Heart Beats (Razor's Edge Book 2)

by K. L. Myers

  Nope, tonight is not working out the way I planned. With every sly move I think I make, Rocky counters with his own. Watching a movie about a dog while eating a box of rice is not my idea of a fun night. It takes every bit of willpower I have not to break down and confess that my tactics were supposed to be playful, encouraging him to take a dominant stand and demand his movie or his rice. Instead, he is forcing me to be the demanding one.

  I slide to the edge of the couch, placing the container of rice on the table. I reach for the John Wick movie and walk to the DVD player to switch out the movies. Then it dawns on me that these aren’t newly purchased movies; these are ones he owns. He bought A Dog’s Purpose. When I turn back around, Rocky has placed the container with meat back on the table and is now eating the rice I left behind.

  “Do you own A Dog’s Purpose?’ I ask quizzically.

  “Yes, doesn’t everyone?” His answer is direct and to the point.

  “You just don’t seem like a Disney movie person. I pegged you for an action movie guy,” I say as I sit back down on the couch and reach for a tortilla, then start to fill it with vegetables and meat.

  “I’m both,” he retorts as he lifts a fork now full of beans toward his mouth. “I like dogs, and I like the premise of this movie. The dog helps people through their darkest times, and in the end, he ends up home again.” He chews for a moment. “It’s a good story, and I like it. Do I have to be a one-type-of-movie kind of guy?”

  His response is just one more indication that two people are living in this man’s body. The one who everyone thinks they know, and the real person he is, and I think I’m starting to fall for the latter.

  11

  Rocky

  Lightning lights up the sky followed by the sound of thunder booming in the air. I’ve been lying in bed watching Kathy sleep and wondering how I got so lucky to find someone who occupies my mind and settles my soul, so I don’t feel the urge to drown my life in drugs and alcohol. When I’m with her, she grounds me. Something only Elle and my family have been able to do. Looking at her sleeping peacefully causes an ache in my heart because I know life is going to throw a monkey wrench in my plans.

  My hand reaches over to brush away the bangs that have fallen over her eyes. I try to be gentle so as not to wake her, but it doesn’t work. I watch as her eyes slowly open and blink a few times before a smile spreads across her face.

  “Hey, you,” she says to me. “How long have you been awake?” Just then, another bolt of lightning illuminates the room, and the thunder immediately roars. “Jesus, how long has that been going on?” Kathy asks as she snuggles into me.

  I pull her closer and kiss the top of her head. “About twenty minutes.” I pry my leg between hers.

  “Wow, I can’t believe I’ve slept through that,” Kathy says as her hands slide up my chest.

  We lie there quietly listening to the sound of the falling rain. I gently let my fingers draw circles on her back and feel her shiver and her skin pebble beneath my touch.

  “Play hooky today and spend it with me,” I tell her. “We’ll take a blanket to the park and relax, watch the ducks swim around the pond and just enjoy the day relaxing.” I give her my best impression of the same puppy dog eyes she gave me last night, though I’m sure mine isn’t half as effective as hers were.

  I feel the coolness against my body as Kathy pulls away. She tugs the blankets up around her chest. “You want to spend the day at the park? Really?”

  “Yeah, is that so hard to believe?” My tone is a bit harsher when I say the words. I’ve always found it hard to understand why people always think I’m lying to them when I say I want to do the simple things in life. Don’t they understand that I just want out of the spotlight for a moment, just enjoy a few blissful hours without having someone want something from me? No one understands that I’m a man, not just a rock star.

  “I didn’t mean to offend you.” Her words are spoken quietly as I watch her pull a little further away from me.

  Without hesitation, I reach over and pull her back to my chest and hold her tight. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound rude. It's just that I like doing simple things. Like last night when you thought I was strange for enjoying a Disney movie. I’m human, Kathy, just like you. There is more to my life than the music and the band.”

  The lightning cracks once more, and the thunder rolls as I take her lips and pull her tighter against me. I hear her moan against my lips and am immediately painfully aroused.

