Chapter 19
The driver pulls into the driveway of a hotel. When the driver passes the passenger drop-off area and keeps driving along the road that winds behind the hotel, I get lightheaded as my heart lodges in my throat. Where are we going?
Out the window are little houses. I squint to read the plaques in front of them. The house with ivy covering most of its cream-colored face with a fire engine red door is called The Garden Private Casitas.
Damn, Sully is staying in one of these casitas? I’ve heard how nice they are. Like little homes but with the luxury of being in a fine hotel. Could he be in one alone or is the entire band with him?
Anxiety bubbles within me as we stop in front of the casitas known as The Star.
The building is red brick with a light blue door and flower boxes under the windows with pretty little purple blossoms inside.
The path toward the front door is cobblestone steps cutting through the greenest grass I’ve ever seen in California.
“Thank you,” I tell the driver and slip out of the car. As he drives away, my panic surges. What am I doing? My legs stiffen as I make my way to the entrance. For a moment, I pause, glancing at the small patio and swing bench between two arched windows.
After taking several deep breaths, I knock on the door, and its rough wood scrapes my knuckles.
It swings open, and Sully greets me with a smirk, wearing a tight white shirt and low-hanging jeans.
“Welcome.” He flashes my ring on his pinkie and beckons me inside with his other hand.
His blue eyes hold a glint of mischief. As soon as I step inside, freshly brewed coffee fills my nose.
“What do you think of my place?” He opens his arms wide, walking toward the open-space kitchen area.
“It’s nice.” I place my purse on top of the brown leather couch. “Are you staying here alone?” I peek down the dark hallway with closed doors.
“Yeah. The rest of the band is crashing in a house in Beverly Hills, but I wanted more personal space.” He grabs two mugs from the cabinet and sets them on the shiny black marble counter. “You want coffee?”
“Sounds good.” I watch him pour the coffee and grab the creamer and milk from the fridge, my ring catching a glint from the fluorescent overhead whenever it hits the right angle, shining on his pinkie like it belongs there.
“I don’t know how you like it.” He places a spoon next to my mug as he drinks his black.
“When are you planning on giving me my ring back?” I pour milk into my mug and stir it with the spoon. “And why did you steal it in the first place?”
He taps the ring’s silver band against the side of his green mug. “Steal is such a strong word. I wouldn’t go that far.” He downs the rest of his coffee and pours himself more.
“What would you call it then?” I watch him over the rim of my cup.
He pulls a blue and white checkered dish towel off a square object, revealing a package of blueberry muffins underneath as if it’s a magic trick to change the subject.
“You want a muffin?” He rips off the sticker and opens the container.
They smell amazing and almost distract me enough from my ring, but not quite.
“You’re avoiding my question.” I place my coffee next to the muffin he gave me on a paper towel.
Sully bites into his muffin, and crumbs tumble from his mouth all over his shirt. He mutters something in German.
“You should know I don’t like mind games.” I break a small piece of muffin off the top and squish it between my fingers. “Especially when it involves my stuff. I’m an only child and—”
“Eat first.” He licks his fingers and brushes them on his shirt.
Why am I getting a fifty shades vibe from him?
I remove the wrapper and inspect the muffin.
“Do you think I poisoned you?” he asks, voice soft and eyes cast down. He sounds offended.
“What should I think? You take my ring while I’m sleeping then have the world’s quietest driver drop me off at your little casita. The first thing you give me is coffee and muffins. It’s all a little suspicious.”
Sully plucks the ring off his pinkie and takes my hand, placing the ring in my palm. “I meant it as a joke. Guess it wasn’t funny.”
I slip the ring onto its rightful finger and spin it.
“I’m not into pranks or being teased.” A terrible memory of my uncle always teasing me the summer I stayed with my cousin floats to mind.
If I said I was bored, he’d reply, “Hi, bored, nice to meet you.” He’d steal my library books and hide them in places, usually too high for me to reach, and forget, and then I wouldn’t have enough time to finish the book before it was due.
He once hip-checked me, and I tripped on the sidewalk, scraping my knee.
My cousin chuckled. She liked it when her father wasn’t on her back for once.
Closing my eyes for a moment, I lock those memories into the box they came from and bury them deep inside my mind.
Sully pouts, sulking into his muffin, taking tiny bites.
To show good faith, I bite into my muffin.
It is moist and smells amazing with juicy blueberries baked inside the golden-brown batter.
“If you would’ve invited me over for coffee, I would’ve said yes.
There wasn’t a need to pull this is what I’m trying to get at,” I say, taking a big bite.
Crumbs fall from my lips and chin, but the taste is so out-of-this-world I don’t care.
He doesn’t look at me. Instead, he closes the plastic muffin container, pushing it away. “I can call another ride if you want to go. It’s cool. I didn’t—”
“No.” I close the distance between us and place a hand above his heart. “Can we enjoy our coffee?”
He nods, topping me off and pouring another for himself. “There’s a deck out the sliding glass door. Let’s check out the view.”
I follow him outside, and he isn’t lying. The view is breathtaking. I was too nervous in the car driving here to realize we were driving up the side of a hill. As far as the eye can see is Los Angeles.
Sully sits on the railing and nods toward the horizon. “That blurry grayish-blue thing is the ocean. Quite a sight, right? Way better than the condo the band is renting. Their view is of a wall.”
