Beats of Life (Perception Book 5)

by Shandi Boyes

  There is my girl, standing right in front of me, back stronger than ever.

  Around an hour later, we are snuggled together in our bed. Kylie’s heavy ecstasy pants are easily felt against my chest since her head is resting gently over my heart.

  “I can’t believe we are having a baby,” she whispers into my bare chest, before lifting her head to look at me. I chuckle softly. I still can’t believe we are having a baby either.

  “Are you okay with this?” she questions softly, her apprehensive eyes darting nervously between mine.

  I nod my head. I am fucking fine with it, because it is happening with Kylie. If it was anyone else, I would be running right now. It also helps that I know she is going to be tied to me forever. Even if I royally fuck everything up, she won’t be able to get rid of me, no matter how hard she tries.

  “Don’t even think about stuffing up,” she says sarcastically. At times I swear she knows me even better then I know myself.

  “Because if you do anything wrong, Melanie will follow through with her threat,” she informs sternly. I chuckle loudly. I have no fucking doubt that Melanie would get great pleasure in haunting my ass.

  Hold on, how the hell does she know about Melanie’s threat? I cock one of my eyebrows high into my hairline, silently requesting for Kylie to spill the beans.

  She smiles softly before biting down on her bottom lip. “You left the note in your suit pants that have been lying on the floor in our walk in wardrobe for the past four weeks,” she informs quietly.

  “You do know what a wash basket looks like don’t you?” she asks sarcastically, triggering me to chuckle softly. I have seen one a few times in my life, but washing has never held my interest for very long.

  “Isn’t that what I have you for?” I reply cheekily. She punches me on the chest with her enclosed fist, causing me to laugh even louder. Once my chuckles settle down, she rests her head back down onto my chest, where she remains quiet for the next several minutes.

  “It is true you know,” she whispers softly, her warm breath fanning my chest.

  “I know,” I reply, running my hand down her hair. “I’m not going to give her the opportunity of haunting me. I’ll behave--”

  “I’m not talking about that,” she interrupts, lifting her head off my chest. Her eyes slowly roam over my face before stopping to stare lovingly into my eyes. She looks tired and has lost a little bit of weight the past four weeks but she is still the most gorgeous girl I have ever seen in my life.

  “I know everything that happened when we were apart. I goggled everything I could find about you after the stage curtain incident,” she informs quietly, her voice sounding embarrassed.

  I don’t know why she would need to be embarrassed, she didn’t do anything wrong. I am the one that should feel ashamed. I made a fool out myself during those two years and I would give anything to go back and change every fucked up thing I did.

  I attempt to comment on her statement, wanting to apologize for everything I did, but she places her index finger on my mouth, halting any words escaping my lips.

  “And in despite of all that, I still love you and I continue to fall in love with you more every single day,” she continues, her eyes getting a small sheen of gloss in them.

  “I love you Slater,” she whispers, lowering her mouth down to mine. “Warts and all,” she continues against my lips, causing me to chuckle softly.

  Chapter 39

  Slater

  4 Months Later….

  “Are you sure this looks okay?” Kylie questions concerned.

  “Fuck yes,” I reply without any hesitation.

  She is wearing a teeny tiny black stringed bikini and she looks as hot as……..I don’t even have any words to say how hot she looks right now. The most gorgeous part is her beautiful round pregnant belly that is proudly on display.

  “I feel fucking ridiculous,” I inform, peering down at the floral print board shorts Kylie purchased for me to wear. At first, I bluntly refused to wear the hideous, ball busting, penis shrinking, monstrosity shorts she had purchased for me. But once her eyes pleaded into mine and she promised I would be thoroughly rewarded for wearing them, I knew I was never going to deny her request. My dick and I would do anything for her.

  She giggles loudly as she walks over to our overflowing suitcases we haven’t bothered to unpack that are sitting in the middle of our large suite.

  “It was either those, or these,” she advises cheekily, holding up a pair of red speedos. I gag. Just seeing them hanging from Kylie’s finger is enough to make me want to vomit.

  “I think I will stick with these,” I reply sarcastically. I don’t see what is so wrong about wearing a pair of jeans to the beach. I have no intentions of going in the water, so why do I need to wear swimmers?

  Kylie and I have finally arrived in Fiji. It took as a little longer to get here than we would have liked, but Kylie needed time to grieve and then the band has been in the studio recording our third album for the past two months, so life just got too hectic for us to slip away.

  “I could go naked?” I suggest. We do have the entire beach to ourselves so technically clothing could be optional. Although it would make it a little hard for me to hide the engagement ring I currently have in my pocket.

  “Oh, don’t you worry, I fully plan on getting you naked on that beach,” Kylie informs seductively, opening the large double white doors of our suite, showcasing the beautiful beach that is solely ours, while also blasting our room with stuffy humid air.

  “But you are going to be on the bottom,” she continues, causing me to chuckle loudly.

