The Second Song #1: Homecoming (3 page)

"It was actually. I almost got shot this time."

"What happened?"

"Can’t tell ya." He winked. "You’ll have to read all about how I got myself in the wrong place at the wrong time, pissed off the wrong guy who dumped me out, injured with a bad fever, in bum-fuck-back-woods South America where I had to hike my ass out of the
Cordillera de los Andes.
That’s why I’m about a month late getting’ home."

"Sweet Jesus. Avery, you got to be more careful, you’ll give your momma a heart attack if you get yourself killed!"

"Momma died a few years ago
cher,
" he whispered.

"How?" I asked, tears pricking my eyes.
Why had gran never told me?

"One of her boyfriends finally hit her too hard - put her in the hospital for a few days till she died and I was too far away to do anything about it."

"Good thing you weren’t home to kill him. She wouldn’t have wanted you in prison for the rest of your life."

"No, but the bastard that killed her is rotting there now," he said raising his glass in a somber toast.

Avery always had a difficult relationship with the mother he claimed hadn’t had enough sense to give him a proper name, so she chose to name him after the high school where she got knocked up. He’d spent his childhood and adolescence trying to protect her from the deadbeat guys she brought home. But I knew he loved her and it had killed him not to be here to protect her.

"I’m so sorry Ave," I whispered, reaching to squeeze his hand, oblivious of my slip with the nickname only I ever used. "I had no idea; I’d have at least come back for the funeral."

"That’s why I asked Grand-mére Léoma not to tell you." His words were like a punch in the gut.

"Oh," was all I could manage.

"You know I wanted you here
cher,
but the others – well they don’t understand the person you’ve become and I thought it would be better for you."

"I’m still me."

"Why are you here Lise?" The familiar name falling effortlessly off his tongue.

"It’s my home as much as anybody’s."

"What are you runnin’ from
cher
and why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like it’s ten years ago and you haven’t ripped my heart out?"

"I never meant to hurt you Ave." I took a step forward.

"I know," he said gently, pulling me into his arms, pressing his forehead against mine, "but you did anyway."

"It was a long time ago and I was a stupid kid faced with a tough decision."

"And I was a selfish bastard for making it harder on you," he whispered as his lips found mine and we were kissing in a way we never had before.

"Avery? What are we doing?"

"Getting reacquainted
cher
." He grinned, lifting me in his arms as he headed for the stairs. I didn’t want to stop to think about what a terrible idea this was, I was too far gone the moment his lips brushed mine.

We almost didn’t make it up the narrow flight before we were tearing at each other’s clothes; eager to rekindle the fire we’d once shared.

Breathlessly, we tumbled naked onto the bed. The scent of swamp still clung to his skin, even after his hasty shower. It was a clean, familiar scent of home - and of Avery. 

"I missed you
mon cher
," he whispered, trailing kisses along my throat down to my breasts. "Your body has changed," he smiled, taking one puckered nipple into his mouth with a moan.

"Back atcha." My hands exploring the more mature lines of his body. His chestnut hair was longer and more unruly than I remembered as I ran my fingers through it, as he showered each nipple with attention.

His jaw was firm and the planes of his face were more angular than they had been when he was a boy, and his prickly stubble raked across my sensitive flesh. Avery had always been tall, but he was even taller now, his body, trim and muscular, was familiar in so many ways, but he was a man now and he’d certainly learned some new tricks.

"What’s wrong
cher
?" His lips returned to mine for a moment only to stop. His eyes bored into mine and he knew I was fighting a war with my emotions.

"It’s just us Lise. Let everything else go - all the shit from the past don’t matter no more," he said as he eased me back onto the pillows, cradling me in his arms as he gazed into the depths of my eyes.

He kissed me long and deep, nudging my thighs apart and somewhere deep inside, I wanted to resist. It felt like we had a world of hurt to talk about before we could have this again and I wasn’t sure I deserved the chance. In the end, I couldn’t resist Avery. I’d never had the strength for that. I kissed him back, shoving my fear and uncertainty aside as his hard erection pressed against my entrance and all I could feel was desire for this man I hardly knew anymore, but I was determined to find him again, find us again, if only for a short while.

