Robbie narrowed his eyes at me. “I think Princess Kylie knows all about the birds and the bees by now, don’t you, Your Highness? O’Leary’s been giving you some lessons?”
Devin’s nostrils flared, his grip tightened on my shoulder and Richard pressed the back of his hand against Robbie’s chest.
“That’s enough. Let’s relax, go grab dinner, do a little sightseeing—whatever. We’ll regroup in the morning, okay? Enjoy the rest of your night, boys … and girl.” And I felt the warmth of his smile in my heart.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Devin
“How long do you think it’ll be before I can’t walk the streets, without sunglasses and a hat?” I asked, gripping Kylie’s hand in mine as we casually walked the streets of Philadelphia. That Bruce Springsteen song sifted through my ears and I hummed a few bars as she turned and smiled up at me.
“You saw that first show,” she reminded me. “There were a few hundred people in that club—I looked it up. And they went fucking crazy over you. I’d say it won’t be too long until you’re incognito all the time.”
The pulse of excitement and nerves sparked a match in my veins. I was hungry with anticipation, for that spark to engulf my life in flames. Everything I ever wanted was on my arm and within my reach, and with the added buzz from the city around us, I tugged Kylie toward the darkened side of a building.
We knew nobody in this town, and nobody knew us—not yet. Nobody would care if I took her right then and there.
“Was Ben Franklin a street performer here?” I asked, pushing her back against the aged bricks.
“What are you doing?” she hissed, her eyes aimed toward the sidewalk. “And Ben Franklin? What?”
“Remember …” I began, as my hands slid over her curves, gripping my fingers around the side of her chest and brushing my thumbs over her nipples. “You told me that I shouldn’t give up hope, because Ben Franklin was a street performer and he grew up to do everything.”
“I can’t believe you remember that.” She laughed gently, her eyes lolling with the manipulations of my hands on her body. “Ben Franklin grew up in Boston, babe. He didn’t move to Philly until he was in his late-teens and I have no idea if he performed in the streets then.”
I took one step closer to her, engulfing myself in the shadows and pressed my hardening erection against her. “Why the hell do you know so much about Ben Franklin?”
Her gaze fell to my chest and her pulse quickened in her throat. “It’s so dumb,” she giggled, hooking her thumbs in my beltloops.
“No dumber than me pining over you for a third of my life,” I growled, craning my neck to brush my lips over the outer edge of her ear. I inhaled the scent of her hair, kissing her earlobe.
Her breath hissed through her teeth and she arched her back, pressing her chest against me. “I Googled struggling artists once, just to give you some confidence, and he was one I read about.”
I grazed my nose over her ear, down her throat, and pressed my lips to her throat. “Tell me something, KJ.”
“What?” Her fingers left my beltloops, slid over my chest, and slipped around my neck. Pressing my mouth to her skin, holding me there.
“How long have you been in love with me?”
I don’t know why I had never thought to ask the question before. Our relationship had quickly progressed to I love you’s, without a single question from me, but there, on the streets of Philadelphia, I wondered. I wondered what had drawn her to standing by my side, to cooking dinner for me, to saying I love you the first time after we woke up together on the couch.
“That’s a weird question to ask right now,” she laughed, tipping her forehead to my shoulder.
“I just never thought to before,” I whispered, tracing a line to that hollow little spot between her throat and collar. I circled my tongue there, taking my time as her breath caught against my ear, and her fingers dug into my shoulders.
“I … I don’t know, Dev.”
“Do you know when I fell in love with you?” I asked, kissing my way back up the ivory pillar of her throat, nudging my nose into her hairline and inhaling deeply. The outside world had faded, leaving behind only me and her in that alleyway.
Uninhibited, I felt naked. Like I could do anything, say anything.
Unable to speak, she shook her head, pushing her hands into my hair. Tufts wedged between her fingers and she pulled gently, tilting her hips against me. The original intent of the alleyway escapade had almost left my mind with thoughts of falling in love, but with that reminder, I responded by grinding my erection against her thigh.
