by Shey Stahl
“WHAT DID you think of your first concert?” Beau’s eyes twinkled with excitement as we stood in the parking lot.
I grinned, spinning, feeling so alive, and I wasn’t even the one on stage tonight. I felt like I’d been smiling more than I ever had before. “That was...AMAZING!” I shouted.
Laughter broke out around me, probably from everyone in the parking lot who heard me screaming, my heart thumping in my ears. With blurred vision from my excessive drinking, I could faintly make out Beau’s full on cheesy grin. “I had no idea you could sing like that! Have you always had that in you? I mean, Jesus, Beau, you’ve got talent!”
“Thank you,” he mumbled humbly, letting his eyes wander over my body as we stood outside his truck. “But you knew I sang, how was this different?”
I let out the breath I was holding, and he smiled. “This was so completely different. You’re a fucking rock star!”
“You’re drunk, pretty girl.” He said reaching for me. “Adorable, but very drunk, and I’m beginning to think I might be a bad influence on you. Did you even drink before you met me?”
And I couldn’t argue with that. I wasn’t much of a drinker, but since I met him, I had been drunk every night. “Nope, not really.”
Before I knew it, I was on the bed of Beau’s truck doing my own guitar solo as he tried to help me down.
“You want me to get up there with you?” he asked, running his hands up my thighs and pulling me to the edge of the tailgate.
I nodded, but he didn’t comply. Shimming myself back, I laid down and he finally came with me.
“Let me take you back to my place.” His arm gave way and he settled his weight on me, all of it, every hard line. I felt the cool metal against my back and my bare legs.
“Why do you want to take me back to your place so bad?”
Beau pulled away again. Sitting up on his knees, he gave me a smile and then laid down in the bed of the truck beside me. “I really want to get you back in a bed,” he said in a low strained voice. “Please.”
Feeling the spins, I stared up at the starry night. Beau lay beside me. His hands rested on his chest as he stared at the same sky, his breath light and relaxed, like there was nowhere else he wanted to be.
“You know I always wondered how they figured out the constellations. Like, why did they pick the stars they did? Is it because they were the brightest? Or were they playing connect the dots with the stars and just happened to come across the designs.” I couldn’t stop talking, no matter how hard I tried. “And those constellation designs are so random. Are they in a different language or just completely random. I don’t get it. The only things I actually get is the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper because they actually look like a big pot and a little pot.”
Beau smiled, his quiet laughter shaking his chest.
The parking lot was empty now, or maybe I just didn’t notice anyone else, but what I saw, or thought I saw, was a clear night with lights sparkling above me, hopeful wishing stars that told me I could have anything I ever wanted.
“How did I never know how truly amazing you are?” I asked, keeping my eyes on the stars.
He didn’t say anything, his breathing light, body peacefully content. Sighing, his breath tickled my skin when he whispered in my ear, “Maybe you did.”
“Why would you say that?”
He sighed again, the sound strangely comforting. “Something kept you interested, and I’m thankful for that.”
He leaned forward, capturing my lips. I eagerly sought out his, kissing along the salty curve of his lower lip. Feeling bold, I sucked on it softly before running my tongue across it. He deepened the kiss, and I had no complaints.
Turning on our sides, I wrapped my arms tightly around his sweaty neck, leaning as far forward as I could. Our kisses heated rapidly as they always did. The heat from the day had faded, but the heat between us was soaring high on the adrenaline he still had.
“I want you,” he whispered against my lips, his hand reaching down to drag my thigh up over his hip. Warmth spread throughout me, sending a tingling sensation of anticipation throughout my body. “Let me show you how much it meant to me that you came here with me. Let’s go back to the hotel room.”
How could I deny him?
IN THE ROOM, the lights were dimmed and lit only by the moon. Wrapping his arms around mine, I was slowly lowered to the bed as he moved between my legs, his lips moving slowly over mine.
