I knew who I was. My family knew who I was and hopefully now Lacy knew who I was. That was all that mattered to me.
It was clear by the week’s end, however, that Gay’s sexualized image of me was what brought fans through the door. Thursday my name was just as big as Blaze on the marquee. I wasn’t just some guitarist for the band anymore. They weren’t “introducing” me or “featuring” me. I was a guest star, which further separated me from the band and from Lacy herself. Where there were no pictures for Lacy or the rest of the band, one of the pictures from my photo shoot was used at the door to entice people inside.
The local papers advertised my appearance that weekend like I was some superstar granting a special show to the hometown crowd. Gaynell proudly showed off the clippings, reading aloud so I could see how masterful she was creating this image of me. Lacy never said one word, and often left the dressing area altogether whenever Gay got a little too enthusiastic about the crowds we were pulling or the attention the club was getting.
She absolutely wanted nothing to do with any details for Ariel Acardi’s upcoming video shoot, scheduled now in two short weeks. It was all over Ariel’s social media feed that she couldn’t wait to get back to Texas and see some “special” people.
I would roll my eyes and let it roll in one ear and out the other. It was all part of the illusion and it meant far more to everyone else than it did to me. All I cared about was our set, our performance.
Gay hand-selected each song in our set, which included some of the ones we had already performed. “Need You Now” became our anthem, probably because we sang it with true emotion. We could make everyone believe what we sang because every word rang true.
My solo for Thursday was “Call Me the Breeze,” a honky-tonking Skynyrd tune that got everyone on their feet as we all jammed on stage like it was a weekend. Even Gay got her chance to shine during the piano solo Billy Powell had perfected before her. The only thing missing was the horn section, which she brought in special for Saturday’s gig.
By Sunday it was clear we owned Austin nightlife. My check reflected as much. I almost had to sit down when I read the numbers that followed my name. I wanted to take Lacy for a late night dinner to celebrate, but her mother worked the graveyard shift at an all-night restaurant, so that made any time spent together after performances out of the question.
To say I was living for the next Tuesday was an understatement.
I still had to get through Monday, which proved to be more chaotic than the one before. Gay offered ten more M&G opportunities for the first lucky few who made it through the door, which meant the line started by Monday morning. She ended up giving a dozen more passes away, which meant I was going to have a late night.
Again she dressed me in skin-tight clothes, but that wasn’t enough for the girls in the crowd who, despite how well I played or how well I sang, kept screaming for me to take my shirt off. Gay nodded at me from the piano but I wasn’t about to strip. But she cornered me before the encore. “Take your shirt off and you’ll double this crowd next week.”
With a sigh I peeled off the shirt, but I compromised by putting on a button down shirt that I simply left unbuttoned. The girls went wild when the spotlight found me as I stepped onstage. I ended the set with “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” which was quickly becoming another fan favorite. I headed backstage to another full dressing room, which didn’t even give me the chance to change. This time a cycle of fans were ushered in and out by Gay and Jacinda. Each fan lingered as long as I would allow, as if they lingered long enough they could win the whole night. Their eyes were hungry as they latched onto my bare chest. More than one used any excuse to cop a feel. They smiled big for every picture. Some even waited outside in the parking lot until I left the building entirely, unwilling to give up the dream.
I was so dog-tired by the time I got into the hired car that I fell asleep in the car. It was nearly two o’clock in the morning by the time I crawled into bed.
Regardless, I was up by eight o’clock the following day. It was Tuesday and Lacy had agreed to bring Cody to the apartment so the kids could hang out together. She was there by noon. We made lunch together and then we spent the rest of the afternoon performing for our pint-sized audience.
I had warned Mama that I would have company that evening, but she seemed a little shocked that it was a heavily tattooed single mom. She was gracious as always, taking Lacy into an immediate hug. “It’s so nice to finally meet you,” she said.
