Twist of Fate (23 page)

“I love this song.” I start swaying my body to the sexy lyrics being sung.

“Me, too. All these girls get pissed when he breaks up with them. But let me tell you, if he sang this song to me, I’d let him fuck me anyway he wanted. Hell, I’d even give him back door access,” she says, fanning herself, causing Brett to spit out the beer he was drinking.

The song ends and everyone is clapping. Someone in the audience must have requested a song, because the man on stage says, “That’s easy, let me see if the band knows it. They aren’t my band, I’m just crashing the party.” The drummer strikes his drumsticks for a count and Bigger Than My Body is filling up the park. The crowd is singing along and dancing, and I drag Megan and Brett and join the crowd. I just let loose and dance along with the crowd, singing at the top of my lungs, letting free.

Dancing around with Megan and Brett with my arms raised in the air is like a breath of fresh air. I feel so free in this moment where I can just be myself. Not a writer, not a worried mom, and not a depressed ex-girlfriend. I look at Brett who has a contagious smile plastered on his face, and I think that if I give him a chance and open up to him, he might not be that bad of a guy. I reach out and grab him and he twirls me, pulling me back into him, and then spins me around. Just as the singer lets out “Some day I’ll fly,” Brett scoops me up and swings me around, before placing me back down on the ground. Feeling great, I throw caution to the wind and place my lips on his, catching him by surprise. It’s a quick kiss and totally out of character for me, but the hell with it. I’m not going to ever see him again, so who cares. When I pull away he’s grinning and I shrug my shoulders and continue to dance.

“What the hell are you doing?” Megan grabs a hold of my arm, pulling me aside.

“I don’t know? Living in the moment, throwing caution to the wind? Why do you care? I thought everyone wanted me to move on.”

“Yeah, we do. But at least make him work for it, geez.” She pulls out her phone and sends a message.

“You better not be texting Joe. I’ll kill you!” I warn her.

“Come with me.” She’s pulling me toward the crowd. We enter the mass of people and I don’t really know where I’m going. I’m being guided through by Megan pulling on my arm. Brett is trying his best to follow us and match Megan’s rapid pace. I apologize to the people I bump into as we head closer to the front of the stage.

“Why the rush?” We make it to the front of the stage and stop, standing right in front of it. Megan say’s nothing and just stares at the lead singer of the band on stage as he walks up to the microphone.

“As you all know, my buddy has been crashing our gig today. If he wasn’t a badass at playing the guitar and had a great voice, he wouldn’t be up here. Because let’s face it, he’s not as good-looking as me.” The crowd starts cheering and booing. “Okay, well maybe he is, but I’m sorry to inform you ladies, his heart is already spoken for.” The crowd breaks out with their ‘awws’ and I’m still not sure why Megan dragged me up here for this. Maybe she has a thing for a band member and she’s going to totally go groupie mode on me. Tuning the guy out, I look around for Brett. I’m sure he is completely lost. “Now ladies, don’t get too disappointed. Every member in this band is single, so there’s plenty of us to go around.” And just like that, the crowd starts yelling and whistling at them. “Let’s give him a round of applause for helping us keep you guys entertained today.” Everyone is clapping and the singer is scanning the crowd, clearly looking for someone. His eyes land on me and a wicked look crosses his face as he holds his hand out for me. I shake my head holding up my hands.

“There is no way I’m going up there,” I tell him. “Take her.” I point to Megan.

“Nope, it’s gotta be you.” I can’t argue any further, because he’s grabbing a hold of my hand and Megan is shoving me from behind as he’s pulling me up on the stage. Her ass is grass when I get off this damn stage.

“Tell me, what’s your name?” He holds the microphone in front of me for the whole crowd to hear.

“Lilly.” My voice is quiet, but with the microphone in my face it carries throughout the park.

“Tell me, Lilly, has a beautiful woman like you ever been serenaded before?” I’m mortified and can’t believe this is happening to me. This is all Megan’s fault; she dragged me up front so it should be her up here. I can feel the heat rising through my body, reaching my cheeks, which I’m sure are ten shades of red. My breathing gets heavy as I’m sure I’m about to have a panic attack. I take a deep breath in and out and realize everyone is waiting for my answer.

“No, and I don’t think today’s going to be that day.” I laugh, trying to play off how embarrassed I am right now. I go to walk off the stage and this guy, who still hasn’t given me his name, places his hand on my shoulder.

