Page 13 of Laying it Bare Backstage

“I want you to spend the night with me tonight. No expectations.”

That came out of nowhere. But I couldn’t say I was completely surprised. We had flirted earlier and I had overheard his earlier phone call. Twisting my body slightly, I turned my head so I could see his expression. “Is this because of last night and today?”

“Some, but you have to know I would love to have you stay with me because I love being with you. And I’ve come to care a lot about you in the last day. I’m waiting to hear back from the arena if they discover anything. I may be way off base here, and I hope I am, but I’m not chancing it. These two incidents raised my hackles.”

I expected honesty from him, so I wasn’t going to be deceitful either. “When I came inside to watch television, I overheard a little bit of that conversation so I gathered as much.” I ducked my head, embarrassed I had eavesdropped.

The hand at my stomach came up to my chin and lifted my head to meet his gaze. “Hey, if I didn’t want you to overhear, I wouldn’t have been so loud. I was practically yelling at the guy on the phone so you were bound to hear if you were anywhere nearby. And besides, it has to do with you. I’m not offended.” He gave me a quick kiss before taking a bite of his banana. “But would you consider spending tonight with me? I can run you home if you need some things. I don’t care how far away you live. It would make me feel better, for a lot of reasons. I want hard proof you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time ...twice.” His lips twisted into a brief scowl.

And I couldn’t deny the fact I would feel safer here with him if this was something we had to be concerned about. “I think I’m only about twenty minutes from here. And yeah, that would be good to grab some clothes and things, especially if you’re planning on taking me to dinner tomorrow night from here. I don’t want to go in today’s outfit.” I wrinkled my nose.

“You’ll stay the night then?”

“Yes. I trust you.” I pulled off a piece of my banana and popped it into my mouth.

“Those words are music to my ears. That you’ll stay and that you trust me.”

“I need to text Ivy to let her know I won’t be home tonight.” I pulled my phone from my pocket.

Me: staying the night at Teak’s

Ivy: woo hoo!You jump on that. Awesome I wanted to stay at Ascher’s but would’ve come home so you wouldn’t be alone.Now I don’t have to: double woo hoo!

I rolled my eyes at her.

Ivy: But I bet you’re going home for an overnight bag, not me!Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.

Me: I’ll text you when I’ll be home

Ivy: no hurry on my end

Shaking my head, I slipped my phone back into my pocket. “Do you really think that girl is responsible for either of those incidents?”

“I really don’t know. I’ve only known of her for a couple of years and I hardly speak to her. She only comes to my concerts here in California and usually needs escorted out.” His lips pulled down into a frown. “But I’ve never run into her anywhere else. I really don’t want to talk about her and ruin our time together. And I don’t want you worrying about it. I’ll take care of you.”

Then it was a good possibility she was last night’s culprit, but it was more likely this morning’s act was some delinquent. But I agreed. I didn’t want to discuss her either. And hoped we didn’t need to be concerned about her. “Okay instead, let’s finish our snack so you can get back to work and then we have the rest of the night for us. Although I am not going to get in your way of working. When you need to write, you let me know and I’ll find something to keep myself occupied. I can even pack a book to read tomorrow. Do you ever write at night? Like when others are sleeping?”

“I have on occasion. If I can’t fall asleep because some lyrics are on my mind or if I’m awakened by some.” While he glided his fingers along my skin, he ate his cookie in one huge bite.

“Well, you do what you would normally do with your writing, even if I’m here.” I finished eating my banana and tossed the peel up onto the table to grab when we went back inside.

“Boy, you’re bossy.” He scratched his chin like he was thinking. “But I like it.” Smirking, he kissed my cheek before stuffing another cookie into his mouth. “I promise I’ll work on my music while you’re here. I don’t want to give you an excuse to leave.”

After we put a huge dent in the bag of pistachios and cookies, we headed back inside. Teak ducked into his office to write while I curled up on his couch and watched a romantic comedy from a few years back.

Over two hours later, he emerged with a huge smile on his face. “I got lyrics written for two songs that just need some tweaking done. And ideas for a third one jotted down.” He plopped down on the couch beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, tugging me into his side. “Unless more words or ideas start invading my brain before tomorrow, you have me for the rest of the night.” He kissed the top of my head. “Simon texted me that your car was ready. Let’s go pick it up and head to your house so you can pack some things. That way you can drop off your car at your place. Then when we get back, I’ll make us some dinner. And when the sun goes down, we can go walk along the beach.”

“I love listening to the waves, especially at night when there isn’t a lot of people around.” Crawling up onto my knees, I placed my hands on Teak’s shoulders and leaned in, this time initiating the kiss. Our tongues tangled and curled around one another’s and I tasted the peanut butter and banana from his earlier snack.

When we parted, he stared at me with a hint of surprise etching his features. Then his lips curled into a sexy grin. “I was a little worried you were going to end up changing your mind and having me drop you off at your house with your car. But I think you’re really going to stay with me tonight.”

“I think what you have planned is really romantic, minus the having to pick up my car.” I pursed my lips before pulling them into an animated smile. “I’ve had a great time hanging out with you and don’t want it to end yet.” We were spending time together and I completely trusted that he had no expectations. I liked the idea of continuing to get to know one another and having a good time. “By the way, what do I owe you for my car?”

Eyes narrowing, he growled.

“Did you just growl at me?” And not in a sexy way. Well, okay he always sounded sexy, but his growl was irritated not playful.

“Yes. I told you I was taking care of you. You’re my girlfriend and it happened while you were having coffee with me.”

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