“Hey, we’re the D-Bags, and we’re all so excited to be here, playing at the grand opening of Jenny’s gallery. She’s worked so hard for this, and we’re all very proud.” Kellan tilted his head as he smiled down at Jenny. Her eyes filled to capacity again and I sighed. Good job, Kellan. I’d cured her, and you just made her cry again. You can proposition her this time.
“This one’s for Jenny, and her baby: Bagettes,” Kellan finished.
Evan began tapping his sticks together in a countdown rhythm that even I understood. I had no idea what song was first in the lineup though. Maybe I should pay more attention in rehearsals. Nah, fuck that. If they were never going to give me a shot, what was the point?
I kept waiting for Matt to propose as we played. After each song, I thought, Okay, now he’s going to do it, but he never did. He looked sicker and sicker as the night wore on, but he never did or said anything to Rachel. It was weird, and kind of a wasted moment. I mean, if he was trying to be all dramatic and shit, how could he top proposing to her during a D-Bags concert? Couldn’t be done. By the end of our set, I was convinced that he had changed his mind about asking her to marry him. Poor Rachel. She’d need to be comforted. I could be her shoulder to lean on, so long as she didn’t cry too much…and she let me cop a feel in the process.
Thinking of Rachel’s breasts naturally made me think of my wife’s. She had an amazing rack, even more so now that she was so close to popping. Her jugs were kegs, and I wanted to tap them. Just the thought was giving me an erection, which felt kind of awesome against the vibrations of the bass. Oh yeah…my wife and I were finding a quiet spot after this. Maybe that gigantic curtain decorating the wall behind the stage. Yeah, that sounded like a great place for a blow job.
I was practically bursting at the seams by the time the damn set was done. Fuck, was it necessary to play five thousand songs at this damn thing? Some of us had shit to do. As soon as Kellan thanked the crowed, I set down my bass and sought my wife. Finally.
“Thanks for listening. Don’t go anywhere, because we’ve got a special encore for you in fifteen minutes.” The crowd clapped and I swore under my breath. Encore? Are you fucking kidding me?
Spotting Anna at the edge of the crowd in that damn sexy turquoise-blue wrap dress, I grabbed her elbow. “I need a hand,” I whispered in her ear. “Or a mouth,” I added, not wanting to limit my options.
I led her palm to my rock-hard cock and her eyes widened. “Oh…yeah, you do.” She twirled a lock of her hair around her finger, a coy expression on her face. “Did I do that?”
Discreetly rubbing her hand against me, I told her, “You always do that.” Looking around to see if anyone was watching, I pulled her toward the curtain. Everyone was too busy chitchatting with the band to pay us any mind. We slipped behind the thick purple fabric completely unnoticed. The material draped against the floor, so even our feet wouldn’t be discovered. It was the perfect hiding place, and really erotic, because we could still hear everyone on the other side of the curtain. Doing it here would almost be like doing it in public, and that was something I’d always wanted to try.
While Anna watched me with hooded eyes, I unfastened the belt around my waist. “You are the sexiest thing here,” I whispered. “I could barely concentrate, thinking about you…your legs wrapped around me, your nipple between my teeth, your clit against my tongue.”
Anna’s mouth dropped open, and she ran a hand over her breast, then squeezed her own nipple. I got even harder. Fucking sexy-ass woman. “Jesus, I need you…”
Undoing my pants, I shoved them and my underwear down my legs. Then I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward me. Our mouths collided in a frenzy of passion. It was all the more exciting because we were purposely being as silent as possible. If only the fuddy-duddies knew what was going down on the other side of this curtain…well, Jenny’s gallery would be a hell of a lot more interesting.
While my hands explored my wife’s body, her hand stroked my cock. Fuck, yes. Could she get down on her knees in her condition? God, I hoped so. I could put my jacket down on the floor so she’d be more comfortable.
Her thumb played with the top of my piercing, and I had to reach out and clench the curtain before I fell over. Fuck that felt good.
“Don’t do that,” she whispered, “You’ll pull the whole thing down.”
