Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Bayleigh
Kelly’s morning knock sounds a moment before the blonde assistant enters the suite with her usual chirpy: “Good morning.”
Suddenly wide awake, Chase quickly pulls a sheet up to cover our naked bodies and I let out a chuckle. It’s not like she hasn’t seen me in bed with someone before. But I don’t tell Chase this. He already knows about many of my flaws. I don’t need to add sex addict to the list.
Kelly puts one of her hands on her hip and holds a coffee cup in the other and grins down at us. “Hi.”
“Kelly.” Chase nods in her direction.
She turns to me, her eyebrows raised high. “Bayleigh, your coffee.” She puts it on the bedside table closest to me. “I’ll give you guys a minute.” Then leaves the room.
I look at Chase, and he smirks at me. “I guess that’s my cue.” He kisses me quickly then rolls out of bed. I gaze at his perfect ass as he picks up his clothes.
“You know, you don’t have to go if you don’t want.” I like the idea of us being able to have a quickie whenever the mood takes us.
“That’s tempting, Bay.” He kisses me quickly on the lips before straightening and zipping up his pants. “But I have to get back to the ranch and get some work done before we rehearse later.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later then.”
He grabs the rest of his belongings and waves back at me. “See you later.”
As the door snicks closed, Kelly comes into the bedroom and sits next to me. “Spill.”
I lie back against the pillow and drape an arm over my eye. “We stayed up working on my song and one thing led to another.”
“And how was the sex?”
I look up at her and see her run her tongue over her top lip. “It was . . . I mean, it’s different with him.”
“Shit, was it bad?”
“Fuck no. It was the total opposite of bad. It was the best!”
“Hey!” She pushes me playfully, and I smile back at her.
“Present company excluded, of course. He was the best sex I’ve had with a man.”
“Thank you.” She mock bows. “Are you guys going to hook up again? I mean, so I know what to expect in the mornings.”
I shrug. “I dunno. I mean, we leave in three days.”
“Exactly! You got to get it while you can.” Kelly jiggles her shoulders.
“I don’t want to think about that. I just want to enjoy this moment right now.”
“Great. Well, on that note, you need to call Brendon back at some point today,” she says and stands up from the bed, carefully brushing down her silk pants.
“What does he want?” It could be to deliver yet more bad news. That would definitely kill my vibe. I reach over and sip my coffee. It’s lukewarm, so I drain it quickly. “I’m going to need more coffee before that conversation.”
Kelly looks at her watch. “I can send Max for another. I really need to finalize the backstage passes for the show on Saturday. They’re due in this afternoon, and we have a lot of label reps coming for it.”
“No bother,” I climb out of bed, “I feel like a walk.” I slip into the bathroom and turn on the shower.
I can feel Chase’s cum, warm and sticky, dribbling down my thighs.
I clench my legs together as I relive the experience of his hands on my waist, his big, thick cock pounding into me.
Fuck, I could come again, just thinking about him.
I get under the steaming water and let it caress my sensitive skin, lost in memories of what we did to each other and all the things I still want to do with him. To him.
I wonder if he leaves all his sexual partners like this—eager for more. Or if it’s just me.
I rarely have the same partner more than once, unless, like Kelly, they are very talented with their tongue.
But I can see myself having Chase over and over again.
I love how he makes my body feel. How he knew what to do.
How he played me like he played his guitar.
Building me up, up and strumming my body until I climaxed.
And what a climax it was—like I released eighteen years’ worth of desire and need.
I finish in the shower and wrap a plush towel around my body before opening the door. Kelly is waiting for me, dangling hangers of clothes from her finger. “Anything else I can help you with?” She raises an eyebrow.
“Not right now.” I take the clothes from her. “Thanks.”
I dress in a jeans-and-T-shirt combo and dry my hair, scrunching it the way I was taught and adding gel to the ringlets. After applying some makeup, I leave the bathroom.
Kelly is busy at the desk, working on her laptop. “Where are my scarves?” I ask.
She turns and rises from her chair. “Which one do you want?”
“The grey with the butterflies,” I say as she moves to a dresser and opens a drawer.
“Good choice.” She hands me the scarf and watches me as I stand in front of the full-length mirror and tie it. Once I’m happy with my appearance, Kelly hands me my bag. “Have fun, and don’t forget to call Brendon.”
“Yes, boss,” I reply as I open the door and see Max waiting for me. “Let’s go.” I smile at him.
