Gates was an amazing producer and told us what sounded great and not so great and what we could work on. It paid off though, because by mid-October we were all finished recording our full album, before mixing. I even got to sing alongside Ace Patterson, who sang a song with us called “Live Free,” and it was badass. I couldn’t wait to perform it live with him if we got the chance; he was such a cool guy. I fell in love with his Boston accent as soon as I heard it, but I wouldn’t have told Cale that or he’d hurt the guy.
We went out to the Hard Rock in Detroit to celebrate with the whole gang, including Raptor and Gates.
“Here’s to a platinum record, lady and gentlemen!” He shouted, raising his glass of soda, waiting for us to raise ours.
“Hell yes!” The guys bellowed, and I chanted in return, clanging our glasses together and chugging our drinks down.
“Cheers to having Tyler back in the group after all the shit that went down!” Raptor yelled towards Tyler, patting his shoulder with his freshly uncovered arm, minus the hand brace. “Missed ya bro, I’ll still be on the side watching you guys kick fucking ass coming up.” We weren’t planning a major tour until after January with the holidays, but there were talks about co-headlining with Angels from Hell, fronted by Kallie Cooper, one of the hottest lead singers in the scene. I’d heard about her from people on the last tour and her voice was intense. It reminded me of the lead singer of Halestorm. Their new album was coming out about the same time as us, in the middle of November.
“Thanks for inviting me back. It’s good to patch things up with Cale and get back to work,” Tyler slurred. “Now let’s get drunk!”
Watching the original crew get drunk was definitely a sight. I sipped on my Pepsi while the guys ordered shot after shot, not once offering me one because they didn’t want to get in trouble. But with the way they were shouting at everyone in the restaurant, I was sure we were going to get kicked out. When “Whole Lotta Love” came over the speakers in the restaurant, Cale shouted and tried to scoop me out of my seat.
“You remember this one?” he half asked, half slurred. I barely understood him. I cocked my head to the side and he spoke louder, but only more incoherent. “We sang fis at kayreohkee B.”
That was when he opened his mouth to sing. I’d heard drunk Cale sing, but not like that. He was in rare form that night. Trying to lace his fingers through the belt loops on my pants to bring me closer, I let him have his way just once. With the chaos of being in and out of the studio and writing, there hadn’t been much time for us to spend together just the two of us. My chest bumped his and he unlaced his fingers, raking them through my hair.
“Are you going to stay with me tonight?” I stepped onto my tip toes and whispered in his ear. I tilted my head back as he nuzzled his face into the side of my neck, leaving alcohol kisses down to my collarbone. I tried not to feel turned on by the touch of his lips, but it was damn near impossible now, feeling tingly in between my legs.
Cale lifted his head and stared into my eyes. “Mmmm…” He groaned, contemplating the idea. “You sure you can handle all of this tonight? I did drink a little too…”
Putting a hand on his chest, I stopped him. “I know you had too much to drink bud. I’m going to take care of you and make sure you don’t have a hangover in the morning.”
“Ohhh, take care of me, huh?” He teased. “I could think of a few ways…”
“I didn’t need to hear that!” Vince staggered up beside us, covering his ears. “We need to get you back, you’re too drunk.”
Cale stepped back and puffed out his chest. “You’re worse than me, dude! Who’s driving anyways?”
I semi raised my hand, not drawing attention to myself. “Obviously me. You boys have had way too much to drink and I’m not dying at 18 because you’re completely intoxicated and don’t know any better.”
The guys snickered and started pushing each other around before Gates broke them up in his drunken stupor.
Once I saw a manager walk in our direction, phone in hand, I pushed the guys towards the exit, giving an apologetic smile in the manager’s direction. Outside, the guys were making more noise and practically falling onto the sidewalk. Now that we were away I couldn’t stop the giggles. I was about to be kicked out of a frickin restaurant! I giggled to myself.