“I thought I loved you before, but … the field of daisies,” I whispered into her ear in a low voice. “That was when I fell in love with you. That was when I made the decision to forfeit my dreams for you, to make sure you were always okay.”
“That was a long time ago,” she said, her voice instantly choked by the reminder of that dark day.
Despite her manual protests, I lifted my head from her neck. I put my lips to hers, closing my eyes to enjoy a kiss that would have lasted hours, if I had my way. My tongue languorously stroked against hers, holding onto her little moans and swallowing them to mingle with my own. I reached for her thigh, lifted it and hooked her leg around my waist.
With my hand pressed to the brick behind her head, I kissed her and unzipped my jeans, freeing my throbbing erection. I pulled her panties to the side, losing myself inside her heat and finding my soul in the connection of our hearts.
Thank God she had wore a dress.
“God … Devin …” she groaned against my mouth, and she whimpered with every long, slow stroke against that old brick wall in Philadelphia, where Ben Franklin may or may not have performed hundreds of years ago.
I pulled my mouth away, stared at her wet and pouty lips. Her lids were closed, her hair rasping gently against the building, and I watched the changing of her perfect features. Months of togetherness and I hadn’t grown tired of it. Hadn’t yet gotten sick of hearing my name rolling on her tongue in that lustful way. I was addicted to it, the way I was now also addicted to hearing the crowd scream my name, and I thought about how wrong I was all those years ago.
I really could have it all.
I could have the girl and the rockstar life.
I could get lucky. Hell, I already was.
Her eyes opened, her lids fixed in a half-hooded state as she stared up at me in a sex-produced euphoria. She tightened her grip on my neck.
“Writing a song for me?” she asked, her lips smiling affectionately as I continued the lazy movements of my hips. Not to chase an orgasm—an explosive climax to conclude our alleyway tryst—but to chase her heart around those old streets of Philly before I no longer could without being noticed.
“I’m always writing a song about you,” I said, my eyes never leaving hers. “You’re the reason why all of this is happening, you know.”
“I have nothing to do with this,” she whispered, scraping her nails down along my neck. “This is all you, babe.”
“No,” I said, gently shaking my head. “I loved you and your dreams came true. Who says the same couldn’t happen once you loved me?”
She held my gaze and her teeth tugged at her lower lip as the uncertainty of her emotion ebbed and flowed until she asked, “Does it matter when I fell in love with you?”
“No,” I said, pressing my forehead to hers. “Just as long as you never stop.”
I kissed her slowly, my tongue dancing lazily with hers with long, smooth strokes. Anybody who saw us would have only thought we were simply making out, deeply, after a night of drinks. They wouldn’t have heard my heart. Nobody but her could hear its chanting: never stop, never stop, never stop.
♪
Satisfied and hungry, we decided to order room service instead of ducking into a restaurant. Walking hand-in-hand back to our room, we caught Robbie sitting on a sofa in the hotel lobby with his black Stratocaster propped up on his thigh and his hea
vy Doc Martens perched on an armchair. The high-pitched plucking of the electric without an amp, saddened my ears as we approached.
“Hey,” I said, catching his attention with a wave.
Looking up from his quality time with the Strat in his arms, he threw us a tight-lipped smile. “O’Leary and his pretty, pretty Princess,” he said, tipping his head. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”
I sniffed a laugh. “Just thought I’d say hi before we head upstairs. Have you eaten dinner yet?”
“Nope. Why? You inviting me?” His eyes twinkled with mischief.
Kylie’s hand tightened around mine, and I shrugged. “Well, if you want to—”
“I’m kidding, O’Leary. I’m going to head down the street to a pub and get shitfaced. Are you two interested in tagging along? I’m sure they have virgin piña coladas for Princess over here.”
I pushed myself to smile. “No thanks, man. Long day tomorrow. We’re just going to order some room service and get to sleep.”
