by Sarah Dosher
“Both of you shut the hell up, I’m tired of your fighting. Either rip each other’s clothes off and get down to business, or shut the fuck up already.” Willow bit at them while Steph laughed and gave her a high five.
“Okay ladies, time to stop bickering like the ninety year old bitties I know you can’t wait to be, and get your asses back to playing some tunes.” I shouted over the roar of their argument.
They finally shut up and went back to their respective corners. Didn’t take long until Willow was barking orders and the room was bursting at the seams with a roaring melody.
I found my usual spot on the lush blue carpet in front of the couch. It was a ridiculously expensive Italian leather sofa that opened into a queen-sized bed with recliners on the ends. I hated it; my dad had loved it. I don’t think a single person had sat on it since he died, and time had aged the leather making it even more perfect.
The closest I ever came to it was leaning against the bottom as I sat on the floor. This was my spot, and the worn circle in the carpet from my ass proved it. My dad told me this was the sweet spot in the room, and I should never sit anywhere else; so I never did. I never once questioned his logic, I just followed it.
After a handful of songs, the door swung open and I saw a guy carrying two large cases of beer on his shoulders, blocking his face. This obviously wasn’t going to equal a lot of actual practice. He walked to the long, narrow table at the back of the room and placed the beer down. It was Duke, but his hair was pulled into some sort of manly bun—those words should probably never go together, but in this case, they fit. His long hair was twisted in a messy heap at the base of his skull, and I decided he’d look much better with less hair so you could actually see his face.
Johnny and Blaine followed close behind him with bottles of dark liquor and Coke. They both looked straight to Mia and their mouths gaped in surprise, and their eyes didn’t leave her until the music screeched to a halt—yeah, definitely not going to be anymore practicing tonight.
“DUKE!” Willow screamed, removing her guitar and placing it in the stand beside her.
“You guys sounded great.” Duke said, seeming surprised, as Willow ran and crashed into his arms.
These two were definitely going to get on my nerves, probably before the night ended.
“So you boys must be Unforgiven?” Steph asked.
Johnny and Blaine finally closed their gaping mouths to acknowledge her.
“That’s us, well three of the four.” Johnny answered.
Steph moved closer to him and ran one finger down his chest. “Looks like we’re gonna be spending a lot of time together,” she said in her best sultry voice.
“Stop!” I blurted out, standing up from my spot. “This isn’t going to turn into one big orgy fest. You guys can have all the fun you want, but we still have jobs to do, so rein in your overactive hormones. You hear me?” I said, pointing to the girls, who all immediately feigned innocence.
“Why are you pointing at me?” Mia asked with a laugh that made me smile.
“Because I know all of you—you, Mia, chew them up and spit them out just for the fun of it, and the rest of you completely lose your marbles when hot rockers enter the room, so don’t even go there.” I warned.
“We’re hot rockers?” Blaine asked with a huge grin. “Then why the hell don’t I get laid more often?”
I rolled my eyes at him and everyone laughed.
The impromptu party had been raging for a couple of hours, with Duke continuously handing out drinks to anyone not double fisting a beer and a glass of liquor. I was beyond ready for bed when Erika finally announced she was leaving, and I wanted to kiss her for allowing me to piggy-back on her lame excuse and escape.
“Elizabeth Blue Savage, you can’t leave, we’re at your house!” Willow shrieked at me.
“Yes, I can!” I laughed, “You guys can stay as long as you want; I can’t hear a thing from the house. So stay, have fun. If anyone needs to sleep here tonight that’s fine, you can sleep out here, or you know how to get into the house. Just do not drive home drunk, I don’t want to deal with the police.”
“Fine!” She pouted. “You’re no fun since you actually have a job now!”
“Hey, leave her alone. We need her to have a job.” Duke added as he pinched her on the ass, making her squeal.
“You guys are disgusting!” I snapped, trying to sound bitter, when I was actually glad Willow had found someone just as crazy as her and was happy, at least for the time being. “Has anyone seen Luci?”
“Who’s Luci?” Duke asked confused.
“The big fur ball that bit you earlier.” I told him.
“Oh that devil thing, I have no idea. I hid after it drew blood.”
“She snuck out the cat door earlier, I haven’t seen her since.” Steph answered.
Chapter Nine
Eli Blue
The cool night air danced across my skin as I exited the studio. This was my favorite time of year. It was perfect—not too hot during the day, and not too cold at night. This kind of weather made me want to sit around a campfire roasting marshmallows and counting the stars. Not that I’d ever been camping before, but I thought it would be fun to do one day.
My heels clicked on the paved walkway as I searched for Luci. There were only a few places in the yard she dared to venture, she tried to play tough, but she was still a scaredy-cat.
“Luci? Where are you?” I said softly.
I heard a quiet voice singing a slow melody. I tilted my head trying to hear better as the wind gusted and brought the sound to me quicker and louder. It sounded like a man’s voice.
I rounded the corner of the house, and sitting on the retaining wall facing the tall trees that flanked the edge of the property, was a man. He was wearing a black hoodie with it up, covering his head. I saw Luci weaving back and forth on his lap while he stroked her fur and sang. I stopped and looked back toward the studio, if I hadn’t just come from what I knew was reality, I’d swear this was a dream.
