Save Me From Myself (Nashville Nights)

by Stacey Mosteller

  Her softly spoken words make the decision for me, and as I slip my shoes and socks off, I grin at her, “Darlin', if you want me here, I’m not going anywhere.” The way she relaxes into the bed tells me staying is the right decision.

  I shuck my jeans off, and pull my t-shirt over my head while she takes off her jeans and bra leaving her in just her shirt and panties. She scoots to the other side of the bed, and I slip in beside her.

  Once we’re both on our sides, her facing away from me, I slip one arm under her pillows and put my other arm around her waist. I pull her against me and kiss the top of her head, “Sleep baby. I’ve got you.”

  Lyric sighs and scoots closer to me and I groan inwardly, because if she doesn’t lay still, I won’t be getting any sleep tonight.

  When I wake up, it takes me a few minutes to realize that I’m not alone. David’s arm is wrapped around me, just underneath my breasts, and his body is right up against my back. His entire body, including the impressive erection poking my bottom. He’s still asleep, and I’m remembering what he did for me last night. David was amazing. He took care of me; he stood up to Matt for me, and he listened while I told him everything without judging me for what happened. Looking back, I don’t know why I was so worried. He’s not anything like Matt, and I should have known he wouldn’t do that to me. I had no reason to run from him.

  The arm around my waist tightens, and his voice is suddenly in my ear, “Mornin’. How are you feeling, darlin'?” his gravelly voice combined with his breath against my neck makes me shiver, and he groans.

  “Fine,” I reply breathlessly, and he turns me to my back, still against me. He looks so tired still, and he’s looking down at me with soft, earnest eyes.

  “Honestly? I need to know where your head is Lyric.”

  “Yes, honestly. I really am fine. Better than fine.” I reassure him and bring my lips to his. He kisses me softly, and then pulls back to search my eyes.

  “What are you up to?” He sounds suspicious, like he’s not sure what I’m doing. I shrug while running my hand up and down his bare chest, making him sigh. I’ve never seen him without his shirt, and it’s a delectable sight. His stretched t-shirts don’t hide much; his chest is broad with just a light smattering of chest hair, and his abdomen is very nice. Hello, six pack! His skin feels warm beneath my hand, and I can’t help but lift my head to place a kiss on it.

  David inhales sharply and cupping the back of my neck, tips my head back to look at me. He looks into my eyes for a few minutes before bringing his mouth to mine. My hands move up to grip his shoulders as his tongue slips into my mouth. I have about half a second to worry about the possibility of morning breath before the kiss heats up, and my only thoughts are of David and the feel of him against me.

  I tighten my grip on his shoulders, trying to move him closer to me. He obliges by moving on top of me putting him right between my legs, causing me to gasp. I’m suddenly aware that he’s wearing only his boxer briefs, and I’m just in my t-shirt and panties. He pulls back to study me, and he must see my approval, because he lowers his mouth back to mine. He then trails kisses along my jaw and down to my neck while running a hand down my side to my waist. I arch my back which brings my core flush against his erection causing us both to groan. It feels so good that I do it again.

  David’s grip on my waist tightens, and he lifts his head. “As much as I’d like to continue this darlin', I can’t this morning.”

  “Oh.” Maybe it’s silly, but it feels like he’s rejecting me and after last night, it stings badly. I feel the tears gathering in my eyes, and try to turn my head so that he doesn’t see.

  He grips my chin, making me look at him. “I’m not saying no Lyric, I’m just saying not right now. You need some time to process everything that happened last night. The last thing I want is for things to go further, and you regret it later.”

  “I won’t,” I tell him confidently, and he smiles.

  “I’m glad to hear it, but maybe we can pick this up later. Are you and Anna coming to the bar tonight?” I nod, and he continues, “Good, bring a bag with you. You can stay with me tonight, okay?”

  Am I ready for this? For spending the night with him, doing something other than sleep? Definitely. “Okay,” I reply with a smile.

  His eyes are heated and the grin he gives me promises all sorts of dirty things to come. “Good, now let me up woman; I’m hungry.”

