WMIS 03 Play With Me (9 page)

“Maybe,”
I mutter and he chuckles behind me.

“Let’s
go find it. Before you change your mind.”

“It’s
not far.”

We
turn a corner, and sure enough, there it is. There’s a room with a stage
boasting instruments, lights, even a sound machine that will emit applause and
crowd sounds if you really want to feel like a rock star.

Because
it’s the middle of the week, there aren’t many people wandering through the
museum today, and this room is empty, which is unusual because most people love
interactive exhibits.

“Go
ahead. I’m dying here.”

I
grin up at him and wrinkle up my nose, then gaze back at the stage.

“Why
not?” I shrug and climb on stage. I grab an acoustic guitar, plug it into the
amp and sit on a stool in the middle of the stage.

There’s
suddenly a spotlight on me, and one of the museum employees waves at me and
speaks into a mic. “You’re ready to go, miss.”

I
nod and strum the guitar, making sure it’s in tune, and speak to Will through
the mic.

“What
do you want to hear, sir?”

Will
laughs. “Whatever you know.”

“I
know a lot.” I search through the library in my head and settle on one. “Okay,
this one is called
I Never Told You
.”

I
strum the guitar and clear my throat and murmur, “I can’t believe I’m doing
this.”

Will
laughs at me, his eyes happy and trained intently on me and I just smile and
shake my head and continue playing the intro, and then start singing about a
blue eyed boy whom I miss after all the things we’d been through. The song is
sweet and a little sad, and reminds me a little of Leo, although I was never in
love with Leo.

The
song comes to an end. I open my eyes and look out at Will. His face is
completely sober, his eyes unblinking and still trained on me. He’s leaned his
elbows on his knees and isn’t moving.

Glancing
around, it occurs to me that other patrons have filed in to listen to the song,
and are now applauding, snapping me into the here and now. I smile and say
thanks, put the guitar away and walk down the steps toward Will, who is now
standing, waiting patiently for me.

“Come
here,” he crooks his finger at me and I comply, walking to him.

He
pulls me into his arms and off my feet, buries his face in my neck and holds on
tight. I have no choice but to wrap my arms tightly around his neck.

“That
was beautiful. Meg, why did you ever stop?” he asks as he sets me down, takes
my hand and leads me out of the theater. If he hears the other patrons murmur
about him being ‘Will Montgomery’ and snapping our photo with their cell
phones, he pays them no mind.

“Leo
left.” I shrug and feel a tug on my arm as Will stops dead in his tracks.

“Who
the fuck is Leo?”

“He
was my best friend since I was twelve, and band mate. He’s five years older.”

“And
you were in a band together?” Will asks, his voice no softer and I sigh.

“Yes,
through college. We got pretty good. He decided to pursue a career in music
down in LA and I chose to stay here to pursue nursing.” Of course, I leave out
the part about Leo signing with a band behind my back and that he’s now the
lead singer of one of the hottest bands in the freaking world.

“Do
you really prefer nursing? Honey, you’re a fantastic musician.”

“Thank
you.” I kiss his cheek as he holds my door open for me to climb into his car.
When he joins me in the car I continue. “I love being a nurse, Will. I’m a damn
good one.”

“I
know you are.” He takes my hand in his and kisses my fingers before linking
them with his and lays our hands in his lap. “I’m just surprised. With a voice
like yours, you could go really far.”

“I’m
where I need to be,” I say softly.

“Okay.”
He winks at me and grins. “Thank you for singing for me.”

“You’re
welcome.”

“Are
you hungry?” he asks. I check the time, and gasp.

“We
spent all afternoon there! It’s almost dinner time. So, yeah, I’m hungry.”

“Wanna
try burgers again?” he asks with a grin and I smirk.

“Not
in downtown Seattle.”

“Nah,
I know a place.”

* * *

“I
want to show you something,” Will says out of the blue. We’re in his car,
having finished our burgers at Red Mill, the same place where we first met that
day when I ran into him and Jules.

“What?”

“Well,
you shared a really important part of yourself with me today.”

It
thrills me that he understands how important music is to me. I smile at him and
wait for him to continue.

“So,
I want to share something important to me with you.”

“I’m
game,” I reply happily.

“Ironic
choice of words.” Will chuckles and merges onto Interstate 5 heading south into
the city center. I sit back into the plush leather seat and enjoy the ride in
this sexy car of his. God, I love this car. It turns me on, big time.

I
look over at Will and lick my lips.

He
glances my way and then does a double take and gives me a confused smile.

“What?”

“Your
car is sexy.”

“Are
we back at this again?” he asks and laughs as he changes lanes.

“You
look sexy as hell in this car.” I turn in my seat and face him.

His
eyes find mine again. “This is only the second date.”

As
if I need a reminder.

“Yep.”

“You
keep fucking me with your eyes like that…”

“And
what?” I interrupt him. “You had me naked and coming on my couch last night and
didn’t break the rule. I doubt me eye-fucking you will make you break it
either.”

“Jesus,
keep talking like that, honey, and see how fast I break your rule. You have
quite the dirty mouth you know.”

“I
know.” I shrug and laugh. “I went to college with Jules and Natalie. Have you
heard them talk lately?”

Will
smirks and takes an exit off the freeway.

“Besides,”
I continue. “I hung out with a band full of guys. I was never destined to have
a clean mouth.”

Suddenly
it occurs to me that maybe my language offends him.

“Does
it bother you?” I ask.

