Noah (31 page)

               Shalan

My decision wasn’t
easy. I knew what I was risking. Being fully aware that he could have already moved on, I still made that call.

I had to.

I couldn’t look in the mirror every single day and wonder if I’d made the biggest mistake of my life. What if I was different? What if he never would have hurt me? Did I just walk away from something people wait their whole lives for?

Every single time I had to sing that song I thought of
what could have been. I was tired of wondering. Being alone wasn’t a life, not one for me, not when I knew how good it felt to be loved.

My six months probationary period was over in my contract, and it was time for me to get my own place. I could live anywhere I wanted to, so I knew the deciding factor was going to fall on my plan. If it worked out, I’d be with Noah. If it didn’t, I’d find somewhere to call home, and do my best at being happy with what I had.

His mother was very kind when I contacted her. I don’t know what I expected. I guess knowing how much I hurt her son I figured she’d hate me. Instead she offered to do whatever it took. Since I already knew I had to perform the song, it was just a matter of getting him there to hear it.

The rest would be up to him.

Noah would decide if I could have another chance. He’d decide if we could make it work.

In the six months that we’d been apart I’d done a lot of soul searching. My single was set to drop in another week, and as nervous as I was about showing the world my talent, I longed for stability. The traveling was hard on me, maybe because I’d never done it when I was a child. Unfamiliar places made me uneasy, and even though I had friends in the business, they never made me feel whole.

I needed Noah, because no one had ever made me feel so complete.

Right before the show my nerves got the best of me. My hands started tingling and I felt as if I was going to pass out as soon as I walked out on the stage. Since I’d given
them the tickets I’d memorized where I shouldn’t look until I was fully prepared to see him again, after so long.

I’d waited for what felt like forever, and I had to peek. I had to see those green eyes looking up at me, telling me whether this was the worst mistake of my life, or the beginning of my future.

God, he was still such a beautiful man.

It was difficult to get through my next few songs without sitting down the mic and running into his waiting arms. When I finally finished, I noticed he was gone. Fear swept over me and I wondered if at some point I’d made him angry. Did he hate me for waiting so long? His mother had told me that he hadn’t moved on, so I knew there wasn’t anyone else.

I rushed through all of the people congratulating me on my performance, desperately searching for that one man that would repair my soul. Just when I’d given up hope that he was back there, I spotted his mother and father. Then there, sitting on a bench with his head looking down, I spotted him.

I froze.

His mother leaned down, and the next thing I knew he was turning in my direction, standing up and taking his first step toward me. I wanted to run, but I kept my composure and matched his strides. We met, face to face with so much to say to each other.

“I’m so glad you came.” He was so much taller than me, even with my heels on.

“What am I doin’ here, Shalan? Was that song about us? Did you write that to try to get me back?” His eyes were so serious. My face changed from excited to afraid. These weren’t  the questions that I expected. This wasn’t how I saw it all working out.

“Well, yes. Sort of.”

He let out an air-filled laugh. “Do you have any idea how hard it’s been gettin’ over you?”

“Noah, I-.”

“You what? After six months you thought you could just walk back into my life and I’d be alright with that?”

My eyes felt hot as the tears began to fall. “I’m so sorry, but yes. I was so stupid.”

I turned around to run away, so embarrassed that I’d made a fool out of myself.

“No you’re not.” He grabbed my arm and swung me back around. “It took you long enough.”

I thought I misheard him. “What?”

He laughed. “I said, it took you long enough.”

Noah pulled me closer and our lips met, finally after so long. He lifted me up into his arms mid kiss, ignoring the fact that we had an audience. Nothing mattered except what we were both feeling. Just like he’d always done, I felt complete, and I knew it was right.

Noah’s parents and Bella decided to stay for the rest of the concert, while we left immediately after that. The
cab fair to his house was nothing to either of us, for a chance to be alone. We never let go of each other the whole ride, even to catch our breath after long amounts of intense kisses.

Noah paid the cab driver and as soon as he was on his way, he picked me up and carried me inside of his house. We made it to the bed before he let me down. “Tell me again.”

I giggled. I’d said it already on our walk to catch the cab, and several times while in the car. “I love you.”

“Damn, that has a nice ring to it.”

“It better. It’s taking me months to practice it.”

Noah and I sat up, slowly brushing our mouths together again. I couldn’t get enough of him, and how just little things made me feel. He tugged on my dress and finally got it over my head. Within seconds his shirt was gone and I ran my hands over his hard, bare chest. “Tell me how this is goin’ to work, again.”