  Giggling, I release his shoulders, and he kisses me quickly before getting out of bed.

  ***

  Anna must have been waiting for David to leave this morning, because as soon as I close the door behind him she’s running out of my bedroom. “Lyric!!! David spent the night?!?” she screeches, “Was it good? Please, please, tell me it was good!”

  I smile thinking about this morning and say, “We just slept, Anna. That’s it.”

  She pouts, and I can’t help but laugh. She wouldn’t be acting this way if she knew everything that happened last night while she was out. That thought sobers me. She must see it on my face, because now, instead of her phony pout, she’s looking concerned.

  “Matt was here last night,” I inform her, figuring it’s best to just get telling her over with. I know she’s going to flip out.

  The way her eyes bug out is almost comical, but I’m too preoccupied with thoughts about David to really appreciate it. She doesn’t waste any time grilling me about Matt’s visit. “What do you mean Matt showed up last night? What happened?”

  “Matt acted like Matt. He figured that by him showing up here, I’d leave and go back with him. That I’d take him back and everything would be great.”

  “What an asshole!” Anna actually stomps her foot as she says this. “So, if Matt was here, how does David figure in?”

  This is where she’s going to lose it. “David showed up last night to I guess try to find out what was going on with me. Why I was acting weird at lunch. But, Matt was here and he decided to show his ass.”

  “What happened? Jeez Lyr, get to the point already!” She’s glaring at me, and I roll my eyes at her.

  “He told David about the baby, how it was my fault I lost it, and how I’m so ‘cold’ in bed, he had to go find someone else to satisfy him.” Just saying the words makes me wants to cry again. I was so humiliated by the things he said.

  “Oh honey,” Anna says before wrapping her arms around me, “you know none of that’s true right? He’s just blaming you so that he feels better.”

  I nod, “I know, but it doesn’t make it easier to hear. Anyway, David got pissed that Matt was making me cry and ended up punching him before kicking him out.” That memory makes me smile. I’ve never had anyone stand up for me that way before. It was downright amazing!

  “Good for him! I knew I liked David! So, after all of that, how’d you end up with him leaving here this morning?” Anna’s grinning knowingly at me.

  “He held me until I fell asleep, then put me to bed. I asked him to say, so he did. End of story.” At least, end of the parts she needs to know about.

  “Uh-huh. So there was no sexy-times?” My blush must give me away because she crows, “I knew it! I knew there were sexy-times!”

  I sigh, “Not really. Just a little kissing. I tried to take it further, but he turned me down saying I needed to be sure. He said last night was pretty emotional and he wanted me to be certain this is what I wanted.”

  Anna gapes at me, “Jesus, he IS perfect isn’t he? He was in bed, with you, both of you wearing less clothes than normal, and he was able to put the brakes on? Does he have a brother? Or a clone?”

  I can’t help but laugh, even as I say, “Either he’s perfect or he’s not that attracted to me.”

  “What the hell ever Lyric. The man can’t keep his eyes, or his hands, off of you whenever you’re together. Trust me, he wants you. He wants you bad!”

  That actually makes me feel better, but I don’t say anything else. There’s nothing really to say to that. But, Anna’s not d
one talking evidently because the next words out of her mouth are, “So, when are you seeing him again?”

  “Tonight. He asked if we were going to Drench and I said yes.” I pause for a moment before continuing, “He told me to bring a bag so that I can stay at his house tonight.”

  Now Anna’s bouncing up and down she’s so excited. “Oh my GOD Lyr! You’re totally having sex tonight! With Hottie Bartender no less! I’m so fucking jealous. At least we bought you some sexy lingerie!”

  Giggling, I head back to my room so that I can take a shower. I need to call and talk to my mother about telling Matt where to find me, and I want to get that over with as soon as possible so that I can get ready for tonight. I don’t want her to ruin how happy I am, but she needs to know that this kind of thing is NOT okay!

