I tell Mom that I’m going to go home and surprise Tanner.
“Well, Sophia was going to come over in a bit, but it’s fine if you need to leave.” I smile and ignore the thick layer of guilt.
“We will come up next week. Are you sure you don’t mind if I leave?”
She pulls me in to a hug and says, “Of course I don’t want you to leave, but I am okay with it.” I give her a hug, grab my bag and head back home, to my man. Being away from him for so long and with what happened, I have found myself getting very anxious when I’m away for too long.
Chapter 17
‘Today we start our new beginning.’
Tanner –
Who knew we collected this much shit? I got my apartment almost packed but packing Lyric’s apartment seems like it’s taking forever. Maybe if I didn’t feel the need to reminisce over each picture, it’d go a hell of a lot faster. She’s coming home tomorrow and I want to have everything packed. I booked a room at the Four Seasons hotel for tomorrow so she doesn’t see all these boxes and ruin the new house surprise.
A knock on the door makes me jump. I put down the glass I was wrapping and peek to see who it is. It’s Tyler. I open the door and say, “What’s up man? Come in.” He looks around and I say, “She’s at my mom’s until tomorrow, you know, wedding planning.” I had to throw that in there, just a little dig I guess.
“Y’all moving or what?” he asks.
I hesitate for a moment and then say, “Actually, I bought a house on the lake yesterday. She doesn’t know yet, it’s a surprise. We’ll get the keys on Saturday.” Tyler raises his eyebrows and continues to scope the bare apartment out.
He gives half a smile and says, “Damn, that’s awesome dude. I’m happy for you two. Really, I am. So, when’s the house-warming party? Need a band?”
I laugh and say, “Hell yeah! Check it out, the house was Don Henley’s house.”
“No fucking way! That’s incredible.”
I excitedly say, “It has a recording studio in it, fully ready to go. If y’all want to use it, you are welcome to it.”
He shakes his head and says, “Bad ass, dude. We’ll for sure take you up on that.” There’s an awkward silence and he says, “So, y’all doing okay though?” I pause for a moment thinking, this is the most amount of conversation I’ve had with him in the two years I’ve known him. I say,
“We are actually. I can’t believe I ever doubted staying with her, I mean, not that I wanted to leave her, but for her own good. That woman has been there for me since we were thirteen years old, and she never let me down once. Look dude, I know you wanted a shot with her, and I don’t blame you. She’s fucking perfect in every way. If it weren’t for me, y’all would probably be together, but she’s truly my better half. You’ll find somebody that is perfect for you. As much as I hate to admit it, you’re a great guy, and apparently good looking, too. I guess I’m saying thanks for being there for her when I wasn’t. That means a lot dude, I won’t forget it.”
Tyler smiles and says, “You’re a lucky man, Tanner. I always knew I didn’t stand a chance with Dylan as long as you were in the picture. I’m fine with just being friends though, with both of you.” He stretches out his hand to shake mine. I shake his hand and he says, “Let me know if you need help moving.”
I smile and say, “I hired movers, but thanks for the offer. That modeling shit was good for something at least.” He gives a nod and then leaves.
I look at the clock and it’s almost six o’clock. I realize that I haven’t spoken with Lyrics in about four hours. I call her and the machine picks up. I quickly hang up and text her.
“Hey gorgeous, making sure you are okay.”
I get a text back, “I am. I’ll talk to you in a bit. Love you”
I text, “K, love you too.” That’s kind of weird, guess she must be busy with mom or Sophia.
Looking at this apartment and all the boxes makes me think back to when we moved to Austin. I tried to convince Lyrics to share a two-bedroom apartment with me, to save her money, but she refused.
She said, “No way, you’re too much of a slut to be roomies with.” She always made me laugh with the sarcastic blunt way she had of telling me what’s what. She was right, I was a slut. Looking back, that must have broken her heart seeing me with all those girls. I really didn’t like seeing her with other guys either. She was far from a slut, but when she’d go on a date or start getting serious with a guy, I would tend to make up reasons for her to be with me. We were together every day anyway, but I would make sure the guy knew she was my best friend. Never really thought about it but I was acting like a jealous boyfriend even then. Strange that it never dawned on me until right now. I don’t think anybody will be surprised to learn that she and I are getting married. We spent our whole friendship defending the accusations of us being a couple, and look at us now, a couple.
