Love At The Bluebird Read online

  “Hey,” she answers softly, and I immediately smile at hearing her voice.

  “Hey, darlin’, did I wake you?”

  “No, I was just reading… and maybe waiting up for just a little bit longer in hopes to hear from you,” she admits with a nervous giggle, and my heart hammers in my chest at how fucking sweet she is.

  “I’m sorry it took so long, baby. I’ve been thinking of you all damn day though. How about something even better than a phone call? Are you up for a late-night visitor?” I ask, hoping she wants to see me as badly as I want to see her. Seconds tick by without her response, and my hope starts to fade.

  “Sure,” she finally says. “But if your plan is to get laid tonight, then maybe you shouldn’t come over,” she states coldly, her voice lacking its usual warm tone.

  I draw my eyebrows together in concern at her sudden change in demeanor. Where the hell is this coming from?

  “Do you think the only reason I want to see you tonight is to have sex?” I question, my own voice sounding cold.

  “No,” she replies hesitantly. “Maybe… I don’t know.” She sighs and I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. I’m glad she was honest, because if we’re going to build trust in this relationship, then she needs to always tell me any doubts she’s feeling.

  “First off, thank you for sharing your doubts with me. Please don’t ever hesitate to express them. Secondly, of course I want to fuck you, Aly, but that’s not my first priority,” I tell her in a firm voice, needing to erase any thoughts of me just wanting her for sex out of her head. “I want to get to know you, and the rest will come when you’re ready. Doesn’t matter how long that takes.”

  “Are you really this perfect?” she asks, her question making me chuckle.

  “I’m far from perfect. No one’s perfect, and I’m sure I’ll do something in the future to piss you off. I’m just going to apologize right now for that. Hope you’ll remember this conversation when it eventually does happen.” She laughs and I take that as an indication she’s feeling better. “Honestly, I just wanted to see you one more time before I leave tomorrow. Cuddling and sleeping was all I was thinking about, and it’s perfectly okay if you tell me that I shouldn’t come over tonight.”

  “Cuddling and sleeping sound good to me,” she says in her soft, sweet voice that makes my chest tighten with want.

  “Are you sure about this?” I question, not wanting her to invite me over out of obligation.

  “Positive.”

  “All right, then. Text me your address and I’ll see you in a few.” We say goodbye and within seconds, she sends me her address. I put it into my navigation and am pleasantly surprised to see she’s less than five miles away from me. I put the car into reverse, back out of my parking space, and start driving to her house.

  Ten minutes later, I’m pulling into the driveaway of a cute, cottage-style house. The house is located in an older, trendy neighborhood that is close to Belmont University and near Music Row. Even though this house is small and close to thirty years old, because of the area it’s in, it’s worth a lot of money. Questions of how she can afford to live here bubble up into my mind while I walk to the front door.

  The landscaping is well kept with trimmed bushes and beautiful flower beds. The front porch looks inviting with potted plants and a swing located to the right of the front door. Before I can get to the first step of the porch, the outside light turns on and the door swings open. Aly stands in the doorway, wearing a long-sleeved, pink V-neck shirt and pajama pants with hearts all over them. Her long hair is down, falling over her shoulders and framing her beautiful, makeup-free face.

  “How did you know it was me?” I ask as she moves aside and lets me in. I turn around to face her while she closes the door and locks it.

  “I heard your car door shut.” She walks up to me, and I embrace her in a tight hug. We stand like this for a moment, her head resting against my chest, and I have no doubt she can hear the pounding of my heart.

  “This place is nice,” I whisper as I take in the Bohemian-styled living room that fits Aly’s personality. Her cream-colored walls have colorful artwork hanging on them, with a large, round gold-rimmed mirror above her fireplace mantle. A navy-blue sectional couch is against the main wall with gold-and-white accent pillows on it. Her hardwood floors are covered in Turkish-style accent rugs that are strategically placed around the house. She has an open floor plan, so my eyes wander over to the updated white-and gray-kitchen with a small breakfast nook perfect for four people. Despite the older look of the exterior of the house, the inside has been completely remodeled and updated.

