Who He Is (FireNine, book 1) (32 page)

After mixing some honey with brown sugar, I coated the slices of ham and stuck them in the oven. Now all I had to do was wait for the macaroni noodles to be done. I sighed, folding my arms and leaning against the counter. Deed came out of the bathroom seeming much better. His eyes weren’t glistening.

As he entered the front room again, he met my gaze and smiled. Limping his way toward the kitchen table, he sank down into one of the seats, looking directly at me. “There’s something I wanted to ask you,” he said.

I swallowed, nodding as I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “Okay.”

“I was so rude to you—mean to you when it wasn’t even your fault. I’m sorry for that, seriously,” he said, running a heavy hand through his dark hair.

“It’s okay,” I murmured.

He nodded, swallowing noisily. “Why’d you do it?” he asked.

“Do what?” It wasn’t that I didn’t know what he was talking about; I just didn’t want to relive it again, for him or myself.

“Why did you step in?” he asked. “Why were you going to take the blow for me?”

I looked into his eye
s thoughtfully and his were serious, desperate for an answer. Finally he blinked and I sighed, pressing my lips. “I just… I know how much it hurts to be… hurt by someone that you think loves you. I didn’t want you to hurt anymore.”

“So you stepped in the way and tried to take that hurt away from me?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Wow,” he breathed, his head lowering. He stared at the table for a few minutes, and to find something to do to occupy myself, I checked the oven. I then checked the noodles and saw they were done. I grabbed a strainer, dumped the noodles, and ran some cold water over them. “Thank you, Eliza,” Deed said from the table. I stopped the water,
looking at him slowly. His eyes were soft, sincere. A few tears had run down his cheeks, but a small smile was on his lips.

I placed the noodles down
hurriedly, rushing to his side to hug him. “You don’t have to thank me, Deed.” I sighed, hugging him tighter, but not enough to hurt his ribs. He sniffled, running the back of his hand across his nose and getting rid of the tears, but after a while he gave up on it because the tears kept streaming. We stayed that way for a while until he stopped crying. When he did, I pulled away and sat in the seat across from him.

“I just don’t get why you’ve allowed him to hit you for this long. Why didn’t you fight back?”

He shrugged, wiping his red nose again. “Because although Bentley is abusive, he was the only one who supported my dream. He was the only one who liked that I was following after my drumming career. My mom hated it, and I know she still hates it because whenever I call her, she hardly says a thing to me. I’m the youngest of the band, twenty-two, and when we started getting noticed, I was a senior in high school. It was a decision to go after my dreams or to get my diploma. I chose my dreams and she hated my decision. After she and Bentley split, I didn’t hear from her for a while. Bentley gave up everything at home to join FireNine. I didn’t know how to thank him so I thought it was best to let him tag along.”

“But shouldn’t he be proud of you? He shouldn’t hit you,” I said, getting even more upset about his past.

“I’ll never understand Bentley.” He ran a stitched hand across his face. “He has a different way of showing how proud of me he is. He’s so strict and used to perfection that if I fuck up, he gets mad and hits me. He’s been a part of this band for so long. We were his way of making money. As much as I may not like him, he raised me and I do love him. I wanted him to be taken care of and I didn’t fight back because he’s probably done more for me than my mom has. He was more of a dad to me than my biological one…”

“Oh,” was all I could manage. He was torn. He didn’t want Bentley to lose everything so he stuck through it. But sooner or l
ater Deed could have been brutally injured, worse than now. Bentley seemed like he was going to keep hitting harder and harder the older Deed got. “What makes him so angry?” I asked.

He shrugged, running another hand through his hair. “Don’t know. I think he had a fucked-up childhood. Saw some scars all over his back one time… It freaked me out. They were like scars from whippin
gs. Not sure what happened, but I never wanna find out.”

I nodded. That could be understood. Perhaps Bentley released his past aggressions on Deed. Maybe for once he felt superior to someone else and used it to his advantage. It happens.

“Seriously, though,” Deed said, smiling softly and bringing me out of my crazy Bentley thoughts, “if there’s anything you need from me, you ask me. I owe you big time. I really didn’t know how I was going to get out of that one.”

I smiled back. “Anytime, Deed.”

We talked more about minor stuff like if he was going to be ready to play on Saturday and if he felt any better, and of course he was trying to man up and say he was more than ready, but by his limping, I knew he needed to heal a little more. I finished up cooking as we chatted and after the food was done, we talked over our meal and shared the bottle of wine that was in the cabinet.

I learned a lot about Deed, which surprised me. He was hiding a burden for so long that he actually opened up to me in ways that created a better bridge for our friendship. He and Montana were similar in ways
, only Montana was a bit goofier and more mindless than Deed. At least Deed thought about his picks before just dragging them onto the bus and sleeping with them.

