Chapter 38
When my parents learned of my accident, their first instinct was to rush up to Massachusetts to be with me. I was able to talk them out of it, saying it was silly for them to come all the way up here. I was fine, I was being taken care off and Dave was with me. I told them to wait, take some time off and come visit me in LA in a few weeks. That way, I’d be feeling a little better and we could enjoy our time together. Eventually, my mother wore me down and I agreed to let them come out to LA. They arrived a few days ago and Dave insisted that they stay with us, at his house.
It was actually really nice to see them and having them there meant that Dave was free of his babysitting duties.
“I really have to get to the studio today,” he said to me when we woke up that morning.
“Absolutely,” I said. “You do what you have to do. I feel bad you’ve been tied down here these past few weeks.”
“No way!” he said, rolling over and kissing my nose. “It’s given my an excuse to dote on you and stay home and be a bum with you! It’s been kinda nice.” I raised my broken wrist and wiggled my fingers.
“Yeah, real nice,” I said. He gently took the hand and kissed my knuckles.
“You know what I mean,” he said, smiling at me. He helped me get up and get dressed and we hobbled downstairs. My parents were already sitting at the breakfast bar, sipping their coffee. My parents did not mind Dave taking off for a few hours, and were content to hang around the house with me. They knew that this vacation was not going to be filled with lots of Hollywood sightseeing.
“Next time you come out, when I am not incapacitated, I will take you guys out and show you the sights,” I promised.
After breakfast, Dave gathered up his helmet, shades and keys and came over to the couch, where I was propped up, to kiss me good-bye.
“Enjoy your time off for good behavior,” I said, kissing him. “And seriously, take your time, do what ever you want. I will see you whenever you get back.”
“I love you,” he whispered. “I won’t be too long.” He said a good-bye to my parents, thanking them again for staying with me, then headed out to Studio 606.
Dave’s Point of View
I hated leaving Kate, even though I knew her parents were perfectly capable of getting her a glass of water if she needed it. Christ, her mother was a nurse. I just felt like it was my duty to take care of her and in fact, I loved taking care of her. She was normally so independent, it was nice to have a reason to do things for her. But, I hadn’t been to the studio in a long time and I really needed to get my ass in there. I had some paperwork to go over and probably a lot of cleaning up to do, after my band mates.
The studio was basically empty that day. John Silva was there only to meet with me about a few things and go over some paperwork. As soon as we finished, he headed out. I wandered around and said hello to a few other people, then headed into the massive room that held our instruments. My fingers began to itch as I looked at all my guitar cases. I had my favorites at home with me, my Trini Lopez of course and a few others. But I had A LOT of guitars and it was nice every once in a while to pull them out and play. I dragged down case after case and opened them, pulling out each guitar and inspecting it, holding it, and, if it had strings, playing it. I pulled out one of my acoustics, which didn’t have strings and held it out to inspect it for warping. It looked good and I thought for a moment about digging out some strings and wiring it up to play. Out of the blue, something caught my eye. A leather bound journal sat in the bottom of the empty guitar case. I picked it up and set the guitar back down. I opened it and flipped through. Several pages of riff ideas, doodles, the name Tina with a phone number followed by several Xs and Os. I flipped further. All at once my handwriting filled the pages. I squinted down at it.
“I called her today, finally. Waiting so long was just a waste. I still feel the same way about her. Just hearing her voice does something to me. I never thought I would feel like this again. Maybe I have never felt like this before. She seems to be everything I would ever need, but how can I really know this after just a few short days with her? It was almost as if its meant to be. Why would we both be in Manchester a day early? Her conference didn’t start to the next day and our concert wasn’t until the next evening. And the winter hours? The whole town is shut down, leaving only one place for us all to go: the hotel bar…”
I had almost forgotten about Manchester’s stupid winter hours! I closed my eyes and I could picture the hotel, the bar, the suites. I let the memories crash over me.
I set my bags down by the bed and ran my hands through my hair. Our show wasn’t until tomorrow night, yet our itinerary had us booked into this hotel a night early and I was not happy about it. It was cold and as our bus drove through the streets everything looked pretty dead. I cracked open the mini-bar and gazed inside. A few nips, not enough to do any real damage. Suddenly, Taylor was in my doorway.
“Dude, I cannot fucking sit here all night,” he said, shaking his head, eyes wide and serious. “Let’s go ask the desk if there are any good bars around.”
“I know there were a few cases of beer on one of the trucks from last night’s show,” I reminded him.
“But who the fuck knows when they are going to get here, and we will have to share with the rest of the crew. Let’s see if we can go out first,” he said as he turned and exited my suite. I followed him into the hallway, where we ran into Nate.
“I think there is a bar in the lobby,” Nate said as we headed to the elevator.
“I don’t want to fucking hang out in the hotel bar with sexually frustrated business men,” Taylor whined, pushing the button for the Lobby. “I want to go OUT!”
“Alright, alright,” I said, smirking at him. “Let’s just see what the concierge has to say!” We approached the desk and the young girl behind it noticed us right away and started to get all worked up.
“Is everything ok with your suites?” she asked nervously.
“Yeah, sure, everything’s great,” Nate said. “Can you give us the name of a few bars that might be worth checking out?”
“Oh… um… well…” she stammered, “The town has winter hours and during the week, everything shuts down early. I’m afraid everything’s pretty much closed…”
“I hate New England,” Taylor said, growing irritated.
“The hotel bar is opened until 1am…” the girl said, gesturing to the large room to our left. “And we serve appetizers until 10PM.”
“That will have to do,” I said, thanking her. I turned and headed into the bar, the guys following behind me.
The place was basically deserted. There was an older businessman across the room sitting alone in the corner. I looked around the rest of the bar and locked eyes with a pretty young girl, dressed in a business suit, reading a book and drinking a beer. I smiled at her and she smiled back, blushed and returned to her reading. We sat at the bar and each ordered a drink. The bartender was cool; he recognized us and had us sign some cocktail napkins. Taylor was still pissing and moaning about how lame this town was and Nate was trying to stay positive, saying we could craft a nice buzz right here and the vans with the rest of the stuff would show up shortly.
After a little bit, the business man who had been sitting alone in the corner came up and asked us for an autograph on his way out. We signed some napkins for him, too, and he thanked us.
“Another Oktoberfest?” I heard the bar tender call. I turned to see who he was addressing and realized it was the young woman with the book. She smiled and nodded and called back a “Thanks!”
“I’ll get it for her,” I offered.
“Thanks, so much,” the girl said, blushing again. I chuckled to myself as the bartender poured another pint from the tap and handed it to me. I got up off my barstool and walked over to her booth. I set the beer down in front of her and slid into the opposite side, so I was facing her. She looked surprised.
