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  "What are you doing over here?" he asks when he finally reaches me.

  "I was just getting a drink." I hold it up.

  "Let's go in the back." He takes my hand and leads me to a room that looks like an office with a desk and file cabinets. There's a couch off to the side where Van and Dylan are sitting.

  "Can you give us a minute?" Austin says to them. They get up and leave, then Austin sits me down on the couch. "You okay?"

  "Yeah? Why?"

  "Because you look mad."

  "I'm not mad. I'm just..."

  "What? Tell me."

  "Uncomfortable. I'm not used to seeing you like this, with all these girls hanging on you."

  "It doesn't mean anything. I'm just here to play my music. I'm not doing this to get girls. I do it because I like playing guitar."

  "I know, but it still makes me uncomfortable. I feel like you're mine now, so I don't like other girls touching you." I look down. "I don't like sharing you."

  "Kira." He wraps his hand around mine. "I AM yours. There's nobody else, and there won't be for as long as we're dating. I told you, I don't cheat."

  And I believe him. Even though it'd be easy for him to be with another girl, I don't think he would. I don't think he's that type of person.

  I lift my eyes back to his and smile. "You sounded really good. You're really talented."

  He smiles back. "So you liked our music?"

  "Yeah, it's great. And I'm not just saying that because we're dating. I really think you're good. You should call up June and Harold's son. Maybe he could do something for you guys. Make you known outside Chicago."

  "I don't know if Vandyl will be around that much longer."

  "Why?"

  "I just get this feeling Van and Dylan aren't going to stick with it after they graduate. They haven't said anything yet, but I'm starting to worry. When Matt said Dylan was suit shopping, that basically told me Dylan's getting ready to go on job interviews. And once he gets some corporate job, he won't want to be in the band. Or he might end up getting a job outside Chicago."

  "You guys done in there?" Van knocks on the door.

  "Not yet," Austin yells back.

  "We want to kick back before we have to go on again."

  "Then go outside."

  "We did, but these girls wouldn't leave us alone."

  Austin sighs and says, "Just a minute." Then he says to me, "I'll do this better later." He kisses me, but keeps it short, then gets up to open the door, and the four of us wait in there until it's time for them to go on again.

  Austin finds some people he knows in the bar, a guy and his girlfriend, and they let me sit at their table. I didn't tell Austin about the girls I sat with at the other table, and I'm not going to. I don't want to talk about the other girls he's been with, or be jealous about it. That would only hurt our relationship, and it's going so well, I don't want to do anything to mess it up.

  "Our next song is one that Dylan wrote," Austin says through the mic.

  Some of the girls up front start yelling 'one night' and waving their hands in the air.

  "Guess that means you like it?" Austin asks, laughing a little. "For those of you who haven't heard it, it's called 'one night." He starts playing the intro and the girls go wild again.

  It's a ballad and Dylan sounds good singing it. His voice is low and smooth, and he's really getting into it, his eyes closed like he's imagining whoever it is this song is about. I try to hear the lyrics but the girls up front are loud and I can only hear certain words.

  Saw you across the room...That face, those eyes...couldn't find the words, but no words were needed...I knew you were it...I went to you, you smiled...and I was gone...yours...forever...still on my mind, in my dreams.

  Then the chorus starts. One night. But it was more than that. One night. But I'll never forget. One night. And you were gone. One night. And I want you back.

  And then it repeats. It's a good song, and I can feel the emotion in the words as Dylan sings it. He must've really liked this girl, which is surprising given that he was only with her one night. It sounds just like Amber and—wait, was he singing about Amber? No, that can't be right. It must be someone else. I'm sure he's had a lot of one-night stands.

  He's still singing and I listen closer to the lyrics. Those beautiful blue eyes...and when I woke up they were gone...you were gone...

