by A. K. Evans
Oddly enough, getting those calls from her over the last week had been some of the best moments I’d had on this part of the tour. Yes, it was great being on stage and performing for the fans, but having the chance to talk to Demi simply made my day.
I couldn’t wait until I could see her again.
And I hoped that when it happened a few months from now that she and I would be in an even better place than we were right now. As much as I would have liked to push for more now, I figured there was no point in rushing it.
I wasn’t going to see her until we returned to New Hampshire in the fall, so I’d take this time now to form a deeper bond with her. Up to this point, our conversations had been mostly lighthearted and surface level. We hadn’t gotten into anything really deep, but I was okay with that for now. We had the time to take it slow.
My only hope was that this time was going to help us foster a healthier relationship once we were face-to-face again. We couldn’t continue to go at each other the way we had in the beginning.
Not quite an hour after I’d gotten back to my room, I’d showered and packed. Just as I was about to get into bed, I decided to take a quick look at my phone. Sometimes, especially right after a performance, there’d be news reports. There was occasionally something worth reading.
But the moment I picked up my phone and put a knee to the bed, I froze.
A text from a number I didn’t recognize.
But that didn’t matter because the sender had included her name.
Fuck.
Demi had texted me. That meant she wasn’t on the phone in the bar.
Had she just given me her number?
Needing a minute to come to terms with it, I slowly twisted my body and fell to my back in the bed.
I was making progress with her.
My firecracker.
If the old Cash could see me now he’d be laughing at me for thinking of a girl as mine.
My firecracker.
I didn’t care. She was.
And I intended to see to it that she didn’t regret taking this step.
Even though I knew she was probably still sleeping, I had to respond to her message wishing me a great show earlier that evening.
Me: It did. And now my night has just gotten better. We’re down to thirteen.
With that, I set the phone on the nightstand and rolled to my stomach in an attempt to find sleep. Just an hour ago I’d felt exhausted. Now, my body was buzzing with excitement. Demi and I had turned a corner.
I couldn’t wait to see what the morning brought.
“You’re only hours away now.”
That came from Demi.
It was Thursday morning, and I’d just had the best week of my life. Well, it hadn’t been a full week just yet. Ever since Demi texted me on Sunday night, nothing had dampened my mood.
I no longer had to wait for her to reach out to me when I wanted to talk to her. If it was in the middle of the day and I thought she might be busy at work, I could simply shoot a text off to her and share whatever was on my mind.
Sometimes, it was a simple text telling her about whatever was happening with the band. Other times, I’d ask how her day was going. Mostly, I used the texting just to let her know that I was thinking about her.
I tried not to be so obvious about it.
Because the truth was that if I reached out to her every time I was thinking about her, I’d have a constant open line to her.
I hadn’t been this consumed by someone ever. It was a strange feeling for me, but it was one that kept me excited.
“I know,” I responded with a smile on my face. “I can’t wait to get back home.”
“You realize you’re heading home to Pennsylvania but that the tour isn’t over yet, right?” Demi asked.
Letting out a laugh, I answered, “I know. But we’re that much closer. It’s almost twelve weeks until I’m back in New Hampshire.”
“Is that really all you’re looking forward to?” she questioned me.
I was done with holding back.
Demi had opened the door a few days ago by reaching out with her text. We’d communicated regularly in the days that followed.
She knew where I stood; she knew I wanted her.
And even though she didn’t verbally indicate that the feeling was mutual, she definitely didn’t hand me the same attitude she had the very first time I’d gone to New Hampshire and saw her working at the hotel. That told me that perhaps her perspective was shifting, and I had to believe that she wasn’t the kind of woman who’d string someone along if her heart wasn’t softening just a bit.
Her heart.
Never did I think I’d be considering the state of a woman’s heart like this.
“It’s not so much about the location for me. It’s about who’s there that makes me wish I was flying there instead of a few states south later today,” I shared.
In her typical fashion, unable to accept the truth of what I was saying, Demi said, “Oh, yeah, I mean, everyone at Granite is so excited for you to come back. I can see why having that level of appreciation would draw you back here. Cal and Sam are particularly excited.”
I loved it.
I loved that she tried to do anything she could to avoid admitting that perhaps she was looking forward to seeing me just as much as anyone else, if not as much as I was looking forward to seeing her.
“What about you?” I asked, wondering if I might be pushing it too much.
“What about me?”
“Do you feel even a smidgen of excitement about seeing me again?” I asked.
Demi hesitated to answer. I held out, waiting for her to respond. Eventually, she did, and she didn’t fail to make me laugh.
“My Violent Heart is going to be playing again at Granite,” she started. “Why wouldn’t I be excited about seeing one of my favorite bands play live?”
“You’ll do anything to avoid admitting you like me, won’t you?” I pressed.
