Ethan

Frying up bacon and eggs in Caroline’s tiny apartment, I couldn’t be happier. Having her in my arms all night long was exactly what I needed. Sure, I can’t wait to make love to her again, but that can wait. It’s going to be perfect and she won’t have any self-doubt or regrets about it. I’ll make sure the timing is right and she’ll know how special she is to me. Watching her come apart last night was enough for me for now. She let me touch her, which is a start.

Coming here, I had no expectations except that I would get to see her and beyond that, it’s all been a mystery. When we talked over the phone last month, she gave me bits and pieces of her life, puzzle pieces that never seemed to fit together. When she trusts me again with her secrets, I think we can get closer. For now, seeing her, being with her will help me put her back together and that’s what I intend to do. Maybe then I can trust her again not to break my heart into a million pieces like she did the last time we were together. Baby steps.

“Good morning,” Caroline says as she pads up behind me, winds her arms around my waist, and puts her cheek on my back.

Wrapping my hand around hers, I give the bacon one last flip and turn to her. “How did you sleep?”

Her messy hair and wrinkled dress tell me before she does. “Like a rock.” Her grin is adorable. “Breakfast smells amazing.” We stand in each other’s embrace until I smell the bacon reach the crisp point that I remember she likes.

“I better turn this off before it burns. Get some coffee and have a seat.”

Nodding, she grabs the mug that I set next to the pot and pours herself a cup before sitting down at the table.

Piling the food on two plates, I set one down in front of her and the other in my spot.

“Thanks for cooking,” she says and lifts a piece of bacon to her lips.

“No problem. You looked peaceful, and I didn’t want to wake you. Rachel was up and dressed for yoga when I got up,” I tell her.

“She goes on the weekends. I tried going with her a few times, but it wasn’t my thing. I’d rather sleep in.” Caroline winks at me and eats her forkful of eggs. She’s never been a fan of rising early if she didn’t have to. She’s more of a night owl.

Taking a sip of my coffee, I set the mug in front of me and say, “What do you want to do today? Think we could get a last minute gig?”

“There’s no way we’d find one this last minute. But we can always go catch a band or do karaoke or something.” Her eyes sparkle at me, and when she gives me that look, there isn’t much I’d deny her.

“Sure, sounds fun. And we can rehearse today, too.” Or we can spend the day in bed. The strap to her dress has slipped down her arm, dipping the neckline down lower, exposing her cleavage. My hands itch to reach across the table and touch her, but I told her that she’s in the driver’s seat and I intend to be a good boy and honor that.

Her eyes find mine staring at her chest, and I do my best to recover and look away. She smirks and tugs the strap back up her shoulder.

It’s like we’ve just started dating. Everything feels new again, a fresh start, and I refuse to ruin it or let her slip through my fingers this time. I want to court her, make her feel beautiful and wanted. Build our trust again.

After we finish eating breakfast, we clean up the kitchen and sit in the living room. I watch her as she slings her guitar over her shoulder and gets it ready to play. Everything about her is sexy, from the way her hands slide over the strings to the way her features focus on the notes she plays. It’s almost as if the instrument is an extension of her. She’s a natural talent and I never tire of watching her. But her voice is an entirely different thing all together. The tone of it is smooth as silk. Every time I hear it, I’m transfixed. “Want to learn the song I wrote for you and played at the reunion, ‘Tonight’?” I ask.

“Yes.” Her tone is full of excitement. “I love it. Teach it to me.”

Unlike Caroline, I’m not naturally gifted, but it’s never made me love music any less. From the first time I strummed the guitar at the age of ten, I felt it resonate through my bones and I’ve been addicted ever since.

I play my song for her once again and it takes her no time at all to pick up the notes, and we play around with the lyrics, tweaking them to perfection.

I’ve missed this. Collaborating with her. We’ve always made a great musical team. And I enjoy jamming with the guys, but without Caroline, it just never felt the same, like something was missing.

“We need to play another song. Which one do you want to do? ‘Summer Love’ or something a little deeper?” I don’t want to push her to sing something she isn’t ready for. Last month at the band’s first rehearsal, I suggested we play an old crowd favorite that is very personal about us and our love, and she shut down and stormed out. I felt terrible about it, but had no idea it’d spark that reaction in her. That’s why I’m treading lightly now.

“Let’s go with ‘Summer Love.’ It’s fun and crowds really get into it,” she says and starts strumming the chords to the old familiar song.

