using just his lips. Kiss after sensual kiss, Johnnie’s hands stayed ahead, lifting Jess’s shirt. A minute later, Jess stood naked on the deck. She shivered and felt her body reacting to the cold.
“Come here,” Johnnie said as he tried to hug her.
“No way,” Jess said. “You’re dressed...”
“Are you making a rule?” Johnnie asked.
“Yes. I am. Next rule... when one of is naked, the other has to get naked too.”
“That’s a good rule.”
“I think it’s the best one,” Jess said.
Johnnie put his hands up and stepped back a step. Trying to play it cool even though she shook with anticipation and fear, Jess found the bottle of wine. This time she took a real drink, seeking warmth and a way to calm herself.
She handed the bottle to Johnnie who now stood in nothing but his boxers. He drank like before and then finished stripping himself. When he stepped forward again, Jess had her hand ready, accepting him, his hardness and length.
Johnnie didn’t let it bother him as he pulled Jess tight to his body. He lifted her off the ground, stepped back three steps, and then lowered himself, along with Jess, down to the thick blanket on the deck.
On her back, Jess looked at the stars, then at Johnnie. He found the other blanket and pulled it up over his back and shoulders. Between the blankets and their lust filled desires, there was more than enough heat.
Johnnie kissed Jess, and she fought back with her tongue. Their heads moved side to side, and their grunts and groans filtered around them. Johnnie kept his sex close to Jess but not touching, yet.
It wasn’t until Jess thrust at him did anything actually happen.
The surge of need became too much for Jess to bear. Her nerves were on fire, her heart pounding, her body desperate. When she thrust, she felt Johnnie, right there, right between her legs.
“Tell me,” Johnnie whispered, finally breaking the hot kiss.
Jess moaned and thrust again.
“No, no. I want you to tell me.”
“Johnnie... please...”
Jess slid her hands down his muscular sides, but did not stop until she had handfuls of his backside. She pushed, mentally thinking it would be so easy to get Johnnie to enter her.
It wasn’t.
He resisted, and held his stance.
“I want to hear you say it.”
“Say what?” Jess asked.
“What you want.”
“I want you, I told you that. I want you...”
“More,” Johnnie growled.
He kissed her neck, then allowed his teeth to run along her skin to her ear.
Jess let out a long breath and an Oohhh before trying to lift her body at him again. When it failed, she groaned in frustration.
“I want you in me!” she cried out. “Please, Johnnie...”
Johnnie looked at Jess and smiled. “That’s all I wanted to hear.”
Johnnie lowered his body, penetrating Jess with climatic pleasure. This time, unlike in the bedroom, he wasted not a second, bringing the sex to a speed and intensity that forced Jess to bite on her lip in a desperate attempt to keep her mouth shut. She was afraid to let out a satisfying moan or sound too late, still thinking someone would hear it.
“Oh, Jess. Your body...”
Jess whimpered. She closed her eyes, trying to fight it off. But Johnnie was too intense. He moved perfectly, fast enough for please and fast enough that her body wanted more.
Johnnie’s song still played in the background, the song on an obvious repeat cycle.
As he made love to Jess, she tried to focus on it all. Johnnie’s body. Johnnie’s movements. The way it felt. The way her entire body came together in a way she never thought possible in her entire life. The song playing. The words. The music. The millions of stars overhead.
The pleasure.
Oh, the pleasure.
The sex continued and as Jess sweat, her body began to shiver. The cool air mixed with the moisture on her skin. Her teeth chattered and Johnnie took notice.
He didn’t speak a word, he just knew what to do and how to do it.
Johnnie put one hand to the back of Jess’s neck. The other wiggled its way to her back. Slowly, he lifted Jess, standing himself. He held her tight to his body. Jess’s hair bounced around and gently, Johnnie carried her into the house.
As Johnnie walked, Jess felt him touching her. The constant movement and subtle touch brought Jess to an explosive climax. She held onto Johnnie’s shoulders and stared down at him, knowing it would be the only way she’d ever look down at him.
She shuddered as she came, moaning, blinking, but never leaving sight of Johnnie’s eyes.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
“Never,” Johnnie said. He kicked the bedroom door open and carried Jess to the bed. “It’s better in here. That way we don’t have to move after we’re done.”
“Is that song going to play all night?” Jess asked.
“Yes.”
“Good. Now, Johnnie, finish making love to me.”
(18)
When morning came, Johnnie opened his eyes and gazed to the empty leather couch at the end of the room. The missing blanket made him smile, knowing the blanket was out on the deck, where he and Jess had started the night before. He took a deep breath and as he started to roll to his back he realized the song wasn’t playing anymore. He had set it to repeat which should have allowed it to play all night into the morning until someone turned it off.
Someone...
Johnnie rolled to his right and found the bed empty.
Jess was gone.
Johnnie popped up and the night before and this morning collided at once, right at the center of his head. It felt like the claw of hammer smacked him in the forehead. He closed his eyes and cursed the pain, knowing damn well what wine did to him. When he opened his eyes again, he felt a little better, minus his heart hitting so hard it felt as though it were trying to punch its way out of his chest.
Where was Jess?
Was it all too much?
Did he say something to her?
“Oh no,” Johnnie whispered.
He threw the covers off his body, finding himself naked. He didn’t care as he moved from the bed. He thought about the night before. Every memory, every detail came back to him without flaw. Even right down to the way Jess looked at him as they came together. His fingertips tingled thinking about the way her hips had the perfect curve to them, meant for touching, holding, loving.
Loving.
Is that what he said?
No, Johnnie didn’t believe it. He’d remember telling Jess if he loved her. Simple as that. Something that important... something with so much meaning...
Johnnie then heard the sound of rushing water. His instincts took him to the window even though he knew the sound of rain wouldn’t be anything like what he heard. Outside, another day had come. A clear blue sky, the mountains still in place, their silent structures still breathtaking.
If
it wasn’t rain making the sound...
Just as Johnnie turned and saw the door to his private bathroom slightly cracked, he heard a voice. Not just any voice, but a voice singing. A voice singing his song. In a matter of taking four steps, Johnnie stopped. His heart calmed, knowing Jess was safe and still there in the cabin, but it barely had a second to recover before it started to race again.
Jess was in the shower, singing his song.
She listened to it so much the day before, she had it memorized. Better yet, it sounded beautiful. Johnnie couldn’t believe that Jess could sing like that.
He had a hundred thoughts at once, but first, he grabbed a towel off the back of his door and wrapped it around his waist. Then he hurried into the living room and found a small two track pocket recorder. He had about ten recorders sitting around the cabin. They were all needed for when one of those random guitars riffs came to him, or a set of lyrics. He would hurry and record it, then come back to it later.
He pressed the button and the small screen lit up. The batteries still had life.
When he went back into his bedroom, he snuck into the bathroom and stood there, holding the recorder in the doorway, but not so much that Jess would catch him. He hit the red record button and listened.
She was perfect.
That’s what the song needed.
The second Johnnie recorded the song by himself and listened to it, he felt good about it, but a little empty. Something had been missing on the track and this was it.
It was Jess.
Her voice.
A woman’s voice.
She had a innocent tone to her voice. It had a shy pullback, but the power and command of her ability pushed forward. She hit the notes the same as Johnnie did on the song. During the chorus, she went up a little higher and Johnnie could only imagine how perfect it would sound recorded together. He thought about singing too but held back, wanting to record as much as he could of Jess singing.
When she stopped, Johnnie didn’t stop the recording. He just froze in place, imagining what the next verse would sound like. In his mind it sounded great, but he knew, in reality, it would sound beautiful and perfect.