Brendan
Accompanying Song:
“She’s Everything” by Brad Paisley
Lauren’s birthday party went pretty much as I envisioned. We got a few opportunities to stand together for photographs, and a few stolen kisses when we were able to get away from the crowd, but it was mostly just publicity for her album. I got pulled into various conversations about my album, the duet, and when it would be ready. I told the reporters it was going slow, but it was promising. That much was true at least. I had a hard time keeping my eyes off of Lauren as the night went on. She was so beautiful and after having a taste, I just wanted to pull her into one of the bedrooms and do exactly what we had pretended to do the first night. I couldn’t believe she was still a virgin. I wanted to be the first man that had her, but there was something else brewing too. I didn’t just want to be the first man she was with. I also wanted to be the last.
“She’s come a long way in a short time.” Sawyer walked up next to me with a glass of whiskey in his hand. “She was so nervous at that first party, but she’s a natural.”
“Yeah, she’s doing great.” I nodded and smiled.
“You two seem to be a little tolerable of each other tonight. A few weeks ago she told me she wanted to stab you with a fork every time y’all shared a meal.” Sawyer chuckled slightly and sipped his drink.
“I figured I should start treating her a little better.” I sighed and shook my head. “I guess my accent is turning me into a real southern gentleman.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t go that far.” Sawyer’s head fell back as he laughed. “You’re still just an asshole from Chicago, but you’re the asshole that’s going to sell a lot of records. You’re also the rising country music star that’s going to break her heart real soon.”
“How long will we stay together after the albums are released?” I looked towards Lauren and then back to Sawyer.
“I was planning an epic breakup a couple of weeks after they launched, but this duet may change the plans a little bit. I think we need to milk it, get it released, and then we can figure out what is going to split you two up.” Sawyer nodded. “I’m thinking another woman should do the trick.”
“So we’re going to pretend that I’m cheating on her?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Don’t you think that will make people hate me?”
“Nah, we’ll come up with a good story. The relationship has been on the rocks for a while, it’s a misunderstanding, she’s just a friend, etcetera. This is the real world. Shit happens, you know? People drift apart and then they hate each other and the world wants to know why. We’ll tell that story in the songs—that’s how we’ll sell your second album.” Sawyer nodded again.
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” I took a drink of my beer and felt my stomach tightening into a knot.
We’ve already put all of this in motion. Regardless of how I feel about Lauren now, I knew it was going to come to an end. Why does this have to be so fucking complicated?
Lauren and I staged a few kisses for the cameras. It was the first time we had done that. We had held hands in public and I had planted a few on her forehead, but we never took it further than that. When the night was over and I led her towards the door, there was a look of concern on Sawyer’s face. I started to worry that we had went too far and he would see that we were no longer just playing the roles he designed, but I didn’t really care. We could figure out how it all had to unfold when the time was right, but I wasn’t going to waste the precious moments we had together until that point.
“Did Sawyer talk to you?” Lauren held my hand as we waited for the elevator.
“Yeah—you?” I turned towards her.
“He reminded me that this is going to end soon.” She squeezed my hand and sighed.
“Yeah, he did the same to me.” I nodded and exhaled sharply.
“This is ultimately up to us, right? I mean, Sawyer is just giving us advice. If we decide that we don’t want to follow it, we can make that choice.” She looked over at me as we walked into the elevator.
“We’ll make the choice that makes the most sense. We have to finish our duet before anything can happen, anyway.” I shrugged and hit the button to take us to the lobby.
“My buzz wore off a long time ago. I’ve still got those Hard Lemonades in my fridge. Want to finish them off and try to get another verse down?” She squeezed my hand and smiled as the elevator started descending through the levels.
“If we go back to your place, I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to work on the song, especially after staring at you in that dress all night.” I looked over at her.
“Well, it’s not midnight yet.” She looked at her watch. “Maybe I’ll take it off and let you give me another spanking before my birthday is officially over.”
“We better hurry.” I tilted my wrist to look at my watch and smiled.
I grabbed Lauren in an embrace and kissed her the second we got back to her apartment. She felt amazing in my arms. I didn’t want to let her go. I wanted to do a lot more than kiss her, but I didn’t want to push her into something she wasn’t ready for. I was living in the moment and enjoying every second of it, even with Sawyer’s warning hanging over my head like a neon sign that threatened everything. I reached around to her back and started pulling on the zipper. I waited after it came down a few inches to see if she was going to stop me, but when I felt her kiss get fiercer, I continued moving the zipper down her back. My lips drifted to her neck and then up to her ears as I pushed the dress off her shoulders and let it fall down her curves.
“God, I want you so bad.” I put one hand on her right breast and squeezed it while my other hand drifted down to her panties.
“There’s a part of me that wants it too, but I’m just not ready.” She leaned back and looked into my eyes. “It’s almost midnight, though.”
“That it is.” I nodded. “I guess I better get you over my knee before then.”