You’re Still The One by Erika Kelly

Chapter Twenty-Two

The moment Austinleft for school, Griffin got busy. He had a flight to catch.

First, he called Bryce. As he waited for his shop manager to answer, he watched Stella type up her notes from her early morning meeting. She brushed a lock of hair off her shoulder, exposing the feminine curve of her neck.

Unable to resist, he headed over and dropped a kiss on that soft, scented skin.

Her hand curled around his head, holding him there, and she turned to press a kiss on his cheek. But he tilted so he could catch her lips instead. Everything went hot so fast, just from the touch of her tongue, the softness of her mouth.

Jesus, how could a simple kiss make his heart beat out of control?

“Yeah?” Bryce answered, sounding groggy.

He headed to the sink and poured Stella a glass of water. “Hate to do this to you, but I need you to get up, grab a shower, and get over to the shop.”

“What the fuck? Where’s the fire?” He sounded more alert.

Griffin brought the glass to Stella, and she mouthed, Thank you. “Donny wrecked his bike.” Since the winter months were only about repairs, a lot of the temp guys went south, where they could ride their motorcycles. A nomad, Donny spent four months of the year on the road. He’d wiped out in Arizona.

“Is he okay?” A rustling sound in the background made Griffin picture his manager throwing back the covers and getting out of bed.

“Don’t know. He texted from the ER. That was the last I heard.”

“Where is he?”

He’d already packed a bag, so now he just needed to fuel up and head to the airport. “Small town outside Scottsdale.”

“Anyone with him? Who was he riding with?”

“I don’t know the details, but as far as I understand he’s alone.”

“He likes to be off the grid.” Bryce sounded exerted like maybe he was hiking up his jeans.

“Which is great until he gets clipped by a semi on a major highway.”

Bryce exhaled into the receiver. “Let me guess. He’s got no insurance?”

“Right. So, I’m heading to the airport, and I need you to handle the shop while I’m gone.”

“’Course. How long?”

“I’ll be back on Saturday.”

“For Austin’s party.” Bryce chuckled. “You know, you don’t have to be there for it, right? No one’s going to drown just because you’re not there.”

Griffin jolted. Funny how he thought he hid his anxiety. He’d never realized how obvious he’d been. “My kid, my responsibility.” The conversation caught Stella’s attention, and she turned away from her laptop to watch him. “Look, I have to go. Just tell me you’ve got the shop.”

“I’ve got the shop.”

“Thanks, man.” There weren’t many people he could trust in this world outside of his family, but he could count on Bryce.

As soon as Griffin disconnected, Stella got up and came over to him. “What did he say that upset you?”

“Nothing.” Oh, what the hell. Just say it. “He made a joke about me getting back in time for the party because I’m worried someone will drown.”

“Ooh, so seen.” Her teasing grin made the clouds in his mind scatter.

He wrapped his arms around her. “You probably don’t know this, but your smile makes everything better.”

“And for a man of few words, you sure have a way with them.” She ran her hands up his chest. “Know what I have a way with?” Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she licked the shell of his ear. “My tongue.”

“True.” He watched her unbutton his jeans.

“You think you can spare a few minutes so I can show you?”

Heat flooded him, and his spine tingled. “I think if I missed the flight and had to walk to Arizona, it’d be worth it.”

She sank to her knees, yanking his jeans and black boxer briefs down. His cock sprang free, and she watched his expression as she grasped him and swiped the head.

The shock of desire made him sizzle. “You weren’t overselling.”

“Oh, I haven’t even begun.”

His hands went to the top of her head, and his hips rocked. Fuck, he needed in that hot mouth.

“Don’t rush me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Though, he was dying for the suction.

She licked the length of him, then ran her open mouth up and down, all wet and warm and luscious.

A flash fire raced down his spine. So good. Jesus. His legs shook, and his fingers curled into her hair.

Back and forth, her mouth slid, tongue flicking, working him into a frenzy of need.

And then, with no warning, she sucked him in deep, all the way to the back of her throat. And swallowed.

His back bowed, and he shouted, “Fuck.” And then he was thrusting, hands cradling her head. His balls tightened. There was no chance he could last. Because this was Stella. Blowing him. And she was fun and sexy, smart and warm, kind…she was everything, and he was so damn lucky she’d chosen him. “You make me crazy.” The words came out a growl. But sensation burst in his chest, a spray of sparks lighting him up from the inside. “Yes, fuck. Yes.”

She knew he was about to come because she clamped her hands on his ass, held him close, and let him release right down her throat.

Holy shit.Each shot electrified him. When he had nothing left to give, she kissed the tip of his cock and stood up. “Hope you don’t miss your flight. Shame to have to walk all that way.”

He laughed, pulling her in for a hug. “I wish I didn’t have to leave you.”

“Same.”

Aftershocks still pulsed through his body, and his legs were weak, but he grabbed his keys. “I’ll see you in two days.”

