She couldn’t ignore the woman anymore when Tamara started nudging her in the arm. The woman raised her voice so Megan could hear her over the music. “Hey…I promised to tell you something you need to know.”
Megan wished the woman would leave, but she supposed she’d have to let her speak her mind and then she’d go. Megan said, “Yeah,” but then turned her eyes back to Tyler. He was singing into the mike, his eyes on his fretting fingers. She hoped having Tamara bending her ear wouldn’t distract him.
“We should go somewhere else.”
Well, that wasn’t something Megan wanted to do. “I don’t want to miss the show, Tamara. Whatever you have to say, say it now. Say it here.”
The woman looked miffed and raised an eyebrow. But she said, “Fine. You remember Tyler and I went out before you dated him, right?” Megan nodded, wishing she’d get to the point. “But you probably don’t know he kept having sex with me the whole time you were going out.” Megan sucked in a deep breath. That didn’t sound like Tyler. In fact, it sounded like another of Tamara’s schemes, so she said nothing. Tamara continued. “I had his baby about eight months after graduation.”
Megan felt her brows furrow. She didn’t know if she should believe any of the words coming out of Tamara’s mouth. At the same time, though, why would the woman feel the need to lie now? “You had his baby?”
“Yeah. I named him Tyson. You know, as a tribute, but so the baby could have his own name.”
Megan didn’t know what to say. The situation felt surreal. “So, do you…? Is he still…?”
“Yes. He’s a beautiful child. He’s nine years old, in the third grade, looks just like his Daddy.” Tamara started digging in her purse. “I’ve got a picture here.”
Megan could barely hear her, and she knew she’d have a hard time seeing the picture in the dim light over the audience. This information was disturbing and she had a hard time believing it, but she wasn’t sure what she should say. Tamara handed Megan an open wallet with the picture of a child’s smiling face. The child was blonde with blue eyes, and he had cute dimples denting his cheeks. Megan couldn’t see any hint of Tyler in the child, but maybe that was wishful thinking. “He’s cute,” she said, at a loss for any other words.
“A shame his dad’s not part of his life, though.”
Megan decided to not play her game. “Does he know?”
Tamara scoffed. “Of course he knows. He doesn’t want to have anything to do with Tyson, though.”
The song ended and Tyler started talking again. Megan felt torn between the tortured woman next to her and the man who’d been tugging at her heart and loins. He said, “Thanks, guys. You’re incredible.” He adjusted the mike and said, “I haven’t had a chance to reconnect with all of you, but I have to say it’s been great seeing you all again. I hope I have a chance to talk to all of you at some point…unless you’re already sick of me.” He laughed. “There is one person I’ve reconnected with who has reminded me how special a person can be.” He looked down at Megan. Megan realized that, while she’d been paying attention to Tyler, Tamara had disappeared again. Megan smiled up at him. “Megan Walker, would you come up on stage for a moment?”
Megan felt her smile fade. She didn’t like being put on the spot. But she trusted Tyler. She grinned, hearing her classmates encouraging her. Lisa patted her on the back and pushed her shoulder, urging her toward the side of the stage. Megan started making her way as the cheers reached a crescendo.
As she walked up the steps, the lead guitarist stuck out his hand to help her up. The lights were bright, making it hard to see where she was stepping, so she was grateful for the help. Then she was next to Tyler, who draped his arm around her shoulders. “You all remember Megan, don’t you?” he spoke into the microphone.
Megan looked out at the crowd. She could only see a big black blob, swarming with people. She couldn’t make out any faces, thanks to the bright lights. When she continued scanning the audience, though, she realized she could see the faces of people mashed up against the stage. Megan felt the hot flush crawling up her neck, making her cheeks flame with the attention. The applause from the audience told her some people remembered who she was.
“I’ve had a great time the last two days, and I’d forgotten how much I liked growing up in Winchester. I guess I’ve missed it. But I also realized how much I’d missed someone special.”