  The girls up front are getting louder and I can't hear, but then they quiet down as Dylan sings the chorus. My mind replays the earlier lyrics, about seeing her across the room and how they barely talked and yet they knew there was something there. Something between them. It's just how Amber described that night. It has to be her!

  Oh my God! Dylan wrote a song about Amber!

  The song ends with 'I want you back' which is sung really slow. Then Dylan drops his head and keeps it there while girls start screaming 'I love you, Dylan' and begging him to sing the song again.

  I can't freaking believe this! Dylan wrote a song about Amber! I have to tell her. I race to the restroom and call her.

  Her phone rings and rings, then she finally answers. "I'm trying to have some romance here. What do you need?"

  "Um, sorry, did I interrupt something?" I ask, although I can't imagine the two of them would be doing it again after she said how bad it was.

  "You were about to interrupt something. So what do you need?"

  Maybe I shouldn't tell her this. She's trying to make it work with Matt so maybe I should just let this go. But if it were me, I'd want to know.

  "Kira, are you still there?"

  I decide not to tell her. Not tonight. Not while Matt's there. I'll tell her tomorrow.

  "I was just calling to say I really wish you could be here. The band sounds great."

  "Can we talk about this later? I'm kind of busy here. Matt's waiting in my room."

  "You really want to do this again? After the others times were...not so great?"

  "I have to give him another chance. He brought me roses and cleaned up the entire kitchen, which was a complete mess. And it's not like I'm not attracted to him." She lowers her voice. "He just needs to work on his technique. I gotta go. Bye."

  She hangs up. I give her credit for trying, but she's going to be disappointed again. His technique doesn't matter if there's no chemistry between them.

  She met Dylan one time and yet I can feel the chemistry between them. I feel it when she talks about him. I felt it just now when he sang that song. The way his voice sounded, so full of emotion. And the way he kept his eyes closed, like he was singing it just to her.

  I think Dylan's in love with Amber. And I think she's in love with him. After one night! Is that even possible? No. That's crazy. But I have strong feelings for Austin after knowing him for a week, so maybe it is possible.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Austin

  "I didn't think we'd ever get out of there," I say as I'm driving Kira home.

  "I know. I didn't think they were going to let you leave."

  The band was only supposed to play until ten-thirty but people kept requesting songs so we played until eleven. We ended with One Night, which girls begged us to play again.

  "So what'd you think of Dylan's song?" I ask.

  "It was good." She says it really fast so I'm wondering if she's not being truthful.

  "If you didn't like, just say so. You won't hurt my feelings. I didn't write it."

  "I liked it. I really did. And I liked the way Dylan sang it, with a lot of emotion. He must've really liked that girl."

  "He did. It took him a long time to get over her, and honestly, I don't think he is. He just says he is so Van will stop teasing him about it."

  "Don't you think it's weird that Dylan likes a girl that much after just one date?"

  "It wasn't even a date. They just slept together. Then he woke up and she was gone. Didn't even leave a note. She told him she was moving to New York the next day so I guess she didn't see a point in leaving her number."

>   "Has he ever tried to find her?"

  "He's been trying ever since that night, but he won't admit to it. I only know he's been looking for her because Van keeps finding the searches when he uses Dylan's laptop."

  "So Dylan hasn't told you anything about her?"

  "He's told me a few things, but not much. He likes to keep his love life private."

  "Then why did he write a song about her?"

  "Because he was hoping she'd hear it and want to be with him. But she's never going to hear it, living in New York."

  "Do you think he loves her?"

  "After knowing her for one night? Shit, I don't know. Is that even possible?"

  "I thought the same thing."

  "What?" I look at her, confused. It's almost like she's given this some thought, and yet this is the first time I've told her about Dylan and this girl.

  "I was just agreeing with you," she says, talking fast again. "People can't fall in love in a day."

  I pull up to her apartment and park.

  She undoes her seatbelt. "So I'll see you tomorrow?"

  "That's it? You're not inviting me up?"