She walked him to the door, fingers tangling with his. “Call me when you land.”

“Stella?” He dropped his duffle bag and cupped her cheeks.

“Yes?” she sounded all breathy.

“I’m going to miss the fuck out of you.” And then he left.

Because the sooner he took care of things, the sooner he’d be home.

* * *

With Austin’s gorgeous birthday cake on the backseat, Stella pulled away from the curb. Her sister stood in front of Coco’s Chocolates, waving. A rush of affection had her nearly bumping into the car in front of her, but she grabbed the steering wheel and corrected just in time.

She was just so damn happy because getting to know her sisters as adults was a whole different experience. As the youngest, she’d always felt left behind. They’d stopped believing in Santa Claus long before she did. They’d had boyfriends and interests that kept them away from home. She’d just never really been part of their worlds.

And now she was.

As she turned down Sundance Street, she passed the Music Box. She had so many memories of that place. Founded by students, the coffeehouse was funded by the town’s Youth Commission. A drug-free, alcohol-free space, it held live concerts and gave teenagers a cool place to hang out.

She doubted Austin knew about it since it closed during the mountain town’s harsh winter months. She’d have to tell him. Oh, maybe he could even perform there when they opened in the spring.

Wait a minute.

Oh. My. God.

Pulling over, Stella grabbed her phone out of the cupholder and called her mom.

“Stella?” Her mom answered after the third ring, sounding winded.

“Hey, Mom. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“No, it’s fine. Where are you?”

“I just picked up the cake, and I was driving past the Music Box—”

Her mom laughed. “I’m two blocks away at the yoga studio.”

“I interrupted your class? I’m so sorry.”

“No, no, we just finished. It’s fine. Want to meet for coffee?”

“We might not have time.” She could barely suppress her excitement.

“I’m intrigued.”

“What if instead of having Austin’s party at the hotel tonight, we switched it to the Music Box?”

“That’s a great idea, but it’s closed in the winter.”

“But you must know people on the Youth Commission.”

“I do, but it’s a pretty large venue for only twelve kids.”

“True, but can you imagine Austin and Gigi playing a few songs?”

“I like the idea…I think we’d need a little more for them to do, though. They won’t want to just stand around listening to Austin sing.”

“You’re right.” Part of her deflated…but the other part resisted. She could make this work. “Unless we could come up with something else for them to do. Do we know any other local bands who could play?”

“Well, wait a minute. I’m standing outside the Exhibition of Broken Hearts. Callie had the AV department at the high school put up big screens. What if we did the same thing? We could get some video games and controllers.”

“Yes. Oh, my God, yes. This is a thousand times cooler than a pool party.”

“Let me run in and talk to Callie, see if she can tell me who set her—oh, what am I thinking? I’ll just call Aaron. He does all the tech stuff for the foundation.”

“Before you do that, let’s make sure we can get the space.”

“Your dad’s on the commission. We can get the space. Okay, let me go. I’ve got to call him. Oh, and I have to call Harley and Lu, get them to deliver to the Music Box instead. Are we doing decorations?”

“No, this is enough.” In fact, it was perfect.

Now, she just needed to convince Griffin. But he wouldn’t mind. It was a great idea and totally safe. And her family would be there to make sure everything went smoothly.

Nothing could possibly go wrong.

After Stella hit send, she pocketed her phone. For Griffin’s peace of mind, she’d been sending him footage of the party. Sixteen kids had shown up—and that was okay because some were siblings, and one was a friend in town visiting—and she had her parents, Coco, Beckett, and Gigi.

It was just…he hadn’t read her original text yet, telling him about the change of venue.

Not that it was a big deal. In fact, it was safer at the Music Box than it was at a pool party.

So, it would probably be all right.

She just didn’t know why he hadn’t looked at his phone all day.

Sure, he was traveling. He’d had to handle Donny’s arrangements—and there were a lot. Without insurance, the hospital had wanted to transfer him to another facility. But Griffin had insisted he have the best care.

Since then, he’d had to check out of the hotel, return his rental car, catch his flight…and then he had a two-and-a-half-hour drive home from the Idaho Falls airport.

When he did read her text, he’d worry. She knew he would. He might flip out at first. But she’d keep sending him brief recordings to show how chill the party was.

Stella: It’s going great. Kids are happy. Everyone’s well-behaved.

She’d left Austin mostly alone, but as she passed by him, she said, “Hey, guys. Need anything?”

Her mom had ordered more food than four football teams could eat in a week, but she understood. Everyone wanted things to go well for this boy who’d won their hearts. He didn’t need friends in school as long as he had the kids in his snowboarding class.

“No, this is great,” Savannah said. “Thank you so much.”

“It’s my pleasure.” Austin didn’t seem mortified at her intrusion, so she continued. “So, you have your first competition on Friday. You guys ready?”

“Oh, it’s not a big deal,” one of the girls said. “It’s not a real competition.”

“It’s just us and some other beginner classes,” Savannah said.