  By the time we are walking back to our private bungalow, I am thoroughly satisfied and absolutely exhausted. Kylie’s sexual appetite has always impressed the hell out of me, but now that she is pregnant she is even more sexually demanding and I am loving every fucking moment of her pregnancy cravings.

  “I thought you said you weren’t going swimming?” she questions cheekily as we walk hand in hand into the blissful comfort of our air-conditioned bungalow.

  I had no intentions of swimming, but have you ever been to Fiji? It is fucking hot. I’ve been guzzling bottles of water all day just to make sure I stay hydrated since I am sweating profusely. I swear someone has inserted a leaking tap into my arm pit.

  “Fuck,” I curse under my breath when it suddenly dawns on me that I went swimming with her engagement ring in my pocket. My hands instantly dart into the pockets of my board shorts and I groan loudly and curse a few more times when my hands come out empty.

  “Are you okay?” Kylie questions concerned, wrapping a sarong over her teeny tiny wet bikini.

  “Yep,” I reply, swallowing harshly a few times. That ring cost me a fucking fortune. The jeweler said that you are supposed to spend the equivalent of ten percent of your yearly salary on an engagement ring. I don’t know if he was full of shit or not, but forever wanting better than anyone else, I spent twenty percent.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” Kylie questions moving over towards me. “Because you certainly don’t look very well,” she continues, her concerned eyes slowly roaming over her face.

  I feel like I am going to be fucking sick. How could I have been so stupid to go swimming with her ring in my shorts? You would think with the size of the diamond I would have been able to feel it falling out of my pocket.

  Kylie’s sparkling eyes flick between mine. She lifts her hand and places it on my cheek, like she is checking if I have a fever. I don’t have a fever. I am just fuming at my own stupidity. When she turns her hand over, I feel something cold against my cheek. Maybe I do have a fever? She smiles largely, before pulling her hand away.

  “Maybe you’re not really sick, maybe you’re a little scared?” she questions cheekily.

  My eyes roll dramatically. I’m not scared of anything. Except spiders, but those hairy legged bastards are gross. Oh and I’m petrified of losing her. I wouldn’t be able to live without her in my life. Pe
ople think I am overreacting, but they don’t know the hell I went through that week waiting for Kylie’s results. I couldn’t even eat or sleep as I was so fucking worried that I was going to lose her. To lessen my panic, I now make Kylie have blood tests every month. That way if her blood count rises by even the slightest increment I can organize additional tests. Kylie thinks I am being a worry wart, but she happily complies with my request just to give me peace of mind.

  The instant my eyes turn to hers, I sign loudly. The ring I have been panicked out of my mind about is sitting exactly where it is supposed to be, on her ring finger, that she is wiggling excessively in front of my face. My heart rate slowly decelerates just from seeing the ring that cost my more than my entire loft. Thank fuck she found it.

  “It fell out of your pocket before we went to the beach,” she informs giggling softly. I am glad she can see the humor in the situation as I am on the verge of having a heart attack.

  Hold on, wait just one minute. Since it is already on her ring finger does that mean I still have to propose? Because technically she has already agreed to marry me, or she wouldn’t be wearing it on her finger right now.

  “Get on your knees Slater,” she informs sternly, like she can read my thoughts.

  I instantly drop to the ground and crawl towards her like a slave begging his master for forgiveness. I have been practicing the perfect grovel the past two months, just in case I need it at any time during our marriage. I know I am far from perfect, but Kylie assures me that she loves me for me, so I will continue being who I am, which means the occasional bout of groveling may be required at some stage in the future.

  Once I reach her feet, I peer up and have to lean sideways to see her face past her seven-month pregnant belly, causing her to giggle loudly. I raise myself on my knees and end up face to face with her well rounded and glowing tummy. I love Kylie’s belly, seriously I do, but just like Charlie the baby and I have an agreement. It is not to move in her belly at any stage during sexual activities. If the baby complies with my request, I supply the baby with an unlimited amount of glazed jams donuts, which Kylie assures me the baby loves. Thankfully, our agreement is working very well for both parties at this stage.

  I place a quick peck on her belly, before raising my eyes to Kylie’s. Here it is, right here and right now, four words I assumed would never escape my lips. I swallow harshly a few more times, ensuring my throat is well lubricated and void of any fear. My heart rapidly beats and my palms sweat. The instant I spot Kylie’s tongue darting out to lick her lips, my nerves instantly vanish.

  “Will you--”

  “Yes!” she squeals in response before I even get the whole question out, causing me to chuckle loudly.

  And everyone tries to tell me I am the impatient one in our relationship.

  Epilogue

  Slater

  4 years later…..

  No matter how many times I visit her it never gets any easier. I swallow harshly and take in a deep breath before my eyes roam around the lawn cemetery to ensure there are no paparazzi hiding in wait. They never cut you any slack, even when you are visiting a cemetery.

  “Come on, daddy,” Penelope requests, wiggling in her car seat. I move to the back passenger side of my Hummer, unbuckle Penelope from her car seat and gently lift her out of my car, before leaning back in to grab the tulips I had purchased at the florist earlier this morning.

