Chapter Eight
The rest of the week flew by. When I wasn't at work I was with Gracie or Selena. She had spent some more time with Nick and as irritating as it was, he seemed to make her happy. I was ok with that. I wasn't quite sure what they had going on, but as long as he treated her well I would never interfere.
Fridays were always a bit hectic for me. Payroll had to be finalized and we had to set up for a show. I ignored Selena most of the day and I could tell she was a little annoyed with me. When the doorbell rang I opened the door to find Nick on the other side. Normally I'd be happy to see him, but his presence in my life had become irritating as of late. He was creeping on my girl and I did not find it very cute. He smiled as he stood there awkwardly holding a large box.
"Hey!" He said cheerfully. "Sel home?"
"Yup." I said as I left the door opened and walked away.
Selena glared at me as she came down the hallway. "You could've helped him." She muttered as she passed by me.
"I'm sure you can handle it. Aren't large packages your thing? Wait, maybe it's small ones...I can't really remember." I said sarcastically.
"You're an asshole." She said frowning. "Hey Nick!" She said as she reached the door.
I rolled my eyes as I slammed my bedroom door and collapsed face first on my bed. I was acting childish and I needed to stop. Jealousy was ugly and I needed to practice what I preached. Once I was able to calm myself down, I finished getting ready and left the house. I had work to get done at the bar.
I was sitting at the bar counter when I heard the front door chime go off indicating someone had walked in. I turned around to inform whoever it was that we were still closed but stopped when I realized it was just Selena.
"Will you stop thinking I'm dating Nick." She said as she walked toward me.
"Hi. It's nice to see you." I said trying to brace myself for whatever was about to happen.
"Demi. I'm serious. Stop. There's nothing going on between Nick and I. He was helping with me something and I'm starting to rethink the whole thing now because you've been acting like a three old that doesn't know how to share." She grinned.
"What are you talking about?" I fumbled.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You are so standoffish with him, he's afraid to come to the house!" She said raising an eyebrow.
I let out a long sigh. "Look, I'm sorry. I don't know what's gotten into me. I'm just stressed or something."
"Stressed?" She questioned "About what? Losing me?"
"Maybe...." I trailed off.
She smiled and placed both of her hands on my shoulders. "Demi. Listen to me. You'll never lose me. I promise. No matter what I'm forever your girl." She smiled as I leaned my forehead against hers.
"My girl?" I asked as I pulled away and raised an eye brow.
"Yes." She laughed. "Your girl."
"What does that even mean?" I asked.
"That's completely up to you." She said softly. "Now, are you done being a baby?" She asked. "I have something for you that Nick helped with." She said sounding excited.
"Are you trying to distract me with gifts?" I asked pretending to be unamused.
"Umm, maybe." She said quickly. "Wait right here. I'll be right back."
I watched as she walked outside. After a few moments she returned with Nick and he was once again carrying the large box he had brought to the house earlier. This time however, it was wrapped in Ted wrapping paper with a large black bow attached to it.
"Before you open this I want you to know that Nick helped me pick it out. He knows more about these kinds of things than I do. The rest of it was designed by me." He said with a shy smile.
Nick seemed just as anxious as she did for me to open it. He sat the package down in the bar and stepped away shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Hope you like it" he smiled.
I opened the package and gasped when I realized what it was. It was a brand new acoustic guitar. It was beautiful. The body was black with a metallic silver pick guard. The fretboard was adorned withcustom inlays. I smiled when I realized what it said. The day we met was inscribed in Roman numerals followed by two sets of initials, hers and mine.
"It's beautiful." I said softly as I ran my fingers across the strings.
I picked it up as I continued to marvel at the the extremely thoughtful and expensive gift he had given me.
"I told you she's like it Sel." Nick grinned.
"Like it? I love it!" I said smiling at Selena. "Thank you." I said pulling her in for a hug.
"I'm glad." She softly.
