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He was perfect. He elongated words and phrases effortlessly. He sucked in quick breaths suggestively. His voice was clear, strong, pitch-perfect…amazing. I could listen to him sing all day long. If I had an iPod with him on it, it would be on endless repeat. The song was a newer one that they were putting together. It was nearly ready, and Matt wanted to include it on the tour. Their first performance of it would be Friday night, as sort of a thank you to the diehard fans that had stuck with them from the very beginning.
Matt worked the rehearsals around everyone’s schedules, so sometimes they played later in the evening, when I was working. But I always tried to make it when they were rehearsing before my shift. I just loved watching the creative process. I’d watched Kellan write the lyrics in his kitchen over coffee. I’d watched him and Evan and Matt shuffle through the melody at the bar. It was so amazing to me, to watch an idea in someone’s head blossom into a powerful song of breaking through a crossroads and coming out the other side stronger. It was a beautiful piece. I liked to think that the song was somehow about us.
When they got to the chorus, Kellan frowned and stopped singing mid-sentence. He looked over at Matt and eventually the other instruments died out, Griffin stopping last. Matt frowned and shook his head and Kellan pointed to his guitar. “What are you doing? That’s the bridge, not the chorus.”
Matt sighed and raised his hand into the air. “Dude, that’s what I’ve been saying. You’re so spacey lately.” He pointed back to Evan. “Since you’ve been missing rehearsals and leaving us without a singer, Evan and I have been tweaking the music. We flopped the two sections and it sounds about a million times better.” Frowning, he stuck his hand on his hip and shook his spiky head. “And you’d know that if you were around more.”
Raising his hands submissively, Kellan backed off. “Fine, dang, just asking.” Looking between Evan and Matt, Kellan sighed. He quickly glanced at me before returning his eyes to Matt. “I’m sorry, okay, but I’m here now and I’m committed to this, so just…fill me in, alright?” Matt scrunched his lips together, but nodded. “Any other changes I should know about?” Kellan asked, shrugging.
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Matt started to shake his head, then tilted it to the side. “Oh, well, we added a solo for me before the last chorus.” He smiled, just slightly, and raised a pale eyebrow at Kellan.
Kellan looked away, a small smile on his lips too. Chuckling a little, he shook his head. “I guess that’s what I get for being a flake.” Settling his eyes on me, he smiled a little wider. “Worth it though,” he muttered to me, then louder to the guys, “Okay, back to where we left off.” They finished the song with no more interruptions from Kellan, and Matt reveled in his new mini-solo while Kellan shook his head, amused.
At the end of the song I had to agree with Matt, the changes were small, and someone not in the know probably wouldn’t notice, but overall the song did sound better. They were going to rock Friday.
When the guys were finished for the day, it was time for Jenny and me to start our shifts. The guys followed us over, eager to relax with a beer after their “hard” day at work. I had to roll my eyes as I handed it to them. Sometimes I got jealous over how easy their lifestyle was—drinking, partying and playing music all night, staying up late, being swarmed by fawning females—but I saw how seriously they took it, and knew how hard they worked behind the scenes to keep their success going.
Truly, their job was probably as taxing as mine. At least mine had a definite ending time, theirs was sort of twenty-four seven. A fact that was reaffirmed for me when a couple of college girls got up the nerve to approach their table later in the evening. They chatted with the fans amicably. Kellan politely brushed off the blonde one’s affections and shook his head when she nodded to the front doors and raised her eyebrows in a clearly sexual way.
I frowned, watching the display and wanting to “accidentally” dump my
tray
on
her.
No,
aspects
of
their
job
were
never-ending…unfortunately.
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7
Chapter
History Lessons
After getting chastised by Matt for missing practices, Kellan was diligent in not missing any more. Unfortunately, things worked out so that I couldn’t go to another rehearsal, so I saw less of Kellan in that last week then in all of the weeks previous. We’d sort of been hovering around each other lately, blowing off friends and easy-to-miss obligations to roll around in Kellan’s bed for a few hours. It was inexcusable of us really, since his practice was important and the few classes I’d skipped had been important. But we’d needed the time together as each looming day brought our separation to the forefront.