I cleaned up after we finis
hed eating and Deed hopped back to the couch to continue his game. During my cleaning, Gage came in with overly eager eyes.

As soon as he saw me, he smiled widely and rushed for me.
“What are you doing tonight?” he asked.

I grinned as he pulled me close, reeling me in. “Nothing that I know of. Why? What do you have in mind? Another party?”

“No,” he said, which caught me by surprise. “Something much better. A surprise.”

“Where at?”

“It’s a surprise, Sweet Ellie,” he said, kissing my cheek. “You’ll have to come with me to find out where and what we’re doing it.”

I kissed his cheek back, wrapping my arms around his neck. Finally, I nodded and finished up the cleaning, and Gage told me to go pack some overnight clothes. I found that odd but did so anyway, refusing to miss out on any time with him. I was even more excited when he told me to bring a few art supplies. I wasn’t sure which art supplies to bring so I went along with some paint, my sketchpad, and my drawing pencils.

I stuffed some shorts and tank tops into my small bag, my toiletries, and even a nice outfit consisting of skinny jeans, a sheer black blouse, and the Chuck Taylor’s Gage bought me. I adored him for buying them for me. I’d even teased him and said we could be twins and match one day. I didn’t know when that “one day” would be, but I tried to look over fitting the future into our present.

After I was all packed, I sent Ben a text telling him who I was spending my night with and he sent me a winky face along with another “be truthful and open up” reminder. I
tried to not let it get to me as I tossed my bag onto my shoulder, headed for the front door of the bus, stepped out, and met Gage at Stan’s truck.

“You all set?” he asked, taking my bag and art supplies from me and knocking on the glass of the trunk to get Stan to unlock it.

“Yep,” I sighed. “All set.”

After tossing in my bag, he stepped in close. “You know what I’ve just realized?” Gage asked, his nose skimming across my cheek.

“What?” I breathed.

“I haven’t gotten a kiss from you all day, Ellie.” His mouth hovered right above my lips. His voice had deepened and turned silky. I shivered, delighted by the nearness of his lips. It was fall, so it was a cool night in New York, but with him this close, my insides were set on fire. Warm tingles were running all over my skin.

“How about you take one from me?” I grinned wickedly.

He raised an eyebrow, his smile expanding. “Look how untamed you’ve become. I hope it isn’t because of me,” he teased, smirking.

I laughed as he chuckled, and soon our lips met. Fire sparked throughout my entire body, trailing down to my toes and causing them to curl. I breathed in his fresh, masculine cologne and sank my fingernails into his shirt, gripping onto him, never wanting to let go. There was urgency between us. It grew as he licked the curve of my upper lip and grinned devilishly behind it. I brought his tongue to my mouth, coaxing it with a few moans and delightful groans. He nibbled at my lower lip, his hand sneaking from my waist to my breast. He swallowed my next moan and I panted as he started kissing my neck. But then a loud horn beeped, snapping us out of our eager, fervent kiss.

“You have time for that later, you two!” Stan yelled out his window. “Get your asses in this truck. I ain’t got all night!”

I giggled, glancing over my shoulder. Smirking, Gage smoothed his crumpled black T-shirt and then grabbed my hand, walking around to the passenger door behind Stan. “Sorry, Stan,” Gage said, laughing as he opened the door and allowed me in first.

Stan only chuckled, cranking the car.

As soon as Gage was in the car, Stan pulled out of the parking lot and we were off to my “surprise” destination.

The hotel
where Gage and I were dropped off was way more than luxurious. Tower after tower, lights over lights. It was beautiful and stood out next to the New York harbor. Of course Gage had to be fancy and go with the penthouse suite. As the elevator opened, I marveled at the scenery before me.

A spacious living room with a leather couch. Candles lit in every corner. A wide window took up one side of the room
, and I rushed for it to gaze out. We were right beside the Atlantic Ocean. The water rippled and a few yachts and boats were parked near the shore. I gasped, completely in awe, and then heat smoldered my backside. Warm lips touched my neck and fire ran from my throat to my toes.

“You like it?” he asked, pulling my hair back to kiss the back of my neck. I smiled, realizing he meant his question in more ways than one. He moved in closer and my stomach pressed against the glass. His masculine scent filled my lungs and I breathed him in, lacing my fingers through his.

“This was sweet of you, Gage,” I whispered.

He
slowly stopped kissing me, pulling his hand away to grab mine and spin me around. “You think this is all?” he asked, a large smile on his face.

I looked around, frowning. “What’s wrong with it? I love it.”

He chuckled. “You’re adorable, Ellie. This is only the warm-up. We have bigger plans for tonight.” He kissed my cheek before pulling away from me and going for my bag. Making his way toward me, he smiled and handed it to me. “Go get changed. I know how you like to look ‘presentable’”—he made quotation marks with his fingers—“as you put it.”