It always takes me back to summertime when we were in high school and life was carefree and our love was simple and easy. We play through it a couple of times, but we both know it like the backs of our hands.

Caroline tugs the guitar up and off and sets it on the floor next to her. She eases her body closer to mine and sets her hand on my leg. Her eyes are dark, pupils dilated, when she says, “Want to take a break from rehearsing?”

I set my guitar down and pull Caroline into my arms. “What did you have in mind?”

She reaches up and squeezes my neck muscles. “You seem tense. I could give you a massage.”

I get an instant hard on thinking about her hands all over my body. “If you give me one, I’ll return the favor.”

Her eyes widen as she stands and takes my hand in hers. “Let’s go to my room.”

A few hours later, and our muscles are definitely looser. Massage, making out, and a nap recharged our batteries and a quick shower has me feeling like a new man as I take a sip of my beer at Big Mouth Karaoke Bar.

The place is packed with people and in front of the stage is a huge dance floor where people are swinging their hips to a guy singing a song by Garth Brooks. His voice is amazing, and in fact not one person who sang tonight has a bad voice.

“What song do you want to sing?” Caroline asks. “Should we do a duet, or do you want to sing a solo song?”

Scanning the pages of song possibilities, I find the perfect song. “We’re going to sing together, of course. Let me go put our name on the list.”

“What song?” she asks as she swings her long blond hair over her shoulder.

I lean in and kiss her forehead before I say, “It’s a surprise.”

As I walk over to add our names to the list, I think back to the last time Caroline and I sang “Close My Eyes Forever” by Ozzy Osbourne and Lita Ford. We went out of town for a mini-vacation and found a karaoke bar and sang this song. It was right before her dad passed away, when our relationship was solid, and I was trying to come up with the perfect way to propose to her. Looking back, I wish I just asked her instead of trying to come up with an elaborate plan. If we had been engaged when her father died, I wonder if she still would have left, or if she would’ve stayed and worked it out with me. Singing that song with her in that bar was one of my last good memories with her. We had gone back to the hotel and made love all night long. Maybe it’ll have the same effect tonight.

I give the song information to the gentleman working next to the stage and he tells me it won’t be long and to get ready. Returning to our table, I’ve got a little spring in my step. “It’s almost our turn. You ready to knock this crowd’s socks off?”

“Yes. Let’s do this.” Her blue eyes gleam in the lights, full of excitement. It’s so nice to see it there again. I’m hoping I’ll see more of it while I’m here.

The song changes to one of our favorites from the Zac Brown Band. “Hey, you want to dance with me?”

She looks up at me through her lashes. “I’d love to.”

Standing, I take her hand in mine and lead her to the dance floor. I pull her into my arms and she weaves her hands around my neck. We stare at each other, our bodies pressed together. Every curve of hers fits perfectly next to mine, like two halves of a whole.

Her sweet wildflower scent is all around me as I lean in and pull her closer. My body responds when her hands glide up, twirling through the back of my hair and she presses her lips to mine. My heartbeat kicks up as we move together, the heat of her body and the sweet taste of her mouth, like electricity sparking through me, the same as it always was.

Too soon, Caroline pulls back and leans her forehead against mine as her hand comes up to my chest and I clasp my fingers with hers. “This feels good.”

“What does?” I ask, needing to know exactly what she’s thinking.

She blinks a few times, pausing before she speaks, and stares up at me with those gorgeous eyes. “You and me. Being with you this way is like it was before and I never let myself believe that I deserved a second chance with you. Not after the way I ended things.”

There was a time I felt that way, too, but I could never get over her. She put me through hell when she up and left and didn’t give me a chance to fight for her. I knew she was going through one of the roughest things anyone could go through losing her dad. It should’ve drawn us closer, but instead it was like a knife slicing through the bond we shared. “You and I had something real and special and I’ve never felt that way since you left. Trust me, it hurt what you did, but I can understand it now. Do you think we can start again?”

“If we take it slow, I’d like that.”

“Agreed. And I have to know one thing. If we move forward, I need to know that you won’t leave me like that again, because the thought of it scares the shit out of me. No matter what happens you’ve got to give me the time and courtesy of communication before you up and make a life-changing decision.”

A tear falls down her cheek. I sweep it away with my thumb. “We were so good at talking to each other. I can’t believe I stopped opening up to you. It was the worst move I could’ve made, but at the time I couldn’t see it, all there was was the blinding pain of loss.”