  The instant my hand encloses over Penelope’s chubby little hand, I hear the clicking of cameras and ruffling in the bushes at the entrance way of the cemetery. I raise my middle finger into the air and face it in the direction the noise is coming from. I smirk arrogantly over the fact that they will have trouble selling any of the pictures they are currently taking. I have learnt the past few years that no magazine will print a picture of me flipping the bird, so that is exactly what I give the paparazzi anytime they hassle me. I don’t mind posing for photos during events or when I am on tour with the band, but once I am home I expect a little bit of respect and god forbid privacy.

  Penelope’s beautiful little giggle comes bellowing out of her mouth the instant she notices my finger, before her face morphs into anger.

  “Unky Jacob said that is not a nice finger,” she reprimands sternly.

  “Uncle Jacob doesn’t know what he is talking about,” I reply, lifting her up to sit on my hip so I can quickly make our way further into the cemetery. Because the cemetery is gated, they can only capture us while we are in the carpark.

  Once we are in far enough away that they will no longer be able to get any photos of Penelope, I gently place her back down on her feet.

  “They are pretty flower’s daddy,” she says with a slight amount of twang in her voice.

  “Thank you, darling,” I reply in my best country accent, making her giggle again.

  Penelope is our little blessing. The baby Kylie and I thought we would never be able to have. She is turning four years old in six weeks and three days. Yes, I know the exact amount of days as she informs me first thing every morning the instant she wakes up. She has been counting down to her birthday party she is having for the past three months. Penelope is named after both Serena and Melanie. Her full name is Penelope Rae. Penelope was my sisters middle name and Rae was Melanie’s. Her face is a beautiful as her mothers and she even has a small gathering of freckles across her little button nose. Her hair is a cross between both Kylie’s and mine, making it dark blonde in color. Her hair is flawlessly straight and I always joke that it would be perfect dreads.

  I haven’t been able to grow my dreads back since I cut them off over four years ago. I’ve tried, but have you ever tried to get past that annoying fuzz stage when you are in your late twenties and early thirties? I could get away with it when I was a teenager, but I’m a dad now and I looked fucking ridiculous with a fuzz ball on the top of my head, so I end up having my hair clipped all the time.

  Once I reach her gravestone, I place the tulips on top before squatting down to clear away the leaves that have fallen over her plaque. A large smile stretches across my face when Penelope gathers all the leaves and places them in a pile underneath the tree they have fallen from. She is a tree hugger and loves being surrounded by nature.

  Once the gravesite is back in presentable condition, I sit down on the ground and Penelope comes and sits in my lap. I don’t say anything, I don’t need too, she knows I am here. I just sit and quietly reflect on my memories.

  Around five minutes later, I chuckle softly at Penelope’s obnoxious sighs and grunts. She is as impatient as I am and I’m surprised she even managed to last five minutes today.

  “I miss mommy,” she whispers softly.

  “I know you do baby girl, so do I,” I reply, lifting her to sit on my lap sideways. Her dazzling hazel eyes turn up to look into mine and it tugs at my heart to see little tears forming in them. Wanting to ensure her tears don’t fall down her face, I quickly dart my hand up and pretend to steal her nose.

  “I’ve got your nose,” I tease, sticking out part of my thumb between two fingers. She falls for this trick every single time. Her mouth drops open wide in shock and her hands shoot up to her nose.

  “Give it back daddy,” she pleads. Her angry eyes are only faltered when I notice her huge cheeky grin peeking out from underneath her hands. Just like her mother, she can’t fake being angry.

  “I am going to eat it,” I say, raising my hand to my mouth. She squeals loudly and jumps out of my lap to grab my hand before it can get any closer to my mouth.

  “You can’t eat my nose daddy,” she informs mortified. “You can eat the boogers, but not my nose,” she continues sternly, making me chuckle loudly.

  How could I have ever been scared of having kids. Having Penelope means I get to act even more immature than I use too. I even have the privilege of testing out all of her toys for safety before she even gets to use them.

  “I’ve already had breakfast today, but thanks for the offer,” I reply, only slightly chucklin
g.

  “You’re welcome,” she replies politely. She has such wonderful manners. I have no clue who she gets them from. I pretend to pop her nose back onto her face, triggering her to smile brightly before standing from the ground, lifting her up with me.

  “Did you want to go and visit Nevaeh?” I question. Penelope eagerly nods her head, her excitement beaming out of her.

  I lean over and kiss the top of the gravestone. “I’ll come back in a couple of days,” I inform softly, before walking hand in hand out of the cemetery with one of my most precious little gifts.

  Penelope lets out a little yawn when I buckle her into her seatbelt. She has been waking up early the past few mornings and I’ve been waiting for it to catch up to her. By the time I make it out of the cemetery carpark, she is fast asleep in her car seat. Her little snores are only just audible over the noise of my engine. Once I arrive at our destination, I gently remove her from my car and her little arms instantly wrap around my neck.