“See the look on that guys face!?” Raptor said, standing on the edge of the sidewalk. “He looked ready to call the cops on us!”
I had to lean against the building to hold myself up from giggling so hard. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more nervous in my whole life. “Not cool. We need to get home.” I scolded.
“Yes mothhhherr,” Luke whined, jolting the other guys along to the van. We gave Tyler a ride home as well because he was in no condition to drive.
It was a change of pace having Tyler sit up in the passenger seat. He wasn’t like the others, and left the radio station at 101.1 WRIF, my favorite. When an old Motley Crue song came on, he started drumming along with his fingers on his legs like Tommy Lee, staring out the windows.
“So my cousins a complete dick, huh?” He turned to ask me, his voice sounding tired.
So he must’ve found out about our big breakup incident…but I knew he would’ve because they were cousins and he’d been home lately, so the word was going to spread at some point. Frowning, I replied “You heard about the video?”
“Yeah he told me. I got home after getting checked at the hospital and saw him sitting on my couch, half asleep with beer bottles from my stash surrounding him. I joked with him though, I said ‘So the girl rejected your proposal?’ and he looked up at me and said ‘I fucked up big time cousin and I lost her.’ I’ll admit it was funny to see my prim and proper little cousin in trouble because everything came so easy to him.”
“He came to the show here,” I admitted. “In Detroit. Wanted to apologize and tell me he didn’t record the video.”
Tyler’s brown eyes met mine. “You believed him?”
“Guess so.” I replied, “I wanted to believe him from the start, but I guess hearing it sober did it for me.”
After that, the van was completely silent, minus the radio. Craning my head back, I saw everyone was asleep, with a hint of snoring. I remembered where Tyler’s house was, pulling into the mile long driveway.
“Thanks for bringing me back home B, I really appreciate it.” Tyler smiled weakly as he stumbled out of the car.
“No problem Tyler, just get some sleep.” I told him, and he nodded, pulling me into a warm hug. I’ll be damned if I didn’t feel his bulging arm muscles practically smother me and I loved it. I pulled away just as quick, telling him we’d see him later and hurried back into the van.
Hour passed and I was finally back at the loft after dropping off Vince, Luke and Raptor, with Cale passed out face down on my bed. So much for ‘taking care’ of him tonight I thought. Taking a quick shower, I put on a loose fitting t-shirt and underwear, slipping under the covers next to Cale.
“About time you joined me…” Cale’s voice was muffled from the pillow underneath him.
“How are you feeling?” I asked him, turning over so I faced him.
“My head hurts like a damn freight train,” he replied, rubbing a hand over his forehead “But come here, B, I want to hold you.” I scooted myself back until my butt was directly rubbing against his erection. I swear the thing had a mind of its own because once my skin touched his, that damn thing sprang to life, poking me half to death.
“I’m not going to be able to sleep against you like this, Pelton, your dick’s thinking for you.” Immediately covering my mouth, I couldn’t believe I just said that! My face flushed beat red and was glad he couldn’t see it. I felt Cale shake from laughter behind me, only turning me on more…not good.
“Did you just say what I think you just said?” He teased me, moving a hand to lie on my stomach beneath my t-shirt. The cold touch against my warm skin caused me to jump a little, causing Cale to grip me harder against his body.
“I don’t talk silent, Bryn Michelle Schaefler. You should repeat what you said.”
Covering my face, I somehow wished he would forget my words. “No,” I whispered, hiding a small smile behind my hands.
“Oh no you don’t. I’ll resort to tickling in some forbidden places,” Cale whispered in return against my ear.
My head whipped around to meet his. I kissed him quickly on the lips and said “Don’t you dare.” Trying to reach for his hands in attempt to avoid being tickled to death, he grabbed mine first. Climbing on top of me so his body rested in between my legs, he trapped my wrists above me, so I couldn’t get away from him.
