His Number One Fan

by Wallace, Danyell

  I walk down the hall making my way to the front of the house.

  “Hey Brooke. Have you seen my suit?” I ask out loud. “I've looked everywhere for it and can't seem to find it.”

  I walk into the living room, and stop dead in my tracks.

  “It's just me.” Nyla responds. “Brooke gave me the key to the house. She's running a little late, so she asked me to pick up your suit from the cleaners and bring it to you. She'll be here shortly.” She says sounding congested, then she sneezes. She grabs a tissue from the tissue box sitting on the coffee table and wipes her nose.

  “Bless you.”

  She looks up at me shocked that I was speaking to her, since I've been avoiding her for the past couple of days. She stuffs the tissue into the pockets of her black two-piece suit jacket, and walks over to me. Looking me up and down.

  “Come on. Let's get you ready.”

  She grabs my hand and pulls me down the hall until she finds the bathroom pulling me inside. She releases my hand and opens the small linen closet in the bathroom, and pulls out a washcloth and towel for me. She turns around and pulls the shower curtain back and starts the shower.

  “I'll leave you, so you can shower. I'll be waiting in the hallway. When you're done, I'll help you shave.”

  She walks around me and leaves shutting the door behind her.

  I strip out of my clothes, then I shower and wash my hair. Totally forgetting the way water felt against my skin. Had it been that long? The sound of the shower cutting off let's Nyla know that I'm done. As soon as I wrap the towel around my waist, she opens the door and steps inside.

  “Now you need a shave.”

  She opens the medicine cabinet and pulls out a fresh razor and shaving cream. I’m standing in front of her, watching her every move. She cuts on the water, and puts a small amount of shaving cream on her hand, then gently applies it to my face.

  She picks up the razor and shaves me in complete silence. From time to time I would catch her biting her lip in concentration, or her eyes would briefly lock with mine.

  “All done.”

  Nyla cuts the water off and wipes the remaining shaving cream from my face.

  “I'm sure Brooke and the guys are on their way over. Don't forget your suit is up front on the couch. I'm going to head back to the house to start some of my packing before the service.” She says avoiding eye contact with me.

  “Wait. What?” I speak louder than I should. Startling her a bit. “You're leaving?”

  “Yes I leave for New York tomorrow afternoon.” She pauses. She stands there for a moment with a look of confusion on her face. “Mason when was the last time you spoke with Caleb or any of the other band members?”

  “I haven't.” I respond with regret.

  “Well I'm going to let them tell you the news, but yes I leave tomorrow...” She stops and starts coughing, then sneezes several times.

  I grab several tissues and I hand them to her.

  “Thank you.” She says while grabbing the tissues from my hand.

  She pushes a strand of her now straight hair behind her ear, then she starts rocking back and forth, trying to debate on what to do next. Was she trying to find a way to leave? I wouldn't blame her since I've ignored her these past couple of days.

  “Look Mason. I have to go. I've got to run by the pharmacy and pick up my antibiotics. I went to the doctor this morning and found out I have a sinus infection. I guess it's due to the climate change, and it doesn't help that I already suffer from allergies.” She rambles off. “I'll see you later okay?”

  She turns around and starts to leave, before she could go any further my hand reaches out and grabs hers. She stops but doesn't turn around to look at me.

  “Thank you Nyla. For everything.” I squeeze her hand before releasing it.

  “Any time.” She responds. She walks down the hallway with me standing in the doorway of the bathroom watching her. My eyes stay glued on her form until she turns the corner and disappears from my line of sight. I hear the front door close, signaling to me that she was gone.

  * * *

  “Dearly beloved. We gather here....” The minister continues.

  The weather was cooler than normal on this spring day as we stood outside in the grave yard, paying our final respects to my ma. Brooke and I didn't want nothing too big. Something intimate, so it was just the two of us, a couple of her friends that knew our grandma, the band, and of course Nyla.

  My dry eyes were on the white casket, that’s covered in white and red roses, ma's favorite. I turn my head and see Nyla standing between Jax and Caleb. Just like everyone else she was wearing a pair of sunglasses to shield her sad eyes. From time to time I would catch her lifting her glasses to wipe away her tears. Not one time did she ever look in my direction. I had a lot on my mind and so much to think about after Nyla left this morning. I realized too late that my ma wouldn't want me in this state of mind, and pushing away the people I cared about the most. I knew it wasn't going to happen overnight, but I had to get my shit together, and move on because life was too short. Right? Brooke needed me and it was time for us to move onto the next stage of our lives.

