It was Sunday evening, and someone was singing Danny Boy in the key of D.
I fucking hate Sundays. But I do like singing.
It’s kind of what I do.
“Oh, Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling...”
I cocked my head and kept walking, but not quite as fast as before. I hadn’t heard that old Irish song in years, and whoever was singing, she was pretty good.
“From glen to glen, and down the mountain side...”
No, she was really good.
“The summer’s gone, and all the roses dying...”
I couldn’t help myself. I turned around and headed towards the voice.
“’Tis you, ’tis you must go and I must bide.”
The verses were one thing. But could she belt out that high F-sharp in the chorus? For my money, she’d probably crack.
She didn’t.
“’Tis I’ll be here in sunshine or in shadow...”
Damn. Okay, she was fucking good. Almost as good as Natasha.
I had to find her.
I didn’t go walking in the evenings hoping to track down women who can sing. I went walking mostly to get out of my own head, but these days, I also went walking to get away from Natasha. We’d broken up three months back – my decision, not hers – and she was driving me crazy. Hell, she was driving us all crazy. Even our already slightly-insane bassist.
The singing stopped, and I looked around. Well, fuck. She was close, that much was clear. But how the hell was I going to find her now?
Then it started again.
“Happy birthday to me...”
I stifled a laugh and picked up the pace. Really? Happy Birthday?
“Happy birthday to me...”
My heart started pounding. I only had two lines left to find her.
“Happy birthday, dear Charlie...”
Charlie? I rounded the corner of an apartment building and –
“Happy birthday to m– Oh!”
– straight into a bucket full of soapy water.
“Fuck!”
I was soaked. To the fucking skin. My shirt was waterlogged, and my jeans looked like I’d taken a piss in them. The woman on the balcony clapped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes were wide with shock.
“Oh, my god,” she said from behind her hand, as I shook out my arms and lifted one leg. My shoes were about the only thing not drenched, and I kicked them off before that could change. “Oh, my god, I am so sorry!”
I looked up at her. She was leaning over the balcony railing, and the sun was setting behind her, so all I could really make out was pale skin, dark hair and a heart-shaped face. And those wide eyes, of course. From down here, she looked like a porcelain doll.
She dropped her hand to the balcony railing. “I’m so sorry,” she said again, and bit her lip.
I just laughed. Really, what else was I going to do, yell at her? It’s not like it was intentional.
“Maybe you should come inside.” She leaned over the railing a little further. Either she was really short, or the railing was really tall, because I could still only make out the curve of her shoulders in a dark shirt. “I’ll get you a towel. Or... something.”
I grinned. “You sure you want to invite a strange man into your apartment?”
She gave me a hard look for long minute. Finally, she smiled down at me. “You have a trustworthy face,” she said. I chuckled. “My code is 109. Come round the front and I’ll let you in.” She disappeared into the apartment, and I picked up my shoes and sloshed my way to the front of the building.
She met me at her apartment door with a bathrobe, and I got my first really good look at her. She didn’t just have amazing pipes. She had the looks to go with them.
I’d been right – she was short. Well, shorter than me, which isn’t saying much; I’m a pretty big guy. I was more than a head taller than her, and when she lifted her face and smiled up at me, her dark blue eyes lit up like the dawn. Her hair was long and black and slightly curled at the ends, and just from looking at her I knew her sign: ‘Dangerous Curves Ahead’.
This was a woman I could definitely go for. My cock was pretty happy about it, too.
Down, boy. She’s not a groupie, and you’re not getting any tonight.
She handed me the robe and pointed to the powder room just off the front hall. “You can change in there. Give me your things; I’ll wash them up really quick.” She hesitated. “I’m Charlotte, by the way. Do you have a name? I feel weird saying ‘hey you’.”
I tilted my head. “Charlotte? What, like the spider?”
She sighed and closed her eyes briefly. “Yes,” she said. It sounded like she was tired of being asked that question. “Like the spider.”
I chuckled and smiled down at her. “Kyle,” I said. I debated giving her my last name, but really, why bother? I’d probably be gone before we had a chance to swap life stories. I took the robe and ducked into the powder room, stripped, and wrapped myself in the green terry-cloth. It actually fell to my shins, and I wondered if it was hers. If it was, she’d have been swimming in it.
Stepping out of the powder room, I handed her my wet clothes.
