Chapter 23
23
The next week and a half are full of stolen moments between shows and sleeping together on the bus every night. Grayson and Declan have been surprisingly cool with our relationship. Once they realized I was serious about Ellie and she wasn’t a passing fad, they were full on board.
Aside from one very Declan warning to tell Lainey before the press does, they’ve let us exist in peace. Ellie wants more time to ‘get to know one another’ before telling my sister. I don’t need to know anything else about her to be sure she’s it for me, but my girl likes to have all her ducks in a row. I’ll let her have her way for now.
Keeping our relationship under wraps is surprisingly easy. As long as we avoid PDA out in the open no one suspects anything. She was staying on the bus with us already, meaning we don’t have to explain anything to anyone.
I’ve made a habit of throwing my hat into the crowd at the end of each show to ensure Ellie brings me a new one before the next. It’s my new favorite pre-show routine. I get time with her, and I know she at least eats something since she always steals my chips.
We are on our way to Atlanta today. Not only is it a holiday weekend, but we don’t have a Tuesday night show this week which means we don’t play again until Friday. Declan and Grayson are heading home to Nashville to meet with various people on their side projects. I’m taking Ellie away to a friend’s vacation house. It’s located in a small town in Florida and sits on a private beach. No one will bother us for three blessed days until we have to report to the Tallahassee show.
I’m pulling out all the stops for this trip. Not only is the house gorgeous and secluded, I’m even borrowing another friend’s private plane to take us to and from the area. Ellie says it’s ‘rock star shit’ but at least this way the likelihood of getting caught by the paps is low.
Considering we are laying in bed, as we barrel down the highway, I would say my girl should be used to ‘rock star shit’ by now. Glancing up, I notice we are driving through an expanse of foothills. Allowing my eyes to adjust, I see wildflowers everywhere.
Sliding out of the bed, I run to the front. “Stop the bus!”
Bryce and Grayson stare at me from their spots in the lounge. “What?”
“Stop the bus! I need to get off.”
“Why?”
“Does it matter? Just stop it.”
Bryce walks to the front of the bus to make sure the driver heard my plea. A few moments later, the bus safely stops on the side of the road and I run down the stairs. Trailing behind me, Gray shakes his head once he realizes what I’m doing.
I ignore his laughter as I hop over the guardrail and trudge into the field. Scrutinizing the field in front of me, I walk over to a patch of Iris grabbing a few straight from the ground. Beside them I spot some pretty pink blooms. I round out the bouquet with some flowers I believe my mother called Black Eyed Susans and what I think are daisies.
Bounding back onto the bus, I take my collection over to the sink and get busy trimming the ends after thanking our driver for stopping. When they're all a uniform height, I grab the most vase-like cup I can find and arrange the flowers inside. I don’t know if it is any good, but when I am happy with them, I turn to head back into the bedroom when I see brothers watching me in amusement.
“What?”
“You are whipped, man,” Grayson observes.
“I’m not whipped. I’m considerate and thoughtful AF.”
“Technically, I think it’s only whipped if she tells him to do it,” Bryce adds, helpful for once.
“Jealousy isn’t a good color on you,” I direct to Gray. His response is to shoot me the bird. .
“Speaking of being a great boyfriend, are my recordings ready yet?” I ask Bryce.
“I finished them up yesterday. I’ll upload them to a cloud folder as soon as we have strong wifi again. They’re too large to send over the hotspot.”
“Sweet. Thanks, bro.”
Based on the text Ellie sent, she should be here with my hat of the night any minute. While I wait, my mind drifts to our trip and to the fact that my brothers have these big plans after the tour. I still have nothing. I wonder if I can make being a boyfriend my plan? It’s not as if I have a ton of experience with it. I haven’t been in an actual relationship in almost a decade. Something tells me that isn’t what Eliza had in mind when she told me to ‘get a hobby’ at our last meeting.
A knock on my door pulls me from my thoughts as Ellie slips in. I told her she doesn’t need to knock but apparently propriety dictates she does. Propriety is about be thrown about the window because Ellie is dressed like a wet dream in flowy skirt, a tour tee, and the cowboy boots she wore dancing last month. She hasn’t worn them since and I forgot how spectacularly they show off her legs.
“Hey, Rock Star,” she teases.
“Hey there yourself, sexy. You wear all this for me?”