Everything is packed, except the bare essentials. I hear footsteps coming toward the door and hope it’s not Tyler again. When I hear a key go into the lock, I hop up and dart into the living room. Lyrics is standing in the door way with her jaw completely hanging open. Her eyes are bulging out and she appears to be speechless. Not sure what to say or do, so I yell, “Surprise!” Why I yelled that, I have not one clue.
She tries to absorb the situation and stutters, “What’s going on here? Why is my apartment packed up? Did I get kicked out?”
I laugh and say, “You are home early. I actually have a surprise for you but it’s not ready until Saturday.” She looks at me like I’ve lost my marbles. “Dylan Brooks, even though you fucked up my surprise, I am so glad you are here. So, I did something kind of huge.”
“What? What did you do?”
I put down the tape and give her a kiss on those soft, pouty lips, and tell her, “C’mon, I’d rather just show you.” She looks nervous and I find myself extremely giddy at this point.
When she sees the lake, she asks, “Did you get us a new apartment?”
I smile and say, “Maybe? Or maybe not!”
“Yep, that’s it! You know you can’t keep a secret from me, I know you all too well.” This is way too much fun messing with her.
I look at her and say, “Yep, there’s no surprising you. No more questions, please.”
She looks at me and says, “You are so sexy when you are demanding.”
I put my hand on her thigh and say, “There’s more where that came from, just wait.” The sexy smile she flashes me makes me want to pull over and fuck her senseless, right now. When I pull into the neighborhood, confusion rushes over her face. She doesn’t know what to think anymore and my stomach is dancing with butterflies.
I drive by our new house and she says, “Oh shit, did you see that house with the music notes out of bushes? We should totally do that when we get a house.” Opportunity just knocked.
“You like that?”
“Heck yeah, that is awesome.”
I thread my hand in her hand and say, “Okay, it’s yours!” I turn the car around and pull up in the driveway.
“What the holy fuck do you mean?”
I smile and say, “Surprise! This is ours baby. I bought it the day you went to Beaumont. I didn’t look upstairs or at the master bedroom though. I wanted to wait for you before I saw the whole thing.” She is stunned. I say, “We will get the keys on Saturday, but do you wanna see your new backyard?”
“Tan, if you are fucking with me, this isn’t cool.”
I run my fingers down the side of her cheek and say, “I want to fuck you, yes, but I’m not fucking with you. This is all ours. I wrote a check for 1.7 million dollars and we fucking own this beauty! Man, I was dying to tell you, but I didn’t want to ruin the surprise.” She hops out of the car and jumps up and down like a kid on Christmas morning, yelling for me to get out and show her. As quickly as I can, I get out of the car and run around to where she is. I take her hand and lead her to the backyard. It’s completely dark outside now so it’s hard to see
anything. She’s looking around trying to see as much as she can. We both have our phone flashlights on and she sees the outdoor kitchen and runs over to it. There’s a big stainless steel bbq, a sink, granite countertops, a kegerator, mini fridge, and what appears to be a few cabinets. She shines the light back on the pool and sees the treble sign at the bottom of the pool.
Her jaw drops as she looks at me and says, “This is ours, really?”
I smile and say, “Yes ma’am, it is all ours. Well, Saturday it’s ours. Oh, and this house just happened to belong to none other than Mr. Don Henley himself.”
“From the Eagles?” I shake my head yes. She excitedly yells, “We got Don Henley’s house! Don fucking Henley!” I can’t help but laugh. We walk to the edge of the yard, where the dock is and the moon is reflecting off the water in a majestic way. She pulls me to the edge of the dock and sits down, pulling me down with her. Our feet are dangling off, just like we used to do when we’d go on our family summer trips. I place my arm around her and she automatically lays her head on my shoulder. Seems like every memory I have, this woman is part of.