“So this thing has a mind of its own huh?” Cale asked, referring to what was sticking straight out in his pajama pants. I wrapped my legs around his back as high as I could to get him closer to me. I knew in the back of my mind I shouldn’t do this…especially when he was drunk, but he seemed to have sobered up pretty quickly.
I was ready. More than ready.
“Cale…I…” I tried to spit out that I wanted him right then and now, but the kissing and suckling on my neck was just making me want to scream.
He stopped, his eyes roaming from my neck up to my eyes. “What is it, baby?” Not knowing that he let my hands slip back down to my sides, they started fumbling with the hem of his pants, slipping them down his body just an inch so he’d get the hint. Glancing down, he gave me a curious look. “What do you think you’re doing?”
I turned my head away to gain my composure and turned it back to face him. Deep breath…say it Bryn. “I want to do it.” I said proudly, thinking how awkward I was saying that I “wanted” him. I never said that.
Cale’s mouth dropped. He gestured between us. “You mean you want me to finally make love to you like I’ve wanted to since day one?” The look on his face was pure excitement. Here I was, thinking I was the luckiest girl in the world. Cale could’ve had any other girl out there. He had the choice to take groupies back to the bus every night, screwing them while I listened in the next bunk over. But he didn’t. He chose me. When I nodded excitedly, his lips crushed onto mine, giving me no room to breathe. I moved my fingers through his scruffy bed hair as he started grinding against my skin between my legs.
His hand managed to slip underneath my oversized t-shirt, grabbing ahold of my underwear and ripping them off my body with no protest from me. Throwing them to the floor beside us, his hands cupped my ass, flipping us around so I straddled him. I fingered the bottom of the shirt and pulled it over my head within seconds. I had forgotten I was wearing no bra, so now I was sitting on top of Cale Pelton, completely butt ass naked.
I tried covering myself up, but Cale moved my arms so he could get a full view.
“Why are you hiding?” He asked sweetly. “You are so unbelievably beautiful, Bryn. You have no idea.” Then he transitioned me back over to lie on my back, him over me, reaching for a condom in his back pocket.
“Is it going to hurt?” I knew nothing about the specifics of sex. I was terrified I was going to feel sore for days on end. Inside my head I was a nervous wreck, but my heart knew that it was time, and Cale was the guy for me.
“You can ask questions like that, B, and not feel embarrassed.” Cale let out a light chuckle. “It might at first, but after the initial shock you should be good. You’ll feel more pleasure than pain, trust me.” He gave me a peck on the lips. Slipping the condom over his shaft, I watched in awe. Damn, how is that going to fit inside of me? I asked myself, watching intently. He climbed back on top of me and lowered himself to my entrance.
“If it hurts too much you tell me to stop babe, okay?”
I nodded. “It’s okay. I’ll bear with the pain. It’s worth it.” Giving him a reassuring smile, he gave me one last kiss on the lips, eyes never leaving mine. He guided his shaft to the very tip of my entrance and I initially squirmed. Gripping the sheets on each side of me, I braced myself for more pain as he pushed in even further, inch by inch.
“One last chance,” he breathed. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I moaned, and that was that.
Chapter 16: Run Free
I woke up the next morning to a full course breakfast on my table. Smelling fresh bacon and scrambled eggs, I pulled the covers off my head to see Cale setting napkins and cups down across from each other. Not wanting him to know I was awake, I peeked out of one of my eyes, my hands covering the other one. He was still shirtless, and his sweatpants hung low below his waist. I could see the tattoo on his shoulder as he flexed his arms over his head to stretch, and then get back to the task at hand. I watched him pull a frying pan from the stove, scooping some pancakes onto a paper plate and setting them next to a vase of flowers.
Shaking my head at all the trouble he was going through, I threw the covers off dragged my feet to stand on the floor. As soon as I stood up, the bed creaked, which startled Cale out of his daze.
His eyes raked over my newly non-virgin body and his lips curled up. “Did I wake you?”
