“That’s it, baby, you’ve got this,” he said from behind, as they continued their climb. Slowly, one foot in front of the other, they went. Up further and further, climbing higher and higher, and finally, their guide announced they were coming upon the summit. This was it. Just a little further, she just had to keep walking, keep breathing. It wasn’t a race, it was a journey and it was coming to an end.
“I hate this so much,” she gritted, stabbing her pole into the frozen ground.
“Yeah, but check out the view.”
“Fuck the view,” she grumbled, but couldn’t help sneaking a glance at the clouds and sky. Blue and white swirled all around them, combining to make a color she’d never seen before. It was the color of perseverance and strength. She smiled, after all, she was touching the sky. “Oh my God,” Kensie cried. “I did it. I fucking did it.” Tears of relief fell. Her whole body shook as she walked past the achievement marker to the edge. Looking down on the world below, she exhaled in amazement, “As wide as all the world, great, high, and unbelievably white in the sun.”
“Miller?” Carter asked coming up behind her resting his chin on her shoulder.
“No, Hemingway, a line from The Snows of Kilimanjaro. It’s a short story he wrote about a couple on safari,” she explained.
“Like us?”
“Well, the guy dies, so no.” Kensie grinned.
Carter chuckled, “That’s pretty fucking morbid, Friend.”
“It was the only thing I could think of to encapsulate the moment.”
“I can think of something better,” he said, lifting his chin and taking a step back.
“What?” she asked, turning. She gasped, and this time it had nothing to do with the altitude and everything to do with her boyfriend, down on bended knee. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” he teased, pulling a black velvet box from the pocket of his pants.
“I can’t breathe.”
“Kensington Grace Roth, you are my best friend, the love of my life, my happiest thing. You are the place between sleep and awake. Wherever you go, I will follow, whether it be up the highest mountain or down into the depths of the sea. I will support your dreams and do my best to help you make them come true. You are my home, my family, my everything. Will you soar with me, forever?” Tears fell silently down his face.
“Forever.” She nodded, yanking her hiking glove off, offering him her hand, her heart.
Vegas, 1 month later
“I can’t believe we did this,” Kensie squealed, looking down at the black Mrs. scrawled on the inside of her left ring finger.
“It’s too late to back out now, we’re already married,” Carter said, as the tattoo artist finished the Mr. on his finger.
“My parents are going to lose it.”
The realization of what they’d just done began to sink in. They were in Vegas because Lithium had a show. They crushed it. Reeling from the high of the performance, they decided to continue the party. CT, Kensie, Ryder, Jamie, Javi, and his flavor of the month hopped from club to club, and somewhere along the way, they ended up at one of those cheesy wedding chapels. Before she realized what was happening, Elvis was asking if she did, and what was even crazier was that she said yes.
“I was sick of waiting.” Carter shrugged, flexing his finger to admire his new ink.
“My mother is going to kill us,” she huffed, pacing the small room as the artist smeared ointment on CT’s finger, “and your mother is going to dispose of the bodies.” As soon as they’d gotten back from Africa, Jacquelyn and Penelope went into full-on wedding planning mode. Their mothers were fast friends and this wedding was an excuse for the two women to get together for weekly brunches. They’d gotten so much done in under a month, Kensie wondered if they started planning even before Carter asked. Apparently, everyone knew he was going to propose up on that mountain but her.
“We don’t have to tell them,” he said, as if it were simple. As if her mother couldn’t smell bullshit from a mile away. While Carter paid their tab, she silently contemplated how she was going to keep their marriage a secret. She could wear gloves or maybe she could avoid Madison Park and Bellevue all together. The band was constantly traveling and she was deep into the editing stage for her latest project. They didn’t need her to plan the wedding. She even considered emailing them her measurements. “Ready, Mrs. Thayer?” CT asked, pulling her from her thoughts
“Of course, we have to tell them,” she blurted out, throwing her hands in the air. “We got married, six months before we were supposed to.”