“Thanks, Vi,” Lacy responded with a smile, using the nickname my mother insisted she use. I offered to take all of them to dinner, but Mama shook her head with a smile. “You two go on now. Enjoy your night. I can take care of these two,” she said as her eyes sparkled at the little boy I already knew had stolen her heart.
My Mama loved children, especially toddlers. She spent a good ten years supervising the Sunday school for the nursery set, and missed that when we moved away from the church we’d called home.
“Are you sure?” Lacy asked. “I don’t want to be any trouble.”
“Are you kidding?” she said as she took Cody into her arms. “Looking after babies is about my favorite thing in the world. It’ll hold me over until Jonah gives me a grandbaby.”
“Mama,” I said with a stern look she promptly dismissed as she snuggled Cody. I looked down at Lacy. “What do you think? Wanna go grab something to eat?”
I knew that she caught the gleam in my eye. She nodded wordlessly and I ushered her out to my truck, pointing us straight to the hotel where we had stayed the previous week. “Your mother’s a sweetheart,” she said.
I beamed with pride. Mama and Leah were the loves of my life. I was glad that they had embraced this wild redhead at my side. “They love you.”
She chuckled. “Well, we only just met.”
“Why do you always say that, baby? Don’t you know how awesome you are?”
She shook her head and focused on the traffic outside her window. I took her hand in mine and kissed her fingers. “Then let me show you,” I said.
With my epic payday from the week before, I was able to get a hotel suite. I drew her a bath while I ordered room service. I dimmed the lights of the bathroom as I joined her, stripping as I walked toward the tub. I climbed in behind her, lifting her up into my lap as I kissed the gentle slope of her graceful neck and her creamy shoulder, running a soapy wet washcloth over that supple body that haunted my dreams. “You’re beautiful,” I whispered into her ear. She laid her head against me as her hands slipped between our bodies. I shuddered when she touched me. I wrapped my arms around her, cupping her breast as she leaned her head back for a passionate kiss. My hand slid over her slippery body, tweaking the peak of her breast until she trembled. My fingers disappeared between her legs, which opened for me. I teased her slowly, luxuriating in the feel of her against my hand.
“Jonah,” she whispered. “I need you.”
It was all I ever wanted to hear. I turned her around to face me in the tub, curling my hand around her neck as I drew her close for a hot kiss. She rubbed against my hardened shaft, slippery and ready.
But I was going to take my time with her this week. I ground her against me without entering her, which only drove her crazier, especially when I kissed my way from her mouth, along her chin, down her neck and across her chest until I captured one breast in my mouth. Her head tipped back as she ground against me. “Please,” she whimpered.
“Not yet,” I said with a wicked smile on my face. “We still need to eat.”
I lifted her out of the tub. She shivered as I dried her off, our eyes locked together as I wrapped a large, soft towel around her body and carried her to the bed. I planted my face between those creamy white thighs. She grabbed a handful of my hair as she shoved my face into that sweet quivering pussy. I happily obliged, torturing her with my tongue until she was coming hard with a happy little cry.
Before I could make her come again, room service knocked at the door. I
grabbed one of the hotel robes to cover myself as I answered, rolling the cart toward the bed where she had crawled, naked, between the sheets. I popped a bottle of champagne and poured her a glass.
“Jonah,” she chastised softly. “This is too extravagant.”
I couldn’t tell her it was only a small fraction of what I had been paid for my solo performance, the majority of which went to Mama to finish paying off Leah’s hospital bill. Plus with the money I was going to earn for my part in the video next week, I was finally in a place in my life where I could afford a little extravagance. And I could think of no one who deserved it more than the beautiful woman in front of me. “You’re worth it,” I promised as I dropped the robe and crawled into bed next to her. I toasted her. “To the beginning,” I said.
“Of what?” she asked before she drank.
“Of everything,” I grinned. We sipped the bubbly liquid. I grabbed a plump strawberry from the platter of fresh fruit and cheeses. I swirled it’s perfect red tip around the hardened peak of her breast. She trembled before she reached for a kiss, pressing me back onto the mattress.