So having that cycle of irresponsibility broken by Kellan, who was suddenly being focused again, was a bit of a struggle for me. I adapted though, throwing myself into work, school and friends. And Kellan made our time apart interesting by trying out his new cell phone. He’d interrupted me a few times during class by texting me highly inappropriate comments. Most of them made my cheeks flush bright red. Honestly, he was too seductive, even through technology.
But eventually Friday was upon me at last.
There was feeling in the air when I woke up in my new spacious bed, a feeling of goodbye. I woke up with Kellan’s arms around me, my cheek lying on his chest. He was stroking my hair in a soft, repetitive fashion, his fingers gently tucking strands behind my ear, so I knew he was awake.
Stretching, I lifted my head and looked up at him. Midnight blue eyes, deeper and more beautiful than the darkest oceans, stared back at me.
Smiling, he ran the back of his finger down my cheek. “Mornin’,” he whispered.
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Smiling, I leaned up to gently touch my lips to his. “Good morning.” We didn’t say anything more and I laid my head back down on his skin and held him for at least another hour. He held me as I tightly as I held him, occasionally kissing my hair. It was one of the most comforting experiences I’d ever had, and I knew a part of me would remember this morning forever, tucking it away to pull out on a later day, when I was missing him so much I physically ached.
After a fast eternity of bliss, it was time for me to get ready for school.
I grudgingly pulled away from Kellan, but he came with me, a playful smile on his face. That impish grin followed me into the bathroom, all the way into the shower. Trying not to be too distracted by the stream of water flowing down the lean muscles of his frame, I let him pamper and caress me. He lathered me with soap and affection, touching me everywhere but refraining from turning the moment into a sexual one. He only washed me and I in turn washed him. It was comforting, too.
Once we were finished, the water turning chilly on us, he wrapped himself in a towel and headed out to make us some coffee. I smiled at the low-slung cotton riding just over his backside, and quickly got myself dressed so I could rejoin that half-naked body.
Dressed for my day in jeans and a few layered tshirts, I opened my door at the same time my sister did. Blinking sleepily, even though it was well past eleven by now, she scratched her wildly attractive bed head. “Hey, sis, you headed out to school?” Nodding, hoping my sister didn’t decide to go to the kitchen for any reason, since Kellan was still currently only rocking a towel-skirt, I stepped in front of her line of vision. “Yeah, pretty soon. Kellan’s taking me, so you can have the car today.”
Anna nodded and yawned. She had the car most days so that really wasn’t news to her. Stretching so that the tight t-shirt she’d slept in rode up her bikini-clad hips, she nodded towards the kitchen. “He in there? I should wish him a good show tonight.”
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Hearing Kellan humming, I tried to block my sister’s vision even more. She may not care if I’d seen her boyfriend in all his glory, but I didn’t need her ogling Kellan in his. That was my job. “Yeah, he’s making coffee.” When she smiled and took a step towards me, I grabbed her shoulder. Looking down at her scantily dressed body, I raised an eyebrow. “Would you mind putting on some clothes before you go waltzing out there?”
Covering a yawn, she shook her head. “He doesn’t care, Kiera. I’m like a sister to him.”
Sighing at the impossible beauty of the sexpot before me, I shook my head. “Please?”
Maybe seeing my expression as I wistfully glanced over her curves, she finally nodded. “All right.”
After she slinked back to her room, I darted into mine and grabbed Kellan’s clothes. Holding the bundle tight to my chest, I hurried down the short hall into the kitchen. Kellan was leaning against the counter with his hands behind him, his glorious chest on full display. I paused a moment to just stupidly stare at him.
His hair was a damp, disheveled mess, and water drops occasionally dripped onto his shoulder. One drop followed the curve of his collar bone before trailing over the elegant script of my name above his heart.
From there, the frisky ball of water rolled over his pec, across his ribs, and straight down to the deep V cut of his lower abdomen. It traveled that line quite a distance before finally hitting the absorbent towel slung around his hips. It was the luckiest damn drop of water on earth.
“Kiera?”
Kellan’s entertained voice brought my eyes back up to his highly amused ones. Grinning crookedly, he raised an eyebrow. “See something you like?”
Flushing, I tossed his clothes at him. He flinched at the sudden move but managed to catch them. “Anna’s awake and getting ready to come out here. Can you get dressed please?”