I remember Tani told me that they kept the heater on for the pool. I stand up and reach for Lyric’s hand. She stands up and I lead her back to the pool. I reach down to make sure the water is warm, and it is. I run my hand through her hair and softly kiss her neck. She looks around and realizes that the neighbors on either side have no view into our yard. I peel off my sweatshirt and t-shirt and nod for her to do the same. She looks at me cockeyed and I say, “What? You chicken?” She snickers and peels off all her clothes and jumps in the pool. She’s completely bad ass. When I glance at her in the water as I’m taking off my pants and boxers, my breath is taken away from the way the moonlight is dancing on her beautiful face.
She sarcastically asks, “Who’s the chicken now?” It’s freezing tonight! I quickly dive into the warm pool and swim up to Lyrics. I cradle her naked body in my arms and she wraps her arms around me like I’m her salvation. The fact is that she’s mine. I carry her over to the steps of the pool and make sure that she’s warm enough. She puts her hands on my face and looks directly in my eyes as she says, “Thank you.” That’s it, I can’t hold out any longer. My desire to take her right here overcomes me. Pulling her head to mine, I take ownership of her mouth. Her long legs wrap around my body and the water space closes fast. Her mouth drags from mine down my chest, as she reaches down and grabs my engorged cock. Her grip is strong and the rhythm she’s got going is fucking insane. If I don’t stop her now, she’s gonna make me come. I grab the back of her hair into a ponytail and lay her back against the steps. Keeping her hair in my hand, her body floats up as I press two fingers into her noticeably ready pussy. My breath escapes me as she moans with a low purr. The deeper my fingers go, the more she bucks against my hand. She says with sporadic breathing, “I want you inside me, now. You’re gonna make me come and I want you inside me when I do.” Who could argue with that? She throws her arms behind her head and grabs the side of the pool. I spread her legs with my arms and my cock finds the inside of her without flaw. The warm water, warm pussy, and cold night air is driving my body crazy. Her hands squeezing the edge, trying to hold on for dear life is so fucking sexy. I grab her and she wraps herself around my body as I buck myself deeper in her. The sound of the water squishing between us doesn’t bother either of us. She squeezes tight against my body and between short breathes, she whispers, “Make me come baby, please don’t stop.” Stop? I couldn’t even if I tried. Grabbing a hand full of her wet hair, I pull her head backward and bite her neck.
As I continue to fuck her, hard, I look into her eyes and in a low growl, I tell her, “Come on me. I want it baby, now.” She lets out a loud moan and I feel an extremely warm gush wave over my cock and her walls grab tight. I pull myself deeper in her and dig my fingers into her as I explode inside of her. Our bodies are molded as one and neither of us is in a rush to break away. I notice her staring at the house and I ask her what she’s thinking about.
She says without a second thought, “Can you see our kids running around? Can you hear them playing? I can.” I look at the house and I absolutely can see exactly what she just says. Damn, my eyes well up and I can’t form the words so I nod yes. This feeling of pride comes over me and I wipe the tears that are falling. I wasn’t expecting to be so emotional right now. Just a few months ago, I didn’t think I’d be able to get through the shit I was going through and now, I’m wrapped around my best friend staring at our new house, imagining our children. God, I fucking love this woman.
Lyrics wipes my face and then hers and says, “We don’t have any fucking towels.” We both start laughing, harder and harder.
Chapter 18
‘When it rains, look for the rainbow.’
Lyrics –
I convinced Tanner to cancel his reservations at the Four Seasons because I wanted to stay at our apartment one last night. He told me that they wouldn’t cancel it, so he called his mom and dad and told them to stay there, and then they could check out our new house on Saturday, too. They took all of three seconds to agree.
