Chapter 44
FORTY-FOUR
Devon
I shut off the water and grabbed the clean towel I’d tossed over the shower door. I dried as quickly as I could while trying not to fall out of the shower.
I ran the towel over my chest and glanced down at the time on my phone. Fuck, I was so late.
I was consulting for a company that was building a new internal management system, and the meeting at their offices downtown had gone longer than expected. I’d texted Blake that I’d be late, but I hated being late.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck ,” I mumbled under my breath, yanking the door open while tying the towel around my waist. I nearly tripped over the clothes I’d discarded on the bathroom floor, but when I kicked them back further into the bathroom, I stopped.
I wasn’t usually so scatterbrained, but I’d been planning this date for a week. And I’d barely seen her over that week.
So, I was surprised to see Blakely sitting on the end of my bed.
Past the initial surprise, my eyes raked over her body while her lids lowered, and she appraised my wet, naked chest .
She stood and took slow, measured steps toward me. She was wearing her favorite black boots, and fishnet tights were wrapped around her long legs. Her black skirt stopped well above her mid-thigh, and her black top showed off a sliver of her stomach and the tattoos beneath.
She looked like every single one of my fantasies come true. A smile tugged at her dark-painted lips, and I was transfixed by the way the dark shadow smudged around her eyes made the gray pop.
Mesmerized by her, I didn’t notice her hands until one trailed over my chest and the other skimmed the top of the towel that had fallen lower on my hips.
“Hi,” she said. “Sorry to just drop in, but I saw the light on and figured it was easier to meet you up here.”
“Don’t be sorry,” I said on a groan, my cock quickly hardening and trying to push against the heavy towel. “You’re the best surprise. I’d like to always find you in my bed, in my space.”
My eyes popped open when I realized what I’d said. Worried what her reaction would be, I was pleasantly surprised to see a faint smirk tilting her plump, cherry-red lips.
“I like being in your space, too, Dev. I like being with you.” Her nails danced over my stomach and goose bumps broke out over my skin still warm from the shower. She kissed me softly once and her smile grew. “Get dressed. I’ll wait here.”
Somehow, I managed to pull away from her. Even though it was harder to do so every single time.
The sounds of the city echoed around us as we walked hand-in-hand down the street. The concert venue was only a block or two from the restaurant where we’d had dinner.
I’d never seen Blakely so giddy with excitement before, but she practically bounced next to me. It was a sight I’d do just about anything to see again and again .
“I cannot believe you were able to get tickets so last minute,” she said, her eyes reflecting the lights around us. I raised our joined hands to my mouth and kissed the back of hers as we approached the long line to get into the concert.
It wrapped around the building, but her excitement didn’t wane at the wait ahead of us. It was abnormally chilly for late March in southern Texas, so I tucked her into my side. Her arms wrapped around me, and she leaned her head against my chest.
“I didn’t exactly buy them last minute.”
She peered up at me through dark lashes, a cute furrow appearing between her brows. “What do you mean? I thought you bought them last week.”
I shook my head and ushered us forward a few steps, following behind the group in front of us and rounding the corner. Thankfully, the line was moving quickly.
“I upgraded the tickets last week,” I clarified. I looked down at her and her eyes narrowed in confusion. “When you told me you didn’t like crowds, I upgraded the tickets to a private table on the balcony, but I bought the tickets when they went on sale back in November.”
“Oh,” she said, her voice and eyes dropping. “So, umm…were you going to bring Piper instead?”
“No,” I said quickly and firmly. “She had no idea who they are. I—uh—” All of her confusion had disappeared and was replaced by genuine curiosity. She peered back up at me, and I took a deep breath. “I’m going to sound pathetic.”
“Try me,” she said, and we walked a few feet forward. Whether I sounded pathetic or not, I felt it. Blakely next to me, clinging to me against the chilly night air, was fucking everything to me.
“They’re your favorite band, Blake. I bought the tickets…for you.” God, it sounded even worse when I said it out loud. And I knew I would never get the words out if I looked at her, so I instead stared at her hand in mine. “Not that I thought you would be back or something, because I couldn’t have known th at, but I hoped. I always fucking hoped, and I would’ve gone by myself. But I would’ve kept the ticket for you. Just to…feel close to you.”
A few silent seconds stretched between us, and my heart was hammering in my chest the entire time. Finally, when I felt like my stomach was in my throat, and I worried I’d never be able to look her in the eyes again, she squeezed my hand.
“Dev,” she said softly, and I couldn’t not look up at her when I heard the quiver in her voice.
Unshed tears gathered in her eyes. “Fuck, don’t cry, sweetheart.”
She shook her head. “They aren’t bad tears. I just…god, you’re so good . And I don’t know. I—I just?—”
“Excuse me,” a voice cut in from behind us. I had to bite back my annoyance as I turned to see the older man behind us. “Sorry, but the line’s moving.”
Blakely and I both glanced forward, and sure enough, there were more than several feet between us and the group in front of us. I mumbled an apology, and we closed the gap.
The line continued moving after that. We rounded the corner of the building and saw the line of people streaming through the doors. Before we knew it, they were scanning our tickets and sifting through the few contents of Blakely’s small black purse.
We were in the final stretch, about to walk through the doors, when Blakely rested her head on my shoulder and said, “Thank you for buying me a ticket. And always saving me a seat even when you didn’t know if I’d come back.”
Our hands clasped, we walked through the doors and into the dim interior, which was already loud with music thumping through the speakers.
“Always,” I said over the music. “I’ll always save a seat for you.”
Her smile was infectious. We stopped by the bar and grabbed two sodas and headed up to the balcony. The usher led us to our table, which had a perfect bird’s-eye view of the stage and the rest of the venue a level down. We were in the middle of the balcony, several tables to our right and left, but in our little section, it was only us.
Blakely slid her drink onto the table and crossed to the railing. She braced both of her hands on the metal and took in the massive room around us. Her eyes slid from the left, where there was extra stadium-like seating at the back of the balcony level, over the general admission crowd below, and all the way back to the right, where the stage crew was setting up for the opener.
“These seats are perfect!” she exclaimed. “You can see everything without being in the midst of…everything.”
I nodded, stepping up beside her and appraising the quickly growing crowd.
But appraising the crowd turned into people-watching as more people filtered through the front doors and made their way toward the main stage. “I really love that woman’s hair,” she said, pointing to a woman with neon pink hair that matched the rest of her vibrant outfit.
“Definitely stands out, especially compared to the guy she’s holding hands with,” I added.
Blakely giggled and agreed. The woman with the pink hair was holding hands with a very unassuming man dressed in cargo shorts and a plain white T-shirt.
“Oh wow, that kid has to be like eight,” Blakely quipped, taking a sip of her drink and nodding to the little kid that was riding on another man’s shoulders. Thick headphones were covering his ears, and he had the widest smile on his face. I felt bad for the man’s shoulders as he bounced excitedly. “He looks so excited. That’s so sweet.”
“Much more excited than the older couple fighting over there.”
Blakely whipped her head back and forth, scanning the crowd. “Where?”