  This afternoon when Brooke came back home, bringing Jax, Evan, Jeremy, and Caleb with her. Caleb told me that we were flying out to Los Angeles Monday. He mentioned something about a possible recording deal with Rocktown Records, and that his dad wouldn't go into much detail, but he wanted to see us no later than Tuesday. Then we would fly out from Los Angeles to Toronto Friday. Since we already had our plane tickets scheduled to leave out to Los Angeles, we were able to swap them out for earlier flights. From our understanding we wouldn't be coming back to Sacramento, until after the tour. So we had a lot to do before we left.

  With Brooke being in college, she decided she would stay here, then if everything went well with Rocktown Records, she would fly out to her city of choice to watch us perform in concert. She stood beside me, holding onto my arm. I pull my gaze away from Nyla and I look down at sister. She gives me a small smile and we turn our attention back to the minister.

  Everything was going to be alright.

  * * *

  “Should we keep these?” Brooke asks me.

  I turn around and see her holding a box full of stuff. I take them from her hands and put them on my bed. I rummage through them, not seeing anything too important, but several photo albums that we could keep. “Here, put these away for safe keeping.” I say passing the albums to her.

  “Okay.”

  I turn around and finish removing clothes from my old closet, and into a box marked charity.

  “I've been staying at Caleb's house.” Brooke says out of the blue.

  I turn around and I look at her.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I couldn't stand looking at you let your life wither away, so I stayed over there. Nyla was nice enough to let me stay in her room.”

  “Where did she stay?” I asked shocked by her confession. All this time I thought she was staying with a friend on campus. “How has she been?”

  “Didn't you talk to her when she was here?”

  “Not really.”

  Shaking her head, she continues. “She's been okay I guess. We talked. She always asks how you’re doing. You need to talk to her.”

  “I will.”

  “When?”

  “I will.”

  “Fine. Are you staying here tonight or are you going home?”

  “I haven't decided yet.”

  “Well I'm staying there another night, so I can gather my stuff and bring it back here. I guess you'll be sleeping on the couch if you do decide to go home, because Nyla's been using your room.” She says staring at me, waiting on my reaction. “Well I guess I'll leave you to your cleaning then. Later bro.” She says before walking out my room.

  “Later.”

  eighteen

  Nyla

  The soft strumming sounds of a guitar, has me opening my eyes and sitting up in bed
. I turn towards the sound and I find Mason sitting back in his oversized chair with one of his guitars in his hands, deep in thought.

  “Caleb told me that your flight is leaving out Sunday night instead of in the afternoon.” He says turning his attention to me.

  I pull the covers away from my body, not responding to his statement. I crawl to the side of the bed towards him, and I sit there looking at him. He places the guitar back on its stand, and he runs his hands down his face and looks at me.

  “I see you decided to come back home. Give me a minute and I'll be out your way.” I say, coming to my feet.

  “Nyla stay. I don't want you to go.”

  I sit back down not saying a word.

  “I'm sorry for how I've been treating you for the past couple of days. I did receive all your texts and I ignored all your calls because I didn't want you to see me vulnerable and in a broken state.”

  “Mason.”

  “Nyla please let me finish. You have been nothing but a breath of fresh air for me. Brooke and ma were all I have. My mom is in jail and I have no clue to who my father is. When my grandma was first diagnosed with cancer, I shut myself out until she knocked some sense into me, by telling me that she was going to fight as long as she could, but I needed to be strong with her. That there was no room to be depressed when depression just makes you sick, and she didn't need my emotional state bringing her down. So when I was around her I stayed positive. On my bad days you could find me at The Grind tossing back drinks trying to numb my pain. I've even tried various drugs, but after that day when my grandma found me in bed with those two girls. I knew I needed help, so I checked myself into rehab for about a month. How selfish of me right? It only caused my grandma more pain.”

  “Mason you have to stop being so hard on yourself. You couldn't have prevented what happened to your grandma.”

  He keeps his eyes on me and continues.

  “Then you came along.” He pauses. “You're beautiful, smart, positive, and caring. You come from a wonderful family with both a mom and dad I'm sure love you so very much. Unfortunately, I didn't have that but my grandma was one helluva woman who played both roles and did all she could to make sure Brooke and I had a good childhood.”

  My heart was breaking listening to his story. I wipe away the tear falling down my cheek and I sit there giving him all my support. Showing him that I was there for him and I felt his pain.

  “I didn't mean to make you cry with my sob story. I just wanted you to know that my distance had nothing to do with you. If anything I want you in my life. I'm not perfect Nyla, but I would like to see where this could go.”

  “You say that now. You just wait until you have millions of girls screaming out your name, I'm sure you'll forget about me.”