“Thank you,” she said again. She brought the glass to her lips and took a huge sip. I wasn’t sure if she recognized me or not. I could tell she was nervous, but I wasn’t sure if it was just because she was alone in a bar and a long haired guy with tattoos all over his arms had just bought her a beer.
“I’m Dave,” I said, extending my hand across the table.
“I know who you are,” she said, laughing. So, she had recognized me. “I’m Kate,” she said, taking my hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Kate,” I said, smiling at her. “What brings you to…” I had to stop and think where we were. “Mancehster,” I finally remembered.
“Well,” she said, tucking her long red hair behind her ears, “I work in a nursing home and we have our annual conference here tomorrow and Friday. I decided to just come up tonight, rather than get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow. I am not a morning person.” She said with a giggle. “Anyway, there is nothing going on in this town and I am bored to tears. I was hoping to get a few drinks in me, help me sleep…”
“I know,” I replied. “This town sucks… plus it’s fucking cold out.”
“Dave!” Taylor called from across the bar. “What are you doing?”
“Hey, come meet Kate!” I called back. The guys looked at each other and shrugged. They grabbed their drinks and crossed the room to Kate’s booth. Taylor slid in next to Kate, of course, and Nate next to me. I introduced them both and she shook their hands.
“Kate’s here for a conference,” I explained. She nodded.
“What about you guys? Do you have a show?” she asked.
“Tomorrow,” I confirmed. “I am not sure why we are here a day early, but at least we can keep you company!” She blushed again. I had never seen anyone blush so much. It was adorable. Nate asked her a few questions about her job and I watched her as she spoke. She had a fabulous smile and her eyes danced when she giggled, which she was doing a lot of. I had to give her credit, she was holding her own with people she knew to be famous. She was treating us like regular guys, which was pretty cool. Most girls get a little gushy, asking for autographs, asking me about Paul McCartney or John Paul Jones or what was the song Everlong was about. It was nice to be treated like a regular guy by a regular girl.
“So do you have to call it an early night for your meetings tomorrow?” Taylor asked her.
“No, I really don’t sleep that great,” she said, looking down at her lap. “There are no early nights for me, just long ones.”
“Well, if this is going to be a long night, let’s get another round!” I signaled to the bartender that we were ready for another drink. “We have a bunch of booze in the back of one of the cargo vans. As soon as it gets here, we can take this party upstairs!” I offered. She smiled and nodded slightly. The bartender came by with our drinks. “To long nights and to keeping Kate company!” I said, holding up my glass. She tipped her head back and laughed.
“I’ll drink to that,” she said. “Cheers!” We all clinked glasses. I looked at Kate and we locked eyes for a moment before she looked away. I had been divorced about a year and aside from some drunken encounters that I was less than proud of and a few regular booty calls; I hadn’t really been on a date or spent quality time getting to know a woman. I hadn’t really wanted to be close to anyone, feeling so drained by my latest failed marriage. But a guy’s got needs and to be honest, there were no shortage of girls who wanted to get fucked by Dave Grohl. My phone buzzed, jarring me out of my thoughts. I looked down at it. It was a text from one of the drivers.
“Fuck yeah. They’re here!” I said aloud, thinking that they had made really good time. “Parking and unloading now.”
“Nice,” said Nate. “Let’s finish up and head out!” We each held our glasses up to our lips and drained them. I eyed Kate over the top of my pint glass and was impressed as she chugged hers down like a champ. I set my glass down and wiped my mouth on the back of my hand. I slid out of the booth after Nate. Taylor stood and stretched.
“You coming?” I asked, looking at Kate.
“Um…,” she said, biting her lip.
“Kate,” Taylor called back. “You are coming.”
“I guess you’re coming,” I said, extending my hand to help her out of her booth. She took it gently.
“Alright!” she laughed. “Would you mind if I got out of my work clothes?” She said, looking down at herself.
“Um…” I said, thinking it over. “Yeah, that’s no problem but you need a special key to get up to our floor.”
“Oh. Do you want to give me one of yours?” she said. I reached in my back pocket, about to give her my key.
“Sure,” I said, and then stopped. I looked over at the guys, waiting by the entrance of the bar and then back at Kate. I actually didn’t mind taking the walk with her, so I said “Ya know what? I will just go with you so you don’t get lost.” So you don’t get lost? I thought to myself, that was kind of lame. It sounded better in my head. She looked at me, surprised, trying to gauge my intentions. I smiled to reassure her. “Taylor! She’s gonna go get changed, we will meet you up there.” Taylor waved me off, then he and Nate turned and left the bar. I turned back to this cute little girl I was just met and said “Lead the way!”
Kate chattered nervously as we made our way to her room. I wanted to shake her and tell her to relax, but I found her nervous behavior endearing and had a feeling she’d feel better after she changed into her play clothes.
“My rooms really small,” she warned as she produced her key and let us inside. She flipped on the lights. There were a few items of clothing hanging in the hall closet and she had her suitcase on the foot of the bed. “Well, here we are!” she said, gesturing widely to her room. I laughed and sat down on the bed. She dug through her suitcase and produced a pair of jeans and then grabbed a top off one of the hangers in the closet. She smiled at me over her shoulder. “Be right back,” she said as she closed herself in the bathroom.
“Take your time!” I called. I leaned over and peeked into her suitcase. There was an old UMass T-shirt folded up on top and I gently lifted it aside and looked underneath. There were a few pairs of very small, very lacy panties. “Nice!” I thought to myself, smiling, picturing her cute little body. I looked over back towards the bathroom door to make sure she was still in there, then moved the panties aside and dug deeper, feeling nosey. Another pair of jeans, a sweater, a few more shirts, socks and a pair of pajama pants. Very normal stuff. I patted everything back down, making sure it didn’t look as it if had been disturbed. I rose from the bed and wandered over to the window and looked out. I heard the bathroom door open behind me and Kate emerged.
“Hey there! That looks more comfortable,” I said. “Feel better?”
“Much better,” she replied, sounding happy to be free of her work clothes. She rummaged through her purse and took out her cell phone and her room key and shoved both in her pocket. She looked up and me, took a deep breath and said, “Let’s go!”
I led her back up to the Executive Suites floor where we were staying. This hotel was so dead, we pretty much had run of the entire floor. I soon discovered we were hanging out in Carly’s suite and I wasn’t too thrilled about this.
