G’ANNA
Ryder donned his favorite baseball cap with the long hair sticking out before we stepped from the vehicle. Every time he wore it, I wanted to cackle, loudly. I knew he wore long hair earlier in his life because I’d seen band photos, but the older he grew, the shorter he cut it.
I loved the salt and pepper waves thickly covering the top of his head. A portfolio I’d found of his years in the music business ran in Rolling Rocks Magazine a few years back. I owned hard copies of magazines with photos that caught my attention. Steel’s spread captured more than my attention. Those guys aged with beauty over their twenty plus years in the business, but Ryder’s looks always stood out for me. His hair had more gray than black now, but it only added to his appeal. From their huge number of fans, their aging hadn’t stopped people from loving and admiring them—me being one of the masses.
Billie’s on Burnet held only a few patrons when we entered. Ryder let out a breath of relief. I got the feeling he’d like to ditch the band hype at every turn and be a normal person. For beer and burgers, this place was a best-kept secret. He got a Hoss burger, and I tried the Cobra burger, no snake allowed. They arrived, and we both laughed. One would last me a few days. We both managed to put a huge dent in the juicy burgers before we topped them off with interesting named IPAs as we talked of nothing important.
“Dessert? I saw a few on the menu?” I looked up at him.
The smolder he hit me with would’ve knocked me over if I hadn’t been sitting down. “I think we have dessert covered.” His hooded eyes trained on me as I blinked, looked down, and gazed to the side. Each time I moved them, I came back to his unmoved ones. Had he even blinked?
“Oookkkaaayyy,” I drew the word out knowing what had him ready to throw down money and head out without looking back.
“You ready?”
I nodded at him. He pulled out more than enough cash and dropped it on the table. “That’ll cover it. Let’s go.”
Our ride waited at the curb. Did he stay there the entire time? I turned to Ryder. “Do the two of you have a radar system between you? He’s always waiting when we need him.”
“Told him to stay here. We wouldn’t be long.”
“You did, huh? What if I wanted a sweet dessert? You know like Amy’s Ice Cream or Tiny Pies?” I wrapped my hand around his thick bicep.
“We’ll have them delivered. I’ll feed it to you in bed.” His tone was low and gruff.
“Ryder Steel, we can’t stay in bed forever.” Trying my best to sound resistant to the idea failed.
“No, but I promised you all night long, and it’s barely past dark. I don’t break promises, sugar.” We sat in the darkened car and made out like teenagers fumbling in the back seat on a lost dusty road. When it came to a stop, he opened the door and spoke to our driver, “You can go home for the night. We’re not going anywhere until morning.”
I started to protest but knew he spoke the truth, so I shut my mouth and climbed out into his arms. He carried me to the door. I unlocked it, and he kicked it shut after flipping the lock back on. “Can’t be too careful.”
“Who wants you to be careful?” I whispered in his ear.
His phone rang from the pocket of his jeans where he dropped them when we arrived home. Needless to say, he didn’t wait to get to the bedroom before he started his delicious assault on me.
The obnoxious noise kept ringing over and over.
“How can you stand that sound?”
He made his way out from under the covers and my arm and leg. “If it’s not obnoxious, I usually don’t answer it. That’s one of the band calling.” Sauntering off sans clothing to my den, I heard him rustling around in his jeans.
“What?” Whoa, nice greeting. Not a morning person, if his tone was an indicator. “No, I’m not home. Why are you there?”
I’d heard enough and decided to hop in the shower. After the night we’d spent, I needed more sleep, but a hot shower sounded perfect. Easing some unused muscles that ached was even better.
The warmth flowed down my body bringing back all the positions he’d taken me during the night. The feelings he pulled from me, with his tender words and passionate touches, rushed my mind and caused my face to heat up. I’d never been so thoroughly loved in one night, but there would never be a complaint from me. It had to be the best night of my life. He left me feeling cherished and loved in every sore muscle.
