Everlasting

Chapter 11

Later that afternoon the girls set about getting changed before heading next door. From every room you could hear music and hair dryers. Lexi closed her bedroom door to block out some of the noise and crossed to the balcony.
She took and deep breath as she enjoyed the peace and quiet knowing it wouldn't last too long.
Through the open doors she could hear Gary and Mark talking. She tried not to eavesdrop but she couldn't help herself. She couldn't really make out what they were saying, then the conversation became clearer as they walked closer to the doors.
"Do we need to get anything in?" Mark asked sounding slightly worried         

"Like what?" Gary asked looking up from his phone
"I don't know like snacks or anything? I'm pretty sure they won't want to eat Jason's sunflower seeds and I think that's all there is" Mark laughed. "we did invite them here so, we should sort something out"
"Yeah you have a point. I'll see if Mike is free to grab something and drop it off" Gary said walking outside looking through his phone. A moment later he had called their driver Mike and asked if he could bring some type of snacks round. closing his phone, he walked back into the house, not noticing Lexi watching him from above.
Lexi picked a pair of dark blue trousers and a cream spaghetti top and tied her hair up back into a knot. It was getting hotter here and keeping her hair down was a struggle. Stepping up to the mirror she looked at her face. She had caught the sun enough to not need any foundation and had a natural pink tinge to her cheeks to not need any blusher. She checked the time and saw she had a few minutes until they left, so applied a small amount of mascara and a quick layer of pink lip-gloss.
Putting on her sandals she made her way downstairs where the others were waiting. She could see every one of them was as excited and she was. They all looked great. Each girl had chosen an understated outfit that made them look amazing without it looking like they had made too much of an effort.
"We all ready?" Carlotta asked standing up from the table
Everyone picked up their bags and made their way outside.
As they walked across the sand they were deadly quiet. Something that never happened. It was obvious they were completely nervous as they started walking up the steps.
before Lexi had made her start up the steps she could hear Howard and Jason greeting the others.
As she stepped onto the decking she noticed mark and Gary walking out with bowls of crisps and tried her hardest not to laugh.
they made their way into the house, Lexi trailing behind. as she reached Gary he gently placed a hand on her back and whispered in her ear "you look lovely" then took a step back.
Lexi turned to him and smiled " you look pretty good yourself" she said looking at his outfit. He had chosen a pair of cream trousers and a burgundy shirt which set off his tan perfectly. It was actually hard to look at him.
She followed the others in and found a seat next to Liz.     
"what was that all about?" Liz said raising her eyebrows.
"Oh nothing" Lexi said unable to stop smiling when she looked at her friend.
"hmmmm" Liz replied "you better tell me later"
In front of them sat a guitar and a large key board. Gary took his seat at the keyboard and looked across at Lexi a smile playing on his lips. mark picked up his guitar and tuned the strings. Howard and Jason sat on the beanbags scattered on the floor.
"we finished this one today, so let us know what you think" Howard said as Gary hit the first few notes and mark started singing.
It was perfect, catchy and something you could really dance to, they loved it. This was going to be a huge hit.
When the song finished they all clapped and cheered and the boys smiled.
"Think we should play the rest?" Jason asked looking at the girls.
"Pleaaaaaaaasssssssseeeeeeeeee" Rachel pleaded " one more"      
Gary laughed and started playing the next song. His ballads always hit Lexi, he just had a way with them and this was no different. As he sang he looked over at her to gage her reaction, for some reason he needed reassurance from her that it was good. She gave no expression, and didn't look at him until the end of the song. he noticed Jackie was holding Lexi's hand and suddenly he regretted singing the song. He hadn't thought. After speaking to Jason earlier he hadn't decided until that moment to sing that song.
They clapped and cheered again hoping that they would get one more song.
Mark put the guitar on the floor and Gary stood from behind the keyboard. They spent the next hour discussing what they liked and didn't like about the songs. There were hardly and dislikes and they asked to hear them again. By this time, they had had a couple of glasses of wine and so started dancing as mark sang his song.
As Gary started to play again Lexi composed herself and listened to his voice. the hairs stood up on her arms as his voice mixed with the others. No person on the planet would be able to resist this one it was just magical.
When the song ended, Howard put on some music and they moved outside onto the decking area.
Lexi realized how hungry she was and headed straight for the snacks, wine did this to her every time. As she reached for a bowl Gary moved to stand beside her. reaching at the same time his arm brushed hers lightly, sending a shiver down her spine.    
"sorry" he said, grinning and passing the bowl to her.
"thanks, but I was looking for the sunflower seeds" she replied trying not to laugh. the realization that she had heard them earlier made him throw back his head with laughter, making Lexi laugh too. The others all turned to stare at them wondering what was so funny.
Gary looked at Mark and said " she wanted sunflower seeds" which in turn set Mark off laughing too. Lexi knew she would have to explain this later, but right now, she loved the fact that she was sharing this special moment between just them.
She walked over to the wine and realized the bottle was empty. She looked at Leanne and told her she was going to grab a couple of bottles from next door and made her way back across the sand.
In the kitchen she found the bottles and put them on the side. realizing how thirsty she was, she poured a glass of water and drained it in one.
As she turned around she saw Gary standing in the door way, the same relaxed pose as the first time he had stood in this kitchen.
"we need to stop meeting like this" he said looking into her eyes.
She could see the playfulness in his face and couldn't help but smile back at him.
"it would seem you have a thing for Kitchens Mr. Barlow" she said grinning.
" I.... " he said and stopped, walking towards her until he was looking directly into her eyes. "I have a thing for you, not kitchens" he grinned and placed one hand in her hair, the thumb of his other hand slowly grazing her bottom lip.
Lexi couldn't breathe and closed her eyes for a short second to try and re-focus. As her eyes closed she felt his lips gently press against hers and her head swam. she raised her hands to his arms to steady herself and felt the muscles tighten in response to her touch. That one small action set a fire in her that she thought she had lost.
Leaning closer into him she deepened the kiss, her body flush against his, her arms wound around his neck. She heard him moan and he tightened his grip on her pulling her even closer.
He couldn't help himself as he had leaned into kiss her, he realized this is what he had wanted to do, from the moment he had seen her that first night walking towards the water. He didn't behave like this, he at least usually knew someone better before kissing them, but she was something special he knew it. He moaned into her and pulled her closer. He wondered if she realized what affect she had on him right now, he was already straining against his trousers.
Realizing he was going too far, he ended the kiss and took a step back. they both stood apart gasping for breath.
"I'm sorry" he said "I didn't mean for it to go that far, I apologize" he took another step back.
Lexi felt her cheeks flush and looked away " it's okay, you don't have to apologize, I kissed you back" looking up she saw he was still trying to catch his breath.
The look on her face made him step forward and plant a single kiss on her lips, she thought he regretted it and he needed her to know he did not.
" we should head back" she said passing him a couple of bottles of wine, "I'll be back ground in a second" she said willing him to leave.
Nodding Gary left the kitchen kicking himself as he walked back through the house. he needed a few minutes to compose himself or it would be written all over his face.
Looking back into the house there was no sign of Lexi, sighing he walked back through the sand and back onto his own decking.