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He hummed and turned his head back again, closing his eyes. “I have a question for you Jamie.”
I swallowed and laid down on the bed, facing him. “Okay.”
“How many people do you think I’ve slept with?” Elliot’s voice was monotone, and when I didn’t answer right away he turned his head to look at me.
“What?”
“I’m being serious, I would really like to know how many people you think I’ve slept with.”
“Um, well . . .” I turned to lay on my back. I didn’t want to answer this question facing him. I knew my answer, obviously: two men, including Elliot. But I could only imagine his number to be so much larger. He was Elliot Whittaker after all—lead singer of Savaged Whittakers, owner of a multimillion-dollar company—women would be lining up to get a piece of him. “I’m going to guess . . .” I trailed off. “Twelve.”
“Twelve?” He shot up, using his hands to help his body twist towards me. “You think I’ve slept with twelve people?”
“Well . . .” I hesitated. “You’re Elliot Whittaker.”
He let out a long groan and slumped his shoulders. “My name has nothing to do with how many people I’ve slept with.”
“Okay,” I said meekly. I sat up, bunching the comforter around my waist, stopping myself from touching him. “Maybe I just assumed . . .”
“So, when you said we were ‘just having fun,’ it made me wonder how you saw me. Do you really think I’m just some play-boy?”
I pursed my lips, forcing them into a tight line. That never even came to my mind. I didn’t know what to say, how to tell him what I really felt about him. Instead, I sat in silence, listening to his breath.
“Jamie,” he finally said, “I’ve slept with four women—including you. I don’t sleep with someone just to have sex . . . for me, there has to be feeling and emotion. A hint of a promise to the act. I wouldn’t have slept with you if you didn’t mean something to me.” Even in the dark I could tell his eyes were firm on mine. “If you’re just ‘having fun’ then I’ll stop this, I’ll go back down to the couch and finish out the week . . .”
“I don’t want you to do that,” I shot out, faster than intended. “I wasn’t sure what to say earlier when you asked, I froze and said the first thing that came to my mind. You’re more than that, Elliot. I’m not entirely sure what this is yet, but I know you’re more than what I thought you would be. I’ve told you that. I wouldn’t have slept with you if there wasn’t a . . .” I smiled, trying to pull his exact words. “Hint of something more.”
He scoffed and turned his head away from me. I scooted closer, wrapping my arms through his and resting my chin on his shoulder. His shoulders moved with every breath, and he began to play with his fingers. Even though he was more confident, there was still that nervous side to him. I began to trace his tattoo; it was becoming a habit to do so. Following the line of the neck down to the body of the guitar. His breathing slowed the more I traced.
“I’m sorry I guessed twelve . . .”
“Yeah, where did twelve come from?” His head turned slightly.
I let out a small laugh. “Do you remember, at the bar, when those girls came up and you said you would meet them after the show . . .”
“I told you that wasn’t my thing . . .”
“I know, but maybe it used to be. So, I guessed high.”
“Way too high,” he whispered. After a moment of silence, he moved his hand and touched my forearm. Just his touch was enough to pull me back to him. “So then, what are we?”
“I told you; I don’t know quite yet. But I know I like you,” I admitted. “I know I don’t really want this to end.”
“I’ll take that,” He answered, turning his body just enough to kiss me. I melted into him knowing it wasn’t going to be the last time.
Chapter Thirty-Three
-Elliot-
There wasn’t a label yet, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be. Come morning I could still feel Jamie’s lips as she kissed me everywhere she could. Any other morning I would have scooped her back up against me until the need for coffee pulled me out of the bed, but I knew that wasn’t an option today.
Today I had to call Clay, set up the final date with an agent once we got back to Portland, and then I had to make that setlist one hundred percent perfect for my show tonight. Pete had said he posted on his website and all social media platforms that the “karaoke sensation” would be performing an acoustic set, and that he had already sold out on tickets (keeping a table reserved for my “family” of course). My mind was blown, I wasn’t aware this was an event that required tickets to get in.
This would be my first one.
All the events at the Piano Bar and surrounding areas were just for fun. We played while people had a good time with their friends and family. It had been that way for years. Only within the past year did we start to gain traction and a larger crowd, but our events were still free and open to the public.
So, the knowledge that people were paying to see me shocked me. It was a feeling I would have to get used to, no doubt about that, especially once we met in front of the label.