  “Thanks, but why are you whispering?” She leans back in my arms and gives me a funny look.

  “I don’t want to be disrespectful and wake up your roommate.”

  “Roommate? I don’t have a roommate.” My arms drop to their sides in shock, giving her the perfect opportunity to step back and walk around me to the kitchen. “Do you want something to drink?”

  “Hold up, did you just say you don’t have a roommate?” My voice must have come across as angry, because her eyes widen in surprise.

  “That’s right,” she says slowly, confusion written all over her face. “I don’t have a roommate. Is there a problem with that?”

  “You’re telling me you live in this house all by yourself? Alone?” The idea of Aly being here all by herself every night with no one to protect her in case of a burglary makes my blood start to boil.

  “Technically, I’m not alone. I have Apollo.” She bends down and picks up her huge white furball of a cat and scratches behind his ear. The cat starts to purr but continues to size me up with his eyes.

  “Cute, but you need real protection.” I walk over to the living room windows and am appalled to see that anyone can see in when she has her curtains drawn open. “How do you feel about a dog?” If she says she loves them, I’m buying her a German Shepherd tomorrow.

  “You’re not getting me a dog, Gavin. I have an alarm system and cameras all around the house. I live in a good neighborhood and know all my neighbors. We all look out for each other.”

  “I don’t like the idea of you by yourself here. Anyone can walk in from the street, throw a brick through these windows and they’re in.” I wave my arm around the living room, hoping she can see my point of view on this. “I think you need to consider leaving this place.” Aly’s already told me she thinks I’m intense. If she knew I was entertaining the idea of moving her into my apartment with me, she would tell me I need to be institutionalized.

  “I’ve lived here for over four years now. If anyone is leaving, it’s going to be you if you don’t drop this bullshit.” She puts the cat down, crosses her arms over her chest, and glares at me with that I’m-done-talking-about-this-and-so-are-you stare. I clench my jaw in aggravation at her stubbornness, but I’m also completely turned on by how hot she looks when she’s angry. Not to mention her cursing sounds so naughty coming from that sweet little mouth of hers. I mentally count to ten before approaching her. I place my hands gently on her shoulders and squeeze.

  “Do you at least have a gun hidden somewhere for protection?” She rolls her eyes and shoves my hands off of her, turns on her heel, and walks to the kitchen. “Answer me, Aly,” I demand when she continues to ignore me.

  “You’re really annoying me right now with this,” she tells me with a scowl on her face. “Yes, Gavin, I have a gun, but I hate it and don’t ever want to use it.”

  Thank fuck for that. I let out a sigh of relief, which just seems to annoy her even more. She turns her back toward me, grabs a glass from her cupboard, and gets herself some water.

  I cautiously approach the kitchen, knowing that I’m now skating on thin ice and need to drop the subject. I’ll figure out how to handle this on my own while I’m out in Los Angeles. “Darlin’, I’m just concerned for your safety.” I walk to her and place my hands on her waist, turning her so she faces me. She doesn’t hug me back and looks
down into her water. I grab her chin and tip it up, forcing her to meet my eyes. “The thought of anything happening to you drives me insane with fear. Are you going to be mad at me for wanting you safe?” She searches my eyes for a brief moment before shaking her head. “Good,” I whisper before tipping my head with every intention of claiming those lips of hers.

  Just when I’m about to taste her, the cat jumps up on the counter and startles us. He looks at me with weary eyes before plopping his butt down into a sitting position. I don’t know how to react around cats. Growing up, the only kind of animal we had was dogs, and all the cats that I’ve met before have all been temperamental.

  I decide to test the waters and reach out my hand to pet him. “Hi, Apollo.” He immediately swats at my arm, scratching me with his claws. I pull back to inspect the underside of my forearm and see a long red slash. I glare at the little fucker for getting me good; this shit stings.

  “That’s what you get for suggesting a dog in his house.” Aly smirks at me while she grabs Apollo and takes him off of the counter. “You better start wooing him. If Apollo won’t love you, then I don’t know if I can.”

