Page 52 of Everything After (Everything Trilogy)

ALFIE

The strain I’d read in Lily’s expression had disappeared from her face as she walked back down the hallway after her conversation with Lennie. I held my arms open and she stepped into them once she’d reached me.

“Everything okay?” I muttered, cupping her head in my hands. The cloud I’d seen in Lily’s eyes had gone, and I glanced over her shoulder. Lennie wandered past me and nodded before disappearing through our reception room door and back to our other guests.

“Yeah, everything’s fine now,” she mumbled, sounding contented.

From her soft posture in my arms, I believed whatever had been said, their previous issue had been resolved.

“Good. No grief?” I challenged.

“Nope, Lennie knows where I’m at,” she stated decisively. What I loved about Lily was there was never a power trip if she’d gotten her way about something, just this quiet humility that told me she knew she’d done all she could to argue her case.

“I’m stoked for you,” my bandmate Des slurred when he draped an arm over my shoulder and peered at me bleary-eyed. He was as drunk as a skunk and stank of weed while he flashed me a goofy grin.

“Thanks, man,” I said, lifting his arm from around me and setting it down by his side. “I’m taken,” I joked, pretending I thought he was hitting on me.

Andy laughed, while the date Des had brought with him plumped up her tits and winked at me.

“Was that wink for Alfie?” Andy challenged, calling her out in front of Des.

The girl stuttered, nervously tucked her hair behind her ears, and appeared appropriately embarrassed that she’d been caught out trying to attract my attention.

I was laughing when Lily came and slid an arm around my waist. “Did I just see you wink at my husband?” she asked playfully.

“N-no, I had something in my eye,” she muttered, over-acting by rubbing it roughly, as if there was still something in there.

“Must have flicked a bit of crumb from between those puppies right up into your eye,” Andy suggested helpfully, pointing at the girl’s tits.

Lily chuckled and glanced up with a knowing smirk on her lips. “Do you think my girls will get as big as those ones?” she asked, nodding toward the girl’s chest.

“God, I hope not. Your tits are perfect as they are, baby,” I replied.

“He’s not wrong,” Des agreed. Lily chuckled and let Des’s compliment slide because she could see how drunk my bandmate was.

“Are you going to breastfeed? And can we watch?” Des asked in another unfiltered comment since he’d gotten away with the first one.

He then glanced wide-eyed at me, like he was silently telling me he was as surprised as I was by the question he’d just asked.

“You want the polite answer or the one where I cuss you out for being lewd, Des?” Lily remarked, pretending to be offended by pouting her beautiful plump lips.

“Probably the first?” he said, like it was a question instead of a choice. He winced while he waited for Lily’s reply.

“Yes, I am. And to the second part of that question, no, you won’t be watching, not if you enjoy seeing daylight for the rest of your life,” Lily replied primly in her posh London accent.

“Got it, nice tits, but for Alfie’s eyes only,” Des confirmed, sighed, and nodded to himself.

“Whose nice tits are we talking about?” Jack interrupted, glancing from me to Des’s date and smirking.

“Don’t ask,” Alfie muttered.

“Ah, Lily’s, then. And who was brave enough to say it?” he asked, glancing from Andy to Des. “Don’t tell me, it was Des. He’s the only one drunk enough to talk about Lily’s tits, in front of her caveman here.”

“You’re talking about them now,” Andy reminded Jack.

“Nope, I’m referencing them. There’s a difference,” Jack muttered, flashing a smart-ass, smug grin toward Lily.

“Jack, you have an answer for everything,” my wife said, sounding affectionate toward her best friend.

“I do. And that’s why you always call me for advice,” he replied, smiling.

Lily reached out and palmed his chest. Jack immediately pulled her away from me and wrapped her in a tight hug, like he often did, before I had time to think. “I can’t believe you’re going to be a mother. Can I be your birthing partner?”

“No, you fucking can’t,” I shot back, growling. I flashed him a ‘don’t- fuck-with-me’ look and folded my arms, scowling.

“Second in command? I can bring snacks, and I give great back rubs, ask Mya,” he suggested, his eyes twinkled mischievously while they darted between Lily and me. “Go on, Lily. Say yes. I promise not to stare at your pussy… at least let me be in the room.”

“You’re fucking sick, dude,” I muttered with my brows bunched so tight they felt painful.

“We’ll see,” Lily replied.

I almost choked as I reeled around, nearly giving myself whiplash when I looked from Jack to Lily.

“We fucking well won’t,” I countered again, pulling Lily away from him and wrapping my arms possessively around her.

“My kid, my wife’s pussy. I won’t have her treated like a fucking circus act,” I ordered.

“Like Lily said, we’ll see. I’ll take that for now. I still have plenty of time to talk you into the benefits of having me in the room for the main event,” Jack taunted, wagging his eyebrows

“Did I ask to be at your kids’ births? No, because that would be fucking weird.”

“It would have been,” Jack agreed. “But you and Mya didn’t grow up together. You’re not as close in the same way as Lily and I are.”