The adrenaline from the concert had slowed, easing like the night. Everything felt so natural between us, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else but with him. I wasn’t thinking about what next week would bring, or if he felt the same way about me. All I wanted to focus on was this.
My skin felt toasted from the day, and when the air conditioner kicked on, swirling cool air with his warm breath, it became a little easier to take in air around him.
Moving to his knees, Beau hovered over me, his hands on the sides of my hips at the waistband of my jeans. His eyes were dark, full of feeling as my hands slid to his bare chest, pushing back slightly.
It was then I felt his pulse racing, his breathing just as heavy as mine.
“Are you okay?” I asked, sitting up to circle my hands around his neck.
His entire frame was shaking—arms, legs, and chest. “No, I’m not.”
“What’s wrong?”
He tried to be gentle; his kiss, his touch, all hesitant but needing. He clearly wanted something, but what he wouldn’t say.
His movements were harsh, never remaining in one spot for long—at my lips, my neck, my chest, and then moving back to my lips.
With his grip tight, he was hard, pushing against me sometimes, but never taking the leap to actually take my clothes off.
“Beau,” I whispered, kissing the side of his face when his hips moved again.
He didn’t say anything, and then he moved back, his eyes catching mine as if he had to know the answer. “Do you want this?”
My eyes squinted, watching the emotions on his face. “Us?”
“I mean after this next week when your internship starts and I go on tour?” His voice shook, never more vulnerable as he was right then. “Do you want any of this past right now?”
I want you so bad it’s the only thing my heart knows.
“Yes,” I answered truthfully, struggling to keep my voice even. “I mean…if you do.”
He swallowed and then pressed his lips to my forehead. “Me too. I don’t think I could watch you walk away.”
There was a burning sensation in my chest at his words
I was feeling so much more than I ever realized for Beau Ryland.
Like a shot of the hard shit, I knew it was something strong.
I would always remember that weekend on Lake Martin. I would. I swore by it. Some say there is one summer, or even a day, they would always remember because of how their life changed, an awareness of where their heart belonged.
Everyone had a moment like that, too, as if their soul was now imprinted with the memory, and was never letting it go.
That weekend, today, tonight, tomorrow—it would be my moment that was imprinted inside of me.
Performing live was exhilarating. Having Bentley there watching me made me twice as nervous and the high twice as hard to come down from.
I laid there awake for hours, watching her sleep that morning, knowing when we left this hotel room, things might not work out. We both agreed we wanted it past this week, but could that really work?
I knew in my heart I wanted it to.
The idea that she felt the same way made my chest tighten. For a moment, I could pretend she felt something more for me, even if the only words were yes, she wanted whatever this was to continue.
The drive back to Mountain Brook was long, only because we stopped twice, both times for close to two hours.
Back in Mountain Brook, Bentley wanted to see my dad’s bar, and meet him. I wasn’t at all excited to take her there. Mostly becaus
e I knew my brother was working and I didn’t want that judgmental asshole making her feel nervous.
“Well, look what the cat drug in,” someone at the bar hollered as soon as we stepped inside.
Here we go again.
I gripped Bentley’s hand a little tighter when I noticed my brother at the bar, watching me take a seat. “Hey, Jensen.”
He gave a nod, too good to even give me a hello.
He was a fucking prick.
“What brings you in here?” Dad asked, giving me a nod, much like the one Jensen offered.
Bentley and I took seats at the bar. “Just passing through. Thought I’d show Bentley around town.”
Dad looked over at Bentley. “You must be the latest groupie?”
The phrase fuck you rested dangerously on the tip of my tongue any time I spoke to my father. I was ready to walk out right then. Fuck it, she didn’t need to be subjected to their bullshit.
And then I began to wonder why I even brought her here in the first place.
“Shouldn’t you be on tour or something?” Jensen asked, giving me that same scowl he always wore. “I am on tour. Thought I’d stop by and say hi.” I reached for Bentley’s hand, again, ready to leave. “I can see it’s the same shit as always in here though so fuck off, nice to see you again.”