“Maybe . . . ”
“You better have. Fuck, Ellie, I swear these boots were made specifically to tempt me. I’ve been dying to know how they feel wrapped around me since the first time I saw you in them.”
“That could be arranged.” This vixen. As if I’m not screwing her six ways to Sunday every night. Grayson and Declan both conveniently bought noise canceling headphones two days after we made things official.
I hear the sound of the door locking before she saunters over to the snack basket. I think she’s going to grab her chips, but instead, she pulls out one of the mini bottles of whiskey. I eye her curiously because in the few times I’ve seen her drinks it’s always been tequila, vodka, or some other clear drink. Not beer and never whiskey.
Treasure secured, she stands between my spread legs, staring down at me with her pretty doe eyes gleaming mischief and lust, lip pulled between her teeth. Her expression turns into a pout, it takes great effort not to fall over myself to fix it. I suspect she has a plan and I don’t want to interfere.
“I can’t straddle you when you’re manspreading.”
“My apologies.” I sit up taller and press my legs closer, allowing her to perch on my thighs. “Better? ”
She nods as she settles on top of me. After opening the whiskey, one of her hands reaches to toy with the hair at the nape of my neck. I watch enraptured as she tips her face up and pours the whiskey into her mouth.
Instead of swallowing as I expect, she uses her hold on my hair to tilt my head back and press her mouth against mine. When my lips open, rich, smokey flavor mixed with something distinctly her floods my tastebuds.
Holy hell. This is the hottest thing that has ever happened to me. I don’t know if Ellie was specifically trying to get fucked with that move, but that’s what is about to happen.
“Please tell me you’re wet.”
“I’ve been soaked since you left me this morning,” she confesses, chest heaving from our kiss.
Standing abruptly, I hike her up my body so I can reach my joggers. I shuck them down my legs and bunch her skirt up to her waist. I’m pleasantly surprised when I notice she skipped panties. Trying to get fucked indeed. One swipe through her center tells me she isn’t lying about being soaked for me. And thank God she is because after everything that has happened, I don’t have the patience to wait. I’ll worship her tonight. Right now, I need to fuck her.
Sitting back down on the couch, I position her entrance on the tip of my cock. “Show me that those boots aren’t for show. Ride me, cowgirl.”
Needing no further prompting from me, she slides down my shaft as we let out twin groans. While she adjusts to the way I fill her, I remove her shirt.
“So deep,” she moans, swiveling her hips in a way that has her hands tightening on my shoulders.
Rubbing her nipples through her lace bralette, I pull down the cups as soon as they pebble and latch on to one, sucking it into my mouth, teeth grazing the sensitive bud. The action makes her rhythm falter, but she recovers quickly as I soothe the sting with my tongue. I switch to the other nipple and deliver the same treatment.
When her tempo falters a second time, I slide my hands to her waist to lift and lower her on my cock. My hips thrust up to meet her. If she thought I was deep before, I’m even more so now.
“Fuck. Oh my God. Jack. I’m going to come.”
I moan at the prospect of her tight cunt strangling my cock. I’m close, too. Needing to get her there faster, I snake one hand in between us and rub her clit. The motion causes her walls to flutter around me in the telltale sign of her impending orgasm.
“That’s it. That’s my girl. Come on this cock, baby. Finish what you started.” Her body shudders against mine as her pleasure crests. With a few more stuttered thrusts, heat races down my spine and my own release takes over.
Collapsing against me, Ellies sucks in a ragged breath. “That was unexpected.”
I bark out a laugh at her candor. “Not sure what you expected, Wildflower, but anytime you combine you and whiskey, you’re asking to get fucked. Where did that come from, anyway?”
“Read it in a cowboy book.” She shrugs.
“Oh yeah? Read anything else interesting?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
“Desperately,” I admit, half joking.
“Maybe I’ll show you at the beach house. Do the beds at this place have sturdy headboards?”
This woman is going to kill me.
“Three days wasn’t enough,” I whine from my spot on the bed as I watch Ellie pack her bag. “I need more beach time.” Really what I need is more Ellie in a bikini time but beach sounds less horny.
“We’re spending the morning at the beach before your fancy private plane takes us to Tallahassee. If you don’t report on time Eliza will blame me and I don’t need that smoke.”
“I’ll take full responsibility,” I croon, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her into bed with me. Our mini getaway is over too soon, but it was a perfect escape. Seeing Ellie able to completely relax thanks to something I planned made me realize why she enjoys planning and organizing. Knowing I am responsible for her bright eyes and constant smile does something for me in a major way.