The heat flared up in Megan’s cheeks again, but she didn’t know that anyone would be able to tell onstage. Or maybe it was even more obvious up there. She just wished Tyler would stop already. She muttered, “Thanks.”
“There’s a song we’ve been working on, but I’ve been reworking the lyrics. Let’s just say I’ve been inspired. So, if it won’t freak you out too much, Megan…” She felt her eyes grow wide but she grinned and said nothing. “This song’s for you.” She could tell her cheeks were going to be on fire for a while.
Did she have a choice? She thought she’d look like a rude, uncaring bitch if she said she didn’t want to hear it. So she stood in silence, hoping her classmates and their spouses would watch the band and not her reaction.
She found it hard to concentrate on the words, she was so self-conscious. But she did catch that the song was about friends…how some friends come and go, but others are silent but always nearby. She knew the song was about her, but she couldn’t fully grasp the meaning of the words. She wanted to hear or read them again later, when she wasn’t under the scrutiny of hundreds of eyes. She did register one thing—it was no power ballad (and she was grateful for that), but it was a regular rocking heavy metal song, and it wasn’t sappy. It could have been about anyone, but Megan knew from the way Tyler sang it and what he’d said that it was for her and about her.
When it was over (a moment Megan had started to fear was ever elusive), Tyler kissed her on the cheek. “I’m gonna let her off the hook now, folks. Megan, thanks for being a good sport.” He hugged her, but the guitar made it a little awkward, and walked her back to the steps.
Madversary played one more song, and by the end, Megan was starting to feel normal again. Lisa giggled when Megan first rejoined her and Randy, and she asked her friend how it was to have someone write and sing a song for her. Dazed, Megan said, “I guess it’s cool.” Lisa frowned at how underwhelmed her friend’s reaction was.
When they had finished and Tyler and crew had said their thanks, Penny arrived back onstage. “Now the dance will begin. Give us a few minutes while Madversary breaks down and the DJ sets up. In the meantime, we have punch and cookies over on that side of the gym, and be forewarned—one of the punches is spiked, but it’s clearly marked. We thought that’d be a fun tribute to yesterday. And drink as much as you want. We’ll keep it comin’. The DJ has been instructed to play some songs from our four-year stint in school, but she’s got a variety of music, so if you have a request, even for something outside that date range, just let her know.”
The lights in the gym came up, accenting how dark it had been earlier. Megan let her eyes adjust, and that’s when she saw Tamara heading toward her yet again.
Chapter Nineteen
“SERIOUSLY?” MEGAN LOOKED over at Lisa. Lisa, for a change, wasn’t completely immersed in Randy and looked over at her.
“Oh, my God. What does that skank want? She was yapping at you during the concert, right?”
Megan nodded. “Yeah. She seems pretty messed up.”
Lisa raised her eyebrow as Megan felt a bony tap on her shoulder. She didn’t have to say a word for Megan to know Lisa had her back. “Have you had a chance to think about what I told you?”
Megan felt herself growing angry. Why did Tamara feel the need to burden Megan with something she should be taking up with Tyler? “What do you expect me to do with it?”
Tamara acted taken aback. “I’m just trying to protect you, Megan.”
Megan let out a sigh. “I don’t need protection, Tamara. I know how to take care of myself.” She didn’t care what that
statement implied. If Tamara felt it was a reflection upon her own lack of self-preservation, so be it.
Lisa stepped forward. “Look. We’re trying to have some fun here. Why don’t you beat it?”
Tamara’s smile was fake and sick looking. “Lisa French. What a pleasant surprise.”
Lisa scowled. “You’re not gonna think so in a few minutes. Why’d you even come here if you don’t want to have fun and enjoy yourself?”
“Who says I’m not?”
“Well, go enjoy yourself with other people. You’ve worn out your welcome here.”
Tamara scoffed but started to back up. “Bitch.” She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “Just for your information, Tyler was fucking me while he was fucking you.” She turned around and walked away.
Megan raised her eyebrows but couldn’t find any words. Lisa asked, “What the hell is up with her?”