The moving company will be here tomorrow at ten a.m., so the real-estate lady needs to have our keys first thing in the morning. I’m excited to meet her, from what Tan has told me, she seems like a super fun lady. Five years we’ve been in these apartments. If Tan wasn’t entertaining a skank, he was at my apartment. We didn’t spend too much time in his. It kind of grossed me out. We have made so many great memories in this place. The day we got the keys to our apartments, I gave him one to mine and he gave me one to his.
When he handed it to me, he said, “Make sure you knock first, I wouldn’t want you walking in on me in a compromising position or anything.”
I laughed and said, “Same goes for you.”
He smirked and told me, “Yeah, sure. You aren’t that type.” I remember feeling like I wished sometimes I was that type, but he was right, I wasn’t that type. I hated that he was, though. Even if he was banging some chick, he always ended up at my place after. So often, we’d stay up writing until the sun came up. Man, we’ve made so many great songs here. Now, it’s reduced to a load of boxes. The new house is massive, all the stuff we have will only fill about two rooms. Tanner told me we have a lot of shopping to do, which doesn’t excite me in the slightest bit. He and I shopping together is like taking turns poking each other with a hot stick in the eye.
Tanner walks into the living room and comes up behind me, puts his arms around me and asks, “Ready for this?”
I turn around and say, “Yes, I’m ready.”
He looks at me directly in my eyes and those golden brown, caramel eyes of his see right through me. He puts his finger under my chin and says, “Babe, we are going to make many great memories in our new house. Oh, did I forget to mention that there’s a full recording studio in the house?”
My heart drops through my ass. “A what? Are you serious?” He shakes his head yes. I’m floored. I ask again, in case I heard wrong. “You’re saying there’s a recording studio in the house?”
He lets out a laugh and pretends to do sign language at me as he slowly says, “Y. E. S. there is a recording studio inside the house. By the way, Mom called and told me about the song you sang for her. Yeah, that’s the first song we are recording in that studio.”
My stomach tightens up and I say, “Well hell, it’s our studio so we can do whatever we want in there. Our own fucking recording studio.” Tanner is beaming with pride and he wears it very well. I ask him to tell me more about the house, ‘cause all I saw was the outside and inside of the pool area. I definitely loved that! The excitement in his voice is contagious.
“It has five bedrooms, which I haven’t seen any of yet. I wanted to see them with you first. There are six bathrooms, I only saw one. There is supposedly an incredibly cool game room. Living room, den, formal dining room, oh, and the kitchen has everything you would want.” I can’t believe this is happening.
He smiles and says, “I was hoping to fill them up with our kids.” I mean really, can he get any sexier?
“Sounds perfect to me, but until then, the fam can use the rooms.”
“Whatever you want is good with me. Since everything is packed and we have all day open, how would you feel about going boat shopping?”
I grab my purse and say, “Let’s go!”
He laughs and says, “I didn’t think I’d have to ask twice.” This is fucking surreal. I call my dad and ask him if he and Sophia could come out here tomorrow to see our new house.
“Tanner already called me. Of course, we’ll be there.” I punch Tan in the arm and he just flashes me that sexy ass smile he has and all is forgiven.
Tanner says, “I’ve done a little research and think the Tige boat is the best one for what we would want. I was thinking we could spend $150K and get everything we want on it. Don’t worry, we still have plenty of money for the future too.” I’ve always wanted a boat of my own. I don’t know shit about them really. I just know I love wakeboarding, fishing, and being on a lake. Tan has always been good about researching products so if he says Tige, then Tige it is.
We pull into the Tige dealer just outside of Austin. There are about five customers in the showroom, walking around with starry eyes. Smack dab in the middle of the showroom is a gorgeous ski boat. It is black with sky blue accents across the sides of the boat. I guess the salesman recognizes Tanner because he skips over some customers that were there before us and comes straight to us. He looks to be in his early thirties and like he’s spent loads of time of boats.
First thing he says is, “Are you that model guy?”
Tan smiles and says, “Yeah, I’m that model guy.”
The salesperson shakes his hand and says, “I’m Jake. What can I show you today?”
Soul-O (Music & Lyrics #2) Page 9