“I like your music, Cash,” she insisted.
“That’s all?”
She huffed. “Okay, fine, I’m excited for you to get here in a couple months so that I can make sure you know how to keep your clothes on,” she said.
“Excuse me?”
“I saw the pictures from your last two performances,” she shared. “You took your shirt off somewhere in the middle of it.”
I grinned. She was keeping tabs on me.
Yep.
Demi liked me.
She just didn’t know how to handle it.
“And you’re saying you don’t think that was a good look?” I replied. Demi didn’t respond. When too much time passed without a response, I guessed, “Or maybe you think it’s a great look, and you don’t want to share what’s for you with the world.”
“I never said that!” she gasped.
“You don’t have to. Your silence said everything. But don’t worry. I’m a changed man, firecracker. If it makes you uncomfortable, I’m keeping my shirt on for the remainder of the tour.”
“Cash, I didn’t—”
“It’s done, Demi,” I cut her off. “No sense in arguing. I’m saving my body for the next time I see you. The fans might be disappointed, but all I care about is making sure you’re satisfied.”
Following an extended silence, she murmured, “You’re crazy.”
“Only about you.”
“Does it get tiring?” she asked, catching me off guard.
“What?”
“Carrying that big head of yours around all day long,” she replied.
I burst out laughing.
The feeling that this woman gave me in just having a phone conversation was unbelievable. I never knew it could be like this with a woman.
In all fairness, I hadn’t ever given it the chance with anyone else, but that didn’t matter to me now. I had her, and she was definitely more than enough for me.
As soon as I pulled myself together, I said, “Fuck, I can’t wait to see you.”
/> “So, let’s make it happen,” she challenged.
“What?” I asked, my body going solid.
“Tomorrow. After your show,” she suggested. “We can video chat… unless that’s not good enough for you.”
I went from feeling excited to feeling high. I’d always been grateful that nobody in the band had gone down that road and gotten hooked on drugs. But right now, I understood the allure.
Demi was like a drug for me.
I’d do anything for more of her.
“Tomorrow,” I rasped, my throat tight at the prospect of what tomorrow would bring.
“I probably should get going now,” she said softly.
“Right. Yeah. Okay. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I told her.
“No. You’ll see me tomorrow,” she reminded me, her voice sultry and seductive.
Jesus. She was so fucking sexy, and I wasn’t even looking at her.
I was going to need to take care of business with my hand again before I walked out of my hotel room to get on a plane to head home.
“You definitely will,” I promised.
“Oh, wait. Before I forget,” she declared. “Can you do me a huge favor and ask Holland to give me a call?”
“Sure. Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Yes. Um, well, Sam came up with a few new T-shirts and wanted to see what Holland thought about them.”
“I could give you my opinion,” I offered.
Demi let out a quiet laugh. “I appreciate that, and I’m sure Sam does, too, but these are women’s shirts. I get that you’re into being half naked all the time, but you don’t strike me as the type who wears shirts that are cut for women’s bodies.”
Well, there went that opportunity. “Right. I’ll give Holland your number and have her reach out before we get on the plane.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Have a safe flight,” she said.
“Thanks. See you tomorrow.”
“Bye.”
With that, Demi and I disconnected.
I already had my pants unzipped and my cock in my hand before I even set the phone down. This woman was going to be my undoing.
How the hell was I going to last another three months?
Fourteen
Demi
“But you’re safe, right?”
“Yes, I’m safe, Sam,” I promised. “Everything is fine, and I’m just going to finish getting myself ready right now.”
“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” my best friend said.
“That makes two of us,” I declared.
“I’m sure it’s going to be perfect,” she insisted. “Have a great time, and make sure you reach out to me some time tomorrow. I can’t wait to hear all about it.”
Nodding my head even though she couldn’t see me through the phone, I assured her, “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Good luck!”
“Thanks,” I murmured.
A moment later, I disconnected the call and tossed my phone down onto the bed.
I had lost my mind.
I didn’t know what I was thinking, but I knew this was well beyond anything I had ever done.
No, that’s not entirely true.
I knew exactly what I was thinking.
I had been thinking for days now that I wanted something different. I wanted to give myself the opportunity to experience something more than what I’d been giving myself all my life.
So, I came up with a plan and put it in motion.
And now, it was early Friday evening and I found myself back at the one place I dreaded. The hotel.
Only, the hotel I was at currently was not the same one I used to work at in Finch, New Hampshire.
Nope.
I was at a hotel in Pennsylvania.
Yes, that’s right. I decided to drag my ass all the way down to the venue just outside of Cash’s hometown to watch My Violent Heart play tonight.
Actually, that’s not entirely true either.
I was definitely going to go to watch My Violent Heart play tonight, but that wasn’t the reason I came here.
