Chapter 27
Curve Ball ~ Gray
I woke to the sticky heat of the Miami climate; even the air-conditioning struggled that morning. Drenched in sweat, I rolled over onto my hands and knees before stepping out of the bed. Relief washed over me when I felt the direct hit of a cool air-conditioned breeze ghosting over my body. Glancing at my watch after a minute I saw it was already 9:30 am.
My phone text alert buzzed, the vibration drawing my eyes in the direction of the sound. I swiped it off the nightstand. As I headed to the bathroom to take a desperately needed shower I called room service to bring some toast and coffee to tide me over until I met with Hettie.
If I’m being honest, it felt like she’d been on my mind forever. I’d spoken about her in my many sessions as the one person who made me feel different. What that had meant was I was driven by need to see her when I was in college. Needed to be with her, inside her. It wasn’t the same feeling as pure lust like I’d felt for Phoebe.
Standing in the lukewarm shower soothed and cooled my overheated body. It felt blissful, and naturally I soaped up my morning wood while my mind flitted to Hettie. I pictured her smile, those soft curves, her perky round tits, and her beautiful tight flat stomach. Mostly the image in my head was the way she reacted to my touch, especially her wide mouth as her head tilted back in ecstasy, as her hands fisted in my hair. The combination of the visual in my head and the satiny smooth feel of my sudsy hard cock in my hand made me feel horny as hell. Another kind of love, but the feeling was different again from how I loved Brody, Phoebe, and my dad. It was more like how I felt when I played my guitar.
As I took care of myself I remembered one of the hot, erotic sessions Hettie and I had shared on the floor of her dorm room. It was still so vivid in my mind I could almost feel her small hands as they skimmed across my body; how they swept back and forth to match the rhythm of her hips as she rode me in her desperation to get herself off.
My wet hand slapped against the glass panel of the shower in an effort to steady myself as my urgent frenzied strokes almost buckled my knees. The buildup of euphoria made my brain feel tight in my head while an involuntary growl rose from my chest. The sound tore free and rang out into the confined hollow space as I took myself over the edge and forcefully sprayed jets of cum in four long ribbons against the steamed-up wall.
My legs buckled under the force of my orgasm and a deep gasp escaped from my mouth with the overwhelming pleasure that radiated through me. Swallowing roughly, I leaned my head against the wall, spent, breathless, as my heartbeat raced from my effort.
Stepping out of the shower, I heard someone moving around in the bedroom. I wrapped a towel low on my hips as I stepped over the threshold in time to see a room attendant placing a tray on the table by the window. A thought came to mind and I asked for a cool box of open sandwiches, cheese, chips, wine, and fruit to be prepared, figuring the beach would be the perfect place for Hettie and I to reacquaint ourselves. I was thankful I knew the very place on the beach for our meeting as I collected the packed food and headed in the direction of JoeJoe’s.
I loved that our promo team were based in Miami. It let me stock up on much needed vitamin D I lost out on by sitting on a bus on the way to some city or another, or arriving in the dead of night and sleeping my days away. Living long periods of time inside a bus or a building wasn’t the healthiest way to live.
At least in Florida we could relax by a pool or find a quiet spot on a mostly deserted beach somewhere, and traveling there with the band meant I was with the guys for company. At least I never got lonely. That was mostly true if Caleb didn’t snare himself a flight attendant at the airport or a front desk receptionist from the hotel at check in and Surge was feeling sociable.
****
My timing continued to be great and I arrived outside our meeting point five minutes early. I pulled a cap down over my face to partially obscure it, but I wasn’t quick enough for one fan who body swerved and ran over toward me. Impulsively she threw her arms around my waist in a tight hug. My hand immediately covered hers to prevent her from doing anything else.
“Oh. My. God, I thought it was you, Gray,” she said, like she was some long lost relative. Glancing around quickly to see if anyone else was watching, I tried to shift us to the side so I could turn my back against the people passing us to gain access to the boardwalk beside the beach.
“Oh God,” she said again, a little breathless, as she breathed deeply trying to get her emotions under control. I gave her a look of concern, wondering for a moment if she may pass out on me. Shit this is not good.
