Once Upon a Sure Thing (Heartbreakers #2)(37)

One word.

Ribbon.

I slide it open to read.

Miller: One of the benefits is that I’m going to tie you up with that red ribbon, and I'm going to kiss you everywhere, run my tongue down your breasts, spread your legs, and devour you till you come on my lips. And then I will fuck you like you wanted me to last night. Till you’re mindless with pleasure.





I stare, slack-jawed at the screen. Flirting is one thing—dirty texting is entirely another, and it’s ridiculously arousing. I wriggle in the chair, wishing I could race out of here this second.

Instead, I close my eyes, take a breath, and will away the images, so my young adult book doesn’t sound like the sixteen-year-old heroine walked into the NC-17 version of prom.

Though that’s where I want to go tonight.

And I want to enjoy every single benefit.





Chapter 21





Miller



To say I'm eager would be an understatement. What I am is fired up.

It’s not only because I’m going to learn if Ally tastes like cherries, or like honey, or like the woman I’ve wanted to touch for a long time now. Hell, maybe it’s all three, and I’ll take a triple latte of Ally, thank you very much.

It’s also because I have an idea for a song.

After I talk to Ally, I meet up with Jackson in the lobby of my building and hand off the birth certificate.

“Dude, you are the man,” he tells me.

“How’s Grandpa?”

He taps his chest. “Ticker works fine, and blood pressure is normal. He’s doing well.”

“You are the man for taking him to his appointment.” I point at him. “Also, I know you're going to nab that scholarship, and your documentary is going to be awesome.”

“If you and Honey keep breaking out the hits, it sure will be.” Jackson tilts his head. “Speaking of . . . any more songs up your sleeve?”

“Actually, I do have a particularly good idea for one.” I tap my skull. “And that means I need to work on it right now while my brain is the Lincoln Center Fountain of ideas.”

Jackson’s dark eyes sparkle, and he beams. “A brand-new one. Can I record you putting it together?”

“It’s going to be raw. I haven’t even written anything down yet. You’ll be watching the sausage get made, my friend. You cool with that?”

He pumps a fist. “It’s sausage time.” He shakes his head like a dog then looks at me sheepishly. “You need to pretend I never said that.”

I laugh as we head to the elevator. “It’s already been erased from the gray matter.”

Once we’re upstairs in my place, he's quiet, the unassuming documentarian, as I grab a notebook, pace around my pool table, and jot down some ideas about chemistry, connection, and where it can take you.

I swear I can taste the song like it’s sugar, like it’s a swirl of sweetness on my tongue. The notes are playing in my head.

I head straight to my piano and tap out some notes and a few melodies.

That’s not quite right. But what if I tried this?

I experiment with a different chord progression. Soon, I lose track of Jackson, and the time, and the camera, and everything but the music. My fingers fly across the keys, and I play with words and lyrics.

It’s rough. It’s raw. It’s nowhere near a finished song. But it’s coming together.

“Coming Together.”

I like the sound of that, so I stop, scratch the words down as a possible title, then meet Jackson’s eyes. “What do you think?”

Jackson puts down his phone, the video shoot over for now. “This is going to be sick—the song, the doc, all of it. I can’t thank you enough, man. Letting me tag along to shoot videos? You are seriously a rock star. And that’s no lie,” he says with a wink.

I smile. “It’s nothing.”

He marches up to me and clasps a hand on my shoulder. “You’ve taught me a lot over the years, Miller. And one of those things is to be straightforward with your feelings. So, let me do the same—it’s not nothing. It’s everything.”

I practically shuffle my feet. Gee whiz. This kid. Damn. He’s one of the good ones. I knock his shoulder with my fist. “Anything for you, man. Anything for you.”

When he takes off, I check my phone. Five. Ally is usually done working by now. I’m so jazzed to see her that I can’t even waste time flirting. I need to know what she’s doing and hope that list includes me.



Miller: Are you off work? What are you up to? I wrote a new song.





Ally: Just packing up for the day. I need to pick up Chloe from her friend’s house in an hour and a half, then I’m taking her and Hailey out to dinner.





Miller: Full mom mode tonight, huh?





Ally: Seems that way. Did you want to talk later? About the song? Can’t wait to hear it!





Miller: I don’t want to talk about the song right now.





Ally: You don’t?





Miller: I want to use my mouth for other things. Can you come over before you pick her up?