  I narrow my eyes at her and watch her expression to see if she’s joking. She better be fucking joking. She can only manage a straight face for five seconds before a giggle finally escapes her. I grab her wrists and haul her against me then link her arms around my waist, bring my hands up to cup her cheeks and pull her face to mine. I start to kiss her softly, nibbling gently on her bottom lip while trying to remind myself to keep things slow and let her take the lead.

  The minute her tongue touches my lips, I’m done being a gentleman. I growl loudly as I part my mouth, my hands plunging roughly into her hair, and I deepen our kiss. Every stroke of our tongues against each other has my dick hardening until it’s painfully screaming to be let out. I break free of our kiss, resting my forehead against hers while we catch our breaths.

  “I think it’s time to go upstairs and go to sleep,” I say in a husky voice. I look at my watch to see it’s already past midnight, leaving me just a few hours before I have to head home to grab my suitcase that is already packed. “I need to be up in four hours so I can go back home to grab my shit.”

  “Are you sure you still want to spend the night? You would probably get more sleep if you went home.” She looks at me with concern, and her thoughtfulness for my well-being warms my heart.

  “I can sleep on the plane. You just need to behave and keep your hands to yourself tonight or we both won’t be getting any sleep,” I warn her with a joking smile and she laughs. I drop a kiss on her forehead, and she grabs my hand to lead me up the stairs to her bedroom.

  The master suite takes up the whole second floor, with the second bedroom being downstairs off the kitchen. It’s a huge room with vaulted ceilings, a ceiling fan, and two windows with a view of the backyard. Her bedroom is decorated in the same style and colors as the rest of the house - warm, cozy, and inviting.

  “Did you bring anything else to wear to bed?” she inquires while glancing at my T-shirt and jeans.

  “Considering I usually sleep naked, no, I didn’t.” Her eyes go wide and I laugh at her deer-in-headlights expression. “Don’t worry, I’ll sleep in my boxers tonight. If you really feel you have no self-control around me, I’ll sleep fully clothed.”

  Her lips twitch and she rolls her eyes at me. “Sleeping in jeans is uncomfortable. I’m fine if you keep your boxers on.” She walks past me to the bathroom and pulls out a basket from underneath the cabinet. “Here’s an extra toothbrush, and you can borrow some of my toothpaste.” She puts a new toothbrush down next to one of the sinks of the double vanity.

  I watch her pull out toothpaste from a drawer, put some on her toothbrush, and start to brush her teeth. I follow her lead, and we stare at each other through the mirror the whole time until her electric toothbrush shuts off. I leave her to finish and go back in the bedroom. I take my shoes and socks off, followed by my shirt and jeans. The moment I pull back the comforter to get into bed, Aly’s perfume drifts into the air, annihilating my senses.

  I groan as my cock reacts and I try to hide myself underneath the sheets. I throw one arm over my eyes and tell myself to go to sleep. Pretend you’re in your grandma’s house, Gavin. Trick your mind into thinking you aren’t in Aly’s bed, but your grandmother’s old moth-ball-smelling guestroom.

  My mental mind game starts working until I hear the bathroom door open, the lights turn off, and the pitter-patter of her feet coming closer and closer to me. I feel the covers slide off me as she pulls them back, and the bed shifts under her weight. I wait to feel her lie down next to me, but after a couple of minutes, nothing happens. I peek out from underneath my arm to see her staring at my abdomen. Having her this close and watching me causes my dick to immediately stand at attention.

  “Aly, you need to stop,” I warn her as I take my other hand and try to cover myself.

  “You have an eight-pack. How is that even possible?” She reaches out and starts counting my ab muscles, each stroke of her finger jolting my dick higher and higher until it’s aching against my belly.

  “Aly,” I moan out in a plea. “Stop touching me and go to sleep!” Unable to trust myself if she keeps this up, I flop over onto my stomach, turn my head in the opposite direction, and grip my cock with my hands to keep it from going anywhere near her.

