Becoming Faith

by Joy Eileen

  Martha laughed and wiped under her eyes to make sure her makeup was still where it needed to be. “They’re good boys. The way they stepped up to help with the wedding was so thoughtful. Your dad and I were talking the other night, and the way we referred to them, it seemed like we were talking about our children. Well, except for Bailey. I need to kick Van’s ass about that one.”

  “Yeah, she won’t stay around long. Jet’s been picking on her for weeks.”

  We both laughed at the jabs Jet took at Bailey almost hourly.

  “They’ve all had really bad childhoods. None of them have a set of parents to look up to. When Jet’s grandma died, they lost the only person who treated them like sons. I think you and my dad is the universe’s way of making up for that “

  “Oh, my.” Martha fanned her face. “That makes me want to go and hug them.”

  “They love you, Martha. I love you. We want you to be happy. Those boys are the most loyal people I’ve ever met. When they started thinking of you as a mom, you earned their love and protection. As for your other children, they’ll figure it out eventually. If they don’t, we’ll tie them to a chair until they see reason.”

  “Deal. Now let’s get back to my wedding. This is my day and I want to enjoy it.”

  “Let’s go,” I said, pulling her off the bed.

  “Thank you, Faith.”

  “Anytime, Mom.”

  After the cake was cut, a full-blown dance war started. Dave and Rafael were showing off their moves. Martha saw the crowd gathering to watch them and snagged my dad’s hand.

  “Oh, no. I showed him half of those moves. Come on, Eugene, I cannot have my ex showing me up on my wedding day.”

  The boys were shocked when my dad started busting moves right along with Martha.

  “It’s official. We have the coolest parents ever,” Jet cried as we clapped, encouraging them to keep going.

  The other three nodded, agreeing with Jet. Amy and I caught each other’s eyes and smiled. Seeing our little band of misfits claim more family was adorable.

  “They aren’t your real parents,” Bailey said in her nasally voice, rolling her eyes.

  “Stop, Bailey. Those people out there have accepted us. To us they are our parents. I won’t have you talking badly about them,” Van hissed into her ear to not attract too much attention.

  “Whatever. I don’t know anyone here. Let’s go clubbing,” she said, dismissing Van’s words.

  “You do realize you’ll know even less people at a club than you know here, right?” Jet asked, visibly pissed from her comment.

  Bailey opened her mouth to argue, but Van cut her off. “All right, go get your stuff. I want to go say goodbye to the newlyweds before we leave.”

  Bailey flounced off, happy she got her way.

  Van made his way to the dance floor. Martha and my dad moved in close so they could hear him. They both glanced over and glared in Bailey’s direction before giving their attention back to Van. Martha patted him on the cheek and pulled him in for a tight hug. When she let go, my dad hugged him next. Van held him, and I had to hold back the tears threatening to spill when I noticed Van sigh into my father’s embrace.

  When Van turned around, Martha and my dad exchanged a knowing look. Their gazes moved over to Bailey again, and I smiled when they rolled their eyes. The support and love they showed toward my boys made my heart swell with happiness. Their acceptance meant the world to me.

  Martha noticed us on the outskirts watching and rushed over. “Come on. I need my kids.” She grabbed D’s hand, and the rest of us followed.

  Amy and Jet launched into an energized swing dance, while the rest of us made a circle and danced around them. When Amy and Jet were done showing off, David and Rafael jumped in the middle to strut their stuff. Martha and my dad went next. Kill and I were pulled in right after. All of us ended up in the middle of the floor, and my sides hurt from laughing so hard.

  Late into the night, my body sagged against Kill. We rocked back and forth. I was too tired to move, and my leg was starting to ache.

  “Are you ready to go?”

  I nodded. I was sleepy, but I still had hope we could finish what we’d started earlier in my old room. Kill practically carried me over to my parents to say good night. Amy and Jet were dancing next to them, while Jet told them stories of Grandma B.

  After saying goodbye, I snuggled into the passenger seat of Sex on Wheels.

