Authors: Karolyn James
“Why did I walk away?”
Rick asked.
Sarah looked to her left
for a few seconds, daring her coordination to keep her from falling. Her eyes
locked to the side of Rick’s face. Tiny beads of sweat glistened on him. His
chin and profile were somehow in such perfect symmetry. The sound of his
breathing was gentle yet powerful. She even looked down, telling herself not to,
but it was too late. His shorts moved up on his legs when he ran. Everything,
physically, was
...
wow
...
As Sarah looked forward,
that split second of indecision caught up to her. She wasn’t sure what her eyes
saw, but before she could put her hands out, calm herself, or find her balance,
she was going down.
No, no, no, no, no...
raced through her mind as she toppled over her own two feet and landed in the
front lawn of someone’s house. Her hands and knees crashed to the grass, her
backside hitting harder than anything else. A pain shot up her back but faded
away quick. Sarah’s toes pointed to the sky, the heels of her running shoes dug
into someone’s lawn. Her hands were flat and she looked as Rick put on his
brakes, turning and almost tripping over himself to get to her.
“Sarah!” he called out.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine,” she whispered.
“Fine.”
Rick crouched down and
touched her shoulders. He looked Sarah up and down.
“What happened?”
“I fell,” Sarah said with
a little attitude.
“Did you fall for me?”
Rick asked, slicing through that attitude.
Sarah laughed and pushed
with her hands.
“Give me your hands real
quick,” Rick said.
Sarah put her hands out.
“I told you I’m fine. I hit the grass. I’m more embarrassed than anything
else.”
Rick held Sarah’s hands
palms up. His thumbs started to rub near her wrists, knocking away pieces of
grass and dirt. As Rick touched her, Sarah felt a warmth spread throughout her
body.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
“Can we get up and finish this run?”
“Sure,” Rick said.
He looked at Sarah and
Sarah felt it. Right there. A connection. Their eyes locked and her muscles
tensed, her heels digging into the grass. Fighting against her most basic urges
and her most complicated needs, Sarah wanted to look away and stand, but she
couldn’t with Rick hovering over her now.
Rick reached forward and with
his pointer finger he touched just above her eyebrow and slid his finger, moving
a few sweaty pieces of Sarah’s hair behind her ear.
“Maybe that was a
distraction,” Rick said. “Caused you to fall.”
“I doubt that,” Sarah
said.
You’re the distraction, Rick.
The distraction to everything in my life...
Rick was still hovering.
His eyes were moving quickly, left to right, studying Sarah. Maybe he was
looking for some kind of sign. Sarah made fists and opened them, making sure
there was no pain in her hands. She really was fine. Landing in the yard had
saved her from any painful and nasty looking brush burns on her body.
“Okay,” Rick said. “Let’s
get you up and moving again.”
Rick started to pull back
and panic washed over Sarah. The sweating, non-injured, still vulnerable woman
sitting in a stranger’s yard probably wasn’t the typical woman Rick was used to,
but Sarah had to take a chance. Her hand grabbed Rick’s shirt and pulled. He
moved forward, not as close to Sarah as she wanted him to be, but close enough
to take a hint.
“Sarah...”
She pulled again.
Take a hint.
Rick put his lips against
hers and they kissed. Sarah’s hand opened on Rick’s shirt, but he didn’t move
away. Instead, he touched her face again, this time his strong hand cradled the
side of her face. Sarah counted three kisses before Rick finally pulled away.
“Did you hit your head?”
Rick asked and smiled.
“I don’t know,” Sarah
said, her stomach fluttering. Her body felt as light as a feather.
Rick took Sarah’s hand
and helped her back up. They stared at each other and Sarah wanted to kiss him
again. Really bad.
“Why don’t we head back?”
Rick asked.
Sarah nodded. She needed
to save her energy for breathing and running. Everything in her body felt loose
and tuned in, which she hadn’t experienced in years. That was all her fault, but
somehow Rick just did it to her. He broke down that wall.
They ran back to Sarah’s
house without conversation.
Rick ran to the bottom of
Sarah’s steps and stopped. Sarah was at the top of the porch when she turned and
eyed him.
“What’s wrong?” she
asked.
“Just... wasn’t sure if
I’m allowed up on the porch or in your house.”
“The rockstar is polite
now?”
“Always,” Rick said.
Sarah turned and leaned
towards Rick to say something flirty, but Rick stole the moment when he put his
hands to her waist and squeezed. Sarah was taller than Rick right then. She
came down and kissed him, needing the taste of his mouth against hers again.
