Arizona Skies: The Muse (30 page)

“Oh, we developed the pictures today.” I handed Jesse the envelope.

He pulled out the stack of pictures to look through them.

“Shelly, these are incredible,” he said, smiling at each picture.

“I made copies for each one of you,” Shelly said, passing out the envelopes. Keith and Liza joined us just in time to be handed a packet of pictures.

“Pumpkin, you’re the best,” Scott said, kissing her.

“Yeah, Shelly, thank you so much. You’ve managed to capture every moment of our cruise. The colors and angles are perfect; you got some good ones of your goofball boyfriend,” John chuckled.

“Look, here’s some of the band up on stage,” Keith said, looking at them with Liza. Shelly sat there soaking up the praise with a satisfied smile on her face; she really did have a gift.

“I’m framing some of these,” Jesse said, holding up a picture of us standing against the railing at sunset. The sky behind us was a vivid red and orange, with the moon bright yellow; it was stunning. We stood there looking into each other’s eyes; Jesse’s arms were around my waist, and his hand was stroking my chin. His head was lowered just as he was about to kiss me. We looked so much in love.

“That’s one of my favorites,” I said, smiling at him.

“This is my favorite,” Jesse said, holding up one of me in my bikini. “These will have to do me until you come to Arizona to live.” He glanced my way with a sly smile.

“How did we get from visiting Arizona to moving there?” I asked.

“After your graduation, of course,” Jesse said. “Just think about it!”

“That’s a pretty big step, Jesse, since we’ve only known each other for a week,” I said, shocked.

“I know all I need to know,” Jesse said in finality. “Subject closed.”

We had a nice dinner, joking and laughing over the pictures. Everyone was very jovial at the table, except me. I was thrown for a loop by Jesse’s comment about me moving to Arizona. He just threw that out there like it was a foregone conclusion. My head was reeling from how fast our relationship was going.

We walked on deck, taking in the moonlight and warm air. I was wrapped in Jesse’s arms, watching my best friend intimately talking to Scott. Keith and Liza were following behind us, strolling hand in hand. We decided to form a circle with our deck chairs so we could talk. I snuggled with Jesse, breathing in his scent as he stroked my arms.

“So Bailey, what is your degree in?” John asked.

“Business management,” I said.

“Really,” he said, looking at Jesse. “And Shelly, what is your degree in?”

“Elementary education,” she answered, leaning back into Scott’s chest.

“Should have been photography,” John said, patting his pocket full of pictures. “You really have an eye for it.”

“When do you guys start recording the album?” I asked.

“Late January; hopefully Jesse will have them new songs written by then,” he said, looking at Jesse.

“I’ve written two already and have several more in my head,” Jesse said, smiling down at me.

“Thanks to Bailey.” Keith smiled at me too.

“You’ll be able to see us record when you come out in February,” Jesse said. “It’ll be much easier to sing to this face.” He kissed me sweetly.

“I should hope so; the sound guy is fucking ugly,” Scott snickered. We all laughed as we continued to get better acquainted, sitting in the warm night air and just talking. These were Jesse’s friends, and I liked them; they were becoming friends to me too, and it felt good. I relaxed and enjoyed our time together, talking for hours as friends do.

Jesse

I
was pacing inside the door to the dining hall; waiting for Bailey was becoming increasingly hard to do. The fact that we only had two more days together was constantly on my mind. She was a vision in pink when she walked in. I couldn’t help myself as I swept her into my arms. I’d never displayed affection to any woman before, but I couldn’t help myself with her. I was sure John was enjoying the show.

She and Shelly passed out pictures for all of us. As I looked through them, I was blown away by how happy I looked when I was with her. It was there on our faces—love! I’d seen the look before on my sister’s face, recognizing that same look on my face. The pictures
were amazing—some at sunset, some at the pool, or dressed up in the casino, dancing wrapped in each other’s arms, swimming with the dolphins, Bailey in her bikini. I had about ten I wanted to frame and put all over my apartment.

