Chapter 4
Delilah was in a Rick induced daze until halfway through the show. She sang his songs along with him, danced around and cheered right along with the cheering crowd.
It wasn't until a hush came over the crowd that Delilah stilled. She glanced around her and then to the stage, where Rick stood alone in the spotlight. The hushed voices around her told her of what an unusual occurrence this seemed to be.
"I wanted to thank you all for coming tonight. I have a special song that I'd promised I'd play for someone tonight. Today I think was the first day that I've ever appreciated the friends I have in this life.
"My grandfather died two days ago and he's always believed in my dreams," Rick's voice cracked but he kept talking. "I asked a friend to give up their weekend and come out here to see me. She made me a bunch of rules that I had to do until she got here. She understood my pain because she lost her mother a few years ago.
"One of the things she told me to do was to write the song that I've never been able to do for my pop. I tried but I couldn't do it until I thought about someone who truly deserved a song. The words flowed out of me then and I now have a new song. I want to sing it for you but I need you all to know that I only wrote it today, so it's not perfect."
"Sing!" the crowd shouted the word while Delilah stood there in shock.
She hadn't believed that he'd written a song but she'd been happy to find him sober when she arrived. Now she stood there flabbergasted without a clue of what to say. The second he began to strum the guitar; the whole audience seemed to focus solely on him. Delilah could stop herself from staring right along with them.
"You're the one who matters most
But you don't know it.
You're the one who I need most
But I don't show it.
You've seen me through the best times
And now you've seen me through the worst,
Because you're my D girl."
Delilah raised her hand to her mouth when she realised he'd written a song for her. With wide eyes, she stared at him as he continued to sing another verse of the song. Never in her life had she felt so absurdly flattered. Rick had written a song for her.
The rest of the concert flowed by in a blur. It wasn't until she stood outside of that room of his where a bunch of other women stood that she found her voice again.
"Get in line." A woman grumbled from behind her.
Delilah turned to the voice only to find a woman pointing behind her. That was the first time she realised that a cue had lined up to see Rick. Delilah had headed straight for the door, wanting to check on his welfare but that didn't seem to work with this crowd.
"I've got my pass and I need to see him." Delilah stated making her the focus of all the women.
"Then you should have got in line first, honey." The woman who was first in line smirked at her and waved a pass.
"For goodness sake! The poor guy lost his grandfather, can't you have any sympathy, let alone respect for his space." Delilah huffed.
"You're in line too, so its not like you can talk." The first girl laughed.
"Ma'am." A deep voice sounded from behind her and she turned to see Louis.
"Hey, can you get me through to him?"
"Come with me."
Delilah's relief made her sag. When Louis turned in the opposite direction, she puzzled over the move but she followed him. Louis led her to a posh vehicle with dark tinted windows and Delilah raised her brows.
"He's awaiting you, Ma'am." Louis opened the door but she didn't move.
"C'mon, Lil, don't give them a chance to find me." Rick's voice calmed her.
"At least I know you're not in that room trapped." She replied as she slid into the back seat with him.
"Normally I'd be there. I like the after show buzz but I'm not in the mood tonight." He sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair.
"That's what I tried to tell those deluded women but they were too worried about who was first in line. Doesn't anyone think of others anymore?" she glared back at the building.
"Lil, women like that want two things from me."
"And here I was thinking it was one thing." She snorted.
"No, it's two, maybe three things. First is to say they had sex with me. Second is to see what money or goods they can get out of me. Third, now these are the truly crazy ones. They want to marry me and have babies, which also gives them scenario number one and two." Rick ticked them off on his fingers and she shook her head.
"That's freaking ridiculous."
"I agree but it's true all the same." He shrugged.
"Please attach your seat belts." The driver stared in the rear-view mirror at her.
"Oops, sorry."
Delilah tugged her seatbelt on and clicked it into place. The car moved away from the venue and she stared back at it with a frown. No wonder Rick found it hard to trust people if those types were the only ones he saw.
"So, are you ever going to tell me what you thought of the song?" Rick had to clear his throat before asking.
"You surprised me." She admitted in a whisper.
"I did?"
"Rick, we've talked through letters for the last eight years without any other contact, so of course you surprised me."
"I looked forward to everyone of your letters." Earnest hazel eyes clashed with hers.
"I looked forward to your letters too, but I guess I didn't expect to have made such a difference in your life." She admitted and his mouth dropped open.
"Lil, damn it, how do I say this to you? I clung to your letters for a slice of normal, everyday life. You were the reflection of what I sometimes wish I hadn't given up."
"Like what?"
"Going to the shops and buying groceries without seeing criticism for what I've bought. Walking anywhere on the street without appearing pristine means I must have drug habit. It's the normal slice of life that you don't appreciate until it's gone. Sorry but it's so damn hard to explain."
"I never thought of it that way." Delilah mixed.
"I'm sounding like a wuss, aren't I? Another celebrity whining over how they've suffered." He shook his head at himself.
"We all have gripes. I wish the kids in my class would show a bit of uniformity when I tell them to line up." She replied and a rusty laugh escaped him.
"It's great how easily you can distract my thoughts."
"I've been thinking about Tuesday." She admitted with a flinch.
"Okay and what's been going through your mind?"
"Where are you staying? I know if you're at your old home, everyone's going to figure out why you're there. Did you want to stay with dad and me? At least that will keep you out of the spotlight," Delilah babbled before she slapped a hand to her forehead. "I did intend to say that with a bit more tact and a lot less desperation." She admitted with a sheepish grin.
"I'd really appreciate that, Lil, thanks." He smiled and she felt a weight lift off her shoulders.
The car pulled to a halt and Delilah had expected it to be at the front of the hotel. She frowned when she realised they'd stopped in an alleyway. Looking to Rick didn't help when he just grinned at her.