Carly was the niece of one of our tour managers and we had taken her on as an assistant as a favor. She was the kind of girl that wanted to be near famous people. She craved this type of crazy lifestyle and she was a source of endless irritation to me. She was a boozehound who couldn’t hold her liquor and I refused to babysit her. Early on in the tour she had drunkenly come on to me and I was so disgusted I steered clear of her for the whole next week. I think Nate had actually hooked up with her, though.
Anyway, by the time we showed up, she had killed her mini bar and was well on her way to a black out. I laid my hand gently on Kate’s lower back and directed her towards the kitchen area where someone had already set up a bar area. She jumped slightly at my touch but relaxed right away.
“Are you sticking with beer?” I asked her. She nodded and I uncapped a bottle and handed it to her. Taylor appeared and put his arm around Kate, practically putting her in a head lock. She laughed good-naturedly and playfully put her arm around him. I smiled to myself to see that she was relaxing.
“Are they playing fucking beer pong?” I asked, almost embarrassed. What was this, a fucking frat party? Kate and Taylor managed to talk me into playing a round and I took my place on one side of the table, next to Kate. To my surprise, it actually ended up being a lot of fun. I kept talking to Kate, teasing her playfully and she was starting to chill out. Every time one of us hit a shot, we would high-five or hip bump and I loved these excuses to touch her, even the slightest bit. When she would get close enough or flip her hair over her shoulder, I would catch the scent of her perfume or shampoo and it was all I could do to not bury my face in her neck and breathe her in.
We played a few rounds of beer pong, getting pretty buzzed and having a blast until fucking Carly bumped my arm, causing me to spill my beer down the front of poor Katie’s shirt.
“What the fuck Carly,” I spat out. Taylor immediately grabbed a dishtowel of the countertop and started to blot her shirt. Something came over me and I had this intense urge to keep Taylor from touching her any further. I grabbed the towel away and gave him a look and nodded at Carly. Reading my mind as only a best friend could, he steered Carly away from us and sat her down in a chair. I frowned and gently wiped the beer off of her upper chest and collar bone. Our faces were inches apart, her soft lips so close, all I would have to do was move my head the tiniest bit and I could taste them. Our eyes met and I realized we were both holding our breath. I looked down at her shirt. She was pretty soaked. I apologized.
“Let’s go get you a dry T-shirt,” I said, taking her hand. “Then we’ll see if any of these vaginas want to challenge us!” I called back to the rest of the room as we exited. I kept her hand in mine as we walked down the hall, enjoying the warmth of it curled up in my palm, happy to be near her. I let us into my suite and rummaged through my suit case for a clean T-shirt. I held out a plain black one. She peeled off her beer soaked shirt and tossed it on the bed. She stood there for a fraction of a second in her black bra and jeans before she grabbed the T-shirt from me and pulled it over her head. I had to clench my fists to keep myself from wrapping my hands around her small, bare waist… to keep from pressing my lips against her neck. What was wrong with me? I asked myself as she flashed me that gorgeous smile and thanked me for the shirt. I wanted to touch her, but I didn’t. I wanted to strip her naked and kiss her everywhere, but I couldn’t. I literally couldn’t. I asked myself why over and over, as we walked back to the party, as we played another round of beer pong. I didn’t figure it out until I saw the way she helped but obnoxious Carly to bed. Only then did it hit me. She was a nice girl! You didn’t grope nice girls. You didn’t have one-night stands with nice girls. You didn’t get nice girls drunk and fuck them in the bathroom at a hotel party. You took nice girls out to dinner and got to know them. You asked them about their friends and family. Had it been so long since I’d met a nice, normal girl that I’d forgotten all this?
She excused herself to the bathroom and someone handed me a guitar. I started to play for everyone, classic rock covers, our favorites. Kate returned and sat down across the room from me in an empty chair. I smiled at her.
“Ok, Kate, you pick something,” I said, interested to see what she would select. She laughed and thought for a second.
“Play a song about the short-lived, yet terrifying reign of Dave & Kate, beer pong masters,” she instructed. Everyone burst out laughing, including me. How perfect was that? I thought to myself. She didn’t ask me to play “Stairway to Heaven” or “Big Me” or the dreaded “Everlong”. She was quick and she had a great sense of humor and I wanted nothing more than to sing a song for her about our beer pong adventures. I tried out a few chords before deciding on a riff and I made up the lyrics as I went along, reveling in her laughter, the way her eyes crinkled up when she giggled, the way her hair cascaded down her back whenever threw her head back and laughed. When I finished, she jumped out of her chair and clapped excitedly. I stood and bowed slightly, placing my guitar on the couch. I took a few steps towards her and reached for her hand.
“Let’s get some air,” I said and she nodded, still smiling. I grabbed a blanket off the back of a chair and led her outside to the balcony. I selected a chaise lounge and sat down, wrapping the blanket around myself and asked her to sit down with me, in between my legs. She obeyed, cautiously leaning back against me. I wrapped my arms and the blanket around her.
“Warm enough?” I asked, quietly, almost intoxicated by the scent of her.
“Yes, thank you,” she said, nervously.
“Is this ok?” I asked, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable.
“Yeah, this is great. You feel nice…” hearing her say this made my heart leap and I smiled.
“You do, too…” I whispered. We sat quietly for a while, the warmth of her skin seeping through both our T-shirts into me, warming me up in a way that is hard to describe. How was it possible that this girl was giving me butterflies when I didn’t even know her? “Tell me something,” I said, breaking the silence, suddenly wanting to know every single thing about her. She talked for a while, answering my questions, asking me some of her own. I tightened my embrace on her slightly, feeling as if I couldn’t get close enough to her. I made sure she wasn’t too cold because I was not ready to go inside yet.
“No, I can stay out here a bit longer,” she replied.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” I asked after a few moments of comfortable silence. She tilted her head to the side and I couldn’t resist resting my chin on her shoulder.
“I have my conference all day tomorrow,” she replied, sounding bummed. We tried to figure out a way she could skip it, but she didn’t sound confident that she could get out of it. She promised to see me afterwards and even come to the concert.
“I’d really like that,” I replied, even though I was thinking that there was NO way that was going to be enough for me. I didn’t want to let her out of my sight; I was so enjoying the way she was making me feel. I turned my head slightly, my lips brushing her neck, every nerve in my body strung tight like one of my guitar strings as I fought the urge to nibble at the soft skin on her throat. She shivered.
“Are you cold,” I asked, my lips moving against her neck as I spoke.
“Nope, not cold…” she replied. I felt my cock getting hard in my jeans and took a few deep breaths. I didn’t want her to notice so I lied and said I was getting cold instead and she stood up. I followed and took the blanket off and wrapped it around her, the cold air hitting me and halting any further hopes of an erection. I looked down at her in the moonlight and she looked back up at me, this time, holding my gaze instead of averting her eyes. I slowly leaned down and kissed her cheek and she shut her eyes and smiled.