“Luci.” I softly cooed.
She stopped and peeked around the man’s arm, looked at me, and let out a low meow before returning to her path on the man’s lap.
“Lucifer, get your hairy butt over here, right now.” I whispered sternly.
“Lucifer?” The man said, “Is that your name?” He lifted Luci’s face and looked at her before scooping her up and swinging his legs back over to this side of the wall.
Deacon. It was Deacon.
“Why would you name your cat after the devil?”
The moonlight sparkled in his eyes and nearly took my breath away.
“What are you doing out here? How long have you been here?” I asked.
“Why do you always answer my questions with a question?”
“Why do you always ask personal questions when you don’t know me?”
“Okay, then tell me about you so I’ll know you.”
I grunted. “It’s not that simple.”
He stood from the wall and strode toward me, dropping Luci to the ground. She kept pace with him, trying to weave in and out of his legs as he walked. He stopped when he was a few inches from me.
“Why?”
“I can’t just tell you random facts about myself, that’s not how it’s done.”
“Why not? It can be done however we want it to be done?” He said, like it was all cut and dry.
He ran his hand up my arm and brushed my hair over one shoulder, sending chills rushing down my spine.
“Are you cold?” He asked, his voice sounding deeper and softer.
I looked up at him, startled at how tight my heart clenched when I saw desire clearly etched on his face. I pulled away from him, unable to understand the feelings that ran through me. This wasn’t me, I didn’t do love at first sight, bullshit crushes. I’d never been that girl, and I didn’t want to be either.
Luci walked her paws up my legs and meowed. I reached down and picked her up, retreating a few steps
before looking back to Deacon.
“What do you want from me, Deacon? Why are you here?”
He squinted at me for several seconds before exhaling slowly, just like he’d done at his show before he sang, “I don’t want anything from you, Eli.” He said my name like it caused him physical pain, and I didn’t like the ache in my chest it caused. “I just want to talk, maybe be friends. Let’s hang out…tomorrow? We’re gonna be working together, and I want us to be friends.”
“Hang out? You want to make plans to hang out with me tomorrow?”
“Yes, is that so strange?”
“Umm yes, yes it is. But I guess we can.” I said, even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to be just friends with him; this could end very badly.
“Then we will, tomorrow.”
“But – if we’re gonna be friends, then you have to stop touching me all the time, like that – like the way you do.”
He took three steps toward me, even closer than before.
“You don’t like when I touch you?” He asked, his mouth turned up slightly on one side, his eyes burning into me.
“Yes…no—I don’t.” I stuttered. “Stop looking at me like that, too.”
He didn’t say anything, he just nodded, but the grin never left his face.
We stood, neither moving an inch, just existing together in complete silence for minutes. Luci finally jumped from my arms, ran to the back door and disappeared through the cat door.
“Umm, I guess I’ll…” I said, gesturing after Luci.
“Is your arm okay?” He asked, completely ignoring my attempt to flee.
I absentmindedly pushed my quarter length sleeve up and rubbed my arm; it was sore, but nothing serious.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Faster than I could react, his hands were on my arm.
“You are not okay! Look.” He demanded.
He lifted my arm from my side revealing a purple bruise, perfectly shaped like fingers, surrounding my upper arm. I watched breathlessly as his deft fingers glided tenderly over each darkened spot. When he’d touched every inch of each bruise his eyes returned to mine.
“Fuck me, this is my fault.” He whispered.
I shook my head. “It’s no one’s fault, it was an accident. Really, I’m fine.”
“It’s my fault for not getting you away from Sutton sooner.”
He had a look of desperation on his face I didn’t understand. His eyes were focused off in the distance; I lightly touched his face, hoping to pull his attention back to me. The instant I touched him his eyes flashed to mine.
“Deacon I promise, I’m fine.” I said, my touch never leaving him.
His hand covered mine, his head leaning into my palm for a moment before quickly pulling away.
“C’mon, you need to put some ice on your arm so it doesn’t get sore.”
He laced his fingers with mine and tugged me forward, leading me toward the back door of the house.
“That’s not necessary,” I said, trying to reason with him. “It’s a couple of bruises. I’ve hurt myself worse shaving my legs in the shower.” He stopped and his eyes flashed to mine then moved up and down my body—I immediately knew mentioning the word shower had him picturing me naked; fucking men!
I rolled my eyes as he shook his head rapidly.
“Yes, it is, so don’t fight me, or so help me, Eli, I’ll pick your ass up and carry you. A bruise might not be life threatening, but I caused it, and I damn sure won’t let you suffer because of it.” He had a “don’t fuck with me” tone that I took as a serious warning and followed swiftly behind him.
We entered the house and I directed him towards the kitchen. Once there, he put his hands on either side of my waist and effortlessly lifted me onto the counter. He turned and opened the freezer, pulled out a bag of peas, and placed it on my arm.
“Where’s some Tylenol?” He asked.
“Umm…” His question surprised me, and I was too shocked to have an immediate answer.
“Tylenol, Advil, aspirin – where?”