“Uh-huh, sleep. Sure,” he teased with a chuckle and a wink before returning his attention back to the guitar in his lap. “Night night, Princess. Don’t let the monsters in the closet get ya.”
“Night, Robbie,” I said, chuckling before turning to lead a cringing Kylie to the elevator.
Inside, she turned to me, tipping her brows with unexplained worry. “Why do you keep trying with him?”
“He’s just teasing you, baby,” I assured her, although I wasn’t all that convinced of it myself. “He just has a shitty sense of humor.”
She shook her head, watching the blinking numbers above the elevator doors. “I don’t know, Devin. He rubs me the wrong way. There’s something about him, and—”
I shrugged. “Kylie, the guy is a rock star. He’s played with a ton of people.”
“Yeah, and he’s also lost a ton of jobs, too,” she reminded me. “And since when did being a rock star give someone the right to be a jerk?”
“It doesn’t,” I agreed, “but the guy knows people. You don’t want to piss off the guy that knows people.”
“Maybe they’re not the type of people you want to know, Dev,” she offered gently, dropping her gaze to the floor.
“And maybe you’re just being paranoid,” I said lightheartedly, nudging my elbow against her arm and squeezing her hand in mine.
We got to our floor and then to our room. Using the card key, the door opened, and I pushed inside, immediately grabbed the menu and plopped down on the couch. I only noticed Kylie staring at me when I looked up to ask what she wanted to eat.
She worried her lower lip between her teeth, hands held awkwardly over her chest as she spun one of her rings around and around her finger.
I lowered the menu to my lap. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“Maybe I am being paranoid, Dev, but …” She shook her head, casting her gaze to the side, staring at the coffee table, the TV … anything but me. “Just be careful with him, okay? I don’t trust him.”
I leaned forward, rested my elbows on my knees and looked up at her intently. “But you trust me, right?”
She nodded, still working that lip between her clenched teeth. “Of course, I do.”
“Then, that’s all you need to know. I don’t know what you’re worried about, KJ, but whatever it is, nothing is going to happen. I won’t let it.” I beckoned her with a finger to come to me, and she complied, stepping forward. I pulled her down to my lap, wrapped my arms around her and pressed my lips to her shoulder. “I promise, okay?”
Slowly, she exhaled with a nod, conceding, but I didn’t feel she was entirely convinced of my promise. It irked me and jabbed at my nerves with a warning, but it was okay, I told myself. I would show her that everything was fine. Because nothing was going to ruin any of this for me, for us. Especially not Robbie fucking White.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Kylie
I woke to the chiming of my phone, and I grabbed it from the nightstand.
It was Brooke.
“Hey birthday girl,” I answered, groggy with sleep. “How’s your weekend vacay going?”
“Hey! Amazing! How’s the roadie life treating you?” The distinctive sound of honking cars and city noise overpowered the sound of her voice. “Ugh, it’s so damn loud … hold on …”
I rubbed a hand over my face before noticing the quiet of the room, and I sat up.
Devin’s side of the bed was empty, and his phone and wallet were missing from the nightstand. I sighed sadly, realizing I’d missed him before he left for band practice, while feeling grateful that he had let me sleep.
With my wandering eyes, I spotted a note on the desk and I climbed out of bed to grab it.
I’ll meet you at the Magic Gardens around noon.
Love you,
Dev
I smiled at his chicken-scratch handwriting and shuffled into the bathroom before remembering I was still on the phone. “Brooke? What the hell are you doing?”
She grunted with aggravation. “I’m trying to find a quiet place and these people won’t … move …” A door closed, and she sighed. “Finally. Okay, so, as I was saying … How’s the roadie life?”
I laughed, sitting down on the toilet. “This is the first stop. I’ve barely even done anything.”
“But you slept in a fancy-schmancy hotel last night, right? That’s gotta be—wait, are you peeing?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Oh my God, so am I! It’s like our bladders are in sync,” she said with a laugh.