“We can still have that wedding,” he said, pulling her out the door of the tattoo parlor. “No one has to know.”
They walked hand in hand down the street, towards the little diner where their friends were waiting for them. “You’ve met my mother. I can’t lie. She’s going to smell it on me as soon as our flight touches down at SeaTac.”
“Don’t worry, I’m a great liar, remember.”
She froze, elbowing him in the ribs. “You’re a fucking asshole.”
“What? Too soon.” He smirked, rubbing his side.
“That’s never going to be funny,” she grunted, pulling open the door to the restaurant.
“Hey, it’s the happy couple,” Javi said as they neared the table. He held up his phone towards them. “Let our audience see the ink.”
“What audience?” Kensie asked, confused.
“Instagram Live. I streamed the whole wedding.”
Kensie’s face fell. “I guess we have to tell them,” Carter murmured into her ear, before giving his new bride a kiss for their fans.
Seattle, Two Months Later
“We are not doing this,” Kensie said, pointing to the large Neil Young poster Carter was hanging over the mantelpiece. They’d closed on their new house the week before they’d gotten everything moved in and were mostly unpacked, but she was kicking herself for inviting their families over for Sunday dinner in their half-furnished and still undecorated house. She spent the morning buying groceries, only to come home to this? “You were supposed to be moving those boxes to the garage,” she said, glancing at the mess still waiting in the corner.
“I started, that’s where I found the poster,” he explained, hopping off the step ladder.
“Please, take it down.”
“Why?” he asked, grabbing the bags from her hands.
“Because this is our home, not some bachelor pad. You can’t just hang a poster over the mantle. It’s for art or family photos, not that,” she explained, gesturing wildly.
Carter shook his head, taking the food into the kitchen. “Baby, Neil Young is The Godfather of Grunge. He’s family,” Carter argued. “Everyone always credits Cobain, but if it wasn’t for ‘Rust Never Sleeps,’ and ‘Ragged Glory,’ there wouldn’t be a Cobain.”
“Take. It. Down,” she gritted, putting her hands on her hips.
“No,” he said, unpacking the first bag. He took out each item and placed them on the kitchen island. He’d graduated from breakfast and moved on to pasta. Kensie got everything he needed to make his famous spaghetti with meat sauce.
“Now, Carter,” she insisted. She needed dinner to go smoothly. Their parents were still pissed about Vegas. She wasn’t backing down, and judging by the determined glint in his blue eyes, he wasn’t either.
“Is this our first argument as husband and wife?” He smirked.
“It isn’t an argument,” she said, shaking her head, “it’s coming down.”
“But why?” he whined.
“You know that room above the garage, the one filled with all your instruments? The one you said would make the perfect studio? The entire reason we bought this house?”
“Yeah.” He nodded.
“You can put your godfather there, but that is coming down, before our parents get here for dinner.”
“Baby,” he took a step towards her, the determination replaced with lust, “you’re hot when you’re all
bossy and demanding.”
“No, it’s not going to work,” she said, pushing him away.
“Please,” he pouted, walking her backwards into the kitchen island. His hands wrapped around her throat and his mouth was inches from hers.
“N.O.”
“Please,” he asked again, brushing his lips over hers.
“Carter, it’s not going to work.” His mouth found her jaw and he trailed small kisses from her chin up to the spot behind her ear. “Please,” he whispered in a voice that made her heart race.
“Carter,” she moaned, as his hands slid from her neck down to her breasts. Their parents were due to arrive in an hour for Sunday dinner, and so far, all they’d accomplished was unpacking the groceries and hanging up a Neil Young poster.
He dropped to his knees, tugging down her shorts and burying his face in her sex. “Let’s make a deal?”
“What?” she asked, hooking her leg over his shoulder.
“If I make you come in less than ten minutes, the poster stays.”
“And if you don’t?”
“Trust me, I will,” he growled, before sucking her clit into his mouth.