“Mmmm nope. That amazing smell did,” I admitted, walking over to where he stood by the table. Gesturing towards the food, I asked him “How’d you have time to do this? It looks so yummy…”
“I couldn’t sleep,” He joked, linking a pinky finger with mine. “After the night we had, the furthest thing from my mind was sleep.”
I grinned, replaying the events from the late night in my head. I had lost my virginity to the most amazing man I had ever met, and although I was sore and feeling gross after the first time, I didn’t back down until I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Cale had made me feel things I’d never felt before and treated me like a princess. It would get to the point where I couldn’t handle it and he would slow down, whispering in my ear how I was the best girl he’d ever had, and how he was so lucky he got to be my first. It was absolutely perfect. Not rose petals on the bed and candles on the tables kind of perfect, but it was just right for me.
I slightly nudged him. “I had a lot of learning to do. You were a good teacher.”
“Oh trust me babe, there’s so many other ways. But damn, I can’t even describe you.” I could feel his erection already pressing against my hip. “Just thinking of how I made you come is making me hard as a rock again.”
“Let’s eat first before everything gets cold.” I told him. “And then we can have round whatever we’re on.”
I’d never seen Cale eat faster in the almost 5 months that I had known him. He was sure to eat my portion too. I was taking my sweet time, savoring every taste of bacon and maple syrup, but I knew he had other things on his mind he’d rather be doing that eating breakfast.
“Are you gonna finish that??” Cale demanded, growing more impatient by the minute.
I slid the plate in his direction. “Go for it,” I replied, and he ate what was remaining in one big bite. “Damn do you have some place else to be or something since you’re eating so quickly?”
He smiled and held onto my hand from across the table. “In that bed.” I knew exactly what he meant. So we spent the rest of the morning in bed cuddling and him showing me how much he loved me…which I couldn’t get enough of.
With the new album coming out, we had to do promoting. We also had to pick out our first single and shoot a music video, do interviews, YouTube updates, and I never realized that so much work came with a new album. But with Tyler on board, the whole process still went smoothly. It wasn’t like they hired another stranger off the street like they did when they took a chance on me.
We were having a phone meeting with Walker and discussing what our first single should be. He and a few other executives had the first cut of the album before it was finalized. I wasn’t too familiar with how record label owners should be, but Walker seemed pretty involved with all of the bands signed to the label, which was a pretty big deal considering our label was one of the best out there at the time.
After lunch the guys and I met up at the warehouse where we practiced to call Walker.
&
nbsp; “Hey there how are my newest rock stars doing?” Walker bellowed into the phone.
“Pretty rested and refreshed, how are you?” I answered, kind of wishing my brother was sitting beside him right now.
“Not too bad myself. How’s Raptor holding up now after the accident?”
“Getting there,” Cale replied. “He’s going to try to tour with us and set everything up since doctor said he can’t play or anything.”
“Glad to hear he’s recovering well guys. And Tyler, are you happy to be back?”
“Yes I am thank you. It’s an honor to be a part of the band again with my friends and signed to a great label,” Tyler said, sounding nervous.
Walker let out a hefty chuckle. “Well listen guys. I had a listen to the album just yesterday, and I must say while I have you on the phone that it is absolute perfection. I have a really good feeling about this record. I’ve listened to your other 2 records and demo from when you guys first started and every release just gets better and better. Cale, your voice can put some of these other big time guys to shame, I can’t get enough of listening to all of these songs. Sure you’re probably thinking I say that to all of the bands we’ve signed, but this really is going to be big. I can feel it in my old bones.” He laughed again. “One thing I’ll say that sets you out is that you have Bryn singing beside you. That’s what will draw those crowds in on that tour coming up. I have never had a doubt in my mind about signing Everlasting ever since I heard you the first time.”
All of us had cheesy grins on our faces. Getting a compliment from the owner of our label was huge.
“So what do you have in mind for the single?” Cale asked. “We were all talking and thought about ‘You Were Young,’ but it was between that and a few others.”
Straight from the Heart Page 17