12. Gavin
Gavin
I rapped on Suzie’s back door and hopped from one foot to the other in my excitement. I had stopped for pizza, wings, and wine—not exactly the meal to impress a lady, but I’d been too impatient to wait for anything else. I’d had a long, productive day, and she was the only one I wanted to share the news with, aside from Granddaddy who had been at my side the entire time.
“Gavin.” My name rushed out of Suzie’s mouth on a breathless sigh. A heartbeat later, her lips pulled into a happy grin. “What are you doing here?”
I felt my lips split into a grin. “I’m here to see you, Suzie Q. Busy?”
She took a step back and laughed. “Only if you count sticking my head in the fridge in search of sustenance busy.”
“I’ve taken care of that.” I stepped on the porch and grabbed my haul with a satisfied smile. “Mushroom, pepper, and onion pizza with extra cheese, teriyaki wings, and wine.”
She looked at the box and then up to my face, eyes round with surprise. “But how did you know?”
I shrugged. “Told the pizza guy I wanted to thank you for carting Granddaddy around town and he told me all your pizza secrets.”
“So, this is gratitude pizza?”
“If so, it has nothing to do with Granddaddy and everything to do with the little striptease I got last night. Or the sore muscles in my forearm from my brand-new sofa memory.”
She flushed prettily at my words. “In that case, I accept. Come on in.” She took the wine and I followed her into the kitchen, watching as she grabbed two glasses and a corkscrew.
“How was your day?” Suzie flashed a smile over her shoulder and I felt my heart stutter to a stop before it kicked into overdrive.
“Great. I managed to get a few songs written down.”
Suzie twirled around, a bright smile on her face. “Gavin, that’s wonderful!” In two seconds, she was in my personal space, her arms wrapped around me and her face buried in my chest. “I’m so happy for you!”
Her words sent a flush of warmth through my body and I held her tighter, kissing the top of her head. “Ah, thanks, Suzie Q. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
She pulled back and rolled her eyes, but her hand cupped one side of my face affectionately. “You absolutely could have. In fact, you’ve written tons of songs before you ever knew I existed.”
“Maybe so, but I haven’t written anything in months. I was worried the music had left me, but I found it, thanks to you.”
“I’ll take the praise from you, right here and right now, but we both know what this is.” She turned back to the wine, pouring a glass for herself and half a glass for me.
“Yeah, what is it?”
Suzie sighed. “Fear. You were afraid that something might be wrong with your voice, so you distanced yourself from the thing you love best: music. Now, that fear is behind you, and the words and the music are flowing.” She handed me a glass and smiled, but I noticed it didn’t fully reach her eyes. “To getting the music back.”
“To unexpected delights. To friends found in the most unexpected places.”
“I’ll drink to that.” She took a sip and reached for plates and forks. “So, can you tell me anything about these songs or is it all hush-hush?”
We sat at the table and talked over pizza and wings. It all felt so normal, so domestic, and I smiled so much my face muscles ached. “They’re not exactly a secret, but right now they’re just words and melodies on paper. I haven’t been able to sing them, not properly.”
She nodded. “It’s been a few weeks already, Gavin. In a few more, you’ll be back singing nonstop. With appropriate amounts of rest,” she added with affection. “Is it difficult, writing songs you can’t sing and tweak as you go?”
“Absolutely. I’ve never written this way before. A little bit of humming here and singing there makes it difficult, but not impossible. I can hear the songs in my head, so I know exactly how they’ll sound. I just need that assurance.”
“Do you have a writing partner?”
“Nah, I tried that back in the day and we argued all the time. I’m strictly a solo act.” The boys in the band hadn’t been interested in writing songs, even if it meant extra cash. “They were happy with the money we got for singing and dancing. Then I tried with a songwriter in Nashville who was looking to become a muse.”
Too bad, because she had been one hell of a lyricist.
“You’re just too irresistible, Gavin.” Her teasing words made me smile. “How do you deal with it?”
“Easy. I faked a throat problem so I could come to a small town to date a woman who is somehow my biggest fan yet not entirely impressed with me.”
“Oh, I am very impressed by you. As a singer and songwriter. But as a man, I think you’re perfectly fine.”
“Fine.” I balked. “Did you just say ‘fine’?”
Suzie laughed and the sound wrapped itself around my heart and gripped tight. “Are you too good to be fine , Gavin Ross?”
“Not at all, but I have it on good authority that’s not a good word when it falls from a woman’s lips.”
She laughed again. “Fine is a good word. A great word. All I meant is that I like you, Gavin. As an artist and a man, but I won’t give you extra credit as a man simply because you are a fantastic artist.”
And that was what I loved most about her. Love? That was what I liked best about Suzie. “Fantastic? I like what I’m hearing. Tell me more.”
Suzie stood and took her plate to the sink in silence. She turned to face me and slowly sauntered back to the table, resting her palms flat just a foot away from me. “When your next album drops, I promise to heap a ton of praise onto you the next time I see you.”
“I look forward to it.” No matter where I was in the world when that happened, I would make a trip back just to hear what Suzie thought. I was sure of that.
“I’ll just bet.” She scanned the kitchen in search of something, a frown on her face.
“What are you looking for?”
“Something sweet,” she said as her gaze bounced from the countertop to the bag of pretzels on top of her microwave and back to the uneaten pizza and wings.
“Why didn’t you say so? I’m right here.”
She laughed and pushed at my chest. “Hilarious.”
I took a step closer and wrapped my arms around Suzie, dropping kisses on the back of her neck. “I have something sweet you might enjoy.”
With surprise in her eyes, she turned in my arms. “I’m listening.”
“I made a stop to the bakery on my way to see you and I got this jar of butterscotch body paint.”
The words were hardly out of my mouth before Suzie tugged on my arm and dragged me up to her bedroom.
“Bedroom first, shower second?”
“Bedroom third?”
Suzie laughed and nodded, and then she started stripping down in front of me, making my mouth water and my cock hard. “Suzie.”
“Hmmm?”
“Neither of us will be quiet tonight.”
Heat flared in her eyes and then I pounced, ready to enjoy another night with her sweet curves pressed up against me. Days spent writing and nights spent talking and laughing and sexing a beautiful woman? What else could a man ask for?