Page 65 of Everything After (Everything Trilogy)

ALFIE

Seeing Lily relaxed and happy filled me with a sense of calm. Life had been full on and taking her somewhere, where we had some time on our own, I hoped would invigorate her.

Since we’d told her band the news about the baby, Lennie had been stressing her out. In my view his reaction was selfish, and surprising. Up until then Lennie had been Lily’s greatest protective advocate of all her bandmates.

Although he was one of our closest friends, I’d had my suspicions for quite some time that XrAid’s schedule had largely aligned with those of Cobham Street, to maximize the time Rick and Lennie could carve out together.

Lily’s news about our baby means the pressure is on Lennie to consider our family life in the scheduling for their band, thus impacting upon his, Rick’s and Coral’s collective downtime.

When we arrived at Sunset Pier Restaurant for dinner, it was crazy busy, as I knew it would be.

It wasn’t ideal for us to dine in such a public place without security, but Key West was known for being chilled.

After a few minutes of selfies and shaking hands, I made a plea to the other patrons of the restaurant.

“Thanks, everyone. It’s great to meet you all.

As you can imagine, alone time with my beautiful wife isn’t easy to come by…

it isn’t that I’m not extremely proud of each of our successes, because I am.

However, we’ve come down here for a couple of days R&R before Lily goes back to the studio while XrAid cuts their next album. ”

A round of applause rang out. Lily sweetly curtseyed and waved, then people left us alone. After that we were escorted to a table at the furthest end of the pier.

“This is breathtaking. I’ve never been here before,” Lily remarked while she scanned our magnificent, uninterrupted Atlantic Ocean view. The reflection of the burnt orange sun, as it hung low in the evening sky, made the rippling waters of the ocean appear like it was on fire.

As dusk fell, the changing sky above the horizon was painted in a hundred shades of lilac and pink until the deeper shades of purples crept in.

“The sun looks like it’s melting into the water,” Lily observed. She’d seen the Floridian sunsets plenty of times, but it wasn’t that often that she’d had time to just sit and contemplate on it.

“This is paradise,” I stated. “The most beautiful woman in the world and a majestic sunset. I’m a lucky man.”

“It’s me who is lucky. I can’t imagine where I’d be now had I not come to Florida to study.”

“I thank God every day that you did. I can’t imagine my life without you in it,” I admitted.

“You were prepared to walk away,” she reminded me, in a stark comment that felt like a bolt to my chest.

“I was frustrated, what I did was the act of a desperate man. It wasn’t so much about family but about feeling needed and respected.

I didn’t think I had that from you, but now that I know the truth, I’m ashamed I didn’t express myself sooner.

Anyway, I know it’ll crop up time and again because I hurt you. If it helps, I hurt myself too.”

The conversation turned to the guys in her band again, and it was the first time I’d ever heard Lily disillusioned by Lennie.

“I’ve had my suspicions about the schedules, but as we are a couple I thought you’d at least been consulted and had agreed to them,” I said.

“Ever since I joined XrAid, Lennie would tell us where to go and when to be there. I figured that it was the management that dictated our calendar,” Lily replied.

“How do you feel now that Lennie has shown his hand?”

“Used. Robbed of time I could have spent with you, had the work schedules been distributed fairly. Ever since you put me on the path to truth, I’ve done my own research into things.

He’s gotten away with so much due to the guys all being single and none of the other support people having a permanent partner yet. ”

“Okay, any talk about the past, work or other people is banned for the time that we’re here,” I said, taking Lily’s hand and pressing a kiss to the back of it.

“Agreed,” she said. Reaching over the table, she ran a hand through my hair and raised her eyebrow in question. “What does that leave us to talk about?”

“Us, the baby, favorite sex positions, fantasies?” I teased while I counted the subjects on the fingers of my free hand and waggled my eyebrows.

A slow smile spread on her luscious lips as she shook her head. “Ah, right…”

“Hm, I think I ate too much,” Lily mumbled as I drove the few minutes back to the cottage.

“You had a great appetite for that burger, and I loved watching you eat it.”

She yawned. “Yeah, but now I’m sleepy, too many carbs,” she suggested.

“You made up for zero alcohol with that food,” I said.

“You ate more than usual as well, and you didn’t need to order soft drinks. I am okay with you drinking while I can’t.”

“I know, but there are a couple of bottles of red wine I brought with us. I’ll have some of that once we’re home.”

“We’re not going to bed?” she asked, checking her wristwatch. “Oh, it’s barely 9:30 p.m.”

“No, I want us to make the most of this weekend. Once that burger wears off, I thought we could skinny dip in the pool,” I ducked and stole a quick look at the sky. “Look at the stars.”

She pressed her head against the passenger door window. “Wow… so pretty.”

“Right? And with your permission, I’d like to make love to my wife with the universe as my witness.”

Changing position, she threaded her arm around mine and laid her head on my shoulder. “You really are a romantic at heart, Alfie Black. It must be the influence of all that country music you listen to.”

I chuckled as we turned in and parked the car at our accommodation. “I’ll admit, nothing tugs at the heartstrings in quite the same way as a good ol’ country song.”

“I’ll agree to skinny dipping if you’ll serenade me in the pool.”

I opened the car door, hopped out and ran to open her door for her. While helping her out, I asked, “Which song did you have in mind?”

“An oldie but goodie. The one you sang to me the first time we went to that karaoke bar.”

