Chasing Lyrics (Music & Lyrics #1) (12 page)

Chapter
23

‘Take
my heart, my body, and soul. You have it all, with you I am whole’

Lyrics –

     In the distance, I see a
neon flashing sign “TeXas – American Saloon” and I am certain that’s our next
destination. I look over at Tanner and he flashes those golden eyes at me and
smirks. Really, just seeing the word Texas makes me a bit homesick. I tell him
as I point to my heels, “Not sure if I can dance in these things.”

      He says, “Don’t worry
babe, we are singing, not dancing.”

      I push him and say, “Yea
right.”

      He gets serious and says,
“Lyrics, you and I will have our asses on that stage in forty-five minutes
singing. He, the manager, gave me a two-song limit. The only stipulation is
that it has to be songs the crowd knows. I picked a duet for us; you can
probably guess which…”

      I interrupt him and say,
“Cheryl Crow and Kid Rock?”

      He leans over and kisses
me, “Yep, I knew you would guess it.”

      I ask, “And the other
one?”

      Tanner kisses my hand and
says, “You’ll see.” My heart is racing and my mouth is rapidly drying up. We
get inside and he orders us Jack straight up with a couple beer chasers. We
slam it down. Jack has never tasted better before. He motions to me, one more? I
nod my head rapidly. Before he hands me the shot, he gives me the competition
look. We each put one hand on our beer and as soon as the bartender sets the
shots down, we slam it from the bar, gulp it down, and pound the beer.

     “Damn it! Even in Germany
you beat me, Tan.”

      He pulls me into him and
whispers, “You look amazing. I want to take you to that booth over there and
bend you over.”

      I lick his neck and
whisper, “A couple more of these and I will lead the way.” He pops up and grabs
my hand. I say, “Wait, what are you doing?”

      Tanner looks at me and
says, “We’re up.” I am sure I am about to crap my pants. I don’t know how he
does it. I mean he gets what he wants when he wants it. He always has. Me, I am
the total opposite.

      When we get on stage,
Tanner tunes the guitar for a moment and looks at me. He grabs the microphone
and says, “This is Dylan, she is thirty today. Let’s give her a loud happy
birthday.”

      The whole crowd yells
out, “Happy birthday, Dylan.” It always sounds like he is speaking about
somebody else when he calls me Dylan. He begins to strum the guitar, and just
like that, we begin singing the Cheryl Crow and Kid Rock song,
Picture.
The
crowd goes nuts. They’re dancing, hollering, applauding, and whistling. We are
both so pumped up. Tanner grabs a chair and set it right next to him.

     He whispers, “This one is
for you.” Tanner asks the crowd how many people understand English? Almost the
entire crowd raises their hands. He says, “This next song is for Dylan, my
Lyrics. She has been my best friend since we were kids, and man, I thought I
loved her then.” Holy shit balls. My heart just sank directly out of my ass. Like
a weirdo mush pot, my eyes instantly fill with tears. This is my favorite song
by Brad Paisley,
I Thought I Loved You Then
. In a million years, I never
imagined Tanner would be singing this song for me, to me. The lyrics to this
song are so amazing, but when he sings the chorus, my body shivers with goose
bumps.

♫
And now
you're my whole life

Now you're
my whole world

I just
can't believe the way I feel about you, girl

Like a
river meets the sea,

Stronger
than it's ever been.

We've
come so far since that day

And I
thought I loved you then
♫

     I don’t know if it is the
Jack or the reality that I finally have my Tanner, but man, these tears won’t
stop rolling. When he finishes singing, he tilts my head up and falls into my
kiss. He wipes my tears away and tells me, “That will be the song at our
wedding.” I look at him and he quickly says, “When that time comes.” Of course,
I would marry him in a second but right now is not the time.

      The crowd is still going
wild. They are chanting, “More, more, more!” Tanner doesn’t know what to do. He
looks at the manager and the manager gives him the signal to keep singing.

      I tell him, “Babe, they
want more. Give it to them.”

      Tanner takes the
microphone and says, “Wow, thank you. Here is one Dylan wrote years ago. It’s
called,
Twisted on You
.” The crowd goes nuts again. He owns the stage
now. This is his happy place, his comfort zone. All of the sudden, flashes of
light start happening. The fucking paparazzi must have followed us. Tanner
finishes the song and says, “Sorry Y’all, I gotta head out now.” They applaud
for at least two more minutes. Tanner whispers in my ear, “Did you see the
Goddamn camera lights?”

      I say, “Yep. Don’t worry
about it, Tan. You rocked this house. Even here in Germany, they love you.” We
walk up to the manager and Tanner shakes his hand. “Thank you, bro, that was
awesome.”

      The manager says,
“Tanner, would you please come back and sing another time? They really like you
guys. Oh, happy birthday, Dylan.”  

     I reply, “Thank you very
much.”

      Tanner says, “We’d love
to but she leaves in a week.”

     He says, “Anytime you can,
I’ll make room.” They shake hands again and we leave. The paparazzi are flashing
pictures constantly.

