Music of the Heart (23 page)

Merritt also called and told me they were all headed over there in a few hours to take her food and hang out with her.  I stop by the Café and grab some sandwiches and bakery items to take over there.

I was not expecting just how upset she was when I got there.  She looks awful.  Her hair is a mess, she’s wearing bummy sweatpants and her eyes are almost swollen shut because she’s been crying so much.

The girls are already there when I arrive with the guys.  When she sees me, she comes right into my arms and cries again.  What hurts me is knowing I am the reason she is like this.  If I had never opened my mouth to Jamie, he never would have done this to her.  But her health is more important than her singing right now.

After three weeks of moping around, she went back on the road for the MLB tour with extra people from the label to ensure she follows orders of no singing.  She will be gone until May 15
th
and then she will be back home for good. 

This whole situation has put me in a bad mood lately and Dixon has definitely taken notice.  I have been staying holed up in my office pretty much every day since Ashleigh went on the road so he decided to pay me a visit one afternoon.

“Knock, knock my friend.”

“Hey Dixon.  Come on in.  I just need to finish up this paperwork and sign a few things really quick.  What brings you by?”

“Well, I’m kind of worried about you.  You’ve been acting strange ever since Ashleigh told us about her meeting in Nashville.  What’s going on man?”

Ashleigh has been on the road for a month now.  She’s due to come home in two weeks and so far, she has no clue I’m involved in any way.  But I need to tell someone.  It’s killing me holding this in.

“Shit.  Dude, I think I fucked up.  I’m pretty sure everyone is going to hate me if they ever find out what I’ve done.”

“Do I even want to hear what you’ve done?  Do I need to be worried about the police getting involved?”

“Fuck you, asshole.  I didn’t do anything criminal.  But I do need you to promise not to say a word at all to anyone.  Do not rat me out.”

He just shakes his head and groans.

“I’m serious asshole.  This is between me and you.”

“Fine, fine Cross.  It’s between me and you.  Now tell me what the hell it is.”

I start by filling him in on my silent shareholder role I have at the record label.  Before I can even finish my story, he figures it out for himself.

“Holy shit.  You’re the reason she’s on a break, aren’t you?  You went to the label and said something.  Oh man, she’s going to fucking hate you.  You know that, right?”

“Hey, why don’t you take my scissors and stab my eyes out?  It might feel a little better than you rubbing in the shit storm I have created.  I know she’s going to hate me.  But her health and her throat not being permanently damaged is more important than her hating me or not.”

I jump up from my chair and go pour a drink.  I never drink at work during the day but I think this situation calls for it right now. 

“Look Cross.  I know you meant well but she’s not going to see it that way.  She’s going to be crushed when she finds out you had anything to do with it.”

“Which is why she can’t fucking find out.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

ASHLEIGH

This is miserable.  I have gone from doing something I love to something I hate.  Not being able to sing on the MLB tour is pure hell.  My job is to fucking sing and I can’t even do it.  I’m supposed to sit here and look pretty and I am over it.  Thank God I get to go home in two days.  But then, I can’t even look forward to that because I am being forced to sit around and do nothing.  Absolutely nothing.

I will figure out who leaked just how bad I was to the label.  If it is the last thing I do, I will find that person and rip them a new asshole.  I was doing fucking fine.  I know my limits and I knew when to cool down from singing too much.

So, now when I get home on Sunday, I get to look forward to another very lengthy doctor’s appointment to re-evaluate my whole situation and see if I need surgery or not. 

Sunday arrives and when I get home, I find my girls waiting on me at my front door.  I really wasn’t in the mood for any company tonight but they aren’t going to leave me alone.  Ava looks at me with a big smile and holds up her hands.

“We come bearing gifts.  Greasy hamburgers and fries and a shit ton of ice cold beer.”

I can’t help but laugh.  I do love me some burgers and beer.

“Come on in.  I’m starving and pissed so I could use a beer right now.”

They blast me with questions about the tour and how it was not singing.  I fill them in on how boring it was and how miserable I was the whole time.

Merritt asks me if I will help her out at Bello some while I’m on my break and it just makes me cry.  I mean crazy person, lose my shit, cry fest.

“I’m sorry Ashleigh.  I didn’t mean to make you upset.  I was just trying to help out and make the time go by quicker with come thing else to do.  I know that Elizabeth mentioned needing some help at the Breast Cancer Foundation as well.  I know she loves you and would appreciate your help.

“I’m the one who’s sorry.  I just can’t wrap my head around how this happened.  I had everything under control myself.  Who in the hell went to the label about this?  So help me God, I will find out who did it if it is the last thing I do this summer.”