  The blanket blows in the wind as I place it on the grass next to the pond. I hear sounds of ducks quacking as they swim through the water and the geese squawking as they fly overhead. I drop to the ground and lie on my side, patting the empty space beside me. “Come on, bright eyes, I won’t bite, I promise.”

  Kathy shakes her head no. “I want to go see the rock climbing wall first.”

  The fun-loving feeling I had is quickly doused by the thought of going into a building where I’m sure my half-hearted attempt to disguise myself with a ball cap and Raybans won’t work. “I’d prefer not to, bright eyes. I’d rather not spend a moment of time with you signing autographs or posing for pictures if someone should recognize me. Out here it’s just the two of us. Oh, and a few ducks and a million ants.” I laugh as I say the last part.

  “Ants? Are there really that many ants?” A panicked-sounding Kathy jumps onto the blanket. Just like that, my little badass becomes a child again.

  “No, I was just kidding about the ants. Now, sit down and enjoy the sun with me.” Once more I pat the blanket right next to me, silently begging her to join me.

  When Kathy sits beside me, she raises her sunglasses to the top of her head. “I often forget who you are and that being around people isn’t as easy for you. I’m sorry for suggesting we go inside.”

  I sit up and hold her face in my hands. “Don’t apologize. I just don’t want to deal with all the shit that comes with Razor’s Edge today, okay?” My lips find hers to reassure her I’m not mad.

  The weather is beautiful today after last night’s rain. The grass has dried up from the sun beating on it all morning, and though the temperature is in the eighties today, it feels more like the seventies in the partial shade. Kathy is tucked into my side, her head resting on my shoulder as the sounds of kids playing fill the air. “Tell me about you, Kathy. I’ve shared so much of myself with you, but I know nothing about you.” I stroke her hair with my hand. “I want to know all about you and what makes you tick. Who is the real Kathy Wallace, the one no one knows?” I laugh a little. “Tell me all your secrets.”

  12

  Kathy

  He wants to know about me, all my secrets, and I have plenty. The question is, do I want to share them? I lie there quietly for a few moments trying to decide how much or how little I want to share with him. He’s told me so much about himself and his family that I know the right thing to do is be as equally honest as he has been. But what if he doesn’t like what he hears?

  “Come on, bright eyes. I’ve told you my secrets and my demons. Now share yours with me. It won’t change how I feel about you, I promise.”

  I hear him, but I’m still not sure. “How can you promise that when you don’t even know what I’m going to say? Honestly, Roger—” I slap my hand over my mouth immediately. I didn’t mean to call him Roger. I know he hates being called that. “I’m sorry. I meant to say Rocky.”

  His hand reaches up to mine and pulls it away from my mouth. “You can call me Roger. I like how it rolls off your tongue.”

  I sigh and relax, deciding I’m willing to share as much as he is willing to hear. But before I can, Rocky sits up. “Did you hear that?” he says.

  “No, what was I supposed to hear?” I ask, confused.

  “The ducks. Those were male ducks flying overhead.”

  I’m taken aback. How does this crazy rocker know the sound male ducks make? He must be joking with me. “How do you know what male ducks sound like? Don’t all ducks sound the
same?”

  Rocky chuckles. “No, male ducks make more of a squeaking sound, whereas females have more of a quack sound.”

  My hand slaps his shoulder. “You’re so full of shit.”

  Rocky flops back down onto his back, but this time pulling me with him. “I am so not full of shit. Google it.”

  If he thinks I won’t google it, he has another thing coming, and when I find out he’s pulling my leg, I’m going to give him a rash of shit about it. “So, you want to know all about me, do you?” My eyes are locked with is as he nods his head. “Well,” I start, “my parents live in Payson. My dad is a doctor, who retired from the military and runs a private practice up there. Rusty and I are adopted because our adoptive mom couldn’t have kids, but I don’t think of him as anything other than my blood brother.”

  Rocky tilts his head up to me and gently kisses my lips. “How old were you when you were adopted?”