I continued to place pecks over his lips as I spoke and unhooked my bra. “The tours run four days a week for the next three months. Most of the cities are on the east coast, so I can catch a flight same day if I need to.”

“And on weekends I can come with you,” He added as he kissed the inside of my shoulder.

“Exactly,” I closed my eyes and savored the way his lips felt as they slid over my skin toward my breast. “Then once the tour’s done I’ll be off for a while to work on new material.”

He licked my already hardened nipple. “We’ll make it work.”

My head fell back when his touch became overwhelming. “Yes,” I purred.

Noah stopped what he was doing and looked up into my eyes. I felt scared seeing him like that. “You’re sure you want to live here?”

“I’m very sure.”

“And you’re not goin’ to wake up one day and tell me to take you to the airport?” He was still struggling with the idea of having me back. It only reminded me how important I was to him.

“Not unless you really piss me off,” I teased.

“I love it when you threaten me. It makes my dick hard.”

“I think we can do something about that.” I reached down his pants and took a hold of his warm, hard erection. I’d thought about him when I was alone in my bed at night. I’d imagined him being inside of me, bringing me both pain and pleasure at the same time. I’d longed for this reconnect, in hopes that it would happen.

I’d forgiven his wrongdoings, and gotten past my own. We had a fresh start, a clean slate, to rewrite what had gone wrong. I wasn’t going to ruin it, and I knew Noah wouldn’t either.

Noah didn’t take his time ripping off my panties, nor did he hesitate when I unfastened the belt that I’d bought for him. Though I did smile when I noticed he was wearing it. Once we were naked in his bed, he hovered over me, taking me in like it was our first time together. He ran his hand between my breasts and watched himself doing it.  I spread my legs when he made his way past my belly button. One finger slid in between my lips, rubbing over my sensitive clit. I jumped, having gone so long without being touched by another. I started moving my hand over his shaft again, working him with the same pace his fingers were going. Noah stopped what he was doing and scrunched up his face. “You’re goin’ to have to stop that. It’s been too long for me, darlin’. I need to be inside of you.”

“Darlin’,” I mocked.

“I forgot you hate that.”

“I’ve never missed being called a name so much in my life.”

“Good, because I didn’t plan on stoppin’.” We kissed tenderly with so much feeling. “I love you, darlin’.”

When I heard that I started to giggle. I’d sang those words so many times practicing. Hearing them from the man who’d been the inspiration to that song seemed so unreal. I couldn’t get over the fact that I was in his bed again, planning our future, as if no time had passed. We had a ton to sort through, but we could do it together. If things didn’t work out for us it wouldn’t be because we didn’t try. I was going to give Noah my all, and if my career got in the way, I’d give it up in a heartbeat to make it right. He might not have known it, but he was my dream come true, and I knew my mother had given him to me. She was out there, watching me, and leading me in the right direction.

              
Noah

Six months later

I could hear the roosters sounding, but I couldn’t get out of bed. There was a naked body on top of me that I refused to wake up. She’d been on the road for the past week, and after her travels home, and making love all night long, she was exhausted.

Then my cousin came barging into the room without knocking. “Guys, geesh, do you ever wear clothes?”

“This is our room, you know?” I said as I pulled the covers over Shalan.

“I just checked the charts. Guess what?”

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes while I spoke, and felt Shalan moving over to the side. “What?”

“Broken Love Darlin’ is number one.”

The room filled with screams and suddenly my already filled bed had another body in it. Bella jumped on and wrapped her arms around Shalan as they both began to wail in excitement. “Oh.My.God.Number.One.”

They rocked back and forth repeating it over and over again.

Not paying my cousin any mind, I climbed out of the bed, naked, and walked to the bathroom. She could only see my ass for a second, but that didn’t stop her from making a comment. “Eww. You need to shave. The next time I see that hairy ass I’m callin’ the zoo to come groom you.”

They went back to screaming while I emptied my bladder. After wrapping a towel around my body, I walked out and stood over my bed. “Am I allowed to celebrate with my girlfriend now, or are you just going to stay in bed and watch us?”

She hopped up. “Sick. I’m out of here. Hurry up, though. We need to tell your parents before they hear it on the radio.”

For weeks we’d been following the Billboard charts, hoping and praying that her song would get farther down. Never in a million years did any of us, especially Shalan, think she’d make it to number one. By the time Bells left the room her screams had turned into tears. “I’m sorry I’m crying. I can’t believe this is happening.”