Megan was still trying to decide what to do with the woman’s information. “I’m not sure. It has to do with Tyler.” She didn’t know that she believed any of what Tamara said, but she wouldn’t feel better until she talked with Tyler about it.
“Of course. She never did get over him, did she?”
Megan couldn’t hold that against Tamara, because she’d never gotten over the man either.
* * *
As soon as the DJ started playing music, Lisa and Randy hit the dance floor. Megan noticed the band’s instruments and equipment on the side of the stage. They hadn’t taken their stuff out of the gym yet, but the band members were talking with lots of Megan’s classmates and even signing autographs. It might take them a while to get their equipment out of the gym and loaded up, and they had apparently realized that.
Meanwhile, she was struggling with the information Tamara had given her. She couldn’t decide if she believed it was true or not and didn’t know if she should ask Tyler about it or just let it go. She didn’t want to believe it was real, and most of her didn’t believe it. Only a tiny part of her thought the crazy woman might be telling her something truthful.
Megan wandered over to the refreshments table, trying to decide if she wanted either punch or if she wanted to skip a drink altogether. Before she could make up her mind, Tyler appeared beside her, once again fully clothed. “Shit. I think I have now officially touched base with everyone attending this reunion.”
Megan smiled. “Well, I guess that’s what happens when you’re put on display.”
He snickered and looked around. “It’s noisy here. What do you say we find someplace quiet to talk?”
The look in his eyes said he didn’t want to do much talking, and just seeing that hunger reminded Megan of the voracious thoughts she’d been having about him earlier at the foot of the stage. Tamara’s earlier words slipped out of her mind as she nodded, feeling helpless to resist him.
He grabbed her hand and grinned, looking around. “Guess we could go outside, but there are tons of people out there too.” His eyes scanned the room, eyeing the exits. Megan knew he was trying to remember what was behind each door. His eyes stopped halfway down the row of bleachers behind the makeshift stage where the DJ was now playing music. He started walking, Megan in tow.
They walked through a gap between the bleachers where the door to the boys’ locker room was. Or, at least, Megan knew it had been the boys’ locker room ten years ago. In the dim light of the gym posing as dance floor, she was barely able to make out that the sign still advised it belonged to the boys. Tyler pushed on the door and it opened. “Pay dirt.”
It was dark inside. “Anybody in here?” He paused, then walked through the door. Megan, still holding his hand, followed. He turned the light on and placed his finger over his mouth, urging Megan to keep quiet. He listened for several seconds, then said, “I think the coast is clear.” He grinned at her again. “Would it freak you out if I turned the lights back off? I don’t want to attract people here. If they see the light shining under the door—”
Megan turned around and turned off the light switch herself. It grew dark and her eyes had to adjust. She could see some tiny portion of light deeper inside the locker room, but she couldn’t make out much of anything. As they walked farther in, Tyler leading, she could see the light came from inside a windowed office area, but it wasn’t until she passed it that she could tell what the dim light was. There were a digital clock and a power strip inside the office. Neither was able to light up much around it, but together they served as a beacon, so Megan didn’t feel quite so lost in the sea of darkness.
Tyler must have spent many hours in the locker room in high school, because he managed to make his way through smoothly, without bumping his legs and arms or running into anything. His pace was deliberate and he seemed to have a goal in mind. Megan hadn’t been in the girls’ locker room since her sophomore year in high school, so she wouldn’t have been able to find her way around that room as well as Tyler was the boys’ version, but she imagined the layout was similar, from what she remembered. They approached the back area, and if she was correct, they were near a bank of lockers that hugged the outer wall.
He turned around and she could sense he was facing her. “I think we’re alone in here.”
Megan nodded, then realized he probably couldn’t see the gesture. She whispered, “I think so too.” And her body remembered what he’d done to her the night before, how he’d brought her to orgasm so easily, not once, but twice. Her body hungered for that same touch and attention again. She didn’t want him; she needed him. She needed him to take her, take all of her, and if tonight was it, she’d be okay, but she had to have him one more time. But she was feeling feisty. “I’m just wondering why you wanted to talk in a dark locker room where I can’t even see your face.”