My brother was only remotely approachable or tolerable for that matter when he was sleeping. I was sure of that. I don’t know if he was tortured or something as a child, but he was completely different from Blaine and me. He was a cold hearted prick is what he was.
Jensen’s eyes flashed with anger, he hated when I called him out. “You know what, Beau, fuck you.” My eyes shot to his, fire and ice. “Fuck you, just because you’re some hot shot rock star with pussy thrown your way every night doesn’t mean you’re better than everyone else in your family or too good to talk to your own brother. Don’t put your shit on me.”
None of what he said even made any sense.
I wasn’t sure what I was thinking, maybe because he didn’t have enough respect to keep his mouth shut in front of Bentley, or just that I hated him that much but I reacted.
I spun around to face Jensen, grabbing him by his shirt over the bar to yank him forward. “Don’t you ever act like I’m the one too good for my family. I’ve done nothing but be there for mom and Blaine. You and dad, yeah, well you’re hardly family.” My voice was sharp but wavering, I hated reacting like this in front of Bentley but no fuckin’ way was I going to let him walk all over me again. Dad stepped forward and attempted to push me away, but he got right back in Jensen’s face. “Whatever this is between us, this hostility, the hate I feel anytime I see your goddamn face…It’s because of you. Remember that, this was because of you!”
When I let go, I offered a few more words in his ear that I knew Bentley wouldn’t hear, “I hope fucking my girlfriend was worth it, because you and I will never be brothers again.” I meant those words too. We shoved away from one another.
It wasn’t the first time this happened—Jensen and I getting in each other’s faces—and I was sure it wouldn’t be the last.
“I’m sorry about that.” I told Bentley when we were outside. “They’re just…” I wasn’t even sure how to explain what they were, other than judgmental assholes.
“Nothing like you,” Bentley finished, backing me up against the side of my truck and fisting my flannel in her hands. “Don’t listen to them, Beau. Don’t.”
“I never have before.”
The fact that she understood spoke volumes. Payton never did, but she also held a soft spot for my brother.
After all, she fucked him first, not me.
WHEN WE WERE alone, nothing stopped Bentley and me once we made our way back to Mountain Brook, or maybe it never could from the moment we met, and I couldn’t separate myself from her. We were living off the intensity of whatever this was between us, and the utter consumption it gave us.
We were in my bedroom, her legs around my waist as I carried her to the bed.
Dragging my kiss, my tongue, my body against hers, I didn’t ease up. I couldn’t with the adrenaline overriding me tonight.
No, I pushed harder than I ever had with her. A strange pulsation ran through my veins thinking our time was almost up and it made me angry.
This girl was mine, and I didn’t want to ever let go.
This, right now, these screams she was giving me, they were mine.
The way she curved into me, mine too.
Tonight it was all mine.
My lips brushed over her skin, never wanting to stop. How the hell was I going to leave when the tour was farther away?
I sat on the bed, her on my lap. As I ran my hands up the back of her thighs, coming to rest on her ass, she smiled at me. “I’m ready to kidnap you. Fuck your internship.”
I couldn’t deny it now. I had a possessiveness for her, and I didn’t want her alone, without me. Didn’t matter where we were or what we were doing, I wanted this girl with me. “Is this what you want?” I asked when she ground down on my erection as she peeled off her shirt and let it fall to the floor.
There was more meaning behind my question, and I think she understood that when she nodded.
“I do,” she hummed, her lashes fluttering closed.
She felt unbelievable against my skin. The heat, the noises, her scent—I craved it.
I wanted, I craved, and I fucking needed.
Once our bodies joined, her hands became frantic with the same desire I felt deep in my bones like the lyrics of a song that kept me awake at night, restless until I bled their beauty into a verse. My breath, my movements, and my thoughts were controlled by this obsession I seemed to have and my inability to let her go. Sliding my hands around her waist, letting them go lower to her ass as she rode me. Her sexy curves, from her tiny waist to the gentle curve of her hips, were breathtaking.