She grabbed a strawberry of her own, to trail down my body. She followed that trail with the tip of her skillful tongue. I lay back against the pillows and closed my eyes as she explored my chest, my abdomen, and in between my hard thighs. When her soft mouth enclosed around my hard shaft, I couldn’t stop myself from gasping out loud. Encouraged, she sank her mouth deeper on me until I was almost swallowed whole. “God, baby,” I muttered as I wound my hand in her hair, guiding her slowly.
She needed no help. She worked my cock masterfully with her snake-like tongue and warm mouth. I groaned as she sucked me deep. It was clear she was in the driver’s seat now and she was fully intent on getting even for me for torturing her in the past. She took me right to the brink before she’d slow way down. She’d lift her mouth away and use her tongue against the sensitive head until I was begging for her. “Baby, please,” I moaned.
She wore the same evil grin I had as she lifted up. I watched as she straddled my hips, tormenting my cock with her hot pussy as she rubbed against me. “Tell me what you want, Jonah,” she said as she looked down at me, fully in control.
It was the hottest fucking thing I had ever seen. “I want you to fuck me,” I told her.
She moaned herself as she slid down on top of me, savoring that first deep thrust before she began to undulate against me in a rhythm so deep and primal her head fell back as she gave herself into it. I grabbed her hips with both hands and guided her against me. We rocked together slowly and I watched her ride me, her wet, tousled hair loose around her shoulders, her full, lovely breasts heaving with each deep breath. I reached up to capture one, unable to resist. I wanted to taste every inch of her. I wanted to explore every inch of her. The closer I got, the closer I wanted to be. I thrust deeper inside her, making her eyes grow wide as she cried out.
I flipped her over onto her back. “Don’t you see how goddamned perfect you are?” I muttered before I crushed her mouth with mine. She met the kiss with equal passion, her nails sinking into the skin of my shoulders as I rode her harder, claiming every inch of her with every powerful stroke.
I watched her face as she came hard, spasming around me until I was helpless to follow. I cried out myself as I drove into her one last time, spilling into her everything I was and everything I could be.
We lay locked together for long moments afterwards, staring into each other’s eyes, unable to speak or even catch our breath. I couldn’t hold back anymore. There was no fighting it. There was no denying it. I had never uttered the words to anyone before her, and I knew in that moment there would be no one else after her. I was hers. Helplessly, hopelessly and shamelessly hers. I traced the delicate line of her beautiful face with one finger. “I love you, Lacy,” I said at last. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye so I sealed my commitment with a kiss. She closed herself around me as if she’d never let me go.
And as God as my witness I never wanted her to.
We lay for the next hour, simply kissing and holding each other. I traced her tattoos with one finger. I thought about that photo in Gay’s office, where she looked just like the girl next door. All this work was recent, clearly since Cody. “Tell me the story behind the tattoos,” I said as I held her close.
She shrugged. “It’s silly,” she finally said.
“Tell me anyway,” I commanded softly.
She sighed. “Before Cody, I tried to make the music thing work. Everyone wanted me to show skin or look a certain way, like some insipid pop princess. I tried it for a while, but it wasn’t me. It seems unfair that I’d get any more chances than someone else just because people think I’m pretty. I wanted them to hear the voice. To experience the music. The only way to do that was to take pretty out of the equation.”
I laughed. “You couldn’t do that no matter how many tattoos you get, sweet girl,” I crooned as I traced every bold line that now enhanced her skin. The art was beautiful. The girl was beautiful. There was no denying either.
“You’re biased,” she chuckled.
“Damn straight,” I agreed as I kissed her lips. “What’s the newest one?” I asked when we broke apart. She pointed to the thorny rose vine around her thigh. It was vibrant, so I suspected it was fairly recent. “What prompted you to get that?”
She laughed. “Every time someone tries to shove me into a box, I get a new tattoo. It’s my way of rebelling, I guess. To tell the world this is who I am, and nobody gets to change that but me.” An impish look glinted in her eye. “I got this after Gay told me to wear that miniskirt.”