“Let’s go get warmed up,” I said, taking her hand and leading her back inside.
The party was pretty much over, but I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable by asking her back to my room just yet. Instead, I sat on the couch and put a pillow in my lap so she could curl up and we watched TV. I ran my hand up and down her side, stroking her gently and she snuggled against me. It was the most pleasant feeling I had felt since I had last hugged my daughters good-bye. I felt good just sitting with her, touching her innocently, no stress and pressure of sex, just enjoying her nearness.
When it was time to leave, we all said our good-nights and we made our way back down the hall way, towards both the elevator and my suite. I paused awkwardly outside my door and wrestled with what to say. I wanted her to come inside, but not for the reasons she would probably assume.
“Do you want to come in?” I asked, carefully. She bit her lip and looked back towards the elevator, then back at me, anxiously.
“I can come in for a minute,” she said, sounding nervous. Without even thinking, I took a step towards her and took her face in my hands and lowered my mouth to hers. Her lips parted and I gently, cautiously explored her sweet mouth with my tongue. I could have stood there for hours, lost in this kiss, but I forced myself to pull away. I smiled at her and sighed, not sure what to say. I let us in to my room and flipped the lights on. I glanced over at Kate and she bit her lip.
“Are you nervous?” I asked, feeling bad that I was making her so anxious when I had nothing but the most honorable of intentions.
“Yeah…” she admitted, looking down at her feet. “Are you?”
“Nope,” I said, and I wasn’t really. I reached down and took her little hand in mine. “But don’t be nervous, you have nothing to be nervous about.” She cocked her head and squinted at me.
“I don’t?” she asked, confused. I smiled at her and led her into the bedroom.
“You are a nice girl,” I said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “You are like… a real girl. You’re not some groupie slut… I actually have respect for you.” I lay back on the bed, resting my head on the pillow. “Come here,” I said, patting the section of bed next to me. “Let’s just talk.” She hesitantly crawled up the bed and lowered herself down about ten inches away from me.
I rolled over onto my side and looked over at her.
“You want to just talk to me?” she asked, smiling warily.
“Yeah, I do!” I said, trying to convince her. “Do you mind? I just want to get to know you, that’s all…”
“Get to know me?” she said, laughing. “There’s not much to know!”
“Ok, well then, I will start,” I said, wracking my brain for an ice breaker. “Alright, here’s one. So, I assume you honed you’re respectable beer pong skills in college? What else did you do there besides drink?” She laughed at this and launched easily into a story about how she had to work two full time jobs to put herself through school. The conversation progressed easily and before I knew it, I was pouring my heart out to her about Jordyn, my ex-wife and how that whole thing had fallen apart. Normally, I am a guarded person but this girl was so easy to talk to. She lay on her side next to me, her arm tucked under her head, looking at me while I talked and really listening. I mean, really listening to what I was saying. Sometimes, when I talked to people, I can see, behind their eyes, that all they are thinking is “Oh my god, I’m talking to Dave Grohl, oh my god,” and they are so blinded with excitement, they aren’t really there. But Kate was definitely here, with me. I reached across the bed and took her hand. I closed my eyes and listened to her for a while, the sound of her voice floating around me.
Suddenly she sat up and I realized I had been asleep. She groped around the bed for her cell phone. I was so comfortable; I didn’t want her to leave.
“Don’t go,” I murmured, sleepily. I looked up at her and could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t really want to.
“Ok,” she said, smiling. “I won’t…but I need to set an alarm just in case. I need to go back to my room and get ready for work soon.” She set an alarm on her cell phone and set it down on the nightstand before setting back down next to me. This time, I pulled her close to me, so that she was only inches away and our knees were touching. I closed my eyes.
“I was dreaming we were still talking… I couldn’t understand what you were saying, but I could hear your voice and see your smile… it was so nice.” I drifted back off to sleep. It felt like only seconds later Kate’s alarm started to ring on her phone. She groaned and sat up to silence it. I felt her get off the bed and heard her head into the bathroom. I groaned and stretched. I got up and dug my hairbrush out of my backpack and pulled my hair back into a pony tail. When she came out of the bathroom, she borrowed my brush and ran it through her hair, taming it a little bit. We swapped cell phones so we could exchange numbers. When she handed it back to me, I saw that she had put Kate Sullivan and her number. I smiled, happy to know her full name. We then headed into the kitchen where I brewed up a fresh pot of coffee. After we had a few sips from our mugs, I took hers from her hands and set it on the counter and pulled her in for a hug. She leaned against my chest and let my arms encircle her.
“Thank you for such a cool night,” I said. “I haven’t done something like that in a while.”
“Me either…thank you,” she said, hugging me back. “It’s surreal” she added with a giggle. There was something about that giggle that drove me wild and I had to lower my lips to hers and kiss her. I wove my fingers through her thick red-gold hair and pulled her into me. Every fiber of my being wanted to take her back to bed with me and find out if she felt as good on the inside as she did on the outside. I forced myself to pull away gently. I would find that out all in good time, I told myself. She looked up at me, eyes sparkling, almost dancing, and again said, “Surreal…” She bent down and grabbed her high heels, but didn’t put them back on. In her other hand she took her coffee mug and I walked her do the door.
“I will see you in a little bit,” I told her. “We have to get you out as early!” She promised that she would be out as early as humanly possible and I opened the door to let her out. She paused and leaned back in towards me for one last kiss. I gently placed my lips against hers before she slipped out the door. I watched her walk, barefoot, down the hallway, towards the elevator for a few moments before shutting the door. With the world’s biggest smile plastered on my face, I walked back across the suite, shaking my head.
“You’re in trouble, Dave,” I said aloud to myself, laughing. “You are totally fucked.” I drained my coffee and poured myself another. I walked back into the bed room and picked up my phone. I scrolled down to Kate’s number and typed in a text to her.
“Come back.” I pictured her in her hotel room, reading it to herself and biting her lip. My phone buzzed with her reply.
“I wish. Gotta shower!” I smiled to myself and closed my eyes, picturing her peeling off my T-shirt and her jeans and rinsing off in the hot, steamy shower.
“Mmm mmm mmm,” I said, unzipping my own jeans and losing myself in a fantasy involving me and Kate taking a shower, but not getting very clean.