  “Did you have fun?” he asked as he drove to the hotel. His hand branded on my thigh, holding my hand.

  “I did. Can you believe Van finally stood up to Bailey?” I asked with a huge yawn.

  “I know. I wanted to high five him so bad, but I didn’t think it was appropriate. I had to settle with a silent one with Jet and D under the table.”

  “You did not.”

  “We did. I think it’s progress. I don’t think he’s completely done with her yet, but he’s close. Hopefully it won’t last once we get to LA.”

  “I hope not. She’s dreadful.”

  “She doesn’t realize how we feel about family. We love your parents, and she made a mistake trying to get in between that bond. We have been through way too much to let some gold digging bitch sabotage what we’ve worked so hard to have.”

  “Your success?”

  “No, Slick. Our family. The success may happen. Or it may not. We may be a one-hit wonder, but our family’s what’s important to us. We just want to have the people we love around us. The drama can kiss our asses.”

  “I think I may have fallen even more in love with you.”

  “It’s the dance moves.” He raised our linked hands to his lips.

  “Remember, we have a goal of boring couple to obtain.”

  I melted just a little. Kill helped me out of the car, and before I could take a step, he threw me over his shoulder in pure Kill fashion. He ran inside to the elevator. Being so late, the doors slid open as soon as he pushed the button.

  “On a scale from one to naked, how tired are you?” he asked as his lips grazed my earlobe.

  “Five,” I answered, leaning into him.

  “Being that wasn’t the answer I was going for, I’m going to have to ask for an explanation.”

  “I’m tired, but I’m not going to pass up an offer to see you naked. A shower’s definitely in order, but a full-blown trapeze act isn’t going to happen tonight. If you get my drift?”

  The elevator dinged, and Kill carried me to our room.

  “If by no trapeze you mean I’ll be doing all of the work tonight, I think I might have understood your weird, tired reasoning.”

  “You’re dead-on, Killer.”

  In our room, I dropped my shoes and purse by the door. Without a word I undressed on the way to the shower, throwing my dress on a chair before entering the bathroom. Kill came in right after me, his suit already shed. I leaned on the sink while I waited for the water to warm. Okay, that was a lie. The water was almost instantly hot. But Kill was standing naked in front of me, and even after all this time, I was going to use any excuse I could think of to stare.

  His muscled six pack was waking me up and had me thinking a trapeze act might be plausible. The tattoo above his heart made my body gooey with love. His erection stood tall and when I looked into his eyes, his half smile lit them up.

  “So, did my six pack bring the circus to town?”

  I laughed as he hummed the circus theme song. Moving with purposeful strides, he picked me up, taking us both into the shower. The hot water did wonders to my sore muscles. We took turns washing up quickly, both of us unabashedly staring at the other. Soap bubbles clung to our skin before being carried away down the drain.

  When we were clean, Kill shut the water off and bundled me in a towel before wrapping one around his waist. My eyes mourned the loss of his bare skin. He picked me up and carried me to the bed. When he dropped me on the soft mattress, I stretched my arms out for him to fall into. He seemed to have other ideas. He pulled the towel off
me, one side at a time. His nostrils flared, a self satisfied smirk forming on his lips.

  My nipples hardened and my arms went limp. They fell to my side, submitting to him from his gaze alone. He let his towel fall to the ground. It was my turn to let my eyes feast on his body. He didn’t give me long before he crawled on top of me and kissed me with blatant hunger. I kissed him back, pulling him close, locking my legs around him, wanting to be fused with him.

  My hips wiggled, trying to get his erection to slide into me, but he kept moving out of reach. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I moved again. This time he couldn’t dodge me. As soon as the tip hit my soaked entrance, he groaned and pushed the rest of the way inside.

  “Fuck. I wanted to take my time with you.”

  “Sorry,” I said innocently. I pushed my hips up to sink him further inside.

  “I’m sure you are,” he replied. He sucked on the sensitive skin under my ear.

  “I’m too tired for foreplay. We did that while we were dancing. I want you.”