“Oh, come on, I love being everyone’s first. I promise I don’t bite and I’ll be extra gentle,” he says as he rubs his hand down my arm. Immediately, someone yells from the crowd, “You can bite me.” Realizing he won’t give up, I decide the sooner I stop fighting him on this, the sooner it will be over.

“Do you at least have a stool or something I can sit on? I may have never been serenaded to, but I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to make me stand.” My sarcasm is rewarded with a laugh. “And a name would be nice,” I add.

“Beautiful and demanding, I like it. Can we get this woman a stool please?” Not even a minute later, someone is immediately carrying one out. I take a seat and get ready for what’s probably going to be the most embarrassing moment in my life, only to see the band leave the stage. Huh, I guess the joke’s on me. All of a sudden I hear a guitar strumming and I recognize the song immediately. It’s “Hey There Delilah” by the Plain White T’s, and as much as I would like to think it’s a coincidence this guy chose this song, I know it’s not. I turn my head and look behind me and my eyes lock onto those breathtaking emerald-colored eyes. There is nowhere to run and my heart starts beating rapidly against my chest, feeling like it’s going to burst through any moment.

Chapter 34

Silas

Today has been fun as hell. I forgot how much I missed playing the guitar. When I brought it home from my dad’s, I called Perry to see if he wanted to have a jam session. I was rusty as shit, but it’s like riding a bike. And after a couple of hours, I was back where I used to be with it.

Waiting for Perry to bring Lilly up on stage was torture. And then the asshole had to try and flirt with her. When he touched her arm, it took everything in me not to charge out there and beat him off of her. I swear that fucker likes to mess with my head when he knows it’s all fucked up to begin with. I see Perry and the other guys walk off stage and know that’s my cue. I wanted to come out from behind her so she couldn’t try and take off.

I start strumming the beginning cords to “Hey There Delilah,” and make my way toward her beginning to sing the lyrics. I pour my heart and soul into every word of this song and sing my heart out to her. Only she will know why I chose this song. Because no matter what happens, she will always be my Delilah, and I will always be her Miles. As I get closer to her, I can see her breaths are picking up and I can see she is anxious. Nodding my head for Perry to bring out a stool, he places it right next to Lilly and I sit, continuing to sing to her. Since I’m doing an acoustic version for her and can’t hold her hand, I lean over, nudge her with my shoulder and give her a wink. I didn’t think her face could get any redder, but she does, even covering it with her hands. It’s a beautiful sight that makes me smile. I pay no attention to the crowd that is singing along with me and leave my focus on the only person that matters. I finish up the song and lift the guitar strap over my head, placing the guitar down. Knowing that this is it, now or never, I kneel down in front of her.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” she whispers as she has tears streaming down her face. She goes to wipe them away, and I grab her hand, stopping her from doing so.

“There’s a lot we don’t know about each other.” I stroke her hand I’m holding with my thumb. “I do know that you’re an extraordinary, beautiful woman, filled with all these gifts and talents. There will never be anyone else for me, Lilly. You ruined me. I may have failed you and Ezra along the way, but I have loved you both from the start. I can’t promise you a happy ending, because true love never ends. What I can promise you is love, happiness, and forever. If you will have me that is,” I say, taking the little blue box out of my pocket and opening it. I’m trying like hell to remain calm, but I’m a big bundle of nerves on the inside. The gasp from the audience momentarily pulls both our heads toward them. I smile and look back at the girl who holds my heart. “Lilly, I think we both know that parting ways that night was a mistake. Let’s learn from our mistakes and listen to fate. We belong together; you make me a better man and a better father. I might as well be dead without you, because you can’t live without a heart and you, Lilly … you’re my heart. So what do you say? Will you marry me?”

She doesn’t answer and is frozen with her hand over her mouth, still in shock. Holy shit, what did I just do? Is she going to say no in front of all these people and make me look like an idiot? Maybe I was wrong; she doesn’t feel the same way I do about her. The anticipation is killing me and my knee starts to throb on the cement. Swallowing hard, I give her another minute. I was not anticipating this. As if Megan knew I was about to get up, she yells, “If you don’t marry him, I will.”