************************
I tried to nap, I really did, but suddenly, my bed felt cold and empty. Even after I’d worked off some “extra energy” fantasizing about Kate, I still felt wide awake, which was NOT good, since I would have to be in top shape for my show that night. I paced my room for a while then tried to watch TV and that lasted about an hour and a half before I shut it off and chucked the remote control. I stood up again and walked back into the bedroom. I noticed that the top she had gotten beer spilt all over was hanging on the shower rod in the bathroom. I grabbed it and headed down the hall to Carly’s room. She was probably still asleep, nursing a hang over, but I pounded on the door until she opened it, make-up smeared all over her face, clutching her head.
“Hey,” I said, curtly. “I really need you to get this dry cleaned, right away. I want her to have it back by this afternoon.”
“Dave…” she whined. “I don’t feel well.”
“I could give a shit,” I said. “I want it back before we leave for sound check, got it?” She frowned and nodded.
“You don’t have to yell,” she said as she shut the door on me.
“Bitch,” I muttered to myself as I walked back to my room. I picked up my phone and texted Kate, asking her the name of her boss and for a description, letting her know I had a plan. I waited a few minutes for a reply. Once I had a name and description, I headed over to the desk which held the hotel phone, a complimentary pad of paper and a few complimentary pens. I read the hotel’s phone number off of the logo printed on the pad of paper and dialed down to the front desk. It rang and rang and finally a desk clerk answered it.
“Holiday Inn Manchester, how may I help you?”
“Hi, yes, I have an emergency phone call for Kate Sullivan, she’s there attending a conference,” I said. “Could you let her boss, Alice Fieldstone pull her out of her meeting?”
“Certainly sir,” the clerk said. “Can I tell them who is calling?” I thought for a moment.
“Mr. Sullivan, her father,” I replied. The clerk put me on hold. I sat and waited about a minute and a half before I heard Katie’s sweet voice in my ear.
“Hello?”
“Hey gorgeous, its dad,” I said, smiling from ear to ear.
“Oh, hey dad, what is going on?” I explained that there was a problem with her grandfather and she would need to leave the conference immediately. She sounded concerned and reassured me she’d be on the road soon. I hung up and threw my hands about my head like a prize fighter, excited we had pulled it off. I threw on my sneakers and grabbed my room key and headed down to her floor. I waited in the lobby outside the elevator, picking up a newspaper off of one of the couches and using it to cover my face, in case she wasn’t alone. I heard the elevator ding and then I heard Kate’s voice and what sounded like a muffled giggle. I smiled behind my paper, assuming she must have known it was me sitting her. I heard her boss, Alice, say good-bye to her and waited until she was back on the elevator before folding the newspaper and jogging down the hall to Kate’s room, almost bursting with the need to see her. I knocked on the door and she opened it right away, grabbing my arm and pulling me into the room.
“Yay! You’re free!” I said, holding my hands up for a high-five. She slapped them quickly then threw her arms around my neck and pulled me in for a hug, making me feel giddy like a teenager. She let go and proceeded to quickly pack up her room. I grabbed her suitcase and we quickly walked out to the elevator. Once inside, I swiped my keycard and hit the ES button for my floor.
“Now what should we do?” I asked, eye her playfully. She smiled and shrugged. “How about a little of this?” I said, leaning down and kissing her, not coming up for air until we reached our floor.
“We’re here!” She said, a little breathlessly as the doors slid opened. I scooped up her bag and we held hands as we walked down the hallway. I let us into my room and let her bag slip down to the floor. I headed back towards the bed room and she followed me. I suddenly felt like I could sleep if she was there, next to me. I wanted her close, I wanted to feel her skin, I wanted to breathe in her scent while I dreamed about her smile.
“Feel like a nap?” I asked. “You had me up late last night and I have to rest up a little bit before the show.”
“That sounds nice,” she said. I pulled off my shirt and flung it on the ground. I slowly undid my belt buckle and unzipped my jeans and stepped out of them. I watched Kate take a deep breath, bite her lip, then unbutton her dress shirt revealing a lacy-cream colored bra and wiggle out of her pants, revealing her matching panties. I pulled back the blankets, which we had slept on top of last night and we crawled into bed. I reached for her and she reached for me, running her hand over my bicep while I wrapped mine arms around her. Her skin was warm and the touch of her hand on my skin was sending electric shocks through my entire body. She moved her mouth towards mine and kissed me passionately.
“I want you,” she whispered, her forwardness surprising me. What was keeping me from tearing off what little clothing she still had on and pushing my way inside of her? Any other girl, I wouldn’t have given a second thought to bending her over the edge of the bed and screwing her brains out, yet, here I was, abstaining from sex and I had no idea why. This was clearly different. Kate was different. I hadn’t felt this good about a woman in years and deep down inside, I knew I wanted Kate to know she was different. I didn’t want her to feel like a groupie whore, getting fucked by a rock star before he moves onto the next gig. I wanted this time to be different, for me and for her.
“I want you, too,” I said quietly, running my hand down her back, over her butt and down her thigh. “But I want to go slow.” She bit her lip and practically glared at me. “Think about the last time you had to wait for something and how amazing it felt when you finally got it.”
“You’re a pleasure delayer,” she accused. I tried to explain that I wanted sex with her to be special, like it used to be, and asked her to just try waiting a little bit longer.
“Ok,” she said, sounding disappointed. “I will try it your way.” I kissed the tip of her cute little nose.
“It will be worth it,” I promised. She rolled over and nestled back against my chest. I curled my legs up against hers and smiled at how perfectly she fit against me. This is exactly what I wanted, nothing more, nothing less, just to hold her, listen to her breath and know that she would be there when I woke up in a few hours.
When I finally did wake up, it was to my cell phone ringing. I assumed it was one of my tour managers, giving me a five minute warning to leave for the sound check and I was right. I hung up and stretched. I needed to take a quick shower and asked if Kate wanted to join me, however, she declined. I kissed her on the cheek and she beamed at me.
“Would you mind brewing us up a fresh pot?” I asked Kate as I let myself into the bathroom.
“Sure!” She called happily. I showered fast, wanting to return to her as quickly as possible. I turned the water off when I’d finished and wrapped a towel around my waist before following the sweet smell of fresh coffee out into the kitchen area. Kate smiled at me and chewed her lip as she handed me my coffee. I thanked her. Suddenly there was a knock at my door.
“Who eez it?” I called in my high-falsetto voice, assuming it was Taylor.
“It’s Carly. I have that skank’s top you wanted dry cleaned!” My jaw dropped and I looked over at Kate, who had the same shocked expression on her face. I instantly wanted to murder that stupid, fucking lush. Before I could move, Kate was stalking towards the door and she yanked it open. Carly stammered and stepped back.
“Thank you so much---DAVE,” she said opening the door wider to make sure Carly saw me standing there in my towel. I was happy to see that Kate was handling this on her own. I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist.