I laughed with a roll of my eyes. “Even from afar, we’re going to the bathroom together.”
“I know. It’s like we’re best friends or something,” she said. “So, how’s lover boy?”
“Busy.” I flushed, smiling as I heard the same from her end. “I feel like we’re apart more than we’re together, but it’s worth it, you know? He’s finally doing what he wants to do with his life, and that makes me so ridiculously happy for him.”
“Oh, yeah, for sure. But … it’s gotta be a little hard on you, especially when you’ve really only been together for a handful of months. You guys are still in the honeymoon phase.”
“Oh, believe me, we’re just fine,” I laughed, fondly recalling the unexpected tryst in the alley. “What about you guys? How’s your birthday been? You did remember to lock the store, right?”
“Yes, and I left a note on the door to let everyone know we’re closed for the weekend,” she groused lightheartedly, and then she sighed in that way girls do when they’re about to gush about the cute guy. “Oh my God, Kylie … I know you’re the one with amazing things happening right now, but—”
“Hey, come on,” I protested, walking back to the bed and flopping back in. “It’s all relative.”
“Yeah, I guess … well, anyway, Trent has been laying it on so thick since we got here yesterday. I mean, massages and a fancy dinner, and …” Her voice dropped a few decibels as she said, “And last night, I had three orgasms—three, Kylie—before he got off.”
“Well, it is your birthday weekend,” I offered.
“No, I’ve had birthdays before and he’s never done all this. Something is definitely up.”
I bit back the secret I had been keeping for weeks, remembering the picture of the ring on Trent’s phone. “I think you’re looking too into it,” I said gently.
“I don’t know, Ky … three orgasms? I mean, Trent’s not a selfish guy by any means, but that was a little out there, even for him.”
I giggled, pulling myself back to the night before. The alleyway. The slow and sensual way he made love to me against the bricks without worry of being caught. “Yeah, Dev’s been full of surprises too,” I said with a longing sigh, wishing he was there.
“Ooh, I bet. He must be riding such a crazy high right now,” and with that comment, I was reminded of Robbie.
“I don’t want to talk about highs,” I quipped bitterly, sitting up in bed.
“Oh God, I’m so
rry. I—”
“No, not about that,” I hastily added. “It’s not that. Robbie is just such a disgusting pig.”
I already told her about Robbie, after meeting him for the first time weeks ago, and again after the first show. About his comments, about his behavior. About Devin, continuing to find something impressive about him.
“Is he on something?” Brooke asked.
I wiped a hand over my face. “Absolutely. I don’t know what, but …” My voice trailed off as my stomach knotted nervously. “Brooke, I feel so stupid, but it makes me worried for Devin.”
“Devin’s a big boy, honey, and he knows how you feel about that type of shit. I mean, obviously.”
I knew that. Of course, I did. But, I also knew that, sometimes, it doesn’t matter how strongly someone feels about something. No matter how much love is there—sometimes the pressure wins.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I reluctantly conceded, and with a quick glance at the clock, I noticed how late it already was and the thought of seeing Devin brought my lips to curl into an easy smile. “Hey, Brooke, I hate to ditch you so soon, but Dev and I are going to the Philadelphia Magic Gardens with Richard before he’s gotta play tonight.”
“No problem, hon. Trent’s waiting for me anyway. I love you. Tell Devin to break a leg for us tonight.”
“I will, and Trent I said hi,” I said. “Love you too, and hey, happy birthday.”
♪
The sun peeked through the colorful archways of Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, glinting rays of joy over the chips of mosaic. It was a wonderland, something straight out of artistic dreams, and if I had an artistic bone in my body, I would have felt the desire to contribute a piece of myself. Instead, I just stopped every couple of feet and stared in awe at the creativity of the world around me, and watched as others simply walked by without taking a second to appreciate the gifts of mankind.
“What is wrong with people?” I quietly asked Devin as he came to stand at my side.
Daisies & Devin Page 24