I mentioned to John that Bailey’s birthday was in February, and he immediately wanted to help her celebrate. She let slip that she’d never had a party before, I almost fell out of my chair. I wanted to cry, what kind of sad childhood did she have? I felt so bad for her and wanted to make up for all that unhappiness. She hadn’t said much about her family, and I suspected this little tidbit just slipped out. Birthdays were special in my house, always celebrated however Jennifer and I wanted. My parents went all out to make our day special. We’d had swimming parties, bowling parties, roller-skating parties, a magician, a clown, pony rides, and even parties at amusement parks. I made up my mind that somehow, someway, I was moving this girl out to Arizona. All she had in Philadelphia was her mother; she was not going to have any more unhappiness at the hands of her family if I could help it.

I knew that Scott had already approached the subject of relocating to Shelly. He was feeling the same way that I was, so I had an ace in the hole. He said that when he asked Shelly, she had admitted that she wanted to get out of the cold weather after graduation. As close as those two were, I was pretty sure Bailey would follow her; if not, then I’d find some way to convince her that I couldn’t live without her. Actually, that wasn’t far from the truth; the fact was that I’d definitely be happier with her. I didn’t want to fall back into my old self-destructive life.

I knew we’d be busy recording. I had a lot of writing to do, and all the material that I had written so far we had to make into songs. Then the band would put my words to music; two months was all we had before we stepped into the recording studio. I couldn’t let my friends down, or myself, for that matter.

Tonight was about getting to know each other better and making plans. We just wanted to hang out on deck, enjoy the ocean and the sunset.

Everyone was feeling melancholy—time to relax and reflect. Who knew that taking a cruise on this floating city would be exactly what I needed to get my head back in the game. Apparently John my self-appointed surrogate father did. I thought about all the shit I’d put him thru, but he never wavered in his belief in me. He’d pulled me out of some pretty sticky situations, but somehow understood me. He never hollered at me, or replaced me with another singer. Maybe because he’d already lived thru that crazy lifestyle, he understood me. I could have blamed him for exposing me to the night life at such a young age, but that wouldn’t have changed anything, he still would have stood by me.

I looked down at Bailey curled up in my arms and looked up at the sky,
thanks dad for bringing me this angel
, I thought. I missed my father and hoped that he was smiling down on me. I wanted to make him proud of me.

Eighteen

Bailey

J
esse had made good on his promise, giving me several hours slow and sensuous loving. He loved every inch of my body, sweetly and tenderly. I knew he had ruined me for any other man; no man could ever compare to him. I felt totally and completely loved by him. His bedroom talk was dirty, sexy, and encouraging. He lovingly instructed me in new sexual positions, bringing me so much pleasure and contentment. I fell asleep in his strong arms, totally sated and in love.

I listened to the sounds of the waves hitting the ship the next morning, gently rocking us as we lay there safe in each other’s arms. I don’t think I every slept as peacefully as I had with him. My dreams were all about him singing up on stage, looking so handsome, and knowing that he was mine—his incredible voice, raspy and deep, singing love songs to me. Every erotic book I’d read or sexy dream I’d had never compared to the real flesh-and-blood man lying completely naked next to me.

I wanted to stroke every inch of his body, to love him with mine until neither of us could catch our breath. My hands were itching to touch him, to wake him up riding his cock and kissing his lips. His face was breathtakingly beautiful, his long lashes resting against his cheek, with that golden-brown hair framing his face. His hand lay across his chest as his steady breathing made his stomach muscles clench and release. He was the picture of male perfection, and I was determined to be with him somehow.

We’d confessed our love for one another; he’d told me he wanted me to move to Arizona, which completely shocked me. He said all the right things without me ever asking him. I reached up to touch my necklace, knowing he’d taken special care to pick out just the right piece of jewelry for me. It represented his heart and how he felt about me. I would wear it always. I couldn’t wait to hear the song he wrote; tonight was the big preview. It was amazing how fast he and the band put the music to Jesse’s words. It was a collaborative process, and I just knew it was going to be good.