“You’re welcome,” I said, leaning down and kissing her cheek from behind her. “It was the least I could do since one of our drunken assistants spilled beer all over it.” Then, I slowly pushed the door shut in Carly’s face. I apologized to Kate, but she shook it off, clearly not bothered by it. In that moment, I was glad we hadn’t had sex, because as Kate stood there, she knew she wasn’t a skank, which is the last thing I ever wanted her to feel like.
We went to the sound check together, everyone was surprised to see Kate with me, but no one said anything. Afterwards, we all hung out together back at my room. Kate sat close to me and it was all I could do to keep my hands off of her. She seemed to be comfortable, sitting there with all of us and that made me so happy. Slowly, everyone got up and headed back to their rooms to get ready for the show. I threw some things in a back pack for after the concert and then looked at the time.
“We have a few minuets to kill,” I said, mischievously, sitting next to her on the couch. I put my arms around her and pulled her against me, kissing her gently. She felt so fucking good to me, I kissed her deeper and harder and felt her body responding. I ran my hands up and down her back and through her hair. I leaned forward, forcing her onto her back on the couch and climbed on top of her. I pressed myself against her and she moaned. My cock was so hard in my jeans, I felt like I could fuck her without even taking them off. Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door and I heard Pat’s voice calling me.
“Be right THERE!” I yelled back with a frustrated laugh. I climbed off of Kate, who was panting and sat up, adjusting my erection and trying to calm myself back down. God damn it, I thought. Kate must have read my mind because she started to giggle.
“To be continued?” I asked. We both stood. I zipped up my hoodie and she pulled on her coat. I kissed her one last time before we walked out into the hallway and tried to focus my thoughts away from Kate and onto the concert I was about to give. This was a lot easier said than done.
When we got to the gig, I set Kate up with one of the sound girls and headed backstage. Even though my head had been filled with thoughts about Kate all day, the second I stepped foot on stage, everything inside me quieted down, like it always does and I hit the first chord and we were off. It was a fun show, the Manchester crowd probably woke right up and rocked right along with us. I had fun and felt that I put on a kick ass show. Three hours later, when I stepped off stage after my last bow and handed my guitar to a roadie, Kate exploded back into my thoughts. I had to get to her. I hurried through my post-gig bullshit and practically sprinted to the dressing room. I threw open the door and saw her standing there and I had to resist the urge to tackle her. I was soaked in sweat and probably smelled foul. I couldn’t resist give her a quick kiss before my shower. When I was clean once more, I pulled her close for a slightly longer kiss. She felt incredible as she leaned against me, standing on her tip toes to reach my lips, arms around my neck. I felt slightly dizzy when we parted. I smiled at her and she blushed again.
“Let’s blow this joint,” I said, taking her hand in mine and leading her out.
Back at the hotel, we found ourselves in Carly’s room again. I squeezed Kate’s hand and told her to go grab herself a beer while I made the rounds with the rest of the band. I couldn’t believe how packed the suite was, roadies, techs, random fans, people who worked at the venue. I tried to keep an eye on Kate while I talked to everyone, but I soon lost track of her.
“Dave,” one of the tech’s called to me. I made my way over to him.
“Hey, Ernie,” I said, shaking his hand.
“This is Andrea,” he said, introducing me to a tall, thin woman with bleached blond hair and dark brown roots. She leaned in to shake my hand.
“Nice to meet you!” She said in a husky voice. “I’m a huge, huge fan.”
“Thanks!” I replied, and added “We have the best fans in the world,” which was one of my stock comments. She went on and on about how great the show was and I thanked her again.
“What was your favorite song?” I asked, again, one of my stock questions. I didn’t hear what her reply was because I was scanning the room for Kate again. Where the hell was she? “Awesome,” I replied to Andrea, pretending I was listening. She placed her hand on my shoulder and leaned in close to me. With her other hand, she tucked my hair behind my hears and whispered,
“I lost my virginity to “Floaty,” she breathed. I raised my eyebrows, surprised, although I shouldn’t have been. “I’d love to recreate that, tonight, with you…” I threw my head back and laughed. I smiled at the girl. I have heard this line before, but not often and not in a while.
“Floaty, huh?” I said. She winked at me.
“What do you think?” she purred in my ear. I thought about last week, we’d been in St. Louis, and after the show a girl had told me that Everlong was her favorite song and that, if I sang the words, “breathe out so I can breathe you in” she would let me do anything thing I wanted to her. I had been so drunk at the time, it sounded like an amazing offer and I took her up on it. I looked at this skinny girl standing next to me again and felt dirty just standing next to her.
“Sorry,” I said, “I actually am here with someone.”
“She can come too,” Andrea said. I shook my head and said good-bye her and Ernie and set off to find Kate. I pushed my way through the crowd, looking around for her, telling the people that called me name to “give me a minute”. I spotted Taylor and Chris.
“Did you guys see Kate leave?” I asked, starting to panic. “I can’t find her.”
“She just went outside on to the balcony with some dud,” Taylor said.
“One of the roadies,” Chris added. I thanked them and headed to the balcony door. I opened it and searched the small crowd until I saw her, talking to some douche bag. Our eyes locked and she held my gaze. I felt a wave of relief wash over me that she hadn’t left yet. I made my way over to them.
“I was looking for you,” I said.
“Yeah, she just needed some air,” Matt, the roadie answered for her. I ignored him.
“Are you ok?” I asked.
“Yeah, I'm fine!” she sighed, “I was just thinking… I may head out though.” I turned to Matt.
“Hey man, can you give us a minute?” The kid frowned but left. I turned back to Kate, she looked flustered.
“What's going on?” I asked. I hope that douche bag hadn’t tried to touch her or anything, because I would fucking rip him apart.
“This isn't really my scene, Dave.” I said, fidgeting. “I have had so much fun but I think it's time for me to get going.” I looked at her and suddenly felt like a dick. It wasn’t her scene and I had practically abandoned her.
“Kate, I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking,” I said, pulling her close to me. She was shivering slightly. I leaned back and looked down at her. “You really want to go?” She nodded. I leaned down and kissed her gently. I turned and headed back into the suite with her at my side. I placed my hand on her back and could feel how tense and uncomfortable she was. She was just starting to relax and I had screwed up and made her nervous all over again. When we got back to the room, we sat on the couch together. I looked over at her and she was sitting up straight and fidgeting with her hands, the calm confident girl from this afternoon was gone. I had to get her back.
“Ok, if I was a normal guy and this was your second date, what would you do?” She thought about this for a few moments.
“I dunno, dinner and a movie?”