With a great deal of willpower, I released my hold on the curtain. There was a slit in the center of it that let me see out into the gallery. Dozens of people were still out there, talking, milling about. Watching them while Anna rocked my socks off was stimulating, and a low groan escaped me. Jesus, I was going to come all over her hand if she kept touching me like that.
“I don’t think I can get down there, baby,” Anna murmured, “But…I brought something, just in case…”
She reached into her purse, then pulled out one of our sex toys. It was a fake pussy that we sometimes used when hers wasn’t up to the task. She had it with her? Fuck, my wife was awesome. I couldn’t even coherently thank her. All I could say was, “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…”
Tilting her head, she smiled up at me. “I’ll take that as a yes, please.”
She used her finger to moisten the inside of the rubber tube, then she pushed it over the top of me. It wasn’t the same as being inside of her, but fuck, it was pretty awesome. I clenched her shoulder as she started working it over my body. Staring out the curtain slit, I saw Jenny giving Evan a kiss, Kiera cuddling up into Kellan’s side, and Matt staring at Rachel; he finally didn’t look all that ill. Everything was right in the world.
Containing my grunts and groans was difficult, especially as the throbbing intensified, and the buildup started approaching. Knowing my body, Anna sped up her hand. I was so close, almost there. “Don’t stop,” I begged her.
With a throaty laugh, she purred, “Baby, nothing could make me stop right now. You’re so fucking sexy when you come. I want to see it…show me…”
Fuck, yes. “I’m almost…”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something weird. I didn’t want to pay attention, since I was on the verge of an incredible release, but I noticed anyway. People were stepping toward the curtain. Jenny and Evan were coming up to either side of it, and Jenny was telling the crowd, “Before the D-Bags’ final song, there is one last piece of art that I’d like to show everyone. It’s my finest work, and I’m so very, very proud. I can’t wait for you all to witness this…”
Jenny and Evan stepped in front of the curtain, and that’s when it dawned on me that there was a very large painting on the wall on the other side of us. And Jenny wanted to show it to everyone. And I was about five seconds away from coming. Fuck. Me.
Stilling Anna’s hand, I wrenched the sex toy away from her. “Step back, now!” I warned her. Anna was confused, naturally, but she did as I asked and stepped into the recess of the curtain, on the far side of the painting. I wasn’t able to move yet, and I didn’t have time anyway. The curtain opened, the crowd gasped, and me fondling my junk with a bright purple sex toy was the first thing everyone in the gallery saw. Needless to say, I instantly lost my climax. I couldn’t come right now if I was paid to.
Jenny’s eyes widened before she spun on her heel and looked away. Evan’s cheeks went bright red. “Griffin? What the hell?” With the fake pussy still securely around my cock, I reached down for my pants, but not before I noticed cell phones being whipped out and pointed in my direction. Awesome.
Matt had pulled Rachel front and center for the unveiling, and they were both staring at me like I was some mutation from another planet, then Rachel’s eyes glanced up behind me. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.
Hoping I didn’t see what I thought I might see, I turned to look at the painting. Yep. That was what I was afraid of. The piece that Jenny had been hiding, saving for last, was one gigantic question artistically splashed onto canvas. Rachel, will you marry me? Matt.
I had just fucked up his proposal. Aga
in. He was going to kill me. Jenny too. She was crying again, but not happy tears this time. Evan glared at me as he took her into his arms. Great. He was pissed too. Perfect.
Chapter 4
Will the Real Mr. Awesome Please Stand Up
Everyone decided to call it a night after that. I tried apologizing, but no one would give me the time of day. Matt was too furious to even look at me. Evan just shook his head. Kellan was the only one who wasn’t completely angry, but he left with Matt. To calm him down, I guess.
I wasn’t too worried about it. Once we were on the road, everything that had happened tonight would be forgotten. Water under the bridge. Besides, Rachel said yes to the proposal, so what did it really matter. At least, I was assuming she said yes. There wasn’t a whole lot of talking after the incident. Just yelling. Mainly at me. Rachel dug Matt though; there was no way she’d say no to him.