Bentley tipped her head back. “God, Beau, you feel so good.”
“Bentley…fuck…” I was getting close, my restraint was fading.
The way she watched me made my fucking knees shake, made me want to beg and give her anything she’d ever wanted. Her breath took the air from my lungs and gave me chills, that kind of shit. It took my world and crushed it, knowing it would never be the same after this last week with her.
“Fuck, pretty girl, the way you move,” I whispered, rocking my hips with her movements, mesmerized watching her body take all that mine was giving her.
Like a song that kept me up at night, I gave every miserable ounce of frustration and aggression that I had shouldered all my life into making love to her, the only girl now.
Running my hands over her body, I closed my fist around her neck, giving her a gentle squeeze.
She moaned, looking down at me with her sexy dark eyes, and I couldn’t stop myself. She liked the roughness but was afraid to ask for it.
Using a little more force than I would have liked, I flipped her over onto her back and hovered over her, leaning in to kiss her passionately. “All you have to do is tell me you want it.”
She said nothing, words trapped in her throat.
“Just ask.” I said softly against her shoulder.
I knew she wanted it, she did, and if the flushed cheeks and passionate stare didn’t tell me enough, her wetness gave it away. She was soaked, all for me.
Stilling for a moment to salvage my composure, the sensations of being inside her was almost too much for me. With my head against her shoulder, I closed my eyes, fighting back the orgasm that was bubbling under the surface. I didn’t want to spill my shit before she got what she needed.
“Please…Beau…fuck me…” Bentley finally pleaded and I almost couldn’t believe what she had said or how it would make me feel to hear her say that. It was erotic as hell to hear those words out of her beautiful innocent mouth.
“You want to be fucked, Bentley?” I asked, gritty and raw.
She bit her lip, moaning as she nodded, and completely undid an
y restraint I had left. Pulling out of her, I vigorously thrust back inside. I used one hand around her waist to draw her flush against my chest, arching her off the bed and into my movements.
“Oh, my God,” she panted out, clawing at my shoulders, giving my mouth access to her neck.
That same possessiveness swelled because it was my body causing this reaction from her.
I felt like I could fucking explode at any moment, but I desperately wanted to get her off.
I had been with women who wanted it rough, but half the time, they had no idea what rough was. Bentley didn’t either, but she wanted my grip tight, tight enough that she felt my passion through my touch. She wanted the relentless angle of my hips giving her an indication that I couldn’t get enough, that I was using her body to give me pleasure.
Well, I wasn’t using her for my own need. I was giving her all of that and then some in an attempt to make this beautiful girl in my arms see how much she’d gotten to me in a week.
“I’m so close…fuck…so good…”
Fuck yeah.
Before I could say anything in reply, she screamed out in ecstasy, her legs tightening around my waist. I couldn’t stop myself, grunting loudly, completely overpowered by the sensations.
I faintly registered Bentley crying out against me, her fingertips dug forcefully into my skin, holding me against her. The tidal wave washed over me, crumbling but I could feel every sensation. It was by far the best orgasm of my life.
“Don’t stop,” she begged. “Don’t let go of me, not tonight.”
“I’ll never let go,” I moaned, pushing deeper once more, shaking my head against her shoulder. “Tell me,” I whispered between pants. “Lie to me, tell me. Just say it.”
“I won’t let go either.”
I was fucked. I’d never be able to let this girl go, and if I wasn’t convinced then, I was in the morning when she wanted more.
“Oh, God…Beau…that was…fuck…” Running her hands through her hair, she panted heavily as I kissed her perfectly flushed skin. “Amazing. You’re so good, like really good, and I haven’t had sex like this…I should be quiet now. Why are you so perfect? I vomit words all over the place and you seem to know exactly what to say, all the time.”