“Where have you been? Have you been recording or something? We haven’t seen much about you on TV lately.” Her eyes narrowed worriedly like she was expecting bad news. A smile spread as quickly as her worry dissolved when another thought came to mind. “I love your music by the way. ‘Single and Horny’ is my favorite of all your songs,” she gushed, still clinging to my waist looking up with a freaky level of adoration in her eyes.
My jaw ticked at the title because it was Caleb’s idea, and even though the song looked as if it had promise to be a timeless hit, the name grated on my nerves. I continued to glance around me, anxious that her behavior would drew attention to us so I leaned in toward her. I moved closer and rendered her speechless.
“Listen, sweetheart, I’m here for some quiet time. I am so thankful you love what I do, but can we try to keep me a secret from everyone else around us?” I winked for good measure and watched her almost dissolve in front of me. The worried look from before was back in her eyes as they scanned the public in the area, suspiciously.
“God, sorry, I was just so excited to see you right here in front of me.”
I smiled because she was actually a cute girl, and the way she looked guilty made me feel bad for correcting her.
“It’s okay. Let’s just tone it down a little. I’m waiting for a friend and I was kinda hoping for a quiet low-key day.” The look of disappointment on her face made me feel bad so I tried to make amends. “Got your cell handy?”
Without answering me she raked around in her beach bag, powder blue lace panties fell out and she crouched quickly to catch them before they fell on the floor. Crushing them in her hand her eyes flicked up to look at mine as heat stained her cheeks. My lips quirked as I tried not to smile.
“Oh my God, could this get any worse?” she muttered in her embarrassment and her face flamed red. “Sorry, I…they were in my bag for when I changed, they’re clean, I wore my bikini bottoms to the beach.” With wide eyes her jaw dropped and even though I felt sorry for her I couldn’t prevent myself from laughing.
“It’s fine. I’m used to girls chucking their panties at me. You’ve been to one of our gigs, right?”
Shaking her head, she frowned. “No. Never been lucky enough to get tickets. Sat in the queue on the internet twice but I wasn’t lucky enough to get through before they were sold out. Then the last time they went on sale it was mid-month and I couldn’t afford them.”
“All right, give me your name and email address. I’ll make sure you don’t miss our next one,” I said, glancing over her shoulder wondering where Hettie was.
Nora gave me her details which I sent on to my PA by email attaching a note to her to send Nora tickets for the next gig in Miami. I also told her to extend an invite to the meet and greet, then explained what I’d done to Nora as I continued to watch and wait for Hettie to arrive. She was late. My confidence had begun to waiver a little and I prayed she wouldn’t stand me up.
For a minute, I convinced myself she wouldn’t come, but as I tried to talk myself out of that happening she appeared through a gap in the crowd like a beautiful vision and my heart immediately burned for her. Hettie wore a flowing, white maxi sundress with a red straw hat and I stood enthralled like she was a miraculous apparition. Mesmerized, I stared breathlessly, my eyes fixated, because she looked even more beautiful than the last time I’d seen her almost two years before. A smile curved my lips upward as I took in her stunning appearance until I noticed her hand was entwined with another man’s.
My feelings of pleasure were disrupted like a turn style needle had scratched abruptly across a vinyl long playing record. The awesome music I had imagined in my head which accompanied Hettie suddenly crashed to a halt. The joy I had felt from watching her walking suddenly turned to an ache in my chest. My eyesight darted from their hands to his face and the instant I took him in I imagined a tight fist clutching my heart, squeezing it tightly.
The curve ball she’d dealt left me confused for a moment. Then slowly, as I checked him out I saw some similarities between us. He was around my height, my weight, and had a similar color of hair, but he wasn’t me. For a second I thought it was Harris then discarded that thought from the way she’d spoken about him. I felt sick she was with someone else. I’ve left it too long to realize how I feel about her.
Of course, I’d taken for granted she’d just drop everything to come to see me. And I had also expected she’d come alone. I don’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me that she’d be taken. Who knows, maybe that had been too hard to contemplate. An anxious mood washed over me like a depression.
Meanwhile, Hettie looked more beautiful than ever and I questioned how I couldn’t have known how I felt about her all this time. I knew the instant I saw her, I loved her deeply and had since before I left Florida all those years before. My chest tightened in shock because I debated whether I’d realized too late because she had brought someone with her to meet me. Why wouldn’t she be with someone? I felt devastated.