“My last apartment had a view of a wall. Couldn’t see an inch of the sky from any window. It was depressing.” I rest my elbows on the railing and sip my coffee.
Sully’s hand grazes my hip and settles on the small of my back. Heat blooms in my chest and spills upward, dizzying and sweet. I turn into him, breathing in the warm scent of coffee, blueberries, and sandalwood—softened by just a trace of mint.
His fingers slide into my hair as my lips skim his jawline and find his mouth. We pause, catching our breath. He tips my head back with his finger. “Do you want to see the bedroom?” he asks in a silky-smooth voice.
A pulse of want stirs low in my belly, humming through me like a lit fuse. But I manage a small smile and shake my head. “I’d like the coffee to settle in my stomach first.”
“Oh. Right.” He motions to the couch and we sit down. “I’m not using you for sex or anything.” The tips of his ears redden as I watch him sweat out his next set of words. “I just wanted your company. I like you and…”
“It’s not your fault. My ex liked to use sex to kill an argument. It killed the thrill of it. And with you…” I run my fingers through my hair, using it as a curtain to hide behind. “I know you’re going to leave LA to go home and I don’t want those bad feelings to return.”
“Abandonment issues,” he says softly, dragging a hand down his face.
My spine stiffens. “Excuse me. I’d call it—”
He waves his hand in the air like he wants to erase his words.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I know how you feel.
Before the girlfriend who left me for a different bass player, I had a woman leave me because I was never around.
Said I loved the road more and probably cheated on her.
Turns out she just wanted to fuck her neighbor. ”
“Who needs a relationship? Right now, my focus is on my career. I’m going to continue to grow my social media and land more gigs. There’s a mermaid show coming up in Miami next year and I’m super close to landing a cruise line as a sponsor.”
“I love your drive. It makes the green in your eyes shine like emeralds.”
“Says a songwriter.” I playfully punch his arm and bite my cheek to keep my smile in check.
“No. I’m serious. It’s good to love what you do in life, but don’t you want someone to spend it with? I want someone to share my life with. To be there for the good times and console each other through the tough times.”
“After reading enough romance novels, you start to think love only exists in fictional worlds,” I say, lowering my head so my hair veils my face.
He gently brushes it back. “If that’s true, then what is life but a bleak countdown to the end?”
I shrug. “With random bursts of happiness, but yeah, pretty much.”
He captures my chin with his hand and brushes his thumb over my lower lip. “How can someone who’s a mermaid for a living and brings such joy be so sad and dark?”
“Talent,” I mumble, looking past him to the painting of weird black and white lines tangling together in a gold frame. Whoever decorated this place has odd taste.
“Nein. Du kannst mich nicht t?uschen, Schatz,” he whispers into the shell of my ear. His lips trail kisses along my jawline.
“What did you say?”
He smiles. “You can’t fool me.” He stands and takes my hand, pulling me to my feet. “I have an idea.”
He ushers me to sit on a chair at the kitchen table as he disappears down the hall. He comes back with his guitar.
My heart skips a beat as he takes a chair across from me and sets the guitar on his lap.
“You’re going to sing?”
He nods. “I’d call it serenading.”
“Oh?” I rest my elbow on the table and cradle my cheek against my hand. “Go on.”
He strums the strings and clears his throat.
The melody is plucky but slowly becomes softer.
“I hear the birds singing, as my tears sting. I’ve lost my north star.
I don’t even know who you are. My heart’s racing, my thoughts turn into a pinwheel of color.
Reflected in the mirror, who am I facing?
Thunder rolls with a howling wind.” Sully closes his eyes as his fingers glide over the guitar’s strings.
I lean closer, resting my knee close to his.
“Life’s bitter. How I long for sweet death.
No matter where I go, we’ll meet. I have more tears than the sky has rain.
No matter what I do, I’m always in pain.
Lightning lights up my window, all my marks become aglow.
I look away to see a sparrow. She flies away, I wish to follow.
For you my dear, I give my soul. For you my love, I relinquish all control. ”
He stops and lets his guitar drop between his legs. His eyes catch mine and I’m drowning.
“Wow. That’s amazing.”
“Thanks. I wrote it for you last night. Kinda came to me. Not sure where it’s going.”
“It’s dark and beautiful.”
“Like you.” He reaches for my hand and gently kisses the back of it. He turns my wrist and kisses up my inner arm. His scruff tickles. I can’t conceal my giggle.
“I love your laugh. It’s my favorite music.”
“You say that to all the girls?” I grab his guitar and place it on the table so I can sit on his lap. His arms circle my waist, his warmth sends pains of desire through my stomach.
Sully brushes his nose against mine. “No. When I first saw you, it was like someone lit a fire in my icy chest. And seeing you again behind the venue, it was magic. I wanted to see you. To touch you.” He trails his fingers along my ribs. “And now that I have, it’s like I can’t get enough.”
My heart flutters. Is he saying these pretty words as a musician or does he mean them? Right now I don’t care. No man has treated me like I’m the only woman in the world. Looked at me like I’m priceless. I don’t want this to stop.
I capture his mouth with mine. Our tongues dance as I sink my hands into his hair and gingerly pull. My hips have a mind of their own and buck against him. He moans.
“You can show me the bedroom now…if you still want to.”
His stands and I instinctually wrap my legs around his torso. “Schatz, ich gehore dir.” His accent sends electricity through my blood. I nip at his neck as he carries me to the bedroom.