The kiss became hot when Rick opened his mouth, wanting more of Sarah. She
quickly pulled back and ended the kiss. Her eyes scanned the street. She didn’t
want anyone to see this. Not that she was ashamed or worried about Rick, she
just didn’t need any gossip starting about the innocent vet making out with the
bad boy drummer right in the open. That wouldn’t go over well.
Sarah backed up to the
door and waited for Rick. “In case you didn’t get the message, you’re invited
in,” she said, feeling flirty and alive for the first time in so long.
Rick walked up the steps
and wasted no time touching Sarah again. His hard chest pressed to her back and
his hands grabbed her hips.
Sarah looked over her
shoulder and up at Rick.
“The answer is no,” Sarah
whispered.
“No?” Rick asked. “For
today or forever?”
Sarah couldn’t resist him
forever
...
“For today,” Sarah said.
“Okay,” Rick said, his
eyes shining with a dangerous confidence.
Sarah looked back towards
her house, stepping inside. She shuddered when she realized that she probably
couldn’t resist Rick even for today.
(15)
Rick stepped through the
threshold into Sarah’s home and knew it had more meaning than just a couple
steps. Molly jumped from the couch and ran to him, sniffing his legs, offering a
few licks to taste his sweat, whimpered with excitement.
“There’s the matchmaker,”
Rick said as he gave Molly a good rub.
Sarah offered a glass of
water and Rick followed her into her kitchen. He took his steps lightly,
looking around the house. It was perfect. It was clean and organized, almost
too clean for a person and a dog. It was like a model home, seen and unused.
Rick saw a piano in the corner of the room and pointed to it.
“Piano?”
“I haven’t played piano
since... a long time.”
“Why not?”
“No time,” Sarah said.
That was a weak excuse,
but Rick didn’t press the issue. Sarah offered Rick a seat and they were now alone
together at the dining room table. Rick had to laugh to himself. How many
nights did he spend standing outside his garage looking up at Sarah’s house to
this exact room? He would stare at the windows of the kitchen and the dining
room, looking for signs of Sarah, wondering what she was doing.
Rick drank the water and
gently put the glass down.
He caught Sarah looking
at her wrists, flexing them, twisting them.
“Do they hurt?” he asked.
“No. Actually they don’t.
That lawn really saved my ass... literally.”
Rick laughed. So did
Sarah. He loved when she laughed. Something about it just filled his heart. He
did not sign up for this. He wanted to move into the house behind Sarah’s to
simply waste away in his own hell, to get a band together, to play music, and to
go back in time to try to find his future. Now it seemed like his future sat
across from him at the table.
“You know, I get a lot of
crap for doing this,” Rick said.
“Doing what?”
“You asked why I walked
away.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“I mean, not to brag or
anything, but look at the life from the outside. Millions of fans. Tours across
the world. We can record anything and it’ll sell millions of copies. It’s a
dream come true. I can buy anything I want, any time I want it, without
question. Hell, I could break the law and get out of it because I’m the drummer
from Chasing Cross, but at the end of the day, it’s about the most basic
thing... the music.”
“What about it?” Sarah
asked.
“I just wasn’t sure what
we were doing with it all. Have you ever wanted to step out of reality for a
second? And just... stop?”
Sarah nodded. She
swallowed hard. Rick had touched on something important.
“Yes,” Sarah whispered.
“That’s how I felt. I
wanted to lock myself in hell and see what happened. So I did, but it wasn’t
fun at all.”
“Did you tell your band
that?” Sarah asked.
Rick shook his head. “No.
Johnnie just kind of pushed me around a little, warning me that the lawyers weren’t
going to wait forever, which is fine. I don’t expect them to.”
“What happens if you
leave for good?”
Rick shrugged his
shoulders. “Never thought about it.”
“So you still want to be
in Chasing Cross?”
“I think so,” Rick said.
“But slipping out of it all is nice. I mean, what I’ve got in return... in
front of me...”
Sarah shook her head.
“Don’t do that. Not with me, Rick. Trust me. I’m not that kind of person. I
settle. I find ruts to get trapped in so I don’t have to take a chance. I...”
Rick reached across the
table and touched Sarah’s hand.
“Can you play the piano
for me?” Rick asked.
“What? Why?”
“Step out of reality.”
“You’re a rockstar.
That’s kind of intimidating.”
“I’m a drummer,” Rick
said.