  The last words barely left my lips before he pulled out. He thrust back inside with a powerful stroke. He continued his controlling movements until my legs went limp. They fell open to the side of me. His hands held on to my hips, keeping me in place, not relenting from his thrusts.

  My body hummed with every touch. Tingles started quickening up my spine. Air rushed from between my lips as energy built around me, ready to ignite. I sucked on his neck as my orgasm crested over me, plummeting my system into a live wire of sensations.

  Arching my back, he continued to pump furiously. I clenched around him, prolonging my orgasm while his pelvis ground into my sensitive clit. Kill went right after I did. His cock pulsed, pushing against my walls, and he bit my shoulder from his release. Kill collapsed onto me as aftershocks zinged across my skin.

  When our breathing evened out, Kill rolled over, throwing my towel on the floor. His movements were sluggish, causing a ripple of laughter to erupt from my lips. We slowly climbed under the covers, spent from the day’s events and our tiny one-ring circus act. With my head lying over his tattooed heart bearing my name, we fell asleep in each other’s arms.

  Chapter 3

  The next morning we went over to my parents’ house. They were headed to their honeymoon in Jamaica, and we were on our way to LA. My leg ached from dancing, and I was trying my best not to show my discomfort.

  Amy and Jet were snuggled on the couch in my parents’ living room, snoring softly. I put my finger to Kill’s lips shushing him before screaming at them to wake up. Jet jumped up and pulled Amy behind him, blinking his bleary eyes, trying to find the threat.

  “What time is it?” Jet asked when he realized his woman was safe, no longer needing to go ninja warrior.

  “It’s nine-thirty. You two need to get over to the hotel and check out. I didn’t know you stayed here, or I would have done it for you,” I told him from over my shoulder, following the sweet aroma of coffee into the kitchen.

  “I wish you had. I would’ve loved your thoughts on the toys strewn around the room,” Jet called after me.

  “Eww, too early. In fact, there isn’t a good time to ever tell me about your toys,” I countered back, pouring my coffee. Getting the mental image of their hotel room out of my head was going to take a lot of coffee.

  “Your loss. I should go get D up.” Jet stumbled into the kitchen and stole my coffee mug.

  “Where is he?” I asked, getting out another mug.

  “He slept in your room last night. It was really late when we kicked Dad’s and Mom’s butt on the dance floor. We ended up just crashing here.” He high fived Amy, who had come into the kitchen.

  She cheered at the mention of their win on the dance floor before stealing the mug he had stolen from me.

  “You did not beat us, young man.” Martha entered the kitchen already dressed for the day.

  “Ahh, Mom, you know we wiped the floor with you. I’ll go get D so we can all go check out,” he answered before walking off.

  Amy, Jet, and a very groggy D yelled their goodbyes and told us they would be back soon so we could go to breakfast.

  “Drive safe,” Martha yelled before one of them slammed the door.

  Kill came into the kitchen with my dad. They went over the flights on Kill’s phone. My dad and Kill had been going overboard, making plans for security. Both of them were worried about the paparazzi and my safety. Especially with the threat of Jason still out there.

  Even though it was never mentioned, I knew having me in the spotlight with Kill scared them. It was a good possibility the publicity would be catalyst for Jason to go off the deep end.

  “We’ll be back in two weeks. I don’t know how much press you’ll be doing before the album. Make sure you remember what I said about keeping safe,” my dad drilled into Kill for the millionth time. He put his arms around Martha, pulling her tight.

  “I will. I already called the team who’s providing us with our security and explained to them what we expect,” Kill answered. He came over to stand next to me. When he looked at my coffee, he shook his head.

  “Oh, Kill, hold on. I have something for you.” Martha went over to the fridge. She pulled out a glass containing a frothy green drink. “I know you don’t drink coffee like the rest of us mortals. I made you one of your protein shakes so you don’t feel left out. I had to order it online, and it took forever to get here.” She handed Kill his drink before resuming her position next to my dad.