Jennifer was surprised to see us back home so early. I didn’t feel like explaining what had happened, so I just told her, “It was boring so we bailed.”
She accepted that and started going on about her uneventful evening with Gibson. I was glad her night with my kid was nowhere near as dramatic as my night had been. And I was really glad I hadn’t caught her doing something sordid. If I had, it would have been the last time she watched Gibson. Some part of my mind tried to tell me how hypocritical it was for me to think that, but I ignored my stupid brain. Where Gibson was concerned, nothing I said or did could be used as a moral compass. She was on an entirely different level than me.
After I paid Jennifer and she left, Anna hopped on the nearest computer. It was a little early for leaks, but it wouldn’t surprise me if my schlong was all over the Internet by the morning. Oh well. At least it was an attractive schlong.
Anna let out a relieved sigh when she didn’t find anything. “Maybe it won’t get out. I mean, it was mostly friends and family there, right?”
“And the local paper.” I instantly remembered Kellan telling me to be on my best behavior for the press. Oops.
Anna cringed then bit her lip. With a shrug, I told her, “It doesn’t matter. The guys will get over it, Rachel will marry Matt, Jenny’s gallery will be a hit, and I’ll be headline news for a little while. It’s kind of a win-win.” I smiled, but Anna still didn’t look convinced that everything was okay. “Don’t even stress. This is nothing. It will blow over before you know it. I mean, that wasn’t the first time I’ve been caught in an awkward position, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. After a while, people will just expect me to do crazy shit like that.”
Finally, a slow smile spread over her lips. “Well, maybe next time I can share the awkwardness with you. I feel kind of bad that everyone’s blaming just you for this. It was my fault too.”
With a mischievous grin, I nodded. “Okay, next time we have sex in public, I’ll let you get caught too. Deal?” I held my pinkie out. Giggling, she clasped it with hers.
“Deal.”
A limo arrived early the next morning to take us all to the airport; Anna had to elbow me three times in the ribs to get me out of bed. I was not a morning person. Anything before ten was way too fucking early for me. We had a flight to catch though, so I made myself get up and get moving.
The tour was starting in Los Angeles and ending in Seattle. I had no clue where we were going to be along the middle of the tour, but I didn’t need to know. Someone would tell me where I was before I hopped onstage.
We were taking a private plane down to L.A., which I was thankful for; riding commercial sucked ass. The limo dropped us off right next to the jet. Anna and I were the last to arrive, but everyone else was still milling about outside, killing time before the flight. Matt spotted me stepping out of the limo, and immediately started heading for the plane. Whatever. I was content to let him sulk, since I was still sort of sulking about him treating me like a subpar member of this band. Anna didn’t want to let it linger though. Grabbing my elbow, she told me, “Go talk to him. Please.”
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t refuse her; she’d won the negotiation last night before we’d hit the sack. According to our rules, I had to at least attempt to make it up to Matt.
He was quickly speeding away from me, but I got to him when he was on the first step of the stairs leading up to the plane. “Hey, man,” I said, grabbing his elbow. “Wait up.”
With an irritated scowl, he looked back at me. “I think it’s best if we just avoid each other for a while, okay?”
I let out an annoyed grunt. “Dude, it’s not like I did that on purpose. How was I supposed to know the proposal was going to go down like that, huh? Maybe if you’d shared your little painting plan with the class…”
Matt’s pale eyes narrowed to cold slits. “I did,” he seethed through clenched teeth. “More than once.”
Thinking back through all the conversations Matt and I had had recently, I shook my head. “No, you didn’t. I would remember.” Probably. Maybe.
Stepping off the stairs, Matt made a lunge for me. I managed to back away in time, but his arms were extended like a zombie hunting his prey, and his fingers curled and uncurled like he was mentally choking the life from me. It was kind of creepy. Before Matt could actually throttle me, Kellan stepped between us with his arms outstretched.
“Whoa! Let’s not do anything stupid here,” he said, looking between Matt and me.