  When he’s done kissing me, I reply. “I was eight, and Rusty was thirteen. He had already lived with the Wallaces for few years before they adopted me.” I would normally stop here and not say anything else, but that wouldn’t be fair to Rocky. If he can trust me with his secrets, I can trust him with mine. “My biological parents died when I was six. Mom died from cancer, and Dad committed suicide not long after. That’s when I became a ward of the courts. My dad was an only child, and his parents were dead before I was even born. My mom’s brother, Justin, couldn’t or wouldn’t take care of me, and my grandparents lived in an old folks home and suffered from dementia. I didn’t understand back then why no one wanted me and why I had to go live in a foster home.”

  It still hurts to think back to that time in my life. I feel the tears well in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. Rocky rolls, placing my body beneath his as he kisses me. “I’m so sorry, bright eyes. I can’t even imagine,” is all he says.

  “That wasn’t the half of it.” I continue, “My first foster home was horrible. My foster parents, Jack and Shirley fought all the time. There were three of us kids there; I was the youngest. They were shitty parents and didn’t do anything for us kids. Half the time, I was late for school because Shirley couldn’t get her ass out of bed before eight. I remember this one time when they were actually being nice and took us to the park. There were all these geese, and Jack told us kids to go play with them. I thought they were so beautiful that I ran toward them until this one gander raised his head and started honking at me. It scared the shit out of me, but Jack, he just laughed and thought it was funny. Peter, one of the boys who lived with us, started screaming at the gander and ran toward it, trying to scare it away from me, but the gander wasn’t having any of it and chased after Peter. We both took off running, but he kept chasing us, and Jack, he was awful. He laughed and called us names for being scared of an animal. I kind of hate parks because of that.

  “Anyways, I lived with them for about a year until social services pulled me from their home because the school filed a complaint since us kids weren’t getting to school on time. After that, I ended up with the Wallaces, and they officially adopted me a year later. I guess being with that crappy family taught me to be independent because my mom once told me that growing up, I was always adamant about doing everything on my own without the help from anyone. It was my sixteenth birthday before I was ready to believe that someone would love me for me and I didn’t have to be afraid of losing anyone else I cared about.”

  Pulling out of his arms, I stand. “Enough about me today. Come on,” I say as I take off running toward the pedal boat area of the park. “I’ll race you. First one there gets to relax while the other pedals.”

  Rocky doesn’t even grab the blanket that is spread out on the ground. Instead, he kicks it into high gear trying to catch up to me. Just when I think I’m going to win, two arms wrap around my waist and swing me to the right, placing me behind him before he sprints to the ticket booth.

  “Hey, you cheated.” I’m out of breath from trying to catch back up to him.

  “Nope, I improvised, but that’s okay, bright eyes. I’ll still pedal you around the pond.”

  For an hour, I sit back as Rocky pedals us around the pond. I try to pitch in a few times and help, but each time, Rocky squeezes my hand and tells me to just sit back and relax. Ducks float past us along with a few coots. We even spot a few fish making their way to the top of the water to snatch pieces of bread that someone must have tossed into the pond earlier. It’s peaceful. The sounds of birds chirping and the wind blowing across the water are hypnotizing, and so is the gorgeous man across from me.

  13

  Rocky

  The sun starts to set in the sky as I pedal us back to the dock. Kathy’s beautiful skin is now tinged pink from the sun reflecting off the water all day. We walk hand in hand back to my blanket that still lies in the same spot I placed it when we arrived earlier. To be honest, I half expected it to be gone, and I didn’t care if it was. When Kathy stood up and spouted her challenge, I was all for it, though there was no way I would let her pedal even if I lost. Still, losing wasn’t an option for me, so I accepted her challenge and still pedaled when I beat her.

  “You hungry?” I ask, knowing that she has to be. This girl doesn’t miss a single meal.

  “Does a bear shit in a clearing?” is her response.

  “Bright eyes, the saying is ‘Does a bear shit in the woods?’ You know that, right?”