“Dinner and a movie sounds great!” I said. We picked a movie off of the hotel’s pay per view list and ordered up some dinner. We were about half way into the movie and she still hadn’t relaxed. I sat up and hit pause.
“What’s going on? Did I do something wrong?” I asked.
“No! No, nothing at all,” she replied, looking down at her lap. “I’m sorry, I guess I am just a little confused.”
“About what?” I asked, moving so that I was facing her.
“I guess I just don’t know what we’re doing? What you’re doing?”
“I am trying to spend time with you...”
“But why? You could have any girl in there,” she said, sounding confused. “I heard them talking about their plans to get you into bed! I am no one, I am just... me. I am just normal. There is no way you'd rather leave a party and come here and eat bad room service and watch a bad movie.”
“Hey!” I said, smiling at her. I knelt down on the floor in front of her and put my fingertips under her chin, forcing her to meet my gaze. I took a second to gather my thoughts then said, “I like you. It’s easy to be around you. You are so cute and nervous and sweet. You are so unlike the other girls I have met recently. That is why I want to be around YOU and not THEM. You are just a normal girl and normal is what I want. That is what I am doing. I am trying to get to get to know you, because for the first time in a long time, I have met someone I actually WANT to spend time with.” I realized I was talking very fast and took a deep breath and slowed myself down. Quietly, I continued, “I am trying not to ruin it by doing the things I have done with girls in the past. I am trying to go slow, to do things right. I don't want to ruin things by jumping into bed with you.” She starred at me as if I had three heads. I suddenly realized what that we were both experiencing two very different things. I was pretty certain I was falling for this girl and she was trying to protect herself from getting hurt tomorrow morning when I left for the next gig.
“Come to Boston with me,” I said, hoping that she would see that all I really wanted was to spend time with her. I wasn’t ready for this to end and she really didn’t need much convincing, which made think that she wasn’t ready, either. She smiled at me again and I could see that she was OK again. I hit play on the movie and crawled back on the couch. I lay down so that she was in front of me, sharing a pillow, nestled into my chest. I dozed right off.
When the movie was over, she woke me and we moved into the bedroom. I pulled off my shirt and handed it to her, I wanted to feel her bare skin against mine, but even more, I wanted her to feel comfortable. She pulled it down over her head and smiled.
“It smells like you,” she said, smiling at me as she closed her eyes and pretended to breathe the scent in deeply. She crawled into bed and I spooned up behind her. I buried my face in her neck and it was my turn to inhale her. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me.
“I may just have to make love to you in Boston,” I whispered. “I hope you are ready.” She tensed up for a split second.
“I’m ready now,” she said. I could hear her smile in the dark.
“Think of how ready you will be in Boston,” I said, planting kisses on her shoulder. She said nothing, but reached back with one of her feet and hooked her ankle in between my feet, so our legs were tangled together. I was in fucking heaven.
********************
I watched her sip her martini as we sat in the VIP section of some club in Boston that had been reserved for the band. Even in the dim light, her eyes sparkled. She wore her hair down around her shoulders, the way she had all weekend and she smelled like the hotel shampoo. My mind traced back to the conversation we’d had at the hotel.
“I’m having the best weekend of my life,” she’d said. Girls said that to me all time, after sex. They would roll over on to their backs and look up at the ceiling, panting, and say “this is the greatest night of my life.” But when Kate had said it, she was talking about spending time with me. She was talking about getting out of her conference, about dozing in her underwear next to me, about waiting for me in my dressing room, about sleeping in my t-shirt. She was talking about me, about something we were sharing that was more than physical. I stared at her, watching her watch everyone else around her. She felt my eyes on her and turned.
“What?” she asked, self consciously.
“Nothing,” I replied, unable to keep a smile off my face.
“What?!” she asked again.
“You are just beautiful,” I told her. She blushed of course, but leaned over and kissed me on the lips. We were interrupted by Taylor. We convinced him that Kate wanted a threesome, but I had told her I didn’t think he’d be into it, since neither of us were his type. Kate was quick with her retorts and kept up with our good-natured ribbing. Finally, he left and I turned back to Kate. She smiled at me, eyes dancing with laughter from our encounter with Taylor. Suddenly, all I wanted was to be close to her. I wanted to kiss her, I wanted to touch her everywhere, I wanted to take her right here in this booth. I took her hands and ran my fingers over her knuckles.
“Do you dance?” I asked her. I wasn’t much of a dancer, but if that’s what it took to get closer to her, I would have danced the foxtrot. She laughed.
“I've been known too after I get a few drinks in me,” she said, hesitantly.
“Same here,” he said laughing. “I'm just trying to think of a way I can get close enough to kiss you.” I finally admitted, hoping she wouldn’t get all shy again.
“Oh?” she asked, eyeing me boldly.
“I can't stop thinking about it, actually,” I continued. She surprised me by saying,
“Me either.” She moved toward me. I grabbed her legs and pulled her closer, so she was almost in my lap. She leaned towards me, grabbing the front of my shirt in her little hands. I ran my hands through her soft hair, pausing to tuck it behind her ears and I lowered my mouth to hers. I ran my hands down her sides and wrapped them around her hips, trying to puller her closer and closer. Kate’s arms encircled my neck and I moved my mouth to her jaw, kissing and nibbling down her neck. She let out a throaty moan that shocked the hell out of me and I pressed my face to her skin to muffle my laugh. I was ready and I guess she was too.
“Let's get out of here,” I breathed into her ear. She nodded vigorously and I slid out of the booth pulling her behind me. I kissed her again, then turned and pulled her behind me. We didn’t even pause to put on our jackets, instead, pulling them on as we walked back to the hotel. I tried to focus my thoughts, we were in public, I had to keep my hands to myself until we were alone. She seemed to get this as well, because she stood slightly apart from me. We made our way through the lobby quickly and I pushed the UP button on the elevator.
“Slow, slow, slow” I repeated over and over in my head. “Take it easy.”
When it arrived, she stepped inside and I followed. I swiped my key card and hit the ES button. My heart was pounding. I watched the elevator doors slide shut. They had barely met when I made my move. I dove at her and she turned her body to meet me head on. I grabbed on to her upper arms and backed her up against the wall, a little harder than I intended, and held her there, kissing her with a passion and ferocity that startled me.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I wanted to go slow, but I can't help myself anymore.” But she was right there with me, kissing me back, running her hands through my hair.
“I’m ready,” she murmured. “I want this.” The elevator reached my floor and the doors opened. I took her hand and led her down the hall and into my suite. I flipped the lights on and leaned in and kissed her again, a softer kiss, to make up for my aggressiveness in the elevator. I removed her jacket, then my hoodie. She had half a smile on her face and her eyes burned with desire. I took her hand and led her into the bedroom.