I had to laugh. “You’re going to run out of skin to ink if you keep working at Southern Nights,” I said. She looked away. I turned her face back to mine and planted another kiss. Then I trailed my tongue around every bold outline of every tattoo, ending with the one on her thigh.
By then she was so worked up she pulled me on top of her for a deep kiss full of such intense longing it took my breath away. I made love to her slowly and thoroughly.
We didn’t leave the hotel until midnight. When we got back to the apartment, Mama was asleep with Cody at her side. She blinked awake as I untangled the toddler from her grasp. “Have a good time?” she asked.
“Yes,” Lacy said with a childlike blush in her cheek. It only made me love her more. “Thank you for watching him.”
“It was my pleasure,” she smiled. “And just between you and me, I think you have a babysitter in Leah if you ever need some time away. She’s completely in love with your son.”
Lacy nodded. “She’s a great kid. You should be proud.”
Mama put her hand on my shoulder. “I’m proud of both of my kids,” she said with a big smile.
I walked Lacy down to her car. Cody barely woke up in the transfer into the car seat in the back seat. When she shut the door, I turned her into my arms for another scorching kiss. “You could stay the night, you know.”
She shook her head. “I should get Cody home.”
I nodded. I understood. I kissed her again, tenderly. “Drive safe, sweetheart.”
She traced my lips with her fingertip. “Sweet dreams, Jonah.”
“I don’t need them anymore,” I dismissed with a shrug. “I’ve got you.”
Again tears filled her eyes. She blinked them away before she slid into the driver’s side. I stayed outside for long minutes after her taillights faded from view.
Mama was still awake when I let myself back into the apartment. She was tidying the kitchen as I grabbed a glass of water. “She seems nice,” Mama said, but there was a tone in her voice.
“She is,” I answered as I leaned against the counter and waited.
She mirrored my stance. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Jonah? That girl comes with a lot of baggage.”
“I know,” I said. I knew there were challenges, not only professionally but with her already having a child as well. “But I love her, Mama.”
She sighed. “I was afraid of that.” She patted my arm. “But I trust you, baby. If you love her, I’m sure I will, too.”
I folded her into my arms for a strong hug.
20: Games People Play
I was in exceptional spirits as we headed into the weekend. It was hard as hell to be around Lacy and not take her into my arms. We channeled everything into the music, which seemed to please Gay after our first rehearsal on Thursday.
Surprising she had taken a lot of the romantic stuff out of the set. Our duet to perfect for the weekend was “Under Pressure.” Lacy acquiesced Freddie Mercury’s vocal to me, which I immediately resisted. But she was confident I could do it, and her faith in me made me want to rise the occasion. We found time to practice it even though we weren’t due to perform that song until the set on Saturday.
“I’m intimidated as hell,” I confessed that Friday night, after we had returned to our separate homes and were reduced to sharing soft conversations via cell phones.
“You can do it,” she assured. But her remark about my being Gay’s paper doll still lingered in my ear. Late at night, when I was exhausted and barely conscious, the thought that it wouldn’t really hurt her much if I crashed and burned chased across my brain.
But I suppressed it. I couldn’t love anyone who would be that duplicitous. And there was no question that I loved Lacy more and more every single day. She had inched into the sacred realm of my family. I would have taken a bullet for any of them.
Music, however, was coming a near second. The more I pushed myself, the more I loved what I was doing day after day. That I was being paid so much for it soon became a secondary consideration. I honestly couldn’t imagine going back to a farm or a factory. I wanted to be on that stage under those lights. Granted things had come exceptionally easy for me thus far, with no real downside other than the fact I couldn’t openly acknowledge my girlfriend. But with each new day, I couldn’t fight the lure of that stage. I wanted it. And if this was the way I had to do it, then that’s what I would do.
Southern Rocker Boy (Southern Rockers Book 1) Page 19