“I’m really sorry about this,” she said, and I grinned again. “I wasn’t thinking.” She rolled her eyes. “Clearly.” She waved towards the rest of the apartment. “Make yourself at home.” She turned and moved down the hall, and I leaned against the door frame and watched her ass sway as she walked away from me.
Nice. Very fucking nice. The robe was getting a little uncomfortable against my dick, though.
Seriously, man. Get it together, or she’s going to throw you out on your naked ass.
I wandered into her living room and looked around. Her apartment was gorgeous, even by my standards; it was a kind of open-concept style, with a huge kitchen and picture windows along the whole south side.
It was also stacked with boxes.
“You moving?”
I heard her open and close the washing machine. “Yes,” she called. “It’s a nice place, but the rent is prohibitive for one person.” There were a few clicks, and the hiss of water running.
One person, huh? Maybe I wouldn’t be ducking out as soon as I thought.
About the only things not packed up were the sofa – an overstuffed beast, upholstered in what looked like microfibre – and a sleek black electronic piano. I slid up the cover and pressed the power button, then played a few experimental chords. She had it set to Grand Piano, and the sound was bright and clear. This had obviously set her back a few thousand bucks. I chuckled to myself. I liked a woman who knew where her priorities lay.
“Oh, do you play?” she asked as she came around the corner.
I shrugged. “A little.” I ran through a few more chords. She didn’t need to know what I did for a living. “I’m more of a guitar guy, but I can pound out some ragtime on a piano if I’m in the mood.”
She laughed. “Well, maybe you can play something for me later.” I lifted my head and saw that she was holding out a towel and a bar of soap. “You’ll probably want to shower,” she said, a little sheepishly. “That water wasn’t very clean.”
“Thanks, doll.” I took the soap and towel. “Sorry; Charlie.”
She blinked. “How did you – oh.” She blushed deeply, and it was cute as fuck. I grinned at her, and she cleared her throat. “Come on; bathroom’s this way.”
I followed her down the hall. As we passed her bedroom, I peeked inside. Apart from the bed and a low dresser, there wasn’t much in it apart from more cardboard boxes, all neatly labelled. A poster was still tacked up on the wall, though. It was a picture of the Milky Way, and there were two arrows pointing to different spots on either side of the galaxy. The first one was labelled “You Are Here”. The second one said “All The Good Stuff Is Here”.
Looked as though this Beauty had some brains to match.
She threw the bathroom door open and I stepped past her, my arm brushing against her breasts. My dick twitched, and I did my best to ignore it. She smelled like cranberries. Or maybe it was the cleaner she’d been using.
“The washing machine’s still filling with water, so don’t be surprised if the shower runs hot and cold,” she warned, holding up a finger. I nodded. That was something I dimly remembered from my childhood. “There’s shampoo on the ledge if you want to use it.” She smiled at me and closed the door.
I shrugged off the robe and turned on the shower, then stepped in and slid the door closed. As I soaped up, I could hear her singing. This time, it was As Time Goes By. She even knew the bridge, and I was kind of impressed. She definitely had a beautiful voice. I wondered if she was classically trained, or if it was natural talent. Probably natural. She didn’t have the smooth edge that Natasha and I had. Still, a few lessons, and she’d be –
I laughed and rinsed the soap from my chest. I couldn’t believe I was actually considering her as a replacement for Natasha. The guys in the band would fucking kill me if I came back with a new female lead.
Pulling on the robe, I opened the door and was hit in the face by the smell of something cooking. Charlotte was standing at the stove, a spatula in one hand. She glanced over her shoulder at me and smiled.
“I’m making French toast,” she said. “Want some?”
I raised my eyebrows. “Hell, yes.” She motioned to the island bar with the spatula, and I settled on one of the bar stools. “This is a nice place. I like your kitchen.”
She took the last piece of bread from the frying pan and shut off the stove. “Oh, do you cook?”
I chuckled. “No. I have –” People who do that for me. “– haven’t cooked in a long time,” I finished, as she set a plate in front of me and dropped a bottle of syrup on the bar. “French toast for dinner? Not that I’m complaining,” I added, holding up both hands as she brought over another plate. “It’s pretty much the perfect food.”
She laughed and settled on a stool next to me. “I keep odd hours.” She reached for the syrup and poured, then handed me the bottle. “This is breakfast.”
It was a pretty damned good breakfast. Well, dinner for me. When I got back to the house, I’d ask my housekeeper to make French toast in the morning.
