So I stepped it up a little and held the final note in the chorus, deciding I would do what I had informed Derek I wanted to do. I stood up and removed my guitar, gently placing it on my stool, then I grabbed the microphone from the stand with the intention to concentrate more on my vocals. As the song escalated during the bridge, I started to make my way down off the stage, just like Bryce had done when he played the guitar solo for me. I watched his expression change from awed disbelief to amusement as I slowly stepped toward him singing the lyrics in the bridge. I stopped just in front of him and held the longest note before the final chorus then dropped my hand from the microphone to touch his face as I once again told him he was the only exception. He placed his hands on top of mine and pressed them to the side of his face then pulled me to him, forcing me to sit on his lap. I giggled a lyric as he helped position me comfortably on top of him, wrapping his arms around my back and across my lap.
I looked into his eyes as I sang the final line, and no longer able to hold in my emotion, I let a tear fall to my cheek. He reached up and wiped it tenderly with his finger then pulled me down to kiss him. The crowd then broke into applause, some even sounding a few wolf whistles, but I didn’t pull away, my lips were stuck on his—perfectly attached. He threaded his fingers through my hair and tightened his grip as his tongue found mine, lovingly caressing it with passionate strokes. Eventually, he loosened his grip and released me from his kiss.
“You are incredible. I’m...” He shook his head and looked down, his eyes level with my chest. “I’m just so...” He looked back up to my face. “I...thank you—”
I interrupted him, seeing he was struggling for words. “You’re welcome. Sometimes it’s easier to hide something furtively than it is to hide it blatantly,” I said with a sneaky smile, reversing his earlier explanation.
“Nice work, Alexis,” said Will, while tilting his beer in my direction. “Now we can finally get rid of Derek.”
Derek stopped by the chair Bryce and I were sitting on. “I heard that, arsehole.”
I climbed off of Bryce’s lap and stood up, giving Derek a hug. “Thank you so much. But, fuck I’m glad that is over.” I whispered into his ear.
He chuckled and pulled away. “You did great.”
I rolled my eyes. “I did miss that chord.”
“What chord?” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, obviously trying to dismiss my mistake.
Bryce stood up and shook Derek’s hand. “Thanks, Mate. Although, I’m not too sure what to think about your ability to spend so much time with my girl behind my back without me knowing.”
Derek patted Bryce on the back. “You should be worried about that, Mate,” he said playfully before he moved away to pull up a chair next to Carly.
“Mum?”
I turned to Charlotte. “Yes, Sweetheart.”
“Do you want to be in my band?” she offered like quite the bargaining professional. “You can play the guitar and help me sing the songs. I’ll be the lead singer though.”
I laughed and ran my hand down her head. “Sure. I’d love to.”
Bryce insisted I take my seat back on his lap while the band finished their drinks before having to get up to perform their final set. He made his possession of me quite obvious through his touch, whether it was his hand placed on my lap or his fingers that gently caressed my lower back. Every now again I would catch him staring up at me or at my hands, and when I did catch him staring at my hands I would move them to find his, seizing them and breaking his trance.
“Are you alright? You seem a bit lost in thought?” I whispered as I leaned back into him.
He inconspicuously moved my hair away from my neck and with a voice no louder than my own, breathed out. “I’m just thinking about all the ways I can show you how much I fucking enjoyed that performance, how fucking perfect it was and how fucking perfect you are.”
I took a sip of my wine and swallowed heavily.
“If you are not already carrying our next child, my love, you will be by the end of the night.”
I leaned forward and put my glass down then turned back to him. “Well, best you hurry up and finish this set. We have work to do.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Bryce, Derek, Will, Matt, and Lucy played the remainder of their gig, and I watched the ease with which they all complimented each other. None of them were serious die hard musicians in a sense that they wanted to live and breathe performing, they all just seemed to casually enjoy being able to get together and play for a group of people. I wondered if, at any stage during the past, they’d wanted to become a professionally-signed band. My curiosity would have to be addressed later.