  “Okay,” she says reluctantly. I feel her lie down and get the covers settled over both of us. The silence only lasts for about one minute before she loudly sighs and starts fidgeting. I feel her flipping back and forth between her back and her stomach. Finally, she inches closer to me and wraps her arm around my back.

  “Are you okay?” I twist my head to face her to find we’re merely inches apart. I grit my teeth, telling myself to behave and not kiss her, because if I start, I won’t be able to stop.

  “Yeah, it’s just been a long time since someone has slept in bed with me, so my body isn’t used to it.”

  The thought of someone else besides me being in this bed with her makes me want to put my fucking fist through the wall. “Get used to it, darlin’, because this is going to become a regular occurrence.”

  “I hope so,” she whispers, her minty breath tickling my nose. She leans forward and places a soft kiss on my forehead. Goddamn, this girl is one of the sweetest fucking people I’ve ever met.

  “Are you nervous about tomorrow night? I can’t believe this is your first late-night show appearance.” I feel her start to draw circles on my back, the mere touch of her fingers sending sparks down my spine to my toes. I have to blink a couple times to remember what she just asked me.

  “No, I’m not nervous, but that’ll be a different story once we’re there. You know they do most of the taping of the shows in the afternoon and it’s broadcast later that day, right?” She shakes her head and I continue on. “The daytime talk shows start taping at 12:30 pm, so as soon as we land, we’ll go straight to our hotel to get styled and ready before performing on The Ellen Clarkson Show. Then it’ll just be a whirlwind of more shows and interviews the whole time we’re there.”

  “Is Sosie excited about the trip?”

  “Sosie is actually not going. She prefers to never step foot in the state of California ever again,” I tell her with a yawn, and I suddenly start to feel tired. My dick has finally deflated enough to where I can lie next to her and not be in pain anymore.

  “Why is that?” she asks, and I hesitate a little. If Aly is going to be in my life the way I want her to be, then she needs to know everything. My gut is telling me I can trust that she won’t tell Sosie I told her.

  “Sosie left California to get away from her parents, because they’re drug addicts. They’ve been that way for most of her life. When they lived in Austin, my parents tried to protect her anytime my aunt and uncle got in trouble with the law. She lived with us during the times they were sent to jail or rehab, but they never stayed clean long. I think the longest they ever did was
two years.”

  “Oh my God, that’s awful! No wonder Sosie seems so hostile.”

  “Hostile is a nice way to put it.” I chuckle, because Sosie can be a raging bitch sometimes for no reason other than the chip on her shoulder, and her distrust for everyone she doesn’t personally know.

  “When did they move to California?” Aly asks.

  “When she was thirteen. Out of the blue, my uncle said they were moving, because he got a job out there. Never told my dad he was even considering leaving Austin. The main core of the family still lives in Austin, so it was a shock that anyone would want to leave.” I’ll never forget that day for as long as I live. Sosie was screaming and bawling her eyes out, begging my parents to please adopt her so she didn’t have to go. We asked her parents if she could live with us, but they refused.

  “Sosie hated California and being taken away from our family. I think deep down she knew her parents were on a downward spiral. Fortunately, she had wonderful neighbors who helped take care of her until she could take care of herself. We would talk every day and keep a countdown to the day she turned eighteen. Once she graduated high school, we bought her a one-way ticket back to Austin, and she moved in with my parents.”

  “Poor Sosie. That really makes me sad for her.”

  “Even being back home, Sosie felt on edge. She had this nagging feeling they would come back. When my schedule was getting too crazy for me to control, I offered her a job to be my assistant, and she’s been here ever since.” I sigh, hating the fact that my aunt and uncle are such scum to not give a fuck about their daughter. How Sosie didn’t turn out to be like them is a miracle.

  “I don’t have any plans on Sunday. Do you think Sosie would want to hang out with me?” Aly asks in a tired, soft voice.

  “You don’t have to do that, baby.” I bring my hand up to her cheek, my thumb caressing her cheekbone. How is this gorgeous, amazing creature still single? And how am I the lucky bastard she’s willing to take a chance on?