  “Nyla don't say that. I could never forget you. It's only two weeks.” He says running a frustrated hand through his hair. “Before you know it I'll be back here in California, making plans to come and visit you in New York.”

  “You make it sound so easy. Don't you know that those two weeks can turn into possible months. I'm sure Caleb told you about you guys signing a possible recording deal, so you don't know what's going to happen.”

  After that last statement, we sit there in complete silence, realizing that our time together was being cut short and coming to an end very soon.

  “How about we take it one day at a time.” I break the silence.

  “One day at a time huh?” He asks me.

  “Yes. Let's not make any promises. Whatever happens. Happens.”

  “Okay I can do that.”

  “Come here.” I scoot back to make room for him.

  He stands and removes his shirt, jeans and shoes, and gets in beside me and pulls me into his arms. I snuggle up against him, laying my head on his chest and I close my eyes. He wraps his arm around me and kisses the top of my head.

  “I'm so exhausted. I haven't slept in days.”

  “I know. I haven't slept much either because I was too busy worrying about you.”

  His hand runs underneath the t-shirt that I was wearing. I could feel his warm touch against my back, trailing up and down my spine in a soothing motion. Until his movements stop. Lifting my head, I look down and see his eyes closed. I sit up and straddle his hips, then I lean forward and place a kiss against his lips. His eyes flutter open, and I lower my head and kiss him again.

  “Nyla.” He moans out my name.

  “Shhh. Try and get some sleep.”

  I trail my kisses down to his neck, chest, all the way down his hard abs until I reach the waist band of his boxers. I reach inside and come in contact with his dick. I withdraw my hand, releasing him from his boxers.

  “Nyla.” He moans my name again.

  Gripping him in my hand, I begin a slow stroke up and down his length.

  “I'm going to help you sleep better.” Are the words that I speak before my head lowers and his hard flesh slides between my lips.

  “Aaaaaah.” Mason yells out, gripping the sheet between his hands. “Mmm fuck.”

  My mouth continues to suck, while my tongue swirls and tastes every inch of him.

  I look up from my position and see Mason looking down at me with hooded eyes. Just the look of exhaustion and pleasure on his face, just encourages me even more to pleasure him. I close my eyes and I continue to move my head up and down.

  Mason reaches down and runs a hand through my hair, and along my scalp. Gently placing his hand behind my head he urges me to go a little faster.

  “Nyla I'm about to come.”

  But I don't stop.

  “Nyla baby. Did you hear me?”

  I did, but I continue tasting him.

  “Nyla.” He shouts my name, before he fills my mouth, draining himself of his desire. When I knew he had nothing left, I kiss my way back up his body, and I lay against his body, with my chest against his. Where I can feel his rapid heartbeat.

  “Nyla.” He says my name, sounding exhausted and drained.

  I place my lips against his ear and I whisper to him to get some sleep. He wraps his arms around my body and we lay there in complete silence until sleep finally takes over.

  nineteen

  Mason

  “Nyla. Wake up.”

  Rubbing my hand down her back, I continue down until it rests upon her ass. Giving it a little squeeze. She stirs awake and lifts her head off my chest.

  “Good morning.”

  “Good morning.” She responds, coming to a sitting position on top of me. “How did you sleep?”

  “Great.” I respond, then I come to a sitting position. Wrapping my arms around her, I lean forward and place several kisses along her collar bone. “Your flight is scheduled to leave in five hours.”

  “Did we sleep that late?”

  “I guess we really needed to catch up on our sleep.”

  “I guess so.” She says giving me a sad smile.

  We sit there staring at each other. With silence filling the air.

  “I hate that you have to leave so early.”

  “Mason.”

  “I'm going to miss you like crazy.” I confess. “Are you going to miss me?” I ask while looking into her eyes.

  She averts eye contact. Trying to avoid this conversation. She shifts in my arms trying to remove herself from my lap. I tighten my arms around her waist keeping her in place.

  “Answer me Nyla.”

  “Yes.” She says looking me in my eyes.

  “Then stay.”

  “What?”

  “You can come out to Los Angeles with us. I'm sure Caleb's family would love to see you. Then you can return to New York from there.”

  She leans forward and kisses me. “Can I think about it?”

  I move bringing Nyla to her back, and I rest my hips between her legs.

  “Well you better get to thinking.” I lean down to kiss her lips. “Because in the meantime, I'm not letting you leave this bed.”

  twenty

  Nyla
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  “Hello?” I answered my phone, not looking at the caller ID.

  “Hello? Is that all you have to say to me? Girl I have been worried sick about you. You've been gone a little over a week and you have yet picked up your phone to let me know that you arrived in California safe!” Jordyn shouts through the phone.