Sarah stared at him. Wow,
he loved her eyes. They were so deep and had such purpose. They made his heart
race.
As Sarah stood, Rick
smiled. They were both covered in sweat. Rick wanted nothing more than to grab
Sarah and take her for a hot shower and then straight to bed. However, just
being near her kept him satisfied enough, for now.
“This is insane,” Sarah
said.
“No it’s not,” Rick said.
“It’s fun. That’s why I had to walk away. I wanted to have fun. The freedom was
gone, with Chasing Cross I mean. The schedules, the music, the ideas. I mean,
we were all together, but we weren’t. Everyone seemed so busy on the days off
and I just kind of hung around by myself.”
“You know you should
probably talk to all of them,” Sarah said. “Sort it all out.”
“They’re heading to Texas
on Monday. The tour is ending sometime soon.”
“You can’t wait weeks and
months,” Sarah said. “You’ll damage your relationship with them.”
“I know,” Rick said.
Dammit, he knew that all
too well. He knew each second that ticked by hurt everyone in the band, but was
it wrong to have a little time to feel free? Rick had a house, a garage full of
equipment, and a to jam and play a small show with. He had freedom. Total
freedom. He had time to waste with Sarah to chase after her, run with her, kiss
her, and touch her. But the cost it came with grew bigger by the day. Rick
stood from his chair and nodded to the piano.
“I can’t believe this,”
Sarah said. “I haven’t touched this...”
“It doesn’t matter,” Rick
said. “Sarah, nobody is going to judge you. What do I care?”
“Fine,” Sarah said.
She walked to the piano
and touched the keys. Rick could see her shaking because she was so nervous. It
was sexy that he could make someone as nervous as that someone made him. It was
perfect. It was beautiful.
Sarah pressed on the
keys. Sound came from the piano and faded. She took a deep breath and started
to gently play the piano. It was soft, choppy, a lot of sour notes, but she
played. Her left hand changed chords with a surprising ease while her right
hand moved along the other half of the piano, creating a nice sound.
Rick realized he was
clenching two fists, trying to keep the tension in his body calm.
Look at her
...
he
couldn’t remember the last time he felt his heart racing like it was. Sarah’s
running pants hugged her body in all the right places. He was so turned on.
“There,” Sarah said. The
piano sound died. “That’s all...”
“Keep going,” Rick said.
“Please.”
Sarah touched the keys
again and started to play the same thing. Rick saw his opportunity and slowly
crept up behind Sarah. He reached around her arms and placed his hands to hers,
following her as she played. There was nothing more than an inch separating
their bodies from touching. Rick did that on purpose, because if his body
touched Sarah’s, she’d feel him. He was ready. He wanted her.
He needed her.
Slowly, Rick touched
Sarah’s wrists and took them off the keys. Before the last note could fade into
nothing, Rick took over. He started to play one of Chasing Cross’s biggest
ballads. He remembered the night they all wrote the song together. Danny and
Davey had come up with a beautiful guitar riff and Chris suggested they work it
into a piano piece. Johnnie had hurried to grab a notebook and started writing
lyrics. That was one of those moments when it all clicked. That was the
perfection of Chasing Cross.
Rick continued to play, but
his breathing getting heavier and his body ached for Sarah. She slowly turned
her head, her face surprised.
“You said you couldn’t
play,” Sarah whispered.
“No I didn’t,” Rick said.
“I said I was a drummer. I can also play piano and guitar.”
“That’s not fair, you
tricked me.”
“What are you going to do
about it?”
Rick gently moved
forward. His body pressed against Sarah’s. He continued to play the piano. He
adverted his eyes to the keys, not wanting to focus too much on the smell of
Sarah’s skin or the desire radiating from her eyes.
Then she kissed him.
Her lips touched his
cheek, just once, and that was all Rick could take.
He looked at Sarah and
knew what she wanted from him. His lips touched hers again... and again and
again and again. The passion Rick knew Sarah feared outside now came forth
inside the comfort of her house. Their mouths opened, sampling each other’s
tongues. Rick tasted all he could of Sarah’s mouth and wanted her to do the
same. He continued to play piano, unsure why, and it wasn’t until Sarah grabbed
his hands that the sound finally died out. Sarah guided Rick’s hands to her
waist and squeezed her hands over his. She let out a shaky breath as they
paused for a second, staring at each other. Sarah licked her lips and moved at
Rick. He knew she could feel his thickness, showing her the proof of what her
body had done to him. He wasn’t just hard at that point, he was uncomfortably
hard.
