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His face dipped as he toyed with the hem of his shirt.
“I mean you don’t have to…I just—the holidays are coming up, and I might...” I trailed off, unsure what energy I was picking up from him.
But my worries were misplaced because he grabbed my face in his hands and kissed me, hard. “I’d love that, if and when. I’ll meet them and I’ll even act like a proper boyfriend and everything.”
I smiled into his kiss. “Really, proper?”
His lips moved against mine again. “Yeah, I’ll withhold telling your dad how good your pussy feels around my cock.”
“You’re horrible.” I pushed at his chest.
“What other secrets do you have, my beautiful Daisy?” He kissed the tip of my nose.
“I sing down at The Hollow. I’m pretty good actually…and I’ve saved up some money doing that, so if we don’t work out and you need me to move out, I can.”
His grip returned to my face; his fingers splayed into my hair.
“You’re mine now, beautiful thing. All mine. I’ll share you with the sun, your parents, and I guess the audience you sing to, but that’s it.”
“I suppose I’ll share you with your club,” I whispered back.
He stilled and then leaned back.
“Don’t. If I had to choose between you, it’d be you. Always you.”
I shook my head about to contradict him, but he caught my chin and then made sure I met his eyes. “I’m serious.”
I stared back, and for some reason, I chose to believe him.
He kissed me again, and I wished I would have remembered how once upon a time, he’d asked me to move back, told me to be his, and then when I arrived, he never came back to me.
He’d left me.
Because something about his promise felt just as fleeting.
TWENTY-FIVE
LAURA
My skin pebbled with nerves and excitement.
The lights in the room were bright and centered on the stage as I watched from behind the curtain. Callie, Wes, Natty and Giles were seated in the back row, and Killian was at a table right in front of the stage.
Natty and Callie had called in the girls’ night promise, and when Killian had found out, he was too excited to hear me sing to let me back out of it. Tonight, I wore a pair of denim jeans that flared over my cowboy boots and a small, cropped tank lay underneath my property patch. It was my first time wearing it in public, and while I was nervous, I was also excited. Callie wore hers, and with Giles, Wes and Killian all in theirs, our little group certainly changed the vibe of the room. Jack was in the back smiling at me, encouraging me to continue.
When the announcer mentioned my stage name, I nearly died of embarrassment. Especially when Killian’s head tipped back in laughter. Shit, should have thought about that part.
Oh well.
I walked out, and Killian stood to clap, smiling so wide that I nearly started crying.
I’d never had people who loved me like this before. Never a core group of friends, or people who would show up to something like this on my behalf.
With that in mind, my fingers moved over the keys, and I played “Stand by Me,” singing with my lips spread into a smile as I closed my eyes.
The song erupted and came from my chest like a sacrifice, my lungs burning and my insides shaking as I continued to the next song. Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah,” and finally one of the newer songs from Jessie Murph.
By the end, the crowd was a riot, all on their feet, clapping and cheering. Killian jumped on the stage, and I was pulled into his arms with his lips at my ear.