  "I don't really want us up there with Amber and Matt. After her night of romance, I don't know what I'm going to find. Plus, it's been a long day and I'm tired. I kind of just want to go to bed."

  "You're not just saying that because you're mad about tonight, are you?"

  "No. I really am tired."

  "So we're good?" I only ask because I can't always tell if she's being truthful. I hope she is, because I don't put up with girls lying to me.

  "We're good." She smiles.

  "Then I'll call you in the morning and we'll figure out what we want to do."

  "Okay." She leans over and I kiss her, but just once because if I keep going, I'll never leave. I walk her to the door and we say goodnight.

  I'm surprised at how well she handled tonight. Girls were yelling my name, trying to grab me, asking me to sign their bodies. That's how it always is when we play so I'm used to it, but Kira isn't, so I'm surprised she wasn't angry. I know she didn't like it, but at least she didn't start a fight about it like girls I've dated in the past have done.

  The next morning, my dad tells me he needs help dropping off some equipment at one of our job sites so I call Kira to tell her.

  "Did I wake you up?" I ask because she took forever to answer.

  "No. I just didn't hear the phone. So what's going on?"

  "I have to help my dad with some work stuff this morning but I could be over there around noon. We could have lunch then head downtown. I checked and there's free concerts at the park all day."

  "That sounds fun. I'll see you at noon."

  I hear noise in the background, like some guys talking and then the sound of weights clanking together.

  "Where are you?" I ask.

  "At the gym. I wanted to get a workout in since they're closed tomorrow."

  "Why didn't you tell me? I would've gone with you."

  "I didn't want to make you get up early."

  "I work out early all the time. And it's not that early. It's nine-thirty."

  "I know but I just thought I'd work out alone today."

  There's something going on with her. It has to be about last night.

  "Kira, if you're mad at me, just say so. Let's talk about it."

  "I'm not mad at you. I just wanted to lift weights. That's it. I didn't plan to be here long and I wasn't sure if you wanted to sleep in, so I just went without you."

  "Okay, well, don't wear yourself out. As your trainer, I'd advise you to rest today but I guess it's too late now."

  "I don't need to rest. I feel great."

  "I have to go, but I'll see you soon."

  "Yeah. Bye."

  She works out even more than I do. I'm starting to see what Amber meant when she said Kira tends to push herself too hard. After all the rollerblading and biking we did, and the workouts we did last week, she really should be resting today.

  At noon I pick her up and we get some lunch and take it to one of the downtown parks. We go on a long walk, then stop to hear one of the bands that's playing.

  "What do you think?" I ask as the band starts another song.

  "You guys are better," she says, lying back on the sleeping bag. I had it in my truck. I unzipped it and laid it out over the grass.

  "Right answer," I say, lying beside her.

  "I'm not kidding," she says turning toward me. "You guys sound better. Vandyl should be playing here today instead of whatever this group is." She leans over and kisses me, then rests her chin on my chest, looking up at me. "So tell me about some of the songs you've written."

  I smile, because nobody ever shows this much interest in my music. Even my own family doesn't want hear about it. They come to hear me play but they don't want to hear about why I wrote a song, what inspired me, that type of stuff. But Kira does. And as I tell her about it, she actually listens and asks me questions.

  We hang out there for a couple hours, just talking and listening to music.

  Around five, dark clouds roll in.

  "We better head back," I tell her. "It's going to start pouring rain any minute now."

  "Do you have to go home?"

  "No. Why?"

  "I just wondered if you want to come over and watch movies."

  I like that she still wants me around after being with me all day. And all day yesterday. And most of last week. We've spent a lot of time together, which would normally make me crave some space, but I'm not feeling that way with Kira. I like being with her.

  "What about your roommate?" I ask.

  "She's over at Matt's place. He stayed over last night, and then this morning they took off for his place. She texted me and said she's staying there tonight."

  So we have the apartment to ourselves all night? And she invited me over? I'm not going to read too much into that but it does make me wonder what's going to happen tonight.