“It doesn’t have to be the X Games for it to be real,” Stella said. “But I think with that attitude, you’ll do great. You won’t be nervous.”

Austin said nothing, of course, but he seemed happy.

“What do you think, should we open gifts?”

But just as Stella asked the question, Gigi got up on stage and turned on the microphone. “All right, you guys, you ready to rock?”

The kids shouted and clapped. Awesome. They were really into it.

“Get up here, Austin,” Gigi called.

“Oh, my God, go.” His friends pushed him toward the stairs. “Do it.”

He grinned and headed over. Bypassing the stairs, he placed his hands on the stage and leaped up. Gigi had already set his guitar by the mic stand. “We’re taking requests so, what have you got?”

The kids moved closer, shouting out familiar song titles.

This is so great. Wanting to share the awesomeness, she looked for her parents and found them guarding the door. She texted her mom.

Stella: Everything all right?

Just then, Gigi and Austin started strumming, and she whipped around to watch.

After a moment, her mom came up to her. “He’s so good.”

“I know.” Stella glanced behind her to find her dad still at the door. “Everything all right?”

Her mom shrugged. “Eh. You know how it goes with teenagers.”

“What does that mean?”

“A group of kids tried to get in. We explained it was a private party, and they went away.”

A group? “So, we’re good?”

“We’re good.”

They turned back to the stage, and all her worries went right down the drain when she saw Austin in his element, and the kids rocking out to the performance. She pulled out her phone and recorded for a minute, then hit send.

Stella: He’s a star. It’s going so well.

Stella: Can’t wait to see you.

Before she could drop her phone into her purse, it vibrated. Griffin. She answered while already on the move toward a quieter space. In the hallway that led to the bathrooms, she said, “Hey. Where are you?”

“What the hell’s going on?”

Her heart started pounding. But it’s all right. I expected this. “No, it’s okay. I promise. It’s going great.”

“Stella, we agreed on a pool party. Not a rock concert.”

“Have you landed? Are you on your way here?”

“Just got in my truck and plugged in my phone. I ran out of power last night because I wound up not checking into the hotel. I’ve been dealing with Donny and insurance issues. Look, I need you to shut this down.”

“What? Why?”

“Come on, Stella. You know how it works. Someone posts pictures on social media, the word spreads, and pretty soon we’ve lost control of the situation.”

“We’re not…Griffin, it’s not going to be like that. My parents are here. Gigi, Beckett, Coco…we’ve got this.”

“Gigi Cavanaugh’s playing. Of course, kids are going to try to crash the party. Think back. You would’ve done the same thing.”

I would. “But we won’t let them. I’m telling you, we’ve got this.”

A cluster of girls came out of the bathroom, and she stepped out of their way. “Besides, I can’t shut it down. That would mortify him, and he’s having a really good time. He’s with Savannah. Griff, he’s really happy.”

“Fine. Let him play a song or two, play a few games, but then I need you to kick everyone out. I’d rather embarrass him than have him go live with the Pilsons.” The line went dead.

Oh, fuck.

He’s really pissed.

Anxiety had her racing back to the main room. She just needed confirmation that everything was under control.

Only, by the time she got back, her guest list of sixteen had doubled.

A chill skittered down her spine.

It’s okay. Everyone’s behaving well. She hurried over to her mom. “How did they get in?”

“Your dad checked. Looks like the bathroom window.”

Shit.“Griffin wants me to shut down the party.”

“What? Why?” She tipped her chin toward Austin. “He’s having the time of his life.”

Laughing, he was surrounded by three guys and Savannah. He was making friends.

“Mom, if I send everyone home, that’s what they’re going to remember. Not how cool the party was, not how great Austin is, but how we kicked everyone out an hour into the party.”

“It’s your call, but if you want to keep it going, we’ve got six adults covering the entry points.”

“Except the bathroom.”

“No, we sent Beckett that way. No one’s getting past him.”

“I’m not sure what to do.”

“We’ll do whatever you want.”

The only reason to shut it down was for Griffin’s peace of mind. But he was a little irrational about these things, thanks to what happened with Booker. With so many adults here, she just didn’t think it could get out of hand.

If she weighed one against the other, the worse outcome would be embarrassing Austin right when he was making friends and having fun with Savannah.

Okay, she knew what to do. “We leave it going, but the minute it starts to get out of hand, we send everyone home.”

“That makes sense.”

But there was something she could do. Stella climbed the stairs onto the stage. She leaned into the mic. “Hey, guys, remember I told you this is a private party? Well, it looks like some of you invited friends, and that’s not cool. We worked hard to make this a special night, but we’ll absolutely shut it down if anyone else comes in, okay?” She smiled at the group. “Now, let’s have some fun.”

There’s no way they’d invite more people—not when they’d miss out on Gigi’s performance and the video game that hadn’t even been released yet.

Thank you, Cassian, for your awesome endorsements.

It’ll be fine.