“Dierks Bentley… “Come a Little Closer”? The one we danced to at home?”

“That’s the one,” she confirmed, smiling.

“I reckon that would be the perfect song after the past few months.”

It had gone past 11:30 p.m. and I’d had three glasses of Californian wine by the time I slid naked into the heated pool. I lifted Lily into the water beside me.

Arching her back, Lily wetted her long hair, stretched her body above the water, then stood beside me again.

Lily’s baby bump had become more noticeable in the previous few days, and up until now, I’d been mindful about allowing Lily some time to adjust to her feelings about being a mom. Now that she had begun to show, I wanted to experience the pregnancy more by celebrating the miracle inside of her.

Reaching out, I placed my hand on her belly, stroked back and forth across it, and smiled. “He’s really beginning to make his presence known now,” I stated.

“Kicking is becoming more noticeable too,” she replied. The smile on her face confirmed she’d gotten used to the idea now. “You know, I thought you’d be more excited, but you’re not talking about the baby much.”

“I’ve deliberately not made a big deal of it because I didn’t want to freak you out. I guess I’ve played it down so as not to antagonize you.”

“Antagonize?”

“Maybe that’s the wrong word, but I don’t want to do anything that makes you feel anxious about being a mom.”

Tears welled in her eyes, and she shook her head. “God, Alfie, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be, it’s fine.”

“No, it isn’t. I hate that you’ve hidden your excitement about being a dad because you’re afraid to upset me.

I’ll admit, I was petrified about all kinds of things when I first found out.

But since I felt our baby moving inside me, I’ve let go of the baggage that was weighing me down and I’m quietly excited now. ”

“You have no clue what a relief it is to hear you say that. I’m so excited I could burst at the thought of this little one being born. Time can’t go fast enough for me.”

“I’m sorry. Please don’t keep your feelings from me.”

“Can I tell you something without upsetting you?” I asked.

“You can tell me anything.”

“There were times when I thought your lack of willingness to discuss starting a family was because you didn’t want kids. Sometimes you’d start an argument when I’d suggested us making a timeline to start a family.”

“That’s true, I did do that,” she admitted.

“There were times when I thought it would be great to have a little person of our own. Like when Jack and Elle’s babies were born.

But I was worried about how a baby would change XrAid’s scheduling commitments, and how that might impact negatively on me and the band. ”

“You’re great with Jack and Elle’s kids, and your band relies on you more than you know. I mean, they got their record deal in the first place because of you.”

“Other peoples’ kids are not my responsibility, so paying attention to them comes easy,” she admitted. “And I believe XrAid is only as famous as we are because of Lennie’s and my connection to you, Crakt Soundzz and Cobham Street.”

“And here we are talking about bands and other people again,” I remarked. “It’s hard to stay on the topic of us. Forget all that, we’ll be great parents,” I stated.

Dipping my knees, I lifted her onto my thighs, wrapped her legs around my waist, held her close and kissed her.

It was a kiss that deepened, from a slow burn to a less controlled and far more passionate one.

We were both breathless when I pulled away, then held her head in my hands.

A slow smile crept onto my face when I saw lust sparkling in her eyes.

“Lily, my only wish is that you could see yourself how I see you.”

“What do you see?” Her eyes ticked over my face while the sexual chemistry arced between us.

“You have no idea what a force you are. You’re a beautiful woman inside and out, a fantastic musician and singer, and you’re above average in bed.”

“Above average?” she asked, pouting.

“Alright, you’re the best I’ve ever had,” I admitted. “I’d never met anyone who set me on fire until I’d met you... nor had compatible stamina.”

“Same, but I think you’re biased about the rest. I know I have many faults, yet you make me out to be flawless.”

“No one’s flawless, baby. Not even me,” I teased, then shifted her off my waist, lifted her up and sat her on the edge of the pool.

Spreading her knees, I bent and pressed a kiss first on one thigh and then the other, glanced up at her and waggled my brows in suggestion.

“Enough chat for one night, I think,” I insisted.

I spread her legs wider, stepped between them, leaned in and kissed her neck.

A rash of goosebumps spread over her skin, and she cringed.

“Damn,” she muttered.

My cock was rock-hard, painfully hard while I kissed her collar bone, bit her shoulder and my mouth lingered over her tits. “See what I do to you?” I asked while she squirmed and wriggled from ass cheek to ass cheek.

“Mm,” she agreed. Her hands found my hair and her fingernails grazed my scalp, setting my heart on fire and my skin erupting in goosebumps as well. I peppered her tits with kisses, took the left one in my mouth and sucked hard.

“Fuck.” She gripped my hair hard and pulled my head back, but at the same time she wrapped her legs around me, arching her back in her effort to pull me closer.

Lifting her onto my body, I slipped a hand under her and checked her entrance. Even with the water in the pool I could distinguish the slick coat of arousal from the wetness of the pool water. Positioning myself, I eased my cock inside her.

Lily’s forehead landed on my shoulder. “Oh… there’s nothing like this feeling, is there?”

“Nothing,” I agreed. She lifted her head and smiled.

“You do realize this is the only way I’m ever going to have two people inside me at the same time?” she asked, staring straight at me with a lifted brow.

I laughed and nodded at her joke, then I’m sure my expression turned serious when I said, “As a rule, I’d never share you, but in this case, I can make an exception.”

Mindful of Lily’s condition since she’d brought our baby up, I made love to my wife in a slow, loving and unhurried way to cement our touching connection.