Sarah was the first to
moan, followed by Rick. Their sounds poured into each other’s mouths like their
tongues. Rick’s right hand dared to climb up Sarah’s body, over her shirt, not
stopping until he touched the curve of her breast. He squeezed and Sarah moaned
again, her knees bending as she began to melt into him.
In a daring move, Rick
reached across Sarah’s body with his other hand and turned Sarah around. She whipped
around and looked like a sexy mess. Her hair was sweaty from their run and her
skin glistened. But her eyes were still dripping with sexual need and
intention.
“Shit,” she whispered.
Rick moved at her again,
this time he was the one taking control. He gripped Sarah’s tight waist again.
She touched Rick’s face with her hands. She pulled him in, wanting more of his
mouth. Rick pushed forward again. She collapsed into the piano and the notes
all played at once. The sound was a thundering mess and both of them jumped and
began to laugh.
“That scared the hell out
of me,” Sarah said.
“Did you forget you were
standing at a piano?”
“My mind...”
“Yeah,” Rick said.
He swooped back in again,
unable to control himself with Sarah. His hands slid around to her ass and
lifted her. Sarah cried out and wrapped her legs around Rick. He carried her to
the table and sat her down. His hands had other places to explore. He touched
the front of Sarah’s shirt, both hands teasing and touching her breasts. As he
slid down to the bottom of her shirt he now hated the tight running clothes. The
way they hugged tight against Sarah’s body left his heart racing, but to get
under them and get them off...
“I hate these clothes,”
Rick said with his mouth against Sarah’s.
“So do I,” Sarah said.
Rick lift her shirt enough
to see bare skin and it drove him mad. Sarah had her hands at his lower back
and pulled him closer.
As he kissed her, his
right hand fought to get under Sarah’s shirt. He climbed up her skin as his
lips and tongue traveled down. He kissed her chin and Sarah put her head back
with an erotic sigh as he began to taste her sweet neck. When his hand came to
her bra, he cupped her again and realized she was wearing a sports bra.
Everything was so tight and so compacted it left Rick’s mind spinning because
he wanted to feel and see everything Sarah had to offer. Bottom line was that
if her chest looked this good in a sports bra, he couldn’t wait to see what
would she look like naked.
“Oh, Rick,” Sarah moaned
as he began to gently kiss towards her ear.
His mind told him to
remember what she had said.
Not
today. Not today. Not
today,
b
ut what kind of life was that? What kind of life was lived in a world
of not today? These were the moments to seize.
Rick’s teeth touched
Sarah’s earlobe and he whispered to her. “Sarah, I want you. Let me take you.
Let me have you... now, and then again...”
Sarah’s hands were then
in his hair, twisting and pulling.
He wanted her in a way he
never wanted another woman in his life. It was always about him. It was about
his needs, his wants, his pleasure. He was the rockstar. They came to him and wanted
to please him. They wanted a story to share with friends, but right there, on
Sarah’s dining room table, Rick wanted to have a story for himself. Her needs,
her wants and her pleasure were the only things racing through his mind.
His left hand slipped
into Sarah’s pants. His fingertips softly climbed down her panties. At the
curve of her body he added pressure. Sarah let out a whimpering noise and her
nails dug into the back of his head.
Rick smiled.
It must have been a long
time for Sarah, and that was okay. It had been a long time for him to actually
feel a connection and want more.
Sarah then placed one of
her hands over her shirt, on top of Rick’s hand that cupped her breast. She
moved her head back down and moved Rick out of the way. They stared at each
other, their breaths heavy and shaky. Their eyes eating each other up with the
same implications that their hands and bodies wanted too.
“Rick...”
“I...,” Rick started to
say but the words fell dead.
Sarah slid her other hand
down Rick’s arm. She touched his stomach and he looked down, watching her
slender hand touch the top of his shorts. She moved beyond that and touched him
over his shorts. He ached and throbbed, letting out a much needed growl. The
most basic instincts of his body were at an apex.
When he looked back at
Sarah, her face was red. She was flushed but she wanted it. She wanted him.
“Take...”
Sarah’s voice fluttered
away and became overpowered by a quick bark.
No.
That was Rick’s first
reaction.
He wanted to ignore it
but the sound came again.
Both he and Sarah looked
at the same time. They looked at Molly, who sat a few feet behind him. The dog interrupted
what was becoming the most romantic moment of Rick’s life. A moment when he
would have said things to Sarah he never said to another woman... and maybe
said things to her that she never heard a man say.