We spend most of our free time together on tour, but we are rarely alone except at night or when I can sneak away with her on off days. Being alone in this house, I felt even more connected to her. I got a glimpse of both adult Ellie and the wild girl I used to know. The college stories of the shenanigans she got into with her girls that would have given Declan a coronary, I found delightful. I can’t wait to taunt Lainey with the dirt I have on her.
First, I’ll have to explain where I got it, but that will come in time. Despite having ample opportunity, we didn’t talk about Lainey or the future during our vacation. I’m torn between wanting to bring it up or live for the moment. Thankfully, Ellie makes the decision for me—kind of.
“It’s funny you bring up Eliza.” Ellie sinks deeper into my lap, tucking her head underneath my chin while I run my fingertips down her back.
“You brought her up,” I point out.
“Semantics.” I would normally push her on that, but she is back to fiddling her fingers, a tick she hasn’t done since we got here. Whatever she wants to say must be making her nervous .
“She said something interesting to me the other day. Is Declan releasing a solo album after the tour?”
“Yeah,” I answer easily. I thought she knew that but now that I think about it, she isn’t usually in the room for those conversations. “He is releasing an EP. He plans to go on a mini tour to select cities across the country to promote it.”
“Why aren’t y’all doing it together?”
“The sound is more soulful than our normal music. It’s a passion project for him and since Gray had the opportunity to judge Singing Sensation , we thought now was a good time for him to explore that style.”
“Hold up!” she exclaims pushing out of my hold and resting on her knees in front of me. “Grayson is going to be a judge on Singing Sensation ?! Does Lainey know?”
“Ye—”
“Of course she doesn’t know. She would never keep that a secret, especially from us. How could you not tell me?”
“Sorry?”
“You should be. This is huge.”
“I’m lost here, sweetheart.”
“You don’t know? Does Grayson not know?”
“Not know what?” I have no clue why Ellie is amped up. The show is popular, but it’s been around long enough that it isn’t a huge deal. There are several shows with the same format on different networks.
“You know how the girls and I watch a show together every week?”
I nod because I do. She’s staring at me expectantly when it clicks. “That show is Singing Sensation ?”
“Yes!”
“Why?”
“Aside from the fact that they are creating America’s next superstar?” she asks, parroting the show’s tagline.
My lips tip at her enthusiasm for the show. She’s cute when she blabbers about things she is passionate about. “Aside from that.”
“We’ve watched every episode together. It started freshman year when our periods all synced and we needed a comfort show. There was a marathon and before we knew it, four years had passed and we were superfans.”
“Grayson is going to get a kick out of this,” I say mostly to myself.
“Do you think he’ll be able to give us the inside scoop?”
The way her eyes shine with excitement makes me wish I was the one judging the show. If that didn't mean I’d have to spend a few months away from her in LA, I’d be petitioning for a spot now.
“I think the NDA is pretty tight, but I’m sure he could leak a few small things to you ladies. If he knew Lainey was a fan of the show, I’m sure he would have told her he was going to be on it. Technically, he isn’t confirmed as a judge yet, but rumors have been circulating for a while.”
Her excitement turns pensive and I know a question I don’t want to answer is coming. Bracing myself, I wait for her to vocalize it.
“Declan is releasing an EP. Grayson is going to be on Singing Sensation . What are you planning to do? I’m sure it’s going to be great if that is what they have in store.”
Her faith in me is a knife to the gut. Despite Eliza’s hounding, I am no closer to a decision than I was before the tour kicked back off. The pressure to choose something impressive is even greater now that I have Ellie. She is such a high achiever, I don’t want to disappoint her.
“I have something in the works,” I lie. I do have some feelers out, but nothing concrete has been decided. “I don’t want to jinx it, though. As soon as it is set in stone, you will be the first to know. I want to impress you with it all figured out. I guess you’re rubbing off on me. ”
I don’t know if she can tell I am being dishonest or wants to push harder for details, but her expression is guarded. With less than twenty-four hours before we go back to reality, there is no room for that.
Standing from the bed, I scoop her off her feet and into my arms.
“What are you doing?” she laughs as I toss her over my shoulder.
“You seem a little parched. I think we could use a dip.”
“Don’t you dare!” she gasps. Unfortunately for her, I dare. Running through the open patio door I jump straight into the pool with Ellie in my grasp.