“It’s amazin’, darlin’. You deserve this. I’m so proud of you.” She’d been so busy, promoting and performing and now it was all worth it. I wiped away her tears. “Don’t cry.”

“I just never thought I’d be this happy, Noah. It’s not even all about the number one. It’s you. It’s this life we have. I know it’s hard when I’m away, but knowing that I have this home to come home to makes it all worth it. I wouldn’t be where I am without you.”

“This calls for a celebration. What do you say to Mama Savanna’s pancakes,” I kissed her on the lips. “With bacon and potatoes, and hot coffee?”

Shalan smiled and wrapped her arms tightly around my neck. “There’s only one thing that sounds better than that.”

I knew what it was, even before she said it.

“Sex in the shower?”

I stood up, letting the towel fall, and held out my hand. Shalan was easy to pull out of bed. She followed me into the bathroom and we closed the door behind us.  Once the water was at the right temperature, we both climbed in. I was gentle washing Shalan’s hair, while she brushed her teeth. It was funny how used to be couple we were. Being with her when she did every day things was never going to get old with me. It was the times like this that I treasured the most. People could buy tickets to hear her sing. They could read about her life on a Kentucky ranch, and how her boyfriend raised cattle, but they’d never know her; not like I did.

She was mine, and I hers. Nothing could take that away from us, not money, not fame, and certainly not another person.

Shalan took her toothbrush and rinsed it before sticking mine into my mouth. “I need some kisses without the morning breath.”

I brushed my teeth and watched as she lathered up her hands and started washing me, from my neck all the way down to my feet. While she was on her knees, she took a handful of me and giggled before taking me into her mouth. I leaned back against the shower and let her work her lips for a bit. Knowing that a blow job was never going to be enough, I grabbed her hair and lifted until she let go. I kept her hair in my hands as I leaned in and kissed her hungrily.

Her arms wrapped around my back and her breasts smacked into my chest. I turned her around after we pulled away and pushed on her back, causing her to bend over. My hands covered the circumference of her wet ass as I gripped both cheeks. I played with her opening, teasing her with the tip of my dick. Shalan moved her ass just enough to let me know she was ready. Her tight pussy accepted all of me, and with little effort I maintained a rhythm.  She held onto the faucet as we smacked together and then pulled apart. I watched my cock going in and out of her. A sensation started deep inside and traveled down my shaft. We’d spent the last night making up for lost time, so this was just an added bonus. My hands held her hips firmly as I rammed into her even harder than before. Shalan cried out at the same time as me, my body filling her with my release.

Once I was able to move, I swung her around and pulled her in for a kiss. She responded eagerly, running her hands down my chest as our tongues meshed together. I knew what she wanted and I was happy to oblige. This day was for celebration, and I wasn’t about to leave any stone unturned. I reached down between her legs, feeling the remnants of my load. Using it as a resource, I rubbed on her clit, applying just enough force to make her knees immediately buckle. Shalan dug into the skin on my waist as she cried out in ecstasy. Afterwards she brought her lips to meet mine. “Good morning, cowboy.”

We both laughed. “Yeah, it sure is.”

Celebrations in the Mitchell family were never small ordeals. From the moment that my mother found out about Shalan the whole family knew about it. By the time breakfast had ended Bells, my gram, my other grandparents and my mom had planned a huge party, where everyone was going to come to town and show their support.

Shalan was taken back by the way my family had accepted her, and even more amazed with how we all stayed so close. I literally had both sets of grandparents within a mile from the house. The ranch was becoming more like a private community than a family farm. I think in some ways we were the first family she’d ever had, since her mother had been sick when she was so young. We were a lot to take in, but she’d done great. From the moment she’d met them all during our first holiday together, she’d fit in. I couldn’t have felt more pleased.

A celebration was a good time for us, but I was going to make it even more special. With all of her traveling around, and being in the spotlight, Shalan was missing something. I wasn’t insecure, but I knew I’d feel a hell of a lot better if she was wearing a ring on her finger. I wasn’t in any rush to get married, but I was certainly alright with being engaged.

I was so nervous the night of the party. The whole family had been getting on my nerves all day making a fuss out of every little detail they wanted done. Shalan wasn’t allowed to help decorate, nor was she allowed to come into the party until everyone was there. All of our houses were full of guests, even my younger cousins that I would have loved to have left out. With so many people around, all of them family, I knew it was now or never.

Shalan was waiting on the porch of our house when I pulled up on the golf cart to get her. She was wearing this white dress, that we’d purchased in Texas a few months back. Her hair blew in the wind, and she looked stunning. “Hey, beautiful. You need a ride?”