Matt shifted his angry eyes to Kellan. “He ruined my engagement, Kell. Let me choke him. Just until he passes out. We’ll all be thankful for the quiet flight, trust me.”
Kellan sighed while I raised my chin in indignation. Asshole. Damn Anna for making this such a big deal. Why the hell couldn’t Matt and I just ignore each other for a while? A long while. Self-righteous fucker was still on my shit list.
“He didn’t ruin anything, Matt,” Kellan calmly replied. “Rachel said yes, and that’s really all that matters, right?”
Matt rolled his eyes but grudgingly nodded. “Yeah. I guess.”
Kellan patted his shoulder. “Good. Then how about we let this go so we can get through this tour in one piece?” That made me scoff. Letting it go was Kellan’s answer to everything. Well some of us aren’t as saintly as you, Kyle. Some of us have grudges that aren’t so easily released.
Matt glared at me once more, murmured, “Fine,” then disappeared into the plane.
Kellan let Matt disappear, but when I started to follow him, he put a hand on my chest. “Maybe you should give him a minute.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I locked eyes with Kellan. “Why is everyone so bent out of shape about this? It’s not like I embarrassed anyone but myself last night, and I really don’t care if people saw my junk.”
Kellan frowned as he shook his head. “That’s what you don’t get. What you do affects more than just you. It touches everyone you’re connected to. Try and remember that, okay?”
He patted my shoulder and walked over to Kiera and Ryder. With a scowl on my face, I watched him leave. I was aware of other people. Even though everyone treated me like I was a complete moron, I wasn’t. Last night was an honest mistake, a mistake that any one of them could have made. It wasn’t like I was intentionally trying to hurt the band. Not like they were by keeping me tied down. Jerkwads.
Kellan and Kiera were helping Anna with Gibson, so I hopped onto the plane to sulk in peace. Matt was in the very back, staring out the window. Ignoring him, I took a spot by the front. Kellan was probably right about space, but I was the one who wanted it. Fuckers were always picking on me, holding me to a standard that was almost impossible to maintain. Couldn’t they just accept me for the person I was, instead of trying to force me to be someone they wanted me to be? Isn’t that what friends were supposed to do?
The plane was a ten-seater, with more than enough space for everyone. It was swanky too, with leather captain’s chairs, tables, a kitchen area, and an almost full-sized bathroom. Anna and Gibson sat at a table across from me, while Kiera and Ryder sat at the next
table with Kellan and Evan. Matt remained alone in the back. That guy could sulk even better than I could. Maybe it was in our genes.
Evan ignored me for the first third of the flight, then he finally started talking to me. Or at me. “Jenny is really upset over what happened at the gallery, and frankly…I am too. What were you thinking?” he asked, his eyes dark and soulful.
Tired of talking about last night, I shook my head. “I was horny. I didn’t know the curtain was coming down. I fucked up, and I’m sorry. Okay?”
Evan thought about it for a minute, then nodded and shrugged. “Yeah, okay.”
His acceptance made me smile. If only Matt would snap out of it as quickly. But I’d ruined his plans, and Matt hated ruined plans. I’d just have to wait out his pissiness. Easier said than done. He was always getting riled up over something.
It took two weeks, but Matt eventually got over it. He never actually said he forgave me, but he stopped glaring and started joking. I knew we were back on track when he started insulting me. That was how I gauged our relationship—if he was giving me shit, then he wasn’t mad at me.
I think it helped that images from that night starting cropping up everywhere, and some clever asshole had started calling me Hand Solo. It stuck, and the name was everywhere in a heartbeat. Matt thought that was hysterical, and he’d taken up the nickname too. Whatever. Didn’t matter. That night had been one of the hottest moments I’d ever had with Anna. It was a fond memory for me, one that reminded me just how amazing, sexy, and up for anything my wife really was, and reminiscing about it made me giddier than a thirteen-year-old with a hidden Playboy magazine stashed under his mattress. I wasn’t sorry it had happened. All I was sorry about was that I hadn’t had a chance to finish.