I came because I missed Cash, and he hadn’t stopped talking about how much he couldn’t wait until he’d be able to see me.
Things had changed between us over the last couple of weeks, particularly over the last few days, ever since I texted him from my personal phone.
Talking to him every day had become something I hadn’t expected. I didn’t think that it would feel a whole lot different than when I’d picked up the phone to call him from the bar.
But it was.
Because now that he had a way to reach out to me that was far more convenient than email, Cash didn’t hesitate to remain in constant contact with me. We talked on the phone, but I also got those texts from him at random times throughout the day about anything and everything. I could often tell that they were things he’d just thought of on a whim to share. That’s when I realized he had things happening around him, and in those moments, I was the person he thought of to share them with.
All I knew was that if this was a game for him, maybe he deserved to win. He was making all the right moves.
Of course, I hoped he wanted more than to just win the game. I still hadn’t forgotten what he’d said to me weeks ago.
When I win this game, I intend to keep the prize.
While I didn’t think of myself as a prize to be won, I appreciated the sentiment behind his words. It would be nice to know that he truly felt that way.
It was nearly time to find out, too.
I had arrived here last night after talking to Sam and Cal about my plan. I told Sam because she was my best friend. I told Cal because I was just as close with him, and I wanted him to know that I’d still be working here today and possibly Monday. I didn’t know how long I’d be staying, and luckily enough, Cal didn’t mind. In fact, he told me not to worry about work at all. I couldn’t bring myself to do that, but I appreciated his leniency.
The only other person who knew that I was here was Holland.
I didn’t like having to lie to Cash the way that I had, but it was all in the name of pulling off what I hoped would be an epic surprise.
And Holland was ecstatic the moment I told her what my plan was. She immediately offered to help me pull it off, which is why I was now here getting ready in this hotel knowing that somewhere in this town, Cash was getting himself ready, too.
I had presumed he was at his own home still since the venue was only about twenty minutes away from his house.
Cash’s house.
The place I’d be going to tonight.
It seemed impossible and completely surreal that I had the address to Cash’s house.
I didn’t know if it was a good idea for her to give it to me, but Holland insisted Cash wasn’t going to be upset when I spoke to her on the phone before she hopped on the plane to come back to Pennsylvania.
“Are you sure he won’t mind?” I asked her.
“Demi, trust me,” she ordered. “The man is going to be over the moon that I gave you his address. You have nothing to worry about.”
“I’m just… I’m nervous about showing up unannounced,” I confessed.
“Don’t be. I don’t know what it is, but something has changed with him ever since he met you,” she shared. “I can’t imagine there is any reason why he wouldn’t want to see you in the flesh if the highlight of his days right now has been when he gets to talk to you on the phone.”
The minute she shared that, all of my nerves about Cash being upset that I was just showing up to his place unannounced had vanished. Of course, that meant those nerves were replaced by the ones created when Holland communicated that the highlight of his days was when he got to talk to me.
Had he really changed?
He had said it. Holland had said it.
I was praying for it.
On that thought, I finished getting myself ready. The first part of my plan was t
o go to the concert and watch. When it was over, I was going to wait for Holland to reach out to me to let me know that Cash had left the venue and was on his way home. She and I were both reasonably certain that Cash wasn’t going to hang around afterward since he and I had decided to video chat tonight.
When I had gotten myself ready, I gathered up my bags and left the room. With any luck, I wouldn’t be coming back to the hotel, so I didn’t want to leave anything behind.
Before I knew it, I’d made it to the venue and was watching the droves of people walk through the massive parking lot to get indoors. It was crazy to think that this many people were there to see Cash and his band. I knew how big they were—or, I thought I did—but to see this in person was astonishing.
I made my way to the will call window for my ticket. Holland had managed to reserve one for me. I wanted to be discreet, so she promised a ticket that wouldn’t put me front and center and ruin the surprise.
The arena held twenty-thousand people, and I had no doubt once I had made it inside and took in the crowd that every seat as well as the standing area would be packed.
I didn’t know why I was worried.
Cash would have never been able to spot me with this many people.
Before too long, My Violent Heart took the stage. It took me a matter of seconds to realize that what we did at Granite didn’t even come close to comparing to what this was. Tens of thousands of screaming fans were riveted to the sight before them, and the band hadn’t even started playing yet.
They were larger than life.
Cash was larger than life.
The music started—Walker on the drums and Killian on the guitar—and everyone went crazy.
I didn’t.
Because I knew that I was going to hear his voice in a matter of seconds.
Sure enough, the moment he opened his mouth and sang the first few lyrics, I was rendered motionless. With each word that moved past his lips, I grew more and more turned on.
He was breathtaking. Jaw dropping. Magnificent.
His voice moved through me in a way it hadn’t when he performed at Granite. It moved through me in a way it hadn’t when he was talking to me on the phone.