She walked over, climbing on quickly. “I thought you’d never ask.”

I got halfway to my gram’s house before stopping and turning toward her. “I can’t do this.”

“Do what?” Of course she had no clue was I was talking about.

“I need to ask you somethin’, right here and right now.”

“Okay.” She giggled and looked around. “Why here?”

We were in this small patch of woods, completely alone. “Because. Just come with me.”

I grabbed her hand and led her into the woods, having her sit down an a fallen tree. “I was going to ask you this later, but –.”

“Ask me what? Is it about the party?”

I got down on my knee and her eyes got huge. “Shalan, I ain’t sayin’ right now, but someday will you be my wife, darlin’?”

She started to answer but I cut her off. “Even if you say no, will you at least wear the ring, so the whole world knows you’re taken?”

Shalan giggled. “Are you going to open the ring box, or do I not get to see it unless I answer yes?”

I laughed and noticed that I hadn’t even opened the box. “Oh shit.”

I went to lift it and Shalan put her hands over it. “Wait. Either way my answer is yes. Yes, I will wear the ring, and yes I’ll be your wife, whenever we both feel ready.”

I kissed her so quickly that she almost lost her balance and fell into the fallen leaves. We both laughed as I held her close. “Sorry, I got a little excited.”

She grabbed my face and pulled me in for another kiss. “You never have to worry about the world Noah. My life is here with you.”

I stood up and reached out for her hand. She cleared her throat. “Are you ever going to show me the ring I’m supposed to be wearing?”

I stood in my tracks and handed her the box. “You got
me all messed up, woman. Here, you open it.”

Bells had helped me pick it out, and after more money than I cared to admit spending, I watched my girlfriend gasping in shock. “Oh my God. It’s huge.”

“I get that a lot,” I teased.

She pushed me. “You know what I’m talking about. Noah, you didn’t have to. I would have been fine with anything you bought me.”

“I wanted you to have the best. Besides, ain’t nobody goin’ to overlook that on any red carpet.”

Shalan rolled her eyes. “You do realize that when I have red carpet events your ass will be in a tux escorting me?”

I frowned thinking about getting dressed up. “Is that what I’m signed on for?” I grabbed the box. “Here, let me take that back.”

She snatched it away from me and put the ring on her finger. “You’re never getting it back now.”

I stopped fighting and grabbed both of her arms. Her smile went away as I pulled her closer to me. “Fine, I’ll wear the tux, but only if you put out after every event.”

I leaned in to kiss her again as she began to laugh. “Deal,” she said mid-kiss.

With the family expecting us, I was content on spending the whole night hidden in the woods with Shalan.

Until my phone started to ring.

She grabbed it out of my pants pocket and answered, “We’re on our way.”

I chased her out of the woods and onto the golf cart. Once we were driving again, she rested her head on my shoulder and held up her hand. “I wonder if they’ll notice?”

“Well, bein’ that your ring cost more than my dad’s new tractor, I’d say they’ll notice.”

The idea of my dad’s reaction wasn’t the highest on my list. I was going to get a lecture, whether it was right away, or after he’d had weeks to let it simmer. My frugal dad wasn’t too keen on money being spent in vain.

“I don’t have to keep this ring, Noah. We can get something smaller.”

“Woman, I had to sell my left nut for that ring. You’re keepin’ it.”

“I saw your left nut this morning, you big fat liar.” She started to laugh and shake her head. “You’re not going to tell anyone are you?” She knew me too well.

I chuckled. “Nope.”

She put her foot onto the brake pedal. “Did you ask me in the woods because they think it’s going to happen at the party? Did you do this so you didn’t have to do it in front of everyone?”

“Maybe.” I pressed on the gas and we started moving again. In just a few short minutes we were out front of my gram’s house. “You ready, darlin’?” I asked as if nothing had happened.

Shalan hopped off the golf cart and walked into the house, not waiting for me. I followed behind her, knowing she was up to something. Sure enough, she waved her hands around. “We’re here.” She turned to flash me a smile. “And we’re engaged.”

I placed my hand on the small of her back and leaned in toward her ear. “Now they’re not goin’ to leave us alone.”

She laughed as the family approached to congratulate the both of us. “Think of this as practice for the red carpet. We have an event in two weeks, darlin’.”

Of course we did. “Can’t wait.” I winked and waited to be bombarded with hugs. This was my life, and for some amazing reason, she wanted to be a part of it. I looked over to see that smile and realized that I’d wear a monkey suit, and do anything she asked, just to be able to see that everyday.