“But you see it now?” I ask, hopeful that she understands it’s the only way moving forward. “I don’t know how to do it any other way. Open lines of communication from here on out. If we’re honest with each other, we might be able to make this work between us.”

“Do you think?” Her expression is hopeful, like she really wants to start again with me and it warms me.

I wish that I didn’t have doubts and fears, but I do. They’re still there waiting in the wings to ruin this chance. She broke my heart and that’s not something you forget. The rough edges of pain dulled with time, but never fully healed. I can’t go through that again. Despite all of that, I came here to try anyway. After seeing her at the reunion and feeling all of the emotions again, I knew I couldn’t resist the chance to find out if we could work again because being away from her was simply killing me.

“Caroline and Ethan, your song is next. Hop up on stage for me,” the DJ calls out over the speaker.

Grabbing her hand, I ask, “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

We make our way through the crowd to the stage and each take a microphone. The first few chords of the guitar begins and Caroline’s eyes widen and her full lips turn up into a huge smile. In that moment, I know I made the right choice.

Caroline starts singing the first verse, her beautiful voice flowing out of her like a warm breeze through the trees. The crowd responds by clapping with a roaring cheer. When I sing, I don’t bother looking at anyone but Caroline and her eyes are glued to mine. Even though it’s karaoke, the undeniable chemistry is still there between us just as if we were singing one of our originals.

Warmth spreads through me with the heat burning in Caroline’s deep blues. Moving closer to her, I grasp her hip and pull her against me, moving our bodies together as I sing my verse to her. She has to sing next, and she brings her head inches from mine, her breath skims my cheek and I can smell her scent all around me. If it weren’t indecent, I’d take her right here. I want her.

The song comes to an end, I take her hand in mine and we bow together as the crowd cheers for us. It feels good and excitement courses through me in anticipation of tomorrow night when we play at the Freemont.

Caroline kisses me on the cheek as soon as we get off the stage. “That was so much fun! Remember the last time we sang that song?” Energy seems to be rolling off her. She’s bouncing from one foot to the other and she lets out a little squeal.

“How could I forget? That’s why I chose it.”

“Thank you. I had a great time,” she says and kisses my cheek.

Lifting her up off the floor, I spin her around. “Me, too.” I set her back down and ask. “Do you want another beer?”

“Sure. Sounds great.”

I give her a peck on the lips and head to the bar. There’s a crowd of people waiting around for drinks. While I wait, I turn to see a thin woman dressed in barely any clothes talking to Caroline. She’s in a crop top and a tight, short skirt that shows every inch of her legs, with the exception of calves, which are covered with white boots that have a heel so high, she has to be at least six inches taller in them. She can’t be comfortable dressed like that.

A bartender is finally ready to serve me. I order two beers and pay for them. Heading back to our table, I’m curious who this scantily clad woman is.

Caroline’s eyes widen when she sees me and her shoulders tense, giving her an awkward tense appearance. “Hi,” I say.

“Okay, I’ll see you later,” Caroline says almost too loud.

Her friend’s eyes find mine and her brows lift. “You going to introduce me to your friend?”

“Oh, sure. Cora, this is Ethan. Ethan, Cora,” Caroline rushes out.

Cora reaches her palm toward mine. I take it and give it a shake. Her hand is small and cold with a delicate grasp. “It’s very nice to meet you.” Her voice has a seductive quality to it that matches her attire.

Taking a swallow of my draft, I set it on the table in front of me. “It’s nice to meet you, too,” I say, keeping my eyes north of her top and her exposed cleavage.

“I know you needed to take off, Cora. We don’t want to keep you,” Caroline says.

A look passes between the two women. What is it? A warning? It’s not threatening, maybe a caution. It’s impossible to say, but there’s something there.

“You’re right. I’ll be in touch.” Cora gives Caroline a kiss on the cheek and waves goodbye to me.

Caroline takes a long sip of her beer and sets it in front of her. She shakes her head. “Cora’s a good person, she’s just…”

I wait for her to finish her sentence, but she doesn’t. “She seems friendly, but does she not like to wear clothes?”

Caroline lets out a harsh, forced laugh.

“Is everything okay?” I ask, unsure of what to make of the odd exchange.

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s fine. You ready to head home now? I’m exhausted.”

“Sure, let’s head out.” Even though she says she’s good, my gut tells me something is off. It’s making me uneasy and I don’t like it.