“Dammit. I have to go.” He looked around on the floor for his t-shirt.
“Why? It’s so early.” I stepped from the shower and wrapped a fluffy silver towel around me.
He looked up, and his eyes dropped to it with a smile. “G’Anna, I’ve seen every exquisite inch of your delicate skin. Covering yourself from me is useless. I like seeing you standing there naked while water inches its way down your body. Reminds me of the best moments of last night when I licked and kissed your liquids from you.”
“Ryder,” I practically yelled it. “What a thing to say as you are walking out my door.” I stepped into him.
He laughed, his arms circling me. “Why? Make you want me to do it again?”
“Yeah, it does. Or maybe I could lick you instead. See if it drives you as insane as it does me.”
“You talk to me like that, and I’ll call the bastards up and tell them to fuck off, I’m busy.”
I cocked my eyebrow up trying to entice him, but his phone dinged. “Get your shirt, Mr. Musician. They’re waiting for you.” He stepped back and took my hand pulling me to my front door. His lips found mine in a heated kiss before he threw the lock.
“Where are you headed anyway? It’s kinda early for your band.” I realized after I asked it was none of my business. He didn’t volunteer the information, and I shouldn’t have asked.
“That was Brent. For some reason, all our equipment didn’t make the trip back from NYC. People are trying to track it down now. We had hoped to get in the studio at least one day before we left, but we like our own equipment.” He hugged me close and kissed my forehead. “I’ll call you later and let you know what’s going on.”
“No problem. I’ve got to get into the office today. There’s more than enough work to keep me busy until the moment the jet leaves.” I stepped back, and he leaned in kissing my lips once more. “Go, boss man. They need you.”
“Yeah, yeah. That’s what Brent said, too.” He smiled and picked up his helmet by the doorway. “One day you’re going to ride with me.”
“Right. We’ll see.”
Riding on a motorcycle didn’t thrill me. It made me nervous thinking about it. I’d seen too many wrecks around this city. The way some of the college kids rode scared me speechless.
I heard nothing when I opened the door to my offices and the studio area which suited me fine. Pictures taken in New York and Boston sat idle on my camera waiting to be culled, cropped, and edited.
With the data card inserted, the red light came on indicating the photos uploading to my hard drive. Several cards waited in line for their turn to present the treasured goodies awaiting. As each card emptied its contents, my anticipation grew. I knew there were some perfect shots in the hordes.
My cell dinged with a message.
Ryder: Hey, gonna be a while. Equipment found, arriving soon. Running through some new songs and maybe lay down tracks. I’ll call later
G’Anna: Great on the stuff. I’ll be at studio
Sitting back in my desk chair, I stared at his message. He didn’t owe me an explanation, but my heart did a double beat over the fact he gave me one. With a deep breath, I thought about how quickly this thing between us had moved. Was this moving into a relationship? His client status said a bad idea, but damn, the guy was wonderful, kind, and attentive in all the right ways. I crossed my arms over myself. What would happen when this thing between us ran out of steam? We’d be stuck together on the tour, and everyone around us would sense the tension.
I could cut my time short and fly home. Nothing in the contract listed me being there for every single concert. As long as I shot pictures that were noteworthy, there shouldn’t be any complaints from the legal people. 13 Recordings wrote iron-clad contracts to protect their interests, but my attorney didn’t have any complaints with it.
“Stop it.” My words bounced off the walls covered in prints of bands and models. “Stop thinking negative thoughts about what’s happening between us.” Talking out loud helped me visualize what my mind created. “Positive thoughts only, G’Anna.” I sucked in a deep breath and let the negativity flow out.
As the red light stopped on the drive, an array of beauty filled my screen. Assured Distraction pictures of those hot young guys and Chandler overwhelmed my senses. So much to choose from. It would be difficult to cull any of them.
Starting with the unfocused pictures, I eliminated the obvious. Now for the real work that would take hours to do. My photographer’s eyes began the exciting but tedious job.