“It’s crazy how much I want you,” I said, looking down at her. I gently pulled her shirt over her head and smiled at how gorgeous she looked standing there. She reached out and took my shirt in her hands, her fingers grazing my skin as she pulled my shirt off. I knelt down and kissed her stomach while my fingers worked the button and the zipper on her jeans and tugged them down. She stepped backwards and laid herself down on the bed, watching me. I removed my jeans and lowered myself down on top of her. The ferocity that I had felt moments before was gone and now that we were here, I did not want to rush this. I kissed her, tracing my fingers down her body, running my hands through her hair.
“You feel incredible, baby” I whispered.
“Oh my god,” she giggled, her eyes closed. “You are making me feel incredible.” I lifted myself off of her slightly and looked down at her. There was so much I wanted to say to her, so much I wanted her to know about what she was doing to me… to my heart.
“Before we do this, I just want to say that you make me feel so good, in a way that being with someone hasn't made me feel in a long ass time. I would feel this way even if we stopped right here and didn't have sex. I can stop if you want…?” She bit her lip as I moved my hand to trace the hem of her underwear.
“Don’t stop,” she said and pulled me back down on top of her. She arched her back so I could reach my hand underneath and unclip her bra and slide it off. I traced my fingertips over her perfect breasts and she inhaled sharply.
“You sure you want this?” I asked, quietly. Instead of answering she reached down and removed her panties and tossed them on the floor.
“You’re turn,” she said, boldly. I raised my eyebrows and laughed, then removed my own underwear. I settled back down between her legs. She hooked one leg up over my hip and used it to pull me to her. I entered her slowly and she gasped when she felt me there. She slid her hands up my arms, resting them on my shoulders.
“Oh god, Kate,” I whispered once I was all the way inside her. I lost myself there, moving gently, listening to the little noise she would illicit, trying to find out what she liked, and knowing that I liked it all. I quickened my pace slightly and she moaned and whispered my name. She dug her nails into my skin and I felt her body tense so I slowed down.
“I knew it…” she panted, looking up at me
“Knew what?”
“That you were a pleasure delayer,” she said, laughing. I kissed her throat.
“Maybe I am…” I said, quietly, smiling down at her.
“Are you going to do this to me all night?” she asked.
“Yes,” I promised.
“Good,” she replied. And it was good, incredibly good. When we finally did finish, it was together and she clung on to me for a few moments afterwards, panting. I kissed her face and her hair and her eyes and her lips.
“I’m glad we waited,” I whispered.
“Me, too,” she replied, breathlessly.
“Was it worth it?” I asked hopefully. She pretended to debate this, squinting her eyes.
“Uhhhhhh…. Yeah. Yes. I would say…yes,” she said. I leaned in and kissed her, biting her lip gently. “There is just one thing…” she added.
“What’s that?” I asked, nervous that she was about to criticize my love making.
“I want more,” she said, devilishly.
“Oh baby,” I told her, pulling her back towards me. “You can have all you want!” Kate was incredible, insatiable. And I was always ready for her.
“Tell me what you want,” I would whisper.
“You,” she would moan. “I just want you.”
Kate fell asleep first. She had her head on my pillow and I had both my arms around her. I fought sleep, I wanted to stay awake and just lay here and feel this. Feel this woman in my arms, feel the sweet ache in my heart and contemplate the happiness that I could have if I could make this girl mine, truly mine.
*************
For the third straight morning in a row, I woke up with Kate in my arms. She had kissed my nose, prying me out of a dream that, once awake, I could no longer remember. In less than a minute, we were back at it, unable to get enough of each other.
I covered her with my body, and pinned her arms above her head, holding her there, making it so she couldn’t escape, wishing she would never leave.
We played in bed until after noon time, our stomachs finally demanding to be fed. I rolled over, picked up the phone and ordered room service, then rolled back next to Kate.
“I’m pretty sure I could just live on you,” I told her as I picked up her hand and kissed each of her fingers.
“I wish,” she sighed. “Then we could stay in bed all the time.”
“That would be amazing!” I said. Her stomach growled and she put both hands over it and laughed.
“You’re just not quite filling enough for me,” she said, getting up. “Shower?”
“A shower with you is literally the ONLY thing that could get me out of bed right now,” I said, following her into the bathroom.
I swear to God I had forgotten about everything else in the world except what Kate felt and tasted like. There was no flight to catch, no tour, no band, nothing. There was just her laugh, her smile, her hands that fluttered over my skin or her fingers that she loved to run through my hair. There was just the goosebumps she gave me when she whispered my name
We shared lunch and laughed and talked and joked. She picked off of my plate as if we’d been together for ages, laughing, her eyes sparkling as she stole my fries or drank my soda. I was loving every second of it. I was trying to figure out how long we needed to digest before I dragged her back into bed when my phone rang. The second I heard the sound, reality came flooding back into my thoughts. I had a plane to catch. I answered it and watched Kate as I spoke to John, my tour manager. Her features fell and the sparkle left her eyes.
“Fuck,” I thought to myself. Aloud, I explained that I had to start thinking about leaving for the airport. Kate. “I wish I could stay…” I told her, meaning it with every fiber of my being. She shrugged it off. Just like that, she shut me out. Not that I could blame her. We had just shared an incredible few days and now I was running out on her, leaving the country! “We will do this again when I get back,” I told her. I saw a sadness flicker in her eyes and I knew she didn’t believe me. We stood and gathered our belongings from around the suite, each packing our own suit cases. We tried to make small talk, but it was awkward and painful. How could I hurt this much after only a few days with this girl? I felt like my heart was being yanked right out of my chest! I called for her car as she put on her jacket. I met her by the door.
“I know you don't believe me, but I will be in touch with you. And I really would love to see you again,” I told her as I slipped my arms around her small waist and lowered my lips to her’s for one last kiss. “I mean it.” She smiled sadly at me and thanked me again for a wonderful weekend before she slipped out the door and down the hallway. I shut the door behind her and leaned my forehead against it, unable to understand the anguish that was coursing through my veins. How could I have let that girl walk out of here like that? What if she was it? What if she was the one? I made a deal with myself right then and there. I’d go to Europe, play my shows and if at the end, if I still felt this strongly, I’d chase her down and make her mine. I was still leaning against the door when Guy banged on it, letting me know he’d arrived to get my stuff.
“One second,” I called. I stepped back, rubbed my face and shook my hair out of my eyes. I pulled open the door. “Let’s get this show on the road!”