Tyler chuckled. “You figured me out. I was kinda hopin’ we could do a little more than talk.”
Megan touched his chest. “Me too.”
“God, I’m glad you said that. I feel like we’re eighteen again, Meg. I can’t get enough of you. Don’t get me wrong—I do want to talk…I just can’t concentrate enough to do it right now.” He leaned over and his lips touched her cheek, quickly finding their way to her lips.
His kiss was greedy and her body responded, ready to give him whatever he asked for. Her hands were pressed up against his chest, but they were balled up into fists, wadding up the fabric of his t-shirt. She started pushing it up, wanting to get it off him, and when he moved back so she could, she said, “I’ve wanted you since I saw you without this onstage. That drove me crazy.”
A small laugh escaped his lips as he pulled the shirt over his head. “I’m all yours, babe.”
Her fingers had to do double duty, because she couldn’t see a thing. The ambient light coming from the windowed office didn’t help them see anything—no shadows, no outlines, nothing. So she moved her hands to his pecs, then up to his shoulders while she pressed her mouth against his chest. His skin was salty and firm in her mouth. She moved to his right nipple and licked it. The tip was rigid and unmoving and grew harder as she flicked it with the soft flesh of her tongue. She didn’t know where his shirt ended up, but his hands were cupping and squeezing her ass, causing her pelvis to press up against his legs.
She felt desperate, as though his hands and mouth on her weren’t enough, as though nothing he could ever do would satisfy her. She wanted him to take all of her. He pressed against her so that her back was shoved up against the cool metal of a locker. Her back wasn’t grinding into the door handle, and she thought it might have been because Tyler’s hand was there and he was able to maneuver her away. His body felt hot pressed up against hers, so hot that the summer air felt inviting. But hot was good. When his lips bore down on hers, she drew on his tongue but wanted more. Then she lifted her right leg and wrapped it around him at her waist level as her hands moved their way behind his neck.
Tyler slid his hand from her right ass cheek down the length of the thigh that was pressed against his side. Her dress had slid halfwa
y up her leg, so before he reached her knee, he was touching her skin. The touch of his fingers on her bare flesh made it tingle, and she felt her breath catch in her throat. His lips moved from her mouth down her neck, and he started sliding his hand back up her thigh. Once he reached the fabric of her dress, though, he slid his hand underneath, and she couldn’t help the gasp that flowed from her mouth in anticipation.
But he planned to take his time, intensifying her craving. When his hand reached her panties, his fingers merely tickled the fabric where it dug into her skin. His upper thigh was pressed against the vee of her legs, and it was then that she noticed how close she was to orgasm already. Aside from the panties, he was already stimulating her just with the friction of his leg against her. She drew a deep breath as her muscles tightened, eager and ready.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this hungry for a man, and she’d even begun to think sex had lost its fascination, but here she was, more desirous than she had been in years and needing satisfaction. She couldn’t even recall feeling this much need for Tyler when they’d been together as young adults, and now she couldn’t imagine never being with him.
Had her mind continued down that path, she might not have been able to reach her sexual peak, but as though Tyler knew he had to step up the proceedings, he moved back a bit. He slid his right hand underneath the panel of her panties and found that she was hot and dripping, yearning for his touch. Her breath was ragged, and she felt her fingers begin to ball up into fists again. This time her right hand clutched a fistful of his hair, but her other hand merely grasped at his shoulder, grazing his flesh with her fingernails as though willing him to satisfy her. “Fuck me, Tyler,” she growled, almost shocked at how violent her voice sounded to her ringing ears.
“I’ll take care of you, baby,” he said as his fingers at last made contact with her swollen, throbbing clit. She inhaled a deep breath as his touch made her muscles tense up even more with the promise of release and satisfaction. A small groan caught in her throat as her fingers dug into his shoulder once more.
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