“Deal.”
The End
The whiskey flowed freely in Dave’s office. Excitement crackled in the air. The bar was at capacity and the line of people waiting to see them perform wrapped around the building like ivy. It was a special night, not just for the band, but for him. His birthday.
Twenty-seven years old, and in many ways, CT was still that nineteen-year-old kid whose best friend betrayed him. Impulsive, and at times immature, but who could blame him?
“I feel fucking invincible,” he yelled bringing the handle of Fireball to his lips. The small crowd of people in the office erupted into cheers as he chugged.
People were always around them now, friends, groupies, fans. Everyone wanted to get close to the band. Everyone wanted their chance to say they knew them when. Everyone but his family.
People were simple, as quiet as it was always kept, everyone wanted fame. The illusion of stardom, even if they experienced it from the fringe was more alluring than reality. They wanted to be a part of something great and Lithium Springs was their way in.
It should have bothered him. It bothered his bandmates, but he didn’t mind. He spent his entire life around vultures. The person he loved most, stabbed him in the back. What did he care about a room full of strangers?
“Okay, birthday boy, slow down,” Ryder, the lead singer, guitarist, and one of his best friends in the world, said, slapping him on the back. “We still have a show to do.”
CT wrapped his arm around a curvy blonde girl standing near them. She wasn’t anything special; pretty, big tits, and the way she looked at him—eyes wide and lips parted—confirmed what he already knew—she’d do anything to have him between her legs. “I’m ready, man. I have a good feeling about tonight.”
The blonde giggled, leaning into his embrace. “You guys are going to kill it.”
“You think so?” he asked, smirking at her.
“I know so,” the girl purred, dragging her nail down his chest. Yeah, she was down to fuck. Women were easy. Even so, he had it. That thing that made heads turn when he walked into a room, charm, charisma whatever name you wanted to give it, he possessed it in spades. They all did. It’s what made Lithium Springs kings of Seattle and what would one day make them gods around the world. Their time was coming. The summer was theirs.
“You hear that, Ry?” CT wagged his brows at his friend.
“Yeah, dickhead man.”
“Don’t listen to him, sweetie,” Javi, the bass player, said from across the room, “he’s just mad his girl isn’t here yet.”
“I can keep you company,” a leggy brunette said seizing the opportunity.
“No, thanks,” Ryder said, discreetly taking a step back. He’d always been the one to crave monogamy but since he started dating Kitty Cat, he’d been unbearable.
“Come on,” she said, “I’ve seen your girl, she isn’t that pretty. Plus, I won’t tell if you don’t.”
CT cringed, feeling bad for the girl in desperate need of a clue. “You can have fun with us,” he said extending his hand to her, trying to save her from embarrassment.
“I was kind of hoping to get a taste of the Sex God.”
“Sweetheart,” Ryder cooed in a deceptively soft voice. He was usually the nice one. The guy who made sure the girls he and Javi gave the boot got home safely. The one to hold their hair back when they couldn’t handle their liquor, but he had his triggers and Kitty Cat was at the top of the list. “I wouldn’t fuck you with his dick,” he growled nodding towards Javi. “Now get the fuck out of my face.”
“Should have just taken the hint,” Javi chuckled, as she stormed out of the office. “Where is Kitty Cat anyway?”
“She’s coming with her roommate later. They’re having a girls’ day, shopping, dinner the whole nine,” Ryder pouted.
“What’s the occasion?”
“Nothing, they just don’t get to spend much time together and her boyfriend’s out of town or some shit. I don’t know.”
“Hmm,” CT said grabbing the bottle off the table. “You never met him?”
“Nah, Jamie hates his guts.”
“What about her, the roommate, is she hot?” Javi asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know because you’ve never seen her or you don’t know because you don’t want Kitty Cat to cut off your balls?”