"The back entrance is the best way for nobody to know you're here." He said as the driver opened the door for them.
Delilah scurried out with Rick right behind her. They walked into the building without anyone seeing them. Only when they were in the lift alone did Rick sag against the wall.
"I don't know how I'm going to do tomorrows show. That took a lot out of me." He admitted.
"I wish I could be here to support you, but I have to get home."
"Would you do me a favour, maybe two?"
"Sure."
"Would you watch my show live on the site I've set up for it?"
"That I can do. What's the second thing?" she nodded as the lift pinged and the door opened on Rick's floor.
"I haven't finished the first thing yet." He chided.
"Keep going then."
"Would you comment on the site or ring and tell me if it turned out crap?"
"I'll give you an honest opinion."
"Thank fuck for that." He squeezed her shoulder as he opened the door.
"Are you going to tell me the second thing yet?"
"I'm working up to it. You can't rush things, Lil." His sudden nervousness seemed to battle with a returning sadness.
"Okay, do you mind if I have a shower?"
She rubbed a hand over her hair that the girls who had dressed her had smothered in product until it resembled glue. Her eyes also itched from the mascara they had used.
"No, go right ahead." Rick waved a hand towards the bathroom.
Delilah used her shower time to ponder everything about Rick. They were yet to talk about the kiss they'd shared. Now she wondered if it had been simple nervous energy at the start of his concert. She tried not to let disappointment grip her but her reasoning made sense.
She left the bathroom still uncertain but at least cleaner. Finding Rick slouched on the couch with the television glaring and a glass in his hand made her pause. The grief that he had pushed aside seemed to engulf him and she knew how that felt.
"Hey, Rick, how are you doing now?" she asked as she sat down next to him.
"It always comes back to punch you in the guts, doesn't it?" her stared over her shoulder as he tried to compose himself.
"That never goes away and that's the part that sucks the most."
"Yeah, I know." His voice went thick and she knew he was trying to choke back tears.
"So are you ever going to tell me the second half of this favour?" she asked as she tucked her legs beneath her.
"I need... would you sleep in my bed with me?" the words tumbled out of him and she froze.
"I didn't expect that." She sat back in surprise.
"I'm not suggesting a wild night of sex but I would like to have you close to me."
Delilah's body tingled at even the thought of a wild night of sex with Rick. How she would love an opportunity for that. In her frantic, quite aroused mind, she tried to push those thoughts away and focus on offering the companionship he needed.
"I think we need to talk about the kiss we shared first." Her words came out breathless.
"You have kissable lips, Lil. How could I resist?" that confidence of his returned but she realised he used that as a cover.
"Be real, Rick. Why did you kiss me?"
"Fuck!" he ran a hand down his face. "You're all I have left, Lil. Please don't leave me over one little kiss." He pleaded and she rocked back in shock to stare at him.
"I'm not leaving but I'm also not going to sleep next to you if you can't show me honesty."
"Alright, I can do this," he muttered to himself. "Why do you think I dated Deidre in high school?"
"That's random but I still don't have a clue about that. You two were more than just polar opposites and you hated each other most of the time."
"At first it was because she's hot but then she annoyed me and I intended to break up with her. Do you know what stopped me?"
"No, obviously I'm in the dark." She rolled her hand for him to continue.
"I found someone who believed in me. You believed in my dreams when nobody but my pop had ever showed encouragement."
"You stayed because of me?" she asked in amazement.
"I'd bring my guitar and play, do you remember that?"
"Yes."
"I played for you because you'd smile and clap at the end."
"Deidre always hated it because you took the focus off her." Delilah snickered.
"Deidre the drama queen. Anyway, then you wrote me that letter. The day I received your letter was the day I had a call back from someone who wanted to hear more than my demo tape. You're my good luck charm, Lil, and you're more important to me than money or fame. You believed in me at a time when I needed encouragement."
"Wow, another thing I never expected."
"I reached out to you and you came here with no hesitation. There's nobody else in my life who would do that without expecting something in return. I watched you sleep this afternoon and something inside me changed. Then I kissed you."
"Why? I'm still awaiting my answer." Delilah stared at him with wide eyes.
"Because you're my girl, Delilah."
A genuine smile crossed his face and she blinked at him. What could she ever say to that confession? It was so much more than she'd ever thought to hear from him. It shocked her as much as it made pleasant tendrils of happiness drift through her.
"All that time with Deidre," Delilah frowned. "Why would you waste your time with her?"
"If I dumped her the way I wanted to, I would've never had an opportunity to bask in your encouragement. She would've refused to see me let alone talk with me and she'd drag her friends along with her.
"I became a tad addicted to knowing you would love my music. Knowing you'd compliment me and then tell me what was wrong with the song kept me trying to improve. Did you never notice that in our last senior years it would often only be me and you?"
Delilah pursed her lips as she considered his words. How did she never see this simple truth? Had she been blind? Memories of her school years wrapped around her and she gulped in a breath. Rick had it right; they had spent a lot of time together.
"Not until you mentioned it right now." Delilah admitted.
"Those two years, I might have been her boyfriend but even she knew that I was closer to you. We had something that she couldn't understand, let alone touch. It made her crazy jealous of you. That's why I think she made you write the original break up letter to me. She had to somehow conclude things between me and you."
"Little did she know that it did the opposite." Delilah shook her head and chuckled.
"She was never the smartest."
"It looks like you convinced me. I'll stay with you tonight, Rick."
She couldn't believe the relief she saw on Rick's face. He must have expected her rejection rather than agreement.
Only then did Delilah start to believe in all Rick had told her. The vulnerable look on his face that eased back into his confident smile all led to one thing. Delilah did mean more to him than she ever expected. She clasped hold of that thought tight and determined to never let it go.