I released her and gave Nick a hug as well.
"It's a Gibson." He said with a wink.
"I know. It's perfect. In fact, I'll use it tonight." I said with a grin.
"I've got to run but I'm glad you like it Dem." Selena blushed.
"Will you be at the show tonight?" I asked.
"Yes." She smiled before he turned and walked out the door.
"Is the Cold War over now?" Nick asked with a grin once she was gone.
I laughed. "Yes."
"Good. It was getting awkward for a minute." He sighed.
"I know. I'm sorry about that." I said as I sat back down at the bar. "Have I seat." I offered.
He sat and smiled. In fact, I noticed he hadn't stopped smiling since Selena left.
"What's with the creepy ass smiling?" I said half serious and half joking around.
"She's in love with you." He stated as he reached behind the counter and grabbed a beer. "Completely and irreversibly in love with you.
"How would you know?" I said rolling my eyes.
"She told me." He shrugged.
"What?" I asked trying to sound calm. "She told you?"
"Yes." He laughed. "I was spitting game big time and she shut me down by telling me that she couldn't give me something that wasn't hers to give away."
"Huh?" I asked clearly confused.
"Her heart you idiot." He sighed shaking his head. "She said no to me because you already have her heart."
"Holy sh...."
"You want my advice?" He interrupted. "Too bad, I'm giving it to you anyway. Go for it. Just fucking go for it. She wants you bad Demi and I don't think she knows how to tell you. Make the first move." He said making eye contact. "She needs that. She'll never say it but she needs to be taken care of."
"Since when are you a relationship expert?" I said raising an eyebrow.
"I'm not!" He laughed. "She flat out told me she was in love with you. You and I both know she's not gonna be the first to make a move."
"You're right Nick." I said nodding my head. "I'm just messing with you."
"You love her too. Right?" He asked.
"More than I will ever be able to explain." I sighed.
"Then maybe you should tell her that." He said softly.
"I will." I mumbled. "I will."
Selena was running a little late for the show. She told me to start it anyway so I did. After about the fourth song I noticed her walk through the front door. She looked like she was in a rush. She smiled as soon as she saw me and have me a little wave. I nodded as I continued to sing Catch Me. By the time the song was finished I felt slightly nervous. I took a deep breath and adjusted the mic stand.
"I have a little bit of surprise for you guys." I said smiling as I spoke to the audience. I made eye contact with Selena. "This next song is one of my favorites. It means everything to me." I added as the band starting playing.
"Give me love like her." I sang. "Cause lately I've been waking up alone. Paint splattered teardrops on my shirt. I told you I'd let them go." I kept singing and watched as Selena brought her hand up and covered her mouth. I knew this song would have an effect on her. It had a lot of meaning to both of us. I'd sing this to her over the phone when she was sad. She said it always reminded her of me and it always made her feel better. We both knew it was my way of saying I love you without actually saying the words.
"Give a little time to me or burn this out. We'll play hide and seek to to turn this around. All I want is the taste that your lips allow." I kept my eyes on her the entire time I sang. She never took her eyes off of me either. I watched as she reached up to wipe away the tears that had managed to escape.
I'll never forget the first time she called me in tears over that creep boyfriend of hers. He had cheated on her and she found out. It was devastating to her. She felt so unwanted and betrayed. I almost had to fly out there. That's how messed up she was. Instead I started singing this song. After Puerto Rico it always reminded me of her anyway. I was so mad that I wasn't actually the person that wrote this song. It summed up my feelings perfectly. By the time we got off the phone, we both had a mutual understanding.
"Give me love like never before. Cause lately I've been craving more. And it's been awhile but I still feel the same. Maybe I should let you go." I was pouring my heart into this song and she knew it. She had so much raw emotion in her eyes. She knew every word I sang, every crack in my voice, every note, was for her. She didn't even bother wiping the tears anymore. She just let them fall as I sang to her.