     We get in our limo and I
kick my shoes off. “Holy hell, my feet were ready to fall off.”

     Tanner laughs, “Show me.”

      He begins rubbing my feet
and I ask him, “So, what do you think the headlines will read?”

      He rolls his eyes, “Gap
model gets fucked up and thinks he can sing.”

      I say, “Tanner Staff
reneges on contract with The Gap and decides to be a country music star.”

      He laughs. “Tanner
Staff’s girlfriend gets drunk and can’t finish their set.”

      I sneer. “Gorgeous Tanner
Staff, caught having sex in limo after singing at TeXas – American Saloon.”

      He begins to laugh then
looks at me. I say, “Well, that is what they could say. At least that would be
the truth.” Tanner grabs the back of my neck and pulls me into him. I take his
jacket off and loosen his tie.

      I whisper, “I told you
that you would be my present tonight.” He lets out a grunt that sends a shock
straight to my pussy. I slide his pants off and hike my dress up. He begins to
speak and I take ownership of his mouth with my tongue. I tell him, “Shh. It’s
my birthday, my rules.” He can’t help but smirk. He sits there as quietly as he
can but moans escape when I slide my tongue on his delicious stomach. I climb
up him, pull my undies to the side, and begin to ride him as if I am in a
competition. He fills me up entirely and grinding with him so deep inside me is
bringing ecstasy to my entire body. He is doing his best not to speak, but
“fuck” has slipped out a few times. He slides off the seat just enough to where
my feet can touch the floor and I can ride him even harder. I grab the back of
his head and tell him, “Cum in me now.” He gets louder and can’t help but grab
my hips and begin bucking into me harder and deeper. I say, “Fuck me baby. You’re
gonna make me cum baby. Oh fuck.” My pussy, stomach, and whole body tense up as
I release my orgasm. He grabs me and holds me tight as he cums inside of me. I
tell him, “Best birthday present ever.” We get situated and then we realize
that we are already at our hotel. I get out and Tanner follows. He walks around
and gives the driver a tip. It must have been a generous one because the driver
is very grateful.

      As we step up to the
lobby, paparazzi start flashing pictures. Tanner rushes me towards the elevator
but a drunken Jennifer stops us. She is yelling from across the lobby. “Tanner,
Tanner wait. Did you have fun? Should I say y’all?”

      Tanner says, “You should
never say y’all, ever. In fact, you shouldn’t say anything at all.”

     She looks at me and
reaches out to touch my dress, which I quickly move out of her reach. Jennifer
says, “A good girl huh, yeah, sure you are. Let’s see how good you are when you
are without him for five more months. You’ll see, he will be fucking me in
every hole I have, and he’ll love every second of it.” Without thinking, I
cocked back and laid her out. I couldn’t help myself.

     Tanner yells, “Oh fuck. Let’s
go.” We push the elevator button and get in as soon as it arrives. The paparazzi
swarm around Jennifer, taking a million photos. I feel like a complete asshole.
I look at Tanner and he pulls me into his hug. He looks at my hand and says,
“Shit girl, you knocked her the fuck out!” We both laugh uncontrollably. I have
never hit anybody before. She deserved it, I mean, she was begging for it!

      “I’m so sorry, babe, I
know this puts you in a hard spot.”

      Tanner says, “Yeah, it
does, but if she was a dude I would have knocked her out myself. I’m sorry you
have to deal with this. Maybe I should just come home with you. I can’t stand
this shit.”

      I look at him and say,
“You are stronger than this, Tan. She is a skanky bitch, but you are better
than that. You signed a contract and besides, Chauncey would kill you if you
backed out.”

      He looks at me and says,
“That’s probably true. Babe, I just hate it without you. Would you stay with
me?”

      I smile and say, “I’d
love to but I have to get home and write. Oh yeah, and work. Not all of us are hotshot
models, ya know.” His face turns sad.

     The elevator door opens
and Chip is waiting by our door. We walk up slowly, expecting him to be pissed.
He looks at us both, looks down at my hand, and says, “Did it feel great to
shut her up?”

     I was shocked at his
question. I smirk then say, “It felt so freakin’ awesome!”

     Tanner says to Chip,
“Sorry, bro, I know this is going to fuck up our schedule.”

      Chip says, “Listen, I’ll
fly home and see my mom for three or four days. You two enjoy yourselves. I’ll send
Jennifer to a spa for a few days on the Gap’s dime. She can be pampered like
the little bitch she is.” I can tell he wants to say something else. He looks
around then to me and says, “I’m sorry, Dylan, but I think it would be better
if you aren’t here when Jennifer gets back. I would rather have you here but The
Gap wants her and they are signing my check.”

      Tanner begins to say
something and I grab his hand and say, “It’s okay. I’ll go home in four days,
before she gets back.” Tanner looks at me like he wants to fix this but I know
it is what has to happen. I lean in and give Chip a kiss on the cheek and say,
“I’m glad you get to go see your mom!” He gives me a half smile and nods. Chip
leaves and I look at Tanner and bring his body against mine. “Now we have three
full days to ourselves and I don’t plan on wasting one more moment being upset!”