The washing machine chimed, and Charlotte hopped off her stool. “Be right back,” she said, ducking out of the kitchen. I took the empty plates to the sink and rinsed them, then wandered back to the piano and sat down.
I was playing one of the band’s newest ballads when she walked back into the room.
“That’s pretty,” she said, tilting her head to the side. “I don’t think I’m familiar with it, though.”
I shrugged again. “Just a little something I heard once,” I said vaguely. I switched up and started playing Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.
“Now that, I recognise,” she said, coming over to the piano. I shuffled over to give her room, and she sat on the bench beside me. It wasn’t really big enough for two people though, and she was pressed pretty close to me. My cock woke up again.
Seriously? Down, boy.
She put one hand on the keys and started playing an improvised harmony. Between the two of us, Beethoven had never sounded better. Or maybe it was just the smell of berries and the feel of her body against mine.
“You’re pretty good, Charlie,” I said softly, not looking away from the keys.
She nudged me with her shoulder, and I heard the smile in her voice. “You’re better, Kyle.”
I held a chord and looked down at her. “You have no idea, doll.” Her face was tilted up, and I lifted my fingers off the keys and leaned down to kiss her. She had the softest lips I’d ever kissed, and she tasted like maple syrup and cranberries.
So, not just the cleaning fluid, then.
I turned and took her face in my hands, kissing her deeply. Her fingers slid through my hair, and her mouth opened under mine. There was a weird ache in my chest; one I’d never felt, not in twenty-eight years. I never wanted that kiss to end.
Of course, it did. It had to. We were both a little out of breath, though. And my dick was on fire.
She blushed deeply, and I stroked her soft cheek.
“That was... nice,” she murmured. She brushed her fingers against the front of my robe. There was a chime from the hall.
Saved by the bell. Or wrecked by it.
She smiled up at me. “That’ll be your clothes.” Neither of us moved. I was still holding her face in my hands. I brushed my thumb over her mouth, and her cheeks turned an even darker shade of pink. “I’ll just go get them for you.” She pulled away and slid off the bench.
I followed her, my cock leading the way. I tried to adjust the robe and heard a crinkling sound from the single pocket. Dipping into it, I pulled out a shiny, silver square. A wrapped condom.
Yeah, I’d always been the lucky one in the family.
The washer-dryer at the end of the hall was a stacked affair, the kind they put in condos. Charlotte was standing on her toes, fishing around in it for the last of my clothes. I stuffed the condom back into the robe and came up behind her.
“Want a little help?” I grinned down at her and looked into the dryer, plucking my socks and boxer briefs from the bottom of the drum. She huffed.
“I’m not that short,” she said, but there was a smile on her lips. Fuck, I wanted to kiss that smile.
Again.
I laughed. “Doesn’t mean you can’t use the help,” I said, as she folded my t-shirt and jeans. “Seriously, you don’t have to fold them. I’m just going to put them on.”
She shook her head and chuckled. “Sorry; habit.” She looked up at me. “I guess you’ll be leaving now.”
“I guess,” I said softly. I brushed a hand against her cheek. “Is it really your birthday, Charlotte?”
She smiled, but it was a little sad. “Mm-hm. I joined the Quarter Century Club today.”
“Huh.” I stepped back and studied her. Dressed in grey yoga pants and an oversized purple t-shirt, she looked a hell of a lot younger than twenty-five. “Well, happy birthday. I wish I could have given you something.”
She blushed again. “You did.” She lowered her eyes, and they widened slightly. “And it looks like you might have something else to give me.”
I groaned. “Yeah, sorry.” My cock wasn’t. He was pretty happy, actually.
She laughed and looked up at me with those incredible blue eyes. “Don’t be,” she whispered, and took a step towards me. Her hands brushed against the collar of the robe again. “My mother always told me that I should be happy to get any birthday gifts at all.”
I lifted one eyebrow. “Sounds like a total bitch,” I said, leaning down to kiss her.
She smirked. “You’ve met her, I see.”
I grinned. “She got something right, at least.” I threaded my fingers through Charlotte’s long hair, wrapping it around my fists.
“Oh?” she said. “What’s that?”
“You,” I said, and kissed her again, drowning in the taste of her. That ache in my chest was back, and I wanted to be inside her more than I could say.
She pulled the robe open and slid one hand down my stomach. Her fingers curled around my dick, and I groaned into her mouth. She stroked me in her fist, spreading the wetness from the tip of my cock, and I could barely think. I just knew I had to have her. Right there. Right then.
Right fucking now.