His eyes fluttered and opened. He smiled and reached for me. God in heaven, I was so in love as I nestled into his warm body.

“You’re up early,” he said as his arms came around my body to hold me close to his chest. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“I slept just fine. I was just thinking about our time together while I watched you sleep,” I said.

“So what’s your decision about us?” he asked.

“That we’re star-crossed lovers, and this cruise is just the beginning,” I said.

“I like the way you think. We can’t end; I refuse to accept that. You’re what I want, Bailey. I want to live the rest of my life with you. I love you, baby,” he said, kissing me sweetly.

“I love you too, Jesse,” I said, putting my head on his chest to hear his heart. Thump, thump, thump, just like John’s drum, steady and in time with my heart.

“New Year’s Eve at the stroke of midnight, I’m going to call you. Next year we start our lives together if I have to come to Philadelphia and steal you,” he said, chuckling.

“You’ll be busy, either performing, in the recording studio, or out with your friends somewhere. I’m sure you won’t be calling me at the stroke of midnight,” I said, looking up at him.

“OK, you’ve got a point. I may be busy, but I’ll call you as soon as I can; how’s that?” he said, running his fingers through my hair.

“Deal,” I smiled at him.

“Bailey, believe it or not, you’re always going to be in my thoughts, even though we aren’t together,” he said.

“Good, I don’t want you to forget me.”

“Never going to happen baby, I’ll be writing songs about you long after you get on that plane and fly home,” he said, rolling me over on my back. “But right now I’ve got you in my arms, and I’m going to love you before we meet up with our crazy friends, OK?” he asked, kissing me.

“OK,” I said, kissing him back. And that’s what he started to do, until a loud rapping on my door pulled us out of our euphoria and back to earth. “Damn woman, it was just starting to get good,” he chuckled. “Your friend has uncanny timing.” He rolled away to get up and put some clothes on.

“Get your asses out of bed and get dressed,” she yelled through the door.

“Hold your horses,” Jesse yelled back at her.

“She’s a force,” I said putting my bra and panties on. Jesse pouted as he watched me pull on my panties. “You’re watching me!”

“I’ll never get tired of that sight,” he said, sweeping me into his arms for a sensuous kiss. “Mmmm…tell your friend to go away,” he said, unhooking my bra.

The door started rattling, pulling us out of our lust.

“Damn it, Bailey, let me in.” She knocked louder.

“Go away, little girl,” Jesse yelled, kneading my breasts and leaning down to suck my nipple. “I’ve got to have you again,” he whispered, pulling down my panties. I leaned in for a kiss, not caring if Shelly stood out there and heard everything.

“Jesse, I’ll be back in twenty minutes; you’d better make it quick,” she yelled, punching my door as she stomped away and slammed her door. I started chuckling. Jesse just shook his head and kissed his way down my body. I was on fire as I pulled his T-shirt over his head.

“There’s my tiger,” he said, slipping his boxers off and walking me backward until my legs hit the bed. He was hard and ready as he
mounted me. I opened my legs to invite him in, pulling him close for a kiss. “This is the best way to start the morning,” he smiled as he thrust into me.

I moaned and held him tight as he worked his magic on my body. Our bodies were completely in tune with each other, loving each other with every ounce of strength we had. His dirty talk sent my body into overdrive as his pace quickened. His hands roamed my heated skin, hooking under my hips to tip my pelvis. That did it; I climaxed with a loud scream, holding him tight to me as my body clutched his pulsing cock.

“That’s it, baby. Oh my God, you feel so good,” he said, climaxing with a primal groan. He collapsed and then rolled off me as our breathing began to cool down. “That was nice,” he said, pulling me up from the bed for a quick shower before breakfast.