  “No, it’s a clearing. I once saw a picture of a bear sitting in the middle of an open field surrounded by the forest, and the caption read Proof that bears do shit in the woods. It wasn’t the woods; it was a clearing. The woods surrounded the clearing. So, the answer to the age-old question is: no, they shit in a clearing, and yes, I’m starving,” Kathy spouts.

  I can’t help but laugh at her. She always surprises me with little glimpses into the funny side of her personality. “Then food it is. Do you mind if we pick up something and head to my place?”

  “Do you mind getting up and taking me to work in the morning?” Kathy asks me, and I have to think about it for a few minutes before I respond.

  “Yes, I don’t want to get up that early, but you can take one of my cars. Fair enough trade?” I suggest as I nuzzle my face into the crook of her neck, sucking on the skin.

  Kathy quickly pushes me away. “Don’t do that. I don’t need a hickey. For God's sake, I’m a grown woman, not a horny high school girl.”

  It doesn’t take much convincing on my part when I tell her she can have the pick of any of my cars to drive. Kathy looks directly at the Aston Martin, pointing her finger at the sleek silver beauty and raising her eyebrows. What is it with women and my DB8? It was Ellies favorite car to drive when she was here as well. The Aston Martin has always been my favorite car out of my whole collection as well.

  When we get back to my place, I show Kathy where to find the keys for the DB8 and give her the codes to the gate and to my home. She writes the numbers 4#78779 on a sheet of paper and then grabs her phone. I watch as she opens the phone app and goes to the keyboard. It takes her a minute before she closes her app and looks me dead in the eyes.

  “I knew those numbers had to spell out something. You’re such a pig. I#PUSSY. I can’t believe that’s the code to get into your home.”

  I give her my sexy-as-sin smile and then take her hand and lead her back through the house toward the kitchen. Halfway through, Kathy stops in her tracks and asks how many rooms the house has. If it were anyone else, I would think it to be an odd question, but due to the fact that Kathy is in real estate, I know it’s just a natural instinct to inquire about a home. She’s not surprised when I tell her there are six bedrooms and eight bathrooms, a den, a study, and the kitchen and dining areas. I pause for a moment and then continue with the list of additional rooms, which include a gym, my equipment room, a theater room, and a game room. Kathy asks why I don’t have a recording area like Cayson has in his home, and I tell her it’s because I chose to have an equipment room instead
.

  Curiosity gets the best of her now, and she asks, “What’s an equipment room?”

  I take her by the hand and lead her down a long hallway that steps down several steps to another level of my home and open the closed door. Inside this room sit several Pearl drum sets ranging from snares up to 24-inch toms. All made of maple but with various color finishes. Each set serves its specific purpose, and you can never have too many sets.

  “Wow,” Kathy exclaims as she walks toward my collection and lightly runs her hand over a set of chimes. “These are amazing.”

  What catches her eye, though, are the three sets of tiny drums in the opposite corner of the room. “Were these yours?” she asks.

  “Yeah, that little set was my first set my parents got me when I was four.” I point to a set that consists of a bass, a tom, a snare, and a cymbal in blue. Then I point to the next set of five drums all in black and two cymbals on hi-hat stands. “That Ludwig set I got when I was six,” I tell her as I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. “That last set in red, that’s my custom-made set from Pearl. That’s when I knew there would be nothing in life more satisfying than drumming for a living.” I kiss the top of her head and continue. “They have sentimental value to me and aren’t in the best shape, but I can replace the pads when I have a son I can pass them down to.”

  Kathy reaches down and clasps my hand before she breaks our bond and turns to face me. “You want kids?”

  “Of course, I want kids. Not right now, but someday,” I say as I pull her back to me, once more encasing her in my arms but this time holding her tighter, so she can’t break the bond. “I want a family. I don’t plan on being on the road forever, and having a family is important to me.”

  Kathy lifts her head to look up at me. “I just never figured you for someone who would settle down with one woman. Let alone settle down.”