I turned her and pressed her against the wall. Her hands slapped against the paint, leaving a faint, wet smear. I drew her hair aside and kissed the back of her neck, and she moaned softly.
“Please,” she whispered, and I smiled into her skin. I tucked my fingers into the waistband of her pants and pulled them down, along with her panties. She had an amazing ass, soft and full, and I grabbed her hips and pulled her against my dick.
I leaned in and murmured in her ear. “Do you want me to fuck you, Charlie?” She moaned again and nodded. I pulled the condom out of the pocket of the bathrobe and tore it open. It was a bit of a tight fit, but at that point, I didn’t give a damn. I just needed to be inside her.
She was already wet for me. I slid my fingers over her pussy, finding her clit, and she gasped and bit down on her fist. She arched her back, and I took my cock in my hand and pressed it against her wet heat. She was tight, and her pussy fit me like a second skin as I thrust into her. She moaned once more, loudly, even past her hand as she tried to stifle the sound. I gripped her hips and pounded into her, fucking her hard, driving her against the wall.
“Oh, god, Kyle!” She threw her head back, her long hair brushing against my cock every time I edged out. It felt amazing. She felt amazing. I reached down and ran my fingers over her clit again, drawing another moan from her soft lips. Her velvet pussy tightened around me a little, and I leaned in to kiss her throat once more.
“Come for me, Charlie,” I whispered, as she trembled under my hands and around my cock. “Squeeze my dick with that beautiful cunt.” Her breathing quickened, growing more ragged the more I stroked her.
“Oh, fuck... Yes,” she gasped, and I felt her ripple around my shaft. I pressed my fingers hard against her clit, flicking it with my nails, and she cried out and pounded her fist against the wall, her pussy squeezing me like a vice as she climaxed. I slammed into her, my balls aching and my cock throbbing so hard I nearly lost my fucking mind.
I’d never come so hard in my whole fucking life as I did in that hallway, balls deep in the sexiest woman in the world.
As we stood there, my dick still twitching inside her, both of us gasping for breath, I leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Happy birthday, Charlotte.”
She threw her head back and laughed, and her hair tickled my stomach. “Oh, god,” she said between giggles. “This was such a terrible idea.”
I grinned and pulled out, tugging the condom from my dick and tying a knot in it. “Regretting it already?” I asked. “Most people wait until at least the next morning.” I pulled up her pants, and she grabbed them and tugged them over her gorgeous ass, then turned to me, her back against the wall. That smile on her lips was at odds with her words. I swept the hair off her face, and she giggled again.
“I’ll get rid of the evidence,” she said playfully, and I held out the spent condom. She took it and ducked into the kitchen. I grabbed my clothes off the washer and pulled them on, hearing the slam of the garbage can and then water running. By the time she got back, I was folding the bathrobe and dropping it on the washing machine.
“Well, that was probably the best birthday I could have hoped for,” she said, and I chuckled.
“That bad a day, was it?”
Her smile faded slightly, but she shook her head. “No,” she murmured. “No, it was a pretty good day, all things considered.” I leaned down to kiss her again. Her lips parted, and the feel of her tongue against mine just about had me ready to go again.
You’ve probably overstayed your welcome, man.
Right.
“Guess I should let you get back to packing,” I said softly, and she nodded. “Thanks for throwing water on me.” I winked at her, and she laughed again. “Maybe we can do it again sometime.”
She followed me to the front door. When I turned to say goodbye again, there was a sadness in her eyes, although she was still smiling.
“Maybe,” she murmured, and stood on her toes. I bent, and she kissed my cheek. “Thank you, Kyle. Also for not suing me.”
I slipped on my shoes and grinned down at her. “I don’t need the money.” It was true. I had enough to last me several lifetimes. I would have offered to pay her rent for that gorgeous apartment, but despite the fucking amazing sex, I barely knew her.
“Thank god,” she said, and rolled her eyes. “Someone who’s not trying to gouge me for everything I’m worth.”
I laughed. “If you ever want to get in touch –”
She shook her head again. “I think that would be a spectacularly bad idea.” She smiled again. “But you do know how to treat a girl on her birthday.”
I bent down and gave her a hug, holding her tightly. She stiffened at first, then melted against me, her arms around my neck.
“Next year, I’ll get you roses and diamonds,” I whispered in her ear, and she laughed softly.
She thought I was kidding. I wasn’t. I’d have given her the whole fucking world.
If I ever saw her again.