"God, Avery! I didn’t think we’d ever have this again," I cried, my hips flexing against him as he slowly sank deep inside me.

"Oh,
mon cher
!" He gasped as my body flexed to accommodate his length. "I forgot how good you feel."

Our kisses moved in harmony with our lovemaking and I forgot all about the pressures of my demanding career and my uncertainty of the future. My only thought was of Avery and the wonderful things that were happening between us so quickly. Nothing else mattered, but this moment of sweet reunion.

His hands were like magic, making my body sing at the simplest touch—and he remembered
exactly
how to touch me.

"Avery." My nails raked across his back, my toes curling as I moved with him, my body responding quickly to his attentions.

"Not yet
cher
," he growled, rolling over until I was on top. "I haven’t had enough of you yet and you know if you come, I come." His hands caressed down my body, gripping my hips as I began to move, changing our rhythm to prolong our pleasure.

"Let me see that beautiful body Lise," he whispered with a kiss.

I rose to straddle him, my palms flat on his chest, his hands caressing my backside as I moved.

"God Lise, you were always a beautiful girl, but you are absolutely breathtaking now," he said as he reached to palm my breast, teasing the taught nipple with his thumbs. It was true; I was in the best shape of my life. The dancing and difficult choreography was physically demanding, but it kept me lean and strong, the added muscle accentuating my natural curves.

I threw my head back, flexing my hips against his, letting my long blond hair tickle his thighs. I gasped at the unexpected touch of his fingertips across my clit.

"Avery - please," I whispered, unable to articulate my emotions. 

"Let me feel you come now
mon cher
." His arms snaked around me and I was suddenly on my back again and he was moving faster and deeper with every powerful thrust. I came hard and quickly as he continued to move inside me, prolonging the intensity of my orgasm as long as he could until I felt him burst inside me with a groan of pure pleasure.

I felt unexpected tears prick my eyes as he kissed me, pulling me into the safety of his arms, curling around my body just as he had so long ago. I felt safe and loved, something I hadn’t felt in a long time - probably not since the last time I left his bed.

"W
hat now?" I finally whispered, too scared to face him—too afraid I would see nothing but regret in his eyes.

"Food! Don’t overthink it
cher
; we don’t have to psychoanalyze great sex."

"Just great sex?"

"And more." He grinned, getting to his feet with a playful swat to my behind. "But right now I’m hungry. Let’s go find whatever’s in my fridge."

"You mean you have more than just beer?"

"I have a girl come out and clean every once in a while and she keeps my fridge stocked."

"My my, moving up in the world aren’t we?"

"You’re not the only small town success story Lise," he said with the tiniest hint of scorn.

"I am well aware of the many,
worthwhile
successes of Mr. Avery Trahan," I said softly. "And I am quite proud of every one of them."

"Call gran and tell her where you are
cher
, she’ll worry a
caimon
gobbled you up." He laughed as he leaned in for a kiss.

"I may have been gone a long time, you ole
bon rien
, but I have enough sense not to get eaten by a lazy gator. Besides, I’ll never get a signal way out here."

"Call her
,
you know she’ll worry herself sick, use my satellite phone."

"And she’ll say I told ya so." I sighed, rolling over to find my clothes scattered across the floor and down the stairs. By the time I joined him in the kitchen I was once again fully clothed.

"I have frozen pizza and some gumbo that looks quite tasty."

"Mmmm, gumbo’s got my vote," I muttered, dialing gran’s landline, hoping to get the decrepit old answering machine, but I had no such luck.

"Hey gran."

"Elise? Are ya hurt
cher
, you’ve been gone for hours!"

"Sorry grand-mére, I ran into Avery, he got back last night it seems."

"Say no more, come home when you can." I could practically hear her smile.

"I’ll be home tonight."