I smiled, clutching my bag.
“I do. And I’m glad you know it.”

Gage
tenderly kissed me on the lips before letting me go.

When I
’d satisfied myself with how I looked and how I braided my hair to the side, I stepped out. He was waiting for me on the sofa, strumming his guitar. He heard me and looked up, smiling adorably. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” I murmured.

He stood from the sofa, strapped his guitar around him, took my hand, and we were on our way.

Gage and I
filled up on Italian food and wine. We laughed a lot and talked just enough. We flirted and held hands. Hugged and kissed. I was having so much fun and trying my hardest to block out my time limit with him. There were moments when I thought about it and it literally hurt my heart.

I hated it.

We strolled the city, gazing up at the high towers and twinkling lights. The stars were bright and seemed closer than normal. The streets were calm but somewhat busy. A few taxis were still raiding the streets, but it was soothing, especially having Gage by my side, hand-in-hand. We’d even passed a few people who knew Gage right on the spot and he autographed a few things for them. I was glad it was a group of calm teenagers. I don’t think I could have handled girls revealing their tits that night. It would have killed my entire mood.

After Gage took a few goofy pictures with his fans, he hugged some of them and then came back to me. His smile stretched as he opened his arms wide and circled them around my waist. He kissed my cheek repeatedly
, and I giggled, begging him to stop.

We continued our walk, hearing the occasional flickers and clicks of cameras. I thought about flipping some of them off
, but Gage told me to act like they weren’t even there. After a while, it became easier because he would steal away my attention, but it still aggravated me because we had no privacy whatsoever.

“I wanna take you somewhere,” Gage said, smiling down at me.

“Where?” I asked curiously.

His eyes softened and he pecked my lips
with his before flagging down a taxi. We climbed in and he leaned forward to whisper something to the driver. I couldn’t make it out, but the driver nodded and Gage handed him a two hundred-dollar tip. The driver gratefully accepted it and pulled off quickly.

I snuggled up to Gage, wrapping my arms around him and enjoying his
warmth. He always felt good against me. I enjoyed his forehead kisses during the ride, his arm casually draped around me. I didn’t think he noticed, but I would always catch him staring and he’d smile at me as if he never had been. It was sweet. Innocent. Cute. I adored him.

Finally the taxi slowed down and we arrived at our destination. The driver thanked Gage for his tip
, but Gage shrugged it off as if it were no big deal. Gripping my hand, he shut the door behind us and as soon as we turned around, I was struck with awe. I didn’t know where we were, but the street was long and bright posters were everywhere. Lights of various colors shone for miles, bringing even more attention to the area. A few people walked by, some calling for a taxi and some enjoying the scenery just as much as I was.

“Where are we now?” I asked.

“Times Square,” he murmured in my ear. My skin buzzed as he placed a hand on the small of my back. “Come on,” he said, cocking his head to his left. We walked hand-in-hand down the street until he took a turn and we came across an area filled with bench seats. A few people were already sitting—a man reading a newspaper, a woman with a book and a cup of coffee. There were a few others around doing pretty much the same thing. Even a few couples were cuddled up.

“Gage,” I whispered.

I looked at him and he smiled. “I wanted to do something here. My mom used to talk about it non-stop when I was a kid. It was always her dream to come to Times Square… just to sing to me.”

I smiled, taking a seat on the front row. He sat beside me, grinning boyishly. He then pulled his guitar around him, s
etting it on his lap and adjusting his fingers along the strings. “You’re going to sing?” I asked, excited.

“Mmhmm,” he nodded. He looked down, focusing on his acoustic guitar. It was black
, but the strings were blue. On the bottom was the band’s name and Gage’s was printed right above it in cursive. I figured it must have been custom made just for him. “You remember the song I was writing the other morning with Roy?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Can I sing it to you? You’ll be the first to hear it.”

I blushed ridiculously. “Of course, Gage. I’d love to hear.”

He smirked, taking a brief glance into my eyes before focusing on his guitar again and clearing his throat. As he strummed, a few people walking by slowed down, wanting a good show. Some gasped, recognizing the stunning man with the guitar, and held still, ready for him to sing.

I
watched the way his lips moved—absorbed the way his deep, silky voice filled me up and sent me on a high I’d never felt before. Each word was soft, caring. His voice made it much more intoxicating for me. It was lovely—he was lovely. He was singing from the depths of his soul. Sometimes he’d get higher; sometimes he’d get lower. Either way, I was thrilled by it. The final lyrics he sang were words I knew I would never forget for as long as I lived:

She was a single dove, a beauty
,

A miraculous love, truly
,

A new addiction I’d fight for
,

My addiction, perhaps my heart and more
.