Ryder rubbed the back of his neck, grinning. “A little of one and a lot of the other. We met once, when Jamie and I broke up, but I was a lunatic then and wasn’t really checking her out, you know? I guess she’s pretty, in an ‘I’m completely in love with her best friend, and I don’t need those problems’ type of way.”
“I bet she’s hot. Have you seen Kitty Cat? Hot girls travel in packs.”
“Fuck you, Javi,” Ryder said, getting defensive.
“Chill, bro. Jamie is hot, but we love you more.” CT laughed, blowing kisses at his friend. He really was an unbearable ass when Jamie wasn’t around.
“Dibs on the friend,” Javi said.
“No, I don’t want you bastards fucking her, plus she has a boyfriend.”
“Are they married?”
“No.”
“Engaged?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then fuck it. I can’t make her cheat, but if she’s willing.” Javi winked.
“I don’t need you fucking shit up with me and Jamie.”
“I won’t, trust me.” He smirked.
CT shook his head, pulling the blonde across his lap. Tonight, was going to be epic. He could feel it in his bones.
Their set ran long that night. The crowd was intense, and the guys fed off their energy. When they stepped on stage they transformed from a group of immature fuckboys into rockstars. They poured everything they had into each song.
“Alright, Rabbit Hole,” Ryder growled into the mic. Despite his annoyance with Jamie’s tardiness, he had the crowd eating out of his fucking hand. “You guys have been amazing, but I can’t let you leave here without introducing you to the Sex God.” He stalked across the stage, pausing at the end, his eyes searching, searching, searching. A slow smile crept across his face, and his body relaxed. Kitty Cat must have been in the building.
CT followed his gaze, the lights from the stage made it difficult to see, but the blonde looking up at his friend with so much love and adoration was impossible to miss. He was happy for his friend, and Jamie was like a sister to him. Since his blood sister couldn’t make it, he was happy to have her there to help bring in his twenty-seventh year of life.
His eyes shifted, next to Jamie was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. He couldn’t take his eyes of the striking woman with the espresso-colored locks and warm-brown eyes that were eerily familiar. His grip on his drumsticks tightened, his body went rigid as a strange sense of dread flowed th
rough his body. He knew this girl, but how?
As their set went on he continued watching her, mesmerized but the way her tight red dress hugged every curve of her body. He was so lost in her movements, he nearly fucked up his drum solo. Javi was right, hot girls traveled in packs. Fuck his dibs. CT wanted her and judging by the way she was eye fucking him, she wanted him too.
God, where did he know this girl from? Did he fuck her before? Then again, something told him he’d remember if those lips had ever been wrapped around his cock.
Think, Carter.
Think.
Was she a fan of the band?
No.
Did Jamie ever show him a picture?
No.
One of Reagan’s friends?
Reagan.
She knew Reagan.
How?
How?
How?
Fuck.
Fucking, shit fuck.
She knew Reagan, because they were dating brothers. Her boyfriend was out of town. Half his family was too. The bachelor party. Her boyfriend was in Vegas. Her boyfriend was the one person he hated most in this world.
Trey Knight.
She belonged to Trey fucking Knight and she was here, looking like a snack, waiting to be devoured. She was better than birthday cake. He was going to fuck Trey’s little princess and he was going to enjoy it.
After their set the guys hopped off the stage and headed straight for the van. Every other night they stuck around to sign autographs, take pictures, and have drinks with their fans, but it was CT’s birthday and they were having a party.
“Where are the girls?” Javi asked as they made their way down the long, dark hallway that led to the side door where the van waited to take them back to the house.
“Tee took them to the car,” Ryder said pulling his shirt back on. “He couldn’t find your blonde though.”
“It’s cool, I think I want Kitty Cat’s friend.” He contemplated telling them whose she was, but he knew Ryder would put a stop to that shit. He knew what he was doing was fucked up, but what Trey did was fucked up too. He deserved this, and if the girl in the red dress was willing to cheat on that fucking cornball then she was no angel either.
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