Lilly lets out a laugh, shaking her head at her friend. Seeming to snap out of the frozen state she was in, she looks at me and I know what her answer is going to be. Her face says it for her. “Yes.” Her voice is shaky and quiet. She is trying not to die of embarrassment. I pick her up and swing her around, colliding our lips together. I snake my tongue in her mouth, and before I deepen our kiss, she pulls away.

“Silas, if it’s alright with you, I would like to get off this stage now.” She’s trying to hide behind me. I wave to the crowd who is cheering wildly and jumping up and down. “She said YES!” I yell, which only makes them scream louder. Lilly digs her head into my back harder as I laugh. Finally walking her off stage, Perry is waiting with champagne for us. We both take a glass and raise it to toast. We wrap our arms around each other with our champagne like they show in the movies, only to fail terribly. We both laugh and wipe the champagne that’s falling down our faces.

“I do have one condition,” she says, stopping me mid sip.

“Name it,” I tell her, surely she must know I would do anything for her.

“I want another baby.” I choke on my champagne and start coughing, which makes Lilly start laughing. “Not now, obviously, but down the line I would like another child.”

Feeling my heart slow after that bombshell, I pull her into me. Leaning down to her ear, I whisper and make a shiver run through her body. “That was never
not
an option. I plan on having you barefoot and pregnant in my kitchen more than once. As a matter of fact, why don’t we start practicing now.”

Her eyes close and she moans with the promise of my words.

Coming back from her daydream she says, “Oh, my God, I have to go find Megan.” She pauses and looks at me. “I have a feeling she had something to do with this?”

I try to play innocent, making her smack me lightly on the arm. Then I admit, “She didn’t know what I was going to do. I only told her that she needed to get you here and up on that stage at the right time.”

“Oh, she got me here alright.” she’s full of sarcasm and I don’t like the sound of that.

“What’s wrong? Why do you say it like that?” She bites the inside of her cheek.

“I’m kind of here on a blind date.” If it wasn’t for the serious look on her face, I would have thought she was joking.

“Well, I’m pretty sure he knows the date is over now. And if he doesn’t, and is sticking around, I’ll be sure to make it clear.” I grab her hand, placing a kiss on her ring. She blushes and sinks into my side. Everything feels right again. We head down the stairs of the stage and begin looking for Megan, but she is nowhere in sight. Lilly finally sends her a message after looking around and turning up nothing. We take the moment to hold each other while we wait for the response. I love watching Lilly blush when people come up to congratulate us. I kiss her lightly when I hear her phone ring in her small handbag. She pulls out her phone and shakes her head reading Megan’s reply. “What is it?”

“Apparently she felt the need to nurse Brett’s broken heart, since she knew what was going to happen.” She shakes her head and laughs. I laugh with her, needing no more information.

***

I call Lucas on our way home to see if he can keep Ezra for the night. I have big plans for Lilly, and I’ve been denied her touch for far too long. I plan on exploring and satisfying every inch of her until she’s so spent, she can’t move or think straight. I pull up to my house and we’re both running inside like a couple of teenagers. Once inside, I waste no time and immediately strip down to my boxers. Lilly lifts her dress over her head and throws it across the floor, walking toward me. My dick instantly hardens, watching her hips sway as she walks, and when she’s finally in front of me, she places her hands on my chest and brings our lips together. I grab her hands, wrap them around my neck and pick her up by her ass, carrying her into the bedroom. I place her on the bed and immediately head down to my favorite part of her body. I place my mouth just above her pussy and she wastes no time grabbing a hold of my hair with her hand. Knowing that she’s excited and wanting this, I blow on her softly, just to tease her a little. This earns me a moan and makes my dick twitch. She has so much control over my body and she doesn’t even know it.

I pump three fingers into her and work her already wet pussy. I cover her clit with my mouth while sucking and licking continuously. I move my fingers around inside her and hit her G-spot, causing her body to shake uncontrollably out of ecstasy as she screams my name. I continue to work her while I lick up every last drop of her. Wasting no time, I take my cock and thrust it into her, earning me another cry of pleasure. I keep a steady pace that she matches and pull on her hair as I nuzzle her neck. We both move faster and I feel myself getting close. “I’m going to come, Lilly.” She scratches her nails down my back, making it impossible for me to hold on any longer. I find my release and a couple moments later, I feel her body tremble beneath mine as she rides out hers. I collapse down on the bed beside her. She rolls her body over mine and kisses me before laying her head on my chest. Our heavy breathing starts to slow down as we lay in bed together with our bodies entwined.