I pointed down the hallway, “Bathroom.”
He quickly disappeared down the dark hallway and returned just as fast. He pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator then handed me two small, white pills.
“Take them.” He demanded.
I looked at his face, not understanding why he was helping me. He barely knew me, why was he being so nice – especially after his harsh words when we’d first met. People were usually nice to me after they found out who I was, who my dad was, but not like this; not to this extent. They just usually wanted to weasel into my life so they could see what it was like, like I was only here for their entertainment. Deacon wasn’t like that though.
“They’re aspirin, don’t worry I’d never slip you anything.” He teased.
“That’s exactly what someone would say just before they slipped me something.” I informed him.
“Yes, you’re right and you shouldn’t take pills from strangers—ever. But I promise it’s just aspirin, so take the damn pills.”
“Because the man that has forced himself into my house would never try to drug me and take advantage of me.” I teased.
He smiled faintly and raised his eyebrows at me. “Take advantage of you, yes I’d do that in an instant…drug you, no. Now take them.”
He put his hand under mine, leading it to my mouth. I opened wide and let the pills fall in before taking a big gulp of water. I put it down and started to jump down from the counter, but he held up his hands to stop me.
“Just stay put, what do you want?”
“Umm, I just want something to eat, I haven’t eaten much today. My stomach won’t like the aspirin.”
“When was the last time you ate?” He asked in a scolding tone, making me flinch.
“I’m not sure, it’s been a busy day.”
“You should take better care of yourself.” He said bluntly.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
I scooted away from him and jumped off the counter then retreated around the island to put some distance between us—I couldn’t seem to think with him so close. He eyed my every movement with his signature scowl directed right at me.
“Look Deacon, thank you for the medicine and water. But don’t think you know me because you don’t.”
“I never said I knew you, I just said you needed to eat. There’s a big difference.”
He turned back to the refrigerator and started searching through its contents. I watched, completely stunned, as he pulled out sliced cheese and butter, grabbed a loaf of bread from the counter, and moved to the stove.
“Wait, what are you doing?”
He stopped and held up his hands, a frying pan in one and a spatula in the other, “Umm, cooking.”
“I can see that, but no. I can find something to eat, you don’t need to cook.”
“It’s a grilled cheese, Eli, it’s not like I’m whipping up a gourmet meal over here. Just sit down and chill the fuck out already. Good Lord, you act like no one’s ever done anything nice for you.”
“Grilled cheese? That’s what my dad always made.” I said faintly as I fell into a chair at the table while memories of my dad standing exactly where Deacon currently was standing washed over me.
“Yeah, a grilled cheese.” He said, turning back to the stove.
Minutes passed while he cooked and I stared into space, trying hard not to let my childhood memories rip my heart open and pour out all its baggage in front of Deacon. I’d already come to terms with these feelings, it had been years since he died. But something about Deacon made them flood through my soul more than they had in years.
I was startled when he set a plate in front of me with a perfectly cooked grilled cheese. He sat next to me with his own plate piled with three grilled cheese sandwiches. The smell of gooey cheese hit me and my stomach immediately let out a loud growl I knew he had to hear. I cut my eyes toward him and he gave me the biggest smile I’d ever s
een.
Before I could start eating, Luci jumped on the chair next to me and stood with her paws on the table.
“Get down, Luci.” I snapped and swatted her away. “Sorry, she likes cheese.”
“Why is her name Lucifer?” He asked for the second time tonight.
“Cinderella.” I answered. He shook his head at me and shrugged his shoulders.
“The cat in Cinderella is named Lucifer. I thought everyone knew that.”
He made an amused grunting sound that really felt good to my ears. “No, I can promise I didn’t know that.”
“Cinderella was my favorite fairy tale growing up. I still read it all the time and watch the old cartoon at least once a year.” I admitted and then felt childish, so I added, “Umm my dad bought it for me, and he read it to me every single night when he was alive. It’s my favorite, every little girl wants to live a fairytale.”
His face softened and he nodded. We both stopped talking and ate. I could feel the time ticking by, but the silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable, it was soothing.
Chapter Ten
Eli Blue
“So, your dad? He was a fan of the grilled cheese sandwich, too?” He asked after we’d almost finished eating.
I nodded. “Always when I was sick. To him a grilled cheese fixed anything from a hangnail to a hangover.”
“Wise man, that father of yours.” He said with a smile before shoving his last bite in his mouth.
“Yeah, you two seem to have quite a few things in common.” I told him.
“Just because I own a blue guitar doesn’t mean I’ll ever measure up to your dad.” He said with his eyes turned down toward his plate.
“Deacon, you’re just as good as he was, maybe even better.” I told him softly, but the expression on his face said he’d never believe me.
He shook his head. “No fucking way, Eli. I’ll never be as good as Kirk Savage, I don’t even dream of being that damn talented.”
“You are, I don’t know who taught you how to play, but you’re damn good.” I said, seemingly more confident of his talent than he was.
He grunted, “No one taught me how to play, I just learned. The only possible role models I ever had were ones looking for a free ride funded by the foster care system, and I can promise, of all the places I lived, there were none worth looking up to.”