"You know I'll fight my corner, and tonight I'll call ya. After my blood is drowning in alcohol. No I just wanna hold ya." I kept singing until I lost myself in the music. By the time the song finished everyone in the bar was on their feet. I turned the mic over to Joe and made my way toward Selena. She saw me and headed toward the exit. As soon as I stepped outside I felt her arms around me. I immediately wrapped her in mine and just held her.
"Are you ok?" I asked as I pulled back and reached up to wipe away her tears.
She grabbed my hand and held it against her cheek. "Yeah I'm ok. That song just does things to me when I hear you sing it." She said letting out a shaky breath.
"The guitar you bought me plays beautifully." I smiled as I let my hand drop back down to my side.
"Thank you." She smiled. "Demi." She said softly. "We need to talk." Her tone was very serious.
"About what?" I asked slightly alarmed.
"A whole bunch things." She sighed as she pushed her hair out of her face. "Will you come with me to Texas when I take Gracie home?" She asked. "It'll only be a couple days. I want some time alone with you. No. Wait. I worded that wrong. I need some time alone with you." She said the last sentence very softly.
"Um. Yeah. Of course. I can do that." I said reaching for her hand. "Are we ok?" I asked as I gave her hand a slight squeeze.
"Yes." She smiled. "We're perfect."
"You sure?"
"Yes! Now get back inside and finish performing."
"I'd rather stay out here with you." I said softly.
She smiled and looked down at the ground. "That's very sweet of you."
"Come on. I'll drive you home." I smiled.
I draped my arm across her shoulders and slowly walked toward my car. She had a habit of reaching up and playing with my fingers whenever we were like this. Like clockwork, I felt her fingertips as grabbed my thumb and rubbed the back my hand with hers.
I pulled up to the house and went inside. Taylor was sitting at the table doing crosswords and drinking tea.
"Hey." She smiled. "Gracie is asleep." She informed Selena.
"Thank you." Selena said in response.
"Early night." She commented after looking at her watch.
"Yeah." I said clearing my throat. "I let Joe finish out the set."
I watched as Selena disappeared down the hallway.
"Y'all have a thing happening right now." Taylor laughed.
"A thing?" I questioned.
"Yeah. A sexual tension thing." She said grinning.
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. I'm going to bed. Goodnight."
"Goodnight!" Taylor said a bit more enthusiastically than I was in the mood for.
"You're stupid." I chucked as I made my way to my bedroom.
I walked in just in time to see Selena pulling her shirt up over her head and discarding it on my bedroom floor. She was naked from the waist up. She gave me a knowing smile when I didn't try to hide the fact that I was staring at her breasts. She pulled the comforter up over her exposéd chest, and laid down.
"Are you going to join me?" She practically purred.
"Umm....yeah....." I fumbled.
I got changed into a pair of pjs and climbed into bed beside her. She immediately rolled over and scooted her backside into me.
"Rub my back." She yawned, readjusting and laying on her stomach. "Please?"
I felt the sharp intake of breath and the goosebumps as my fingertips grazed the bare skin on her back. I pushed her hair to the side and drug my fingers up and across her shoulder blades. I could feel her shiver as my hands slid down her soft skin. I heard her sigh as I continued to knead and rub in all the right places.
"I love your hands." She whispered.
"They love you." I said before pressing kiss to her temple.
"I can tell." She said letting out a content sigh. "Hold me Dem." She said softly.
Once again she pushed herself up against me. Here ass settled against my hips and her back was pressed into my chest. She rested her head on my arm and pulled the other one access her chest so I was holding her. I was very aware that she was practically naked. I was thankful I didn't have a penis. I was a bit too excited and a penis would have given that away in a heartbeat.
I could pinpoint the exact moment she fell asleep. Her breathing was heavy and even. As I laid there holding her in my arms, I knew that she was the person I was going to spend my entire life with. I promised myself I'd tell her when we got to Texas. The place where it all began.