We head down the lift and through the lobby where we run into Mr. Dobson, who stops to ask me again how our stay is. I give him a smile and thank him. “Everything is great.”
“We are so excited about the show and the weather forecast is another cloud-free night.”
Clear weather is perfect for an outdoor show, but I’m sure the town would trade it in for some decent rainfall.
Once outside, I turn my eyes up to the clear blue sky. The air is dry and warm. No respite in sight for the town.
I wander down the street and forget about my shadow. I’m just a girl walking through town on her way to get coffee. The people here are used to me now—it’s not like I’m getting mobbed as I go for a stroll. I forgot how this felt—living like a normal person.
When I come to the diner, I open the door and have to stand in line behind a few people waiting to order. I’m feeling so chill it doesn’t even bother me. I gaze at the menu on the wall. When did coffee get so complicated?
When I get to the front of the line, I give my order to the young woman.
“Is that to have here or takeaway?” she asks.
I look around and find a couple of empty seats, but then change my mind and decide instead to go for a walk. “Takeaway please.” I find the card in the bag, pay, and stand aside to wait.
My gaze meets a lady’s, who is sitting with her two children having breakfast. She’s about my age and their table is filled with pancakes and grits. I smile at her. That could have been me if I’d stayed here. Raising kids of my own.
She rises from her chair and walks over to me. “Excuse me, Ms. Gilmore, but could I get a picture with you?”
“Of course,” I agree and wait for her to prepare her phone and get into position. I smile back at the image of us on her screen as she takes the selfie. Yep, I could have been her if my life had taken a different course.
“Thank you.” She lowers the phone and turns to me. “We’re in town because we won tickets to come to your show. We’re so excited”
I touch her arm. Fans love it when I do that, and this lady is no exception, gazing at my hand like I have the Midas touch. “Where do you live?”
“On a farm about forty miles from here. We’re one of them hit bad by the drought, so you being here and helping raise money means so much to us.” Her eyes glisten, and I lean in and give her a hug.
“I’m prayin’ for y’all,” I say, and she smiles back at me.
“Thank you so much.”
“Are these your kids?” I ask, gesturing at the boy and girl who are watching us. They look skinny. This may be the biggest meal they’ve had in a while.
“Yes, would you mind saying hello?”
“Please.” I follow her to the table, and she introduces me to the freckled, brown-haired children that look so much like her. “Pete and June, say hello to Ms. Gilmore.”
They smile at me like I’m just some friend of their mom’s, not a famous singer, and it makes me smile. I’m not famous to everybody, and that is fine.
“Hi kids. Are y’all having a nice visit in Sweetgum Valley?”
They nod and continue eating hungrily. Their mother turns to me and speaks quietly. “We don’t come to town often. I apologize for their manners.”
“No apologies necessary,” I say as my order is called out. I turn to acknowledge the waitress, then turn back to the lady. “What’s your name?”
“Lorraine,” she replies.
“You have a great visit, Lorraine, and thank you for coming to my show.”
I turn and go to the counter, where I wave at the waitress to come over.
When she does, I hand over the credit card again.
“Can you please charge Lorraine’s bill to this?
” I glance back to their table and notice they don’t have any drinks.
“And whatever drinks they want, too. I think those kids would like some chocolate milkshakes, but check with their mom first.”
The waitress processes the card before handing it back to me. I collect my coffee and wave to Lorraine as I leave the diner.
Outside, I pull out my phone and dial Brendon, who picks up quickly.
“Bayleigh, how’s it going in ‘the valley’?”
I roll my eyes. “That’s not what we call it here.”
He chuckles. “Maybe you could start calling it that. Could get it trending! Anyway, that’s not why I wanted to speak to you.
I continue wandering around town aimlessly, Max following silently behind me, while Brendon catches me up on business. “All your publicity is really paying off and making your image more wholesome. I got to say I’m really glad you’re following my advice on this.”
So far this trip hasn’t been as bad as I thought. Especially last night. Totally worth it.
“How are rehearsals going? The new guy picking it up?”
“Yeah, he’s really good. He fits in with the band well and has picked up the songs super-fast. It’s quite impressive, actually.”
“That’s great.” There’s excitement in his voice as he continues, “They want to live-stream the event so we can’t have any mistakes in this.”
My eyes widen, and I stop walking. “Live-stream? Really?”