  ***

  I was so confident about calling my mother earlier this morning, but now that it’s time to actually do it, I’m so nervous I can’t stand it. I’m not even sure what to say to her anymore. If I tell her that what she did was wrong, she’ll just tell me how it was the “right thing to do” which will just tick me off even more. Before I can obsess over it anymore, my phone rings and the choice is taken away from me because she’s calling me. Great. That means Matt called her and she’s calling to tell me how I should have taken him back.

  I answer the phone with a terse, “Hello, mother.”

  “Lyric Faith Hayes!” she screeches, causing me to pull my phone away from my ear. “What in God’s name are you doing? Matthew just called me. He had to go to the hospital last night thanks to that thug you had in your house.”

  Thug? She can’t be serious. “David’s not a thug mom. He was protecting me from Matt.”

  “Protecting you? Why would you need protection from your fiancé?” she asks incredulously.

  Did the last six months not happen? What the hell? “Mom, Matt isn’t my fiancé. He hasn’t been my fiancé for over six months. We broke up, remember? He cheated on me for months. Jesus, we’ve been over this!”

  “Don’t take that tone with me Lyric. Matthew’s family is the kind that we need to be associated with. Not this hoodlum in Nashville. He hit Matthew! You can’t condone that kind of behavior, dear. If you let it go, he’ll graduate to hitting you soon.”

  She did NOT just go there! “Mom! He hit Matt because he was being an asshole! He was saying horrible, hateful things to me. I was crying! Do you care about that at all?”

  My mom sighs, “Yes Lyric, of course I care. But, you can’t just give up a three year relationship because he hurt your feelings.”

  “Hurt my feelings? Mom! He cheated on me! Did you miss that part? He did it for months! For all I know, he could have been doing it for longer than that! I don’t care what his reasoning was, cheating is never an okay thing to do. I’m sorry if it ruins your plans, but we are absolutely NOT getting back together. I can’t trust him, and I refuse to marry someone I can’t trust. Please, can’t you give David a chance? You’ve never even met him. Hell, you’ve never even talked to him.” I know I’m pleading with her at this point, but I just want her to understand. I want her to pick me, just once. I want her to pick me over political or social standing. But, of course, she does what she always does. She thinks about herself and Edward first, and everyone else last.

  “I don’t need to give him a chance. You need to get over this and come home Lyric. Running away from home at your age is ridiculously childish.”

  Okay, I’ll give her that one. I probably shouldn’t have ran away, but I didn’t know what else to do. I needed to get away from everything and everyone in New York. Coming to Nashville was a good thing in the end. I’ve made new friends, I’ve found David, who is definitely Matt’s complete opposite.

  “Mom, I love you, I really, really do. But, we’re not going to agree on this, and I’m not going to do what you want. I’ve got to go, give Edward a hug for me. I’ll talk to you later.”

  She lets out a long-suffering sigh, “Alright Lyric, but this conversation isn’t over. I love you too.” The conversation may not be over, but it is done, at least for now. I’ve got happier things to think about!

  When we walk into the bar, the rest of what’s quickly becoming our regular group hasn’t arrived yet, so we decide to go ahead and get a table. We don’t make it very far inside before I see SarahBeth waving at me from across the room. She’s sitting at a table with Livvie and we walk over to them.

  “Hey guys,” SarahBeth says, smiling widely. “Wanna sit with us?”

  “Sure,” Anna replies, “but we have a few more people meeting us.”

  SarahBeth shrugs, “No biggie, we’ll just combine a couple of tables.” We’re in a fairly empty section of the bar so moving the tables around isn’t much of an issue. Anna sends Ben and Brandi each a text letting them know where we are before we sit down with the girls.

  “So,” SarahBeth starts, “I noticed my brother didn’t come home until almost lunchtime today. Did you enjoy yourself?”

  She’s grinning mischievously at me and I groan, “Really?!? I had this conversation with Anna this morning. Do I have to have it with you too?”

  Her grin gets even wider and I hear, “Well, did you enjoy yourself?” from behind me right before David squats next to my chair, putting his arm around the back of it.

  “I could have enjoyed it more,” I reply, sounding much more confident than I am, but I feel much lighter now that he knows everything.

