Korey's POV
I closed the door behind Brantley hearing him whistling as he walked down the sidewalk to his truck. I turned around closing my eyes and all I could think was that smug ass man. Okay, maybe he had a little something to be smug about. My whole body was tingling, and I was starting to finally regain feeling in my toes. I heard a throat clear and my eyes snapped open. Standing in the doorway to the kitchen three women in various versions of pajamas were looking at me with wide eyes. If Kasey's jaw dropped any further it was going to drag the floor. Lainey recovered first. She put a hand on her sweatpant covered hip then shook the spatula at me as her eyes narrowed.
"Woman!" she said with a grin. "You have got some explaining to do."
"Can I have coffee first?" I asked innocently as I pushed off the door walking into the kitchen with the three of them following me. Kasey pushed me down in a chair then grabbed a mug out of the cabinet. Lainey went back to flipping pancakes as Mama Chelle sat down in the chair beside me sipping her coffee. I could feel the blush creeping up my neck and we hadn't even started his conversation.
"I wondered whose truck that was when the taxi dropped me off early this morning," Mama Chelle giving me a wink. "I just figured it was someone y'all knew that went out with y'all."
"We thought it was Ben's because of the Georgia plates," Kasey said handing me the mug of coffee shrugging her shoulders. I took a sip letting out a deep sigh. "Assumed you had wheedled your way into making them go out for a while longer."
"How long has that been going on?" Lainey asked as she added more batter to the pan. "You haven't said a word since you got back?"
"Ladies," Mama Chelle said squeezing my hand making me look over at her with wide eyes as she smirked at me. "Y'all observe closely. That....now that was all man. You can bank he knows what he's doing unlike those prissy ones you three normally find close to your age or younger. I don't even need my coffee after seeing him shirtless. I'm wide awake."
"Oh my god," I squeaked covering my face with my free hand pulling my leg up to prop against the table. I jumped when Kasey leaned over tapping my knee.
"Love the hairdo Kor," Kasey said as I peeked through my fingers at her. "And is that a bite mark I see where your shorts have ridden up."
"Shut up," I whispered wondering if could turn any redder. "Please?"
"Nope," Lainey yelled as she dug in the cabinet for the syrup before coming to the table with it and the platter of pancakes and bacon. "I need a number."
"Number?" Mama Chelle asked giving Lainey a weird look as Kasey cracked laughing. Lainey made a motion with her hand for me to hurry up. I sat my coffee down burying my face in my crossed arms over my knee. Was nothing sacred with these two? Wait...nope. No, it was not.
"Well?" Kasey demanded, and I held my thumb up on my right hand. "One that's it! I mean...." She grew quiet when I followed it up with all five fingers on my left hand. "SIX! Six times woman! How are you walking?"
"Orgasms," I muttered quietly as I lifted my head. Lainey almost fell out of her chair.
"But y'all had sex right?" Kasey asked with wide eyes Lainey recovered from her shock and reached over to close her Mama's mouth.
"Nope," I said biting my lip blushing profusely. "He's quite talented with his hands.....and mouth."
"Nah...." Mama Chelle said shaking her head in disbelief. "No way. Uh uh. Just noooo...."
"Mama....." Lainey drawled with a snicker then dug in her pocket for her phone. She typed in something, grinned as she found it, then turned the screen for her mother to see.
I groaned when I realized it was a concert photo of Brantley sticking his tongue out. Mama Chelle snatched Lainey's phone looking at it then over at me. She calmly held her hand up to high five me as she handed Lainey her phone back.
"Never mind," she said with a cough picking up her coffee. "I can see why. Damn."
I glanced at the time on the clock on the microwave, grabbed a pancake, my cup of coffee, and pushed to my feet.
"And on that note I am done," I said walking to the hall hearing Kasey and Lainey groan behind me.
"You coming home tonight?" Kasey called after me with a snicker. "I could get behind seeing a shirtless BG in the morning."
"Be late," I answered shrugging my shoulder. "I've got to get downtown to make sure all the equipment came in. Plus, the awards are tonight."
I didn't let them finish and darted down the hall to my room. By lunchtime I was busy checking the packing list on my iPad against the cases in front of me. I was so lost in my work I never knew anyone was around until a pair of arms slipped around my waist making me yelp. Hearing a deep chuckle, I turned my head to glare at Brantley.
"You scared me jackass," I grumbled as I turned around in his arms to glare at him. He grinned as he leaned down pressing a quick kiss to my lips.
"Jackass huh," he whispered with a smirk. "I'm back to jackass am I Princess. It was Brantley. Or more importantly oh god...."
"You hush right now," I growled reaching a hand up to cover his mouth. "I got grilled enough because of you this morning thank you very much." Brantley slid a hand into the back pocket of my long denim shorts that I had tossed on with a black tank with a red and black thin flannel over it. His whole face lit up with a grin. I dropped my hand rolling my eyes. He gripped my hips picking me up to sit on the guitar case behind us and stepped between my legs. I looped my arms around his neck.
"Well Cody Allan asked me three times why I had such a wide grin on my face," Brantley said with a laugh as he toyed with the ends of my ponytail. I laid my head on his t-shirt covered chest and sighed. I was tired but a good kind of tired. Snuggled up to him, I felt more content than I had in a long time and I was pretty sure the feeling was mutual.
"Don't get your Cheshire cat grin," I mumbled my eyes closing on their own as a big hand stroked up and down my back slowly. "I mean...you didn't....ya know..."