"You make that boy give you a ride home, I don’t want you in that pirogue when it’s dark."

"Yes ma’am." I chuckled at her worry.

"What have you been up to since you been home?" Avery asked as I ended the call and joined him in the kitchen. "You see Beau and Mallory yet? They got another new baby."

"Nah, I haven’t seen anyone. I’ve just been staying out at gran’s."

"Why not, they’d love to see you?
"

"I doubt it. I tried going into town when I first got here, but I practically got run outta Wal-Mart on a rail."

"What? Why?" He frowned.

"Avery, for a smart man, you sure are dumb." I hopped onto the counter, taking the beer he offered.

"What’s wrong?"

"Everyone in this town hates me and I’m not real sure why." I finally gave voice to my fears for the first time in years.

"Lise." He sighed. "Not everyone understands why you’ve stayed so far away from home, and why you refuse to acknowledge Avery Island as your hometown. They think you’re ashamed of your roots
cher
."

"Avery, nothing could be further from the truth! Why would they think that?"

"For ten years they’ve watched you give interviews, host award shows, hold concerts and do commercials and in all that time, you‘ve never once mentioned Avery Island. Even when asked where you’re from, you’re vague, making the world think you’re just some girl from New Orleans."

"Don’t they know I’m just protecting them?"

"No
cher,
they think you sold out and turned your back on all of us," he said quietly.

"And what do you think?" I snapped.

"I know Elise Leroux would
die
before she did anything to ruin the beauty of this town or hurt its people. I might not have realized that ten years ago, but I do now and have for a long time."

"Thank you Avery," I said miserably. "It helps to know you’ve got my back, but—"

"It’s not enough is it
cher
?" He pulled me off the counter and into the circle of his arms, dropping a kiss on my forehead.

"No." I sighed, feeling the tears about to come.

"Come on let’s go."

"Where, what about the gumbo?" I frowned as he threw the container back into the fridge.

"We’re going to town to have dinner with our friends and we’re going to end this shit, right here, right now. Every one of our friends should have enough sense by now to know you only have their best interests at heart."

"I
t wasn’t
that
bad Lise," Avery chuckled the next night as we curled up together in his bed, watching T.V.

"They were
scared
of me Ave, like actually scared of me!" I laughed.

"They got over it
cher.
Mallory even hugged you goodnight, and it was nice once they loosened up - having us all back together again."

"Yeah it was, but...?"

"What?" He frowned down at me.

"It was weird too, seeing all our friends married with kids. They seem so...old."

"It’s always kind of a culture shock when I come home." He sighed, hugging me close. "I love 'em as much as I ever did, but the older we get, the more different our lives become."

"Sometimes I wish I never left, but watching Beau and Mallory with their
three
kids and seeing how hard they work for the little they have..."

"We’d be there right beside them if you hadn’t left
cher
. And I’m not sure either of us would have been happy with that."

"But are we happy now?"

"I certainly am." He laughed.

"Well, right this second, yes, but with our regular lives?"

"I love my job
cher,
but I am a lonely guy otherwise." He sighed. "I’ve dated, had a few relationships, even thought about marrying one of them once, but something’s missing for me Lise, has been for a long time."

"Is it me that’s missing?" I asked with a smile.

"Maybe, but I don’t know how that works when I go back out on assignment and you go back to being a pop-princess, touring the world ten months out of the year."

"Maybe I don’t want to do that anymore," I grumbled.

"Well what do you want Elise?" He asked, sitting up to face me. "Your music used to mean something
cher
, do something about it, change your circumstances!"

"I’ve tried Ave, Max won’t listen to me. He still sees me as that little Cajun girl he found a million years ago, but I’m not that girl anymore. Part of her is still inside me somewhere, but she’s grown up too and I just don’t know what direction to take...I’m at a crossroads, I can feel it, but I’m so lost."

"So get back to the part you loved when we were kids
.
Get back to writing your own music and make him see you have a vision, and dancing to someone else's tune just isn't it - show him you can make a change in your music without alienating your fans."