  Everyone starts laughing, and David growls, “Behave!” in my ear before turning my face to his so that he can kiss me. Once he lifts his lips from mine, he takes our drink order. Shortly after Ben, Toby, Brandi and Terra arrive. Everyone is having a blast, and SarahBeth and Livvie fit right in with us all. After everyone’s gotten their drinks and David’s gone back to the bar, conversation picks up right where it left off. Lucky me.

  “Back to my earlier question, did you enjoy your night with David?” SarahBeth asks with a smirk. My face flames as every head turns to me in shock.

  “Jeez SB, there was nothing to enjoy, we slept! That’s all!”

  Ben’s mouth drops open, “Wait, tell me you aren’t saying that you were in bed with that and you didn’t take advantage? What is wrong with you? I would’ve been all over his ass!”

  “I don’t think his ass is what she’s most interested in,” Brandi snickers and Ben grins as he high fives her. I drop my head in my hands. If this is how they act when we haven’t had sex, what will they be like after?

  And of course, that’s when Anna decides to chime in with, “But, he did tell her to pack a bag and come home with him tonight! I sense a little bumping and grinding in her very near future!”

  “Oh God,” I groan. This is mortifying! I’m never telling any of them another thing!

  Thankfully, Livvie takes pity on me, and says, “Come on, let’s go dance.” She holds out her hand and pulls me up out of my chair and we head to the dance floor.

  ***

  Tonight’s band is playing straight country music. The past few times I’ve been here, it’s been country mixed with other genre’s, mainly rock. The majority on the dance floor right now are doing this complicated dance, and even though I danced when I was growing up, I’m not sure I could ever dance like these people are! Livvie gets right in the middle of it though, and because she’s still holding my hand, I’m right there with her. She sees my confusion and starts trying to teach me the steps which leads to massive giggling.

  It doesn’t take long before everyone else is out on the floor with us, and Ben is even worse at these dances than I am! I haven’t had this much fun in so long that I’m completely lost in the movements, trying to keep them all straight. Toby grabs my hand and twirls me around which lifts the short skirt I’m wearing and I’m spinning in circles.

  After a couple minutes of dancing, Toby spins me out away from him and I encounter David’s hard chest. He grabs my waist and pulls me into him, causing Toby to release my hand. I brace my hands on his shoul
ders, and look up at him. His eyes are molten gold, and he’s staring down at me, his face full of desire.

  David takes me by the hand and pulls me off the dance floor. Instead of stopping at our table, he continues past the bar and down a narrow hallway. Stopping at a door he turns the handle and drags me inside so fast I stumble on my four inch heels.

  Spinning me around, he pins me against the wall and swoops down to crush his lips to mine. His tongue is instantly in my mouth, and my hands fly up to tangle in his hair. His hands are on my waist and he lifts me against the door until my core meets his groin. When I feel his erection against me, I moan into his mouth and suck his tongue back into mine which causes his hands to tighten on my waist.

  When he finally releases my mouth, we’re both breathing heavy. Resting his forehead against mine he growls, “Are you trying to kill me tonight? Fuck darlin', that skirt, those shoes, I can’t concentrate for shit tonight.”

  “Sorry?” I breathe, but I’m really not. Anna was right when she said this outfit would drive him insane with lust. I’m wearing a short emerald green and black skirt, a black cashmere sweater and four inch do me heels. When he didn’t say anything about my outfit when we arrived, I assumed Anna was wrong. Knowing that I have this effect on him ups my confidence level and I pull his mouth back to mine.

  We’re in the perfect position for me to wrap my bare legs around him, so I do and he groans. He runs his hands up my sides, stopping one just underneath my breast and tangling the other in my long hair. He palms my breast and I arch into him which rubs the most sensitive parts of my body against him. My nipple hardens immediately under his touch and I sigh as he moves his mouth to the sensitive spot beneath my ear. He sucks hard while pulling my fabric covered nipple between his thumb and finger. I’m practically panting at this point, and he feels rock hard between my legs.

  He moves his hand back down to my waist and all I can say is, “Please.”