"Baby," I heard whispered softly in my ear. "I do believe I told you more than once when I batted your hands away from my hard dick that it was all about you. Told you I was gonna make up for being a complete jackass. That was just a start."
"Oh god," I whispered hoarsely making him laugh.
"What do you have planned for tonight?" Brantley asked slipping a finger under my chin to make him look at him. I bit my lip because I knew he wasn't going to like my answer.
"The CMT awards are tonight," I said gnawing at my lip. He shrugged.
"Yea they are," he said. "My buddy Justin is going with me. But I can make a quick appearance at the after party and then skip out if you would feel like doing something later."
"Ummm B...." I said squinting an eye as I looked up at him. "I kind of told Chase last week I would go with him so he didn't have to go alone. Toby was trying to set him up with some model as a publicity thing and Chase begged me so he wouldn't have to deal with that and be bored to tears."
"Oh," Brantley said quietly as he blinked for a second looking at me. I grabbed his beard gently making him look at me as I tried to explain.
"You and I weren't exactly speaking at the time and uhhh umm......" I stammered before I was cut off.
"So I get to watch my girlfriend walk the red carpet on the arm of another man," he grumbled letting out a sigh. My jaw dropped wide open as looked at him.
"Girlfriend?" I whispered pulling his attention back to me. "Did you just say girlfriend?"
"Yes Princess," Brantley said softly as he lifted both big hands to cradle my cheeks. "I said girlfriend. Thought I made it pretty clear last night and early this morning you were mine."
"You know we are just friends right," I said looking into his eyes trying to read his reaction. "He and Ben both are two of my closest friends. If you...."
"I know," he said kissing me gently. "I know. I've watched y'all enough to know that is all it is. I am okay with it. Does it suck that he gets to walk the red carpet with you all dressed up on his arm? Yes mam it does. But I understand this was already setup. I promise to keep the green eye monster in check tonight."
"Thank you," I said giving him a smile that made me melt when he returned it. "I'd rather be with you I hope you know that."
"I do have something for you," Brantley said biting his lip like he was nervous then reached into his back pocket pulling out a black velvet box then grabbed my hand laying it into my palm as I looked up at him in question. "Go ahead and open it. A birthday present a day late."
"You didn't have to," I told him then cracked the lid open as my eyes teared a little. I traced my finger over the delicate diamond pendant in the shape of a princess crown. "Oh B." He took the box from me pulling the gently out slowly as I moved my hair out of the way, so he could slip it around my neck. I leaned up pressing my lips to his kissing him hard when he was finished. "Thank you. It's beautiful."
"You are very welcome Princess," he said softly. I hugged him tight then let out a sigh.
"As much as I hate to leave you," I said giving him a regretful look. "I've got to head over to Chase's. Since it was last minute his stylist was sending over me some options on what to wear."
"Okay," Brantley said with a nod as he lifted me off the guitar case to stand me on my feet. "I've got a couple interviews let to do before I have to go get ready. I'll see you later Princess."
"Damn right you will," I said standing on my tip toes to give him a smacking kiss. I stepped out of his arms to head out of the stadium to my car.
An hour later I had shucked my overshirt because I was getting hot as I flipped through the rack of clothes trying to find something that was me. I pulled a strapless black dress off the rack turning around holding it up. I snapped my fingers to get Chase's attention from his sprawled out position on his living room couch as he thumbed through emails on his phone. I don't know which one of us was more tired, but he was way more hungover than me.
"Chase!" I snapped making him hold his head and wince. "What about this one?" I held it against my body waiting on his judgement call. What I got was his eyes widening then dying out laughing. "What?"
"Don't think that's gonna work Kor," he snickered then pushed up on his bare feet running a hand over his tousled hair as he walked over to me. "Gonna show more than you want it to."
"No it won't," I argued rolling my eyes. "The black will look good with my eyes and coloring."
"Kor....." Chase laughed then tapped the edge of my collar bone where my tank top had slipped at the teeth marks there. "Yea, you will show off that someone tried to eat you alive last night."
"Shit..." I muttered as I turned bright red. I closed my eyes in mortification. "Then I can't anything that shows off my thighs either because Kasey pointed out that there was on there too over breakfast."
"Take it things went really well when BG gave you a ride home last night," he said with smirk wiggling his eyebrows at me. I smacked his shoulder making him yelp then pointed at the hickey on his lower neck.
"Yea well," I snarled. "I wouldn't leave your shirt collar open tonight if I were you. Looks like you had a date with a hoover vac."
Chase laughed as he shouldered me out of the way and started flipping through the rack of clothes. Lord only knows what he would come up with. A minute later he pulled down a red pantsuit that made my jaw drop because it was understated and sexy at the same time. Covered up what I was trying to hide then the open back made it sexy. I nodded then waited as Chase bent over digging through the shoes coming up with a sky-high pair of black peep toe pumps to go with it. I got an even bigger grin from him when my eyes widened over the red bottoms.
"This Kor," Chase said matter of factly then gave me a wink. "Be sure to tell BG the shoes a gift from me to him. You are one of my best friends and like a sister, but even I know your legs and ass will look amazing in those shoes. He will be thanking me."
"Chase Daniel Rice!" I yelped turning almost as red as the suit I was holding. "You shut up right now."
"You love me Kor!" he snickered then turned tohead upstairs to get a shower humming "Ride" the entirely way.