      He breathes deep and then
sighs, “Happy birthday, Lyrics.”

Chapter
24

‘Take
me now, hold me forever’

Tanner –

     “Babe, I changed your
flight to July 3. I stare out the hotel window and avoid eye contact. I know I’ll
break down if I look at her. “The only flight available is at seven a.m., so we
have to be there by five.”

      She sits up in bed and
says, “I’m so sorry, Tan. I fucked up, guess she really got to me.”

     I feel like shit. I tell
her, “She’s a bitch. I’m sorry I put you in that situation, I had no idea she’d
be like this.”

      Lyrics pops out of bed
and says, “We have three days to have fun together. Let’s not waste another
moment talking about Jennifer, please!”

       I nod my head and smile.
“Deal.”

      She is right. I will not
waste another minute being pissed off. I look at Lyrics and say, “Let’s get
dressed. Today, I am taking my princess to see the castles!” The sparkle in her
eyes and the beaming light of her joy is breathtaking. She tackles me onto the bed
and kisses me. I flip her over and say, “We won’t make it out of here if you do
this to me.”

      She smiles and says,
“Raincheck?”

      I laugh and tell her,
“Hell yes!” We both get dressed, not even bothering with a shower. I say,
“Don’t forget your notebook you’ll want to write I’m sure.” She looks at me
with this crazy look of love that sends shivers throughout my entire body.

     When we enter the hotel
lobby, I ask the concierge to map out the best route to all the castles around
here. He’s a tall man, maybe around fifty-five years old, with dark blonde
hair, blue eyes, and pale colored skin. I guess you could say he looks the role.
I’m tall but he is much taller. Lyrics is looking at him like he is
Frankenstein. I can’t help but smirk when I see her staring at him. I give her
a nudge and try to tell her without words to knock it off, but she ignores my
plea. His nametag says Stefan, and I believe it.

      Stefan looks at her and
says in a deep German accent and zero sign of a smile, “Would you like a
picture?” A laugh escapes my mouth.

      Lyrics bugs her eyes out
and to my surprise, she says, “Yes sir, I’d love one!” I almost shit! She hands
me her phone and says, “We can send this to mom.” As she walks around his desk,
I notice a smile forming on his face. Clearly, her response shocks him also. Without
a second thought, she snuggles up to him and he responds by putting his arm
around her. Both have big smiles. Fuck, I love this woman!

      Lyrics shakes his hand
and says, “Thank you, sir.”

     He raises her hand and
kisses it. “The pleasure is mine.”

     I shake his hand and say,
“No need to kiss mine.”

      His mood lightened tremendously.
“No sir, I shall not.” Off we go to see the castles.

     My phone rings. Mom. “Hey
mom. How are you?”

      Her voice is shaky as she
asks, “Honey, is it true?”

      I ask, “Is what true?” Lyrics
looks at me with wonder.

      Mom says, “Did Dylan get
into a fight with that Jennifer?” Holy fuck! Her question stuns me. The first
thing I think of is Lyrics feeling badly once she knows everybody knows. Mom
asks, “Is Dylan okay? Is it true or not?”

      I quietly say, “Yes, it’s
true. How the hell do you know?”

      She says, “Honey, it is all
over the news channels here. Maggie from my book club called and told me to
turn on the TV and there it was: your picture, Dylan’s picture, and a picture
of Jennifer with a swollen eye.” I am pissed.

      Lyrics asks me, “What’s
going on?”

      Mom says, “Put her on the
phone, dear.” Reluctantly I hand the phone to her.

      She says, “Mom, what’s
wrong?” I watch as her eyes bulge out and her face grows red with embarrassment.
She says, “Everybody knows? Shoot, I’m sorry. Man, I can’t believe this.” She
pauses and looks at me with sad eyes. I pull her into me and kiss her forehead.
She says, “Okay, Mom, we’ll call you later. Love you too. No, I won’t be
getting into any more fights, promise.”

      I look at her and say,
“You okay?”

      She gives me a smile and
says, “Well, the good news is that when I go home, everybody will think I’m a
badass.”

      I laugh and say, “Yep,
you’re a regular
Ronda Rousey.” We both laugh
and continue walking to get a taxi.

      We get
in the taxi and the driver asks us where we are going. We tell him that we are
going on a castle tour. He shakes his head no and says, “You two must go on a
tour of Eltz Castle. It takes one full day but you love it, you must.” We both sit
there with our jaws on the floor not knowing what to say. Finally, I look at
Lyrics and she tries not to laugh aloud.

    She says,
“Well, if we must.”

      The
driver says, “Yes, you love it. I take you to the station right now. The tour
leaves in forty-five minutes.”

     Not
knowing what else to say, I mutter, “Thank you.”

      He smiles
and says, “You and your wife will be romantic time there. I promise my friend,
you will be happy.” Man, I love the sound of that, my wife. Lyrics grabs my
hand and our eyes lock on each other. She knocks my breath out of me. My wife. There
is no question in my mind that soon she will be Mrs. Dylan Staff. Guess I
always knew that.