  "Then I guess her romantic dinner worked," I say.

  "Yeah, I guess it did."

  We go back to her apartment, and as soon as we're inside, the clouds burst open and rain pours from the sky, followed by lightning and thunder.

  "Looks like we made it home just in time," she says, shivering as she stands by the window.

  "Are you cold?" I ask, coming up behind her and putting my arms around her.

  "I just got a chill from the air conditioning." She turns toward me. "I'm fine."

  "You sure? Because I can warm you up if you need me to."

  "And how would you do that?" She smiles.

  Instead of answering, I kiss her as I slowly unbutton her shirt. When I get to the last button, she says, "Taking my clothes off will make me colder."

  I slip her shirt off and kiss her shoulder, then her neck, and softly ask, "Are you cold?"

  "No," she whispers, her head tipped back as her eyes close. "Actually, now I'm kind of hot."

  "Then I guess you should take these off." I undo her shorts and let them fall to the ground as I kiss her. "Still hot?"

  She nods, her chest rising and falling as she breathes.

  I reach behind her and unhook her bra and slip it off. I don't know how far she wants to take this, but even if we don't have sex, seeing her naked is enough to make my night. She has the best freaking body. I know I've said it a thousand times this week, but damn, she's perfect. The perfect mix of hard and soft, muscle and curves, strength and beauty.

  "You're beautiful," I whisper, dragging my lips down her neck. I drop to my knees and suck her nipple into my mouth, my hands on her hips, holding her in place.

  "Austin," she moans. She grabs a chunk of my hair and holds on.

  She's panting, barely able to catch her breath, and then she gasps as my hand slips under her pink lace panties.

  "Let's go," she whispers.

  "Go where?"

  "To the bedroom."

  I'm still not sure how far we're taking this, but I'm not going to ask and
kill the mood. If she's ready, then I'm ready. I have been for days. And right now I'm so damn hard it hurts.

  I lift her up and she wraps her legs around me and gives me a flirty smile that makes it clear where this is going.

  We never turned a light on so the hallway is dark as I make my way down to her room. It's only five but the storm has made the sky pitch-black except for flashes of lightning.

  I set her down on her bed and quickly undress myself as she yanks her bedding back, then covers herself with the sheet. She's lying near the edge of the bed and I kneel down next to it and kiss her. I slip my hand under the sheet, over her flat stomach, and keep going, noticing she took her panties off. She arches her hips into my hand, wanting me to repeat what I did to her the other night. So I do, and just like before, I've barely started and she's already there.

  I hurry and find my wallet and yank a condom out and put it on. Then I shove the sheet aside and lie over her, my mouth covering hers, our tongues tangling. I nudge her legs farther apart and shift into place. Lightning flashes outside the window and I thrust inside her just as a boom of thunder shakes the room. It startles her and she grabs my shoulders.

  I kiss her, then say, "You okay?"

  I feel her lips smile against my mouth. "Better than okay."

  She wraps her legs around me, allowing me to go deeper. I groan in response, letting her know how much I like it, then I pull out and thrust into her again.

  Rain is pelting the windows, lightning bolts streaking through the room, followed by the crashing sound of thunder. I find myself rocking in and out to the rhythm of the rain, going faster and deeper each time the thunder hits.

  I've never done it during a storm, but fuck, it's hot. The pounding rain, the crashing booms of thunder, combined with the feel of Kira beneath me. It's like a movie, except it's real and might just be the hottest damn thing I've ever experienced. Or maybe it's just Kira. Being with her is...I thrust into her again, and shit, it feels better than anything I've felt before, and I've been with more girls than I'd care to admit.

  Kira's legs tighten around me, her body tenses up, and she arches back, her nails digging in my back. She's there, coming apart in my arms, moaning out my name. I continue thrusting into her until I'm coming apart myself, gripping the sheet and cursing under my breath as it hits me.