The girls kept trying to think of ways to help keep me occupied during my time off but I just wasn’t in the mood to hear any of it.  I know one thing to take my mind off of it and there is only one person who can help me with that. 

I shoot Cross a text to come over in about an hour when the girls are gone. 

When he arrives, I basically jump his bones the minute he makes it through my front door.  He closes my front door and locks it, never putting me down.  Walking me up the stairs while kissing me is easy for him.  We spend the rest of the night in the bed and I am like a sex maniac.  I want him and I need him.  Feeling him inside of me is amazing and I can’t get enough of him tonight.

“Oh my God, Cross.  Yes.  Oh God, yes.  Right there.  Please make me come.”

His tongue is working its magic again but that’s not how I want to come.  I want him all the way in me bringing me over the edge with my orgasm. For the past week, we have spent every night together, fucking each other senseless.  I just need him to fuck the hurt away and he gladly obliged.

“Cross, I need you in me now.  Please, get your ass up here and fuck me hard.”

“Your wish is my command Ashleigh.”

He trails his tongue from my mound, up my belly and then he feasts on each of my nipples.  Finally, his mouth finds mine as he grabs a hold of each of my hands and raises them above my head.  Holding my hands and kissing the hell out of me, he thrusts himself in me and I moan into his mouth.  He starts pumping in and out of me at a normal pace and lets his mouth find my nipples again.  I want to grab his ass and push him in farther but he won’t let go of my hands.  I throw both legs around his waist and lock them behind his back pulling him further into me. 

Picking up his pace, he pumps harder and harder until I can’t take much more. 

“Come for me, Ashleigh.”

My whole body explodes and Cross is right behind me, coming with me.

“What am I going to do with you baby?  You’re like a sex-crazed animal.”

Looking at him, I just laugh.  “What else am I going to do with all my spare time?  Sex with you all day sounds about perfect to me.”

For the next week, my nights go pretty much the same.  Dinner with the girls or Cross and then sex all night long and all morning long.  I even paid Cross a couple of visits to work and christened his office bathroom with him.    And the places we have had sex!  Oh my, I have become adventurous with my spare time.

Merritt looks at me over lunch one day with a questioning look.  “Okay, you’re going to have to give me a rundown of everywhere you’ve had sex lately.  I need some fresh ideas for me and Mason.”

“Well, of course, there have been the normal places like the bed and the shower.  We found every available space in my house and his condo to have sex.  We’ve done it on the kitchen island, in the laundry room on the washer, on the couch, in the pool, in the shower, in the bathtub, on my back porch, on his balcony, in his office bathroom at work and a few other places.”

“Okay, you’ve become some sex maniac.  You’ve never been like this before.  What gives?”

“It’s different with Cross.  He brings something out in me that makes me crave sex all the time.”

I notice a look on her face and I can’t figure out what it’s for.

“Hey, what’s that look for Merritt?  You look like you have something on your mind.  Spill it.”

“I’m really not sure what it is.  Dixon has been acting weird lately.  I’ve seen him and Cross talking a lot and they are always whispering but stop when I come around.  Have you noticed it too?”

“Now that you mention it, I have seen them whispering a lot.  Dixon has looked kind of aggravated with Cross too.  Maybe I can get Dixon to talk to me.  I’ll go visit him at work tomorrow.  Off the subject, are we all still on for East Andrews on Friday night?  It’s the last weekend before Dixon and Ava’s wedding.  It’s time to have some fun.

“Yeah, last I heard, everyone was still on for it.”

Perfect.  A night out is exactly what I need. 

CROSS

              Having to take a last minute business trip is not what I was planning for this week but I got a call from a company in North Carolina I’ve been working with and I need to get up there to sign off on the deal.  Thankfully, I was able to have them ready for me on Thursday and Friday so I could get back by Friday night to go out with the whole group.

              I can’t stop thinking about Ashleigh.  As much as I never wanted a serious relationship, I think I’m ready to take the plunge with her.  She means the world to me and I can’t get enough of her.  I just can’t stop hoping that everything doesn’t come crashing down on me involving her career.  I’m honestly not sure what I would do if she finds out.

              I get through the day of meetings on Thursday and just order room service for dinner.  I’m not in the mood to go out with anyone tonight.  Friday morning rolls around and I have three meetings to go to and then I can hop on the plane and head home.  I will just be getting back in time to meet everyone at the club and not for dinner but thankfully, I have a shower on the plane so I can change clothes and get ready while we’re in the air.  It’s the last big hurrah for Ava and Dixon before the big day next weekend.  We decided to have a joint night out with the guys and the girls and all I can think about is getting my hands on Ashleigh.