I wandered over to Hettie, and when I glanced at her guy I wanted to possess her. Slipping my arm around her waist, I leaned in and kissed her cheek. I didn’t care at all that he was watching me hold her that way. She felt exquisite in my arms and I wanted more. My hands squeezed her hips. Pulling back to look at her, our eyes connected and I read how I affected her with my intimate gesture. The vein in her neck pulsed visibly, and the way she licked her lips and glanced at mine said she’d almost forgotten the guy she’d brought. I saw the moment she remembered when her cheeks flushed and she pulled out of my arms.
“Hi, Gray, this is Parker. Parker, this is Gray Dennison, an old college buddy.”
When I heard how she introduced me to the guy I was shocked by the insignificance she placed on our relationship. She’d made it sound like we were little more than casual acquaintances. It irked me and for the first time I understood how Phoebe must have felt around me. I had been less than thoughtful about how I had brought her into conversations with people we met. It hurt me to feel she placed such a low connection to us. But I had to admit I deserved it.
Suddenly, I remembered those were the terms I set out for us back in college but it still pissed me off to hear her talking about me as if I was nothing to her. Shifting to my left I noticed Nora, the fan I’d been talking to, was still hanging around nearby, and when I saw Hettie’s eyes fall to the pretty girl standing close to me my impulse took over. Fuck it, if she’s playing games she’s no match for me.
“Oh, forgive me,” I said, grabbing Nora’s hand, “Nora, meet an old college friend of mine, Hettie, and her…friend...sorry what was your name, again?” I pretended to forget the gimp’s name as I moved Nora into position by my side, and included her in the conversation. Hettie’s eyes narrowed, alarm and suspicion passed through them as a pissed expression donned her face. She cast a jealous glance over Nora who was oblivious of the stunt I had pulled.
“You didn’t tell me you were bringing anyone,” Hettie commented, as she tried to hide the venom she felt at Nora’s presence. It was as if she’d forgotten Parker altogether. If she wanted the upper hand I’d have given it to her anytime, but not when she used another guy to do it. I watched her lips twitch in annoyance on her pouty mouth and couldn’t help the grin of delight that spread over my face at her reaction. She really cared about me.
“Nora was just leaving weren’t you, sweetheart?” I said, glancing down at the fan, whose smile dropped the instant I said it. Looking a little perturbed I’d even introduced her at all she nodded. “Thanks. Gray, email me,” she prompted.
“Of course I will, I always keep my promises.” I reassured her. Leaning in, she stole a kiss on the cheek, and I swear I heard a growl at the back of Hettie’s throat. Nora wandered down the small slope toward the crowd of beachgoers, and glanced back several times on her way. Hettie’s eyes followed her until she turned her attention back to me and met my gaze. I knew her better than I thought I did because the scowl she tried to hide was thinly masked.
“And that was?”
“Nora,” I said nonchalantly.
“Is she not staying for lunch?”
“No, she had things to do,” I said, bending the truth. I thought if Hettie was jealous of Nora then she wasn’t serious about the guy she was with. Two could play games like that.
“Is she coming back later?”
“Does that matter?”
“I just like to know what’s happening. She asked you to email her,” she replied, giving a huff of frustration. Her jealousy was so fucking cute.
“That makes two of us. I’d like to have known you were bringing Peyton here, we could have double dated,” I said, not caring that it was a female name I’d called him.
“Parker…it’s Parker,” he said, his jaw flexing in anger. I would have felt sorry for him, except he was still holding my Hettie’s hand in a firm grip.
“Excuse me. In England we don’t have guys called Parker, we have pens,” I told him without a hint of a smile. It was true, the Parker Pen Company was held in high esteem in the UK. I glanced down at my feet, swept some stray sand back and forth and looked him square in the eye again.
Parker shifted uncomfortably from one leg to the other with a contemptuous look on his face and I could feel the beginnings of a pissing contest. However, I didn’t need to challenge him for Hettie’s attention. By the way she was eye-fucking me, I already had it. Besides, he’d have been dead in the water with the level of sarcasm that was building in my chest. I pitied him if this was Hettie’s idea of teaching me a lesson. It wasn’t the poor guy’s fault.
“Sorry, Parker, shall we head to the beach, and catch some sun? It’s a beautiful day and I spend way too much time indoors these days.” Accepting my apology, he glanced down at Hettie while she stared in defeat, and right there and then I almost called her out for stringing the poor dude along.