“I’m not having this conversation with you anymore,” I said shutting him down.

“Jesus, I thought this was going to be a chill day. This is the second argument I’ve heard in the past thirty minutes,” Gibson confessed.

“It’s not an argument, it’s a debate,” Jack informed him.

“Debate?” Rick interjected, stepping into our circle. He held a fist up to Gibson and once they’d bumped fists, Gibson probed further. “What are you debating?”

“Nothing. The topic isn’t up for debate,” I informed them with a warning note in my tone.

“I happen to think it’s an extremely important topic,” Jack countered, breezily.

“Well, are you going to tell us so that we can judge for ourselves,” Gibson questioned.

“Excuse me, Gibson. I know all these people are famous, but I never in a million years thought I’d be at the same social event as Gibson Barclay. Would you mind if I took a selfie with you?” Delilah asked, stopping the conversation.

“Really, Delilah? Now? You’ve been so cool, hanging with us and never once asking anything of us,” I chastised.

“I’m guessing I might not have the opportunity after today. I know that I’ll see everyone else because I’ve already met everyone several times now.”

“You don’t want a picture with me?” Rick muttered. “I was a rock God while this lot were still shitting their pants and wondering what that fascinating, rubber, dangly bit between their legs was,” he informed her.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to offend you by not asking. It’s just that you’re a bit odd sometimes and it scares me,” Delilah confessed, her eyes darting from me to Gibson for reassurance.

Gibson chuckled. “Who are you and didn’t your mom teach you about filtering your conversation?”

I laughed. “Gib, this is Delilah. She’s a music student just about to graduate from FSU. I was asked to mentor her, but she’s got it all going on. You’ll want to have your picture taken with her for when she’s famous.”

“Is that right?” Gibson muttered playfully in his rich, low timbre.

“Then you heard the man, let’s do this,” he said, sounding much more enthusiastic about the task than he did before.

I knew he’d have no issue granting Delilah’s request in the first place, but I loved that the guy went along with my effort to boost her confidence.

“Would you mind if I took a selfie?” Rick asked, pretending to be timid as he waved his cell phone in Delilah’s direction.

“Sure, but then, I’ll politely ask you if you would give us our privacy and not post it on social media. The last thing we need is swarms of small boats turning up here and mobbing me,” Delilah joked.

“Damn, a diva already,” Gibson said, chuckling.

“With good cause,” I insisted. “Just wait until you hear her play for us later. Her talent is insane.”

“Insane enough to let her open for you?” Gibson questioned with a raised brow.

“Dude, she’s that good. I’d bet at some point she’ll have someone like us open for her… Madison Square Garden, mark my words.”

Delilah grinned at my praise as Rick stepped forward, posed sweetly for the first picture, then looked like he’d pretended to lick her face for the next. It was only when Delilah said, “Ew,” and she used the back of her hand to wipe her wet cheek that I realized he’d done it.

“For goodness’ sake, Rick,” Coral scolded, pulled a small silk handkerchief from her purse and handed it to Delilah.

“Please forgive our poorly mannered partner, he forgets himself sometimes. He’s used to partying with animals, we don’t get many invites to these civilized small gatherings.

” She smiled a sympathetic smile and turned to scold Rick again.

“Honestly, we can’t take you anywhere. I swear you’re getting worse the older you grow. ”

“God help the retirement community that gets you,” Gibson agreed.

“I ain’t going in no retirement home. I’ll go out in a blaze of glory… surprised I haven’t already, considering some of the shit I’ve done.”

“Yup you’re one of the world’s conundrums,” Jack agreed.

Rick lifted two fingers in a crude gesture toward Jack. “Mya, did I ever tell you about the stunt Jack pulled at the finger buffet that one time at Cobham Street’s after-party?” he called out, scanning the room for his niece, who was married to Jack.

“I don’t recall that story, Rick,” she mumbled to her uncle, suddenly joining our group.

“You mean Uncle Rick?” Jack goaded.

“Are you trying to break your niece’s heart?

” I asked, disrupting the conversation to remind Rick he was pushing his boundaries now.

The last thing Mya needed to hear was how her husband had been my guest at one of Cobham Street after-parties and had gotten carried away with two women in public.

Let’s just say there were fingers involved at that buffet.

“Okay, if it’s all the same to y’all, I’ll give delightful Delilah her selfie and head back outside to Chloe. My poor wife will be thinking I’ve forgotten her.”

Gibson took Delilah’s cell phone, struck a few poses, then waved me over beside them and took one of the three of us.

When he was done, he checked them out with her then handed her back her phone.

“Can’t wait to hear what all the hype is about when you play.

If you’re as good as he says you are, then I won’t be surprised if you go as far as Alfie says you will. ”

Gibson led me away until we were alone. “We’ll catch up when everyone else is drunk,” he muttered at close quarters to me. “I want to run something by you… it might be a project you’d be interested in.”

As I watched Gibson disappear back out to the patio, I wondered what it could be, although the chance to work with Gibson again appealed to me.