  Kill stared at the drink in his hand and then at Martha. His throat worked as he attempted to swallow the lump that must have formed. He sat the drink down on the counter and pulled Martha into a hug, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

  “Thank you.” His voice was full of emotion.

  Martha pulled back and kissed his cheek. “Hush, it’s just a nasty green drink. I take care of my kids. Even when they’re weird and refuse to drink coffee like normal people.”

  Kill laughed and kissed her on the top of the head before returning to me with his nasty green drink. Van and Bailey walked into the kitchen just as I finished my first cup of coffee.

  “Hey, sweetie. Do you two want some coffee?” Martha asked.

  It didn’t go unnoticed by me that she called Van sweetie. She only acknowledged Bailey when asking if she wanted coffee.

  “Yes, please,” Van answered. He made his way toward the coffee maker, leaving Bailey to stand by the entryway.

  “No. I only drink dark roasted slow drip,” Bailey replied in her snotty voice.

  None of us acknowledged her. We went on talking about what we were going to do for breakfast, ignoring her. Bailey didn’t seem to mind our lack of attention. She pulled her phone out, acting as if she was too good for us, and we let her.

  Van’s steps seemed wooden, returning to Bailey. He sipped his coffee, not paying attention to her. Kill and my dad talked about security with Van, while Martha and I talked about her honeymoon.

  Amy, Jet and D came in later. With all of us together, we piled into our waiting taxis. Kill was leaving Sex on Wheels in my parents’ garage while we were in LA. The gleam in my dad’s eyes when Kill handed him the keys was classic man-car-love.

  We ended up having breakfast at the airport after we checked in. We didn’t want to rush the last of our time together. Our flight left earlier than my parents’, so we were milking all the time we had left.

  Martha noticed Jet wipe his sleeve over his eyes when they were walking us to the terminal. She ran up to him, pulling him into her arms, and sobbed into his shoulder, telling him how proud she was. The rest of us encircled her in a big group hug, not caring what the other passengers thought.

  We finally disbanded, giving my parents one more set of hugs. They made us promise to call them when we landed, even though they would still be in the air. With the boarding call announced, we slowly walked to the gates.

  “Don’t look so glum. You guys are about to change the world. Love you,” Martha shouted to our b
acks.

  “Love you, too,” we shouted back to her.

  “Bye, Dad,” Jet screamed just as we made it to the gate.

  “Bye, kids, love you. Be careful. Call me if you need anything,” he yelled right back.

  The attendant gave us curious looks.

  “Those are our parents,” Jet explained to her as we disappeared toward the plane.

  The record label hooked the boys up, which surprised me. I’d heard horror stories of the way some labels treated their talent. A bubble of excitement fizzled through me as we were situated in first class. This didn’t seem like normal protocol, but I wasn’t going to complain. Kill must have been thinking the same thing I was. He turned to the seat behind us so he could talk to D.

  “I’m impressed. You must have made some fucking good connections to get us in first class.”

  D smiled at his praise. Van leaned over and gave him a high five.

  “Really, it was the tour we did last year. They noticed the venues kept selling out, and our merchandise was on most of the audience. They know we’re a sure thing. They don’t want us to start fishing for other labels,” D explained before the stewardess came over to tell us we were about to depart.

  D and Van sat together much to Bailey’s annoyance. When Van booked her ticket, he didn’t realize we would be in first class. I guess it slipped D’s mind to mention it. Bailey was currently behind us in coach. I hid the evil smirk on my face when she realized she wouldn’t be sitting in luxury with us when we boarded.

  I fell asleep on Kill’s shoulder before the plane was able to hit cruising altitude.

  “Hey, your snoring kept the whole plane awake. We’re here,” Kill said softly in my ear.

  I tried to blink away the sleep that wouldn’t detach from me. At breakfast, I took half a pain pill. The sucker knocked me out cold. I barely remembered gathering our stuff at baggage claim.

  My haze finally lifted when I eyed a man in dark jeans and fitted white T-shirt. He held a sign with JackholeS written across it.