“Does
what bother me?” he asks and pulls into a private underground parking lot under
the football stadium.

“My
mouth.”

“Your
mouth is delicious.”

“My
language, smart ass,” I mutter and smack his arm.

“Ouch!
You like it rough, sweetheart?” He offers me a wolfish smile and I laugh.

“Sometimes,
yeah.”

This
gives him pause. He parks the car, shuts it off and stares at me. “Seriously.”

“Sure.”
I shrug. “You didn’t answer my question.”

He
just stares at me, his mouth agape. I rub his thigh gently with my fingertips.

“Will?”

“Yeah?”
He comes out of his trance and swallows.

“Does
my language offend you?”

“No.”
He shakes his head and frowns. “You’re not nearly as bad as Jules.”

“Few
are, Will.” I laugh and climb out of his sexy car. He waits for me, takes my
hand, and leads me to an elevator.

“So,
obviously, we’re at the football playing place,” I comment casually in the
elevator.

“Football
playing place?” Will asks and doubles over in laughter.

“You
know what I mean.”

“Do
you know anything about football?” he asks, delighted with me, and I glare at
him.

“Of
course I do.”

“What
position do I play?” he asks.

“Is
this a quiz?”

“A
little one.”

“You’re
the quarterback.”

“Who
do I throw the ball to?” He ushers me out of the elevator and then leans
against a wall and crosses his arms over his chest.

“Another
guy in a blue and green uniform.” I respond confidently. “Usually,” I add,
earning a glare from him.

“I’m
going to torture you for that.”

“I
hope so, babe.” I grin at him and his face sobers. “What?”

“Why
can you call me babe, but I can’t call you that?” he asks.

Good
point.
I frown and shrug. “I guess babe doesn’t sound like baby to me. It sounds more
grown up, maybe? I don’t know. It doesn’t weird me out, though.”

“Okay,
so noted. Come on.”

He
takes my hand again and pulls me down a long hall and through an enormous set
of double doors that open up to a tunnel that leads up to the football field.
All of the stadium lights are on. It’s empty.

“How…?”

“I
called ahead while you were in the restroom at the restaurant and asked someone
to turn the lights on for me.” He continues pulling me out on the field and
stops, right in the center of the fifty-yard line.

“Wow,”
I whisper and look around the stadium. “How many people can this seat?” I ask.

“Sixty-seven
thousand,” he states like it’s no big thing, and I stare at him with an open
mouth and wide eyes.

“Holy
shit.”

“We
sell out every weekend.”

I
knew that. Yet, being here, right here, in the middle of the field, looking
around at the empty stadium seats, at the enormity of this place, just about
knocks me on my ass.

In
fact, I just sit, right there, on the turf.

“Are
you okay?” he asks, his brow creasing with worry and joins me on the ground.

I’m
speechless as I gaze around the stadium, and it occurs to me that this could
have been me, on stage, singing in front of sixty-seven thousand people, rather
than small little clubs around Seattle, or reception halls full of wedding
guests. If Leo hadn’t made the decision to go without me, I would have been
singing in places just like this one.

“Meg?”
Will’s worried voice pulls me out of my trance and I shrug.

“You
must not get stage fright either,” I murmur.

“Only
during the play-offs,” he replies and pushes my hair back over my shoulder. I
love how he’s always touching me.

“You’re
a lot to take in, you know?” I ask him.

He
smiles shyly, and frowns for a second, looking down at this hands. “I can be,
yeah. But remember, this is just what I do. It’s only part of who I am.”

“It’s
important to you,” I remind him and he nods.

“Very.
I’ve played football for as long as I can remember.” He takes one of my hands
in his and plays with my fingers. “Football got me through school, Meg. I knew
I had to get good grades and stay out of trouble if I wanted to stay on the
team. And I did. I wanted the camaraderie with the guys. I had some really
smart coaches who pushed me and taught me. It earned me a scholarship to
college, and I worked my ass off there too.”

He
takes a deep breath and looks up, his eyes taking in the stadium, the
scoreboard, the ads. “This is all I ever wanted, and I was lucky enough to get
here.”

“This
isn’t luck,” I state firmly and his gaze whips to mine, surprised. “Will, this
is the result of you working your ass off and earning it. I may not know everything
there is to know about football, but I know that it’s not easy, and I know that
I’m so very proud of you. Not because of your contract, or the jersey you wear
– which you look damn hot in, by the way – but because you’re doing what you
always dreamed of. How many of us can say that?”

His
eyes soften as he cups my cheek in his big hand and rubs his thumb across my
lower lip. He leans toward me and brushes his magical lips over mine, and then
sinks into me, pushing me back to lie on the turf. He runs that hand down my
face, over my breast, and rests it on my hip as he continues to make love to my
mouth, his tongue searching and dancing. Our breathing quickens, and dear God,
I
want him.

He
pulls back and gazes down at me. “Someone’s probably watching us,” he murmurs.
He kisses my forehead and then lies on his back beside me. We just lay here,
breathing hard.

“I
should tell you something,” I whisper.

“What?”
I feel him look over at me, but I just look up at the black night sky above the
brightly lit, empty stadium.

“I
want to suck your dick in your car.”

“What?!”
He pushes up on his elbow, leans over me, and makes me look him in the eye. “I
don’t think I heard you right.”

“Your
car makes me crazy, Will.” I lick my lips and grin. “All I’ve thought about since
the other day is going down on you in your car.”