Chapter Five

Grey’s heart felt as if it would beat out of his chest as he stared down at Cori.

How many times, when he’d first gotten to Austin, had he dreamed of kissing her, holding her? It had gotten to the point where it hurt so much, he’d made himself shut her out of his mind, close the door, and throw away the key.

But this wasn’t a dream. He was really looking into her sepia brown eyes. Her hands were stroking up his back. He was inside of her.

“Grey…please,” she whispered. “I need you.”

She arched underneath him, prompting the roll of his hips, but he kept the pace slow and easy. When he drove in deeper, her eyes closed, and Cori’s mouth formed a soft “O” as she arched up even more.

He kissed the smooth curve between her neck and shoulder and the slope of her breast. As he breathed in her scent, he nipped her soft skin with his teeth.

Her sex clutched around him, and he hissed out an exhale as his balls grew tight with the need to come. He wanted this to last forever, but her slick heat wrapped around his cock made it impossible. Grey reached between them and rubbed over her clit. Her nails bit into him, and the walls of her pussy clenched tighter.

She released a cry with her orgasm and wrapped her legs high on his waist.

He cupped her ass and glided in and out of her. Tingles ran up and down his spine as lust blinded him. His release hit him hard, rushing through him and pulling out a harsh groan.

He collapsed on her, his heart pounding with his deep exhales. Not wanting to crush her, he held up his weight.

“I don’t want you to move.” Cori’s soft gaze met his as she caressed his back.

“Neither do I, but I have to.” He kissed her before he lifted himself from her and stood. “Need anything?”

“Just you.”

“Too easy.” His heart tripped. Cori had snared him for the night the moment he’d spotted her at Club Escapade.

A short time later, Grey lay back on the pillows as Cori leaned over the mattress and set her phone back on the nightstand.

When she’d picked up her dress from the floor a minute ago, after coming from the bathroom, he’d thought she was planning to leave. And he’d been prepared to talk her out of it. But she’d asked for a hanger and put the dress in his closet.

As Cori used his shoulder as a pillow, he wrapped an arm around her. “I meant to ask earlier, did you check in with your girlfriends?”

“Yes.” She snuggled against him. “While I was waiting for you to get your car from the parking garage, Nat texted me. I let her know that I was getting a ride with you.”

The front door opening and closing loudly caught both of their attentions.

Footsteps, laughter, and loud shushing drifted into the bedroom.

“Is that Damien?” Cori asked. “It sounds like he brought the whole club home with him.”

“No, that’s him and Zara.” Grey held her closer. “They’re just that loud.”

They heard the sound of footsteps coming toward them through the closed door.

Cori tensed. “Is that door locked?”

Fuck. It wasn’t.

“No, Tammy, this way,” Zara whispered loudly.

Two women’s giggles, along with Damien’s hushed voice retreated with their footsteps.

Cori glanced at Grey. “Who’s Tammy?”

“No idea.” He got up and locked the door.

Cori laughed. “This is so familiar and not in a good way.”

“What do you mean?”

“You and Damien sharing an apartment and all those random women he used to bring home.”

“Yeah, this does bring back memories.” He returned to bed and pulled her close. “At least his bedroom isn’t next to mine now. Remember the girl who used to howl while they were having sex?”

Cori laughed. “She did not.”

“The hell she didn’t. She was so damn loud, the dogs in the neighborhood used to howl back.”

“Grey, stop.” She whacked his chest.

“Or what about that time you walked in on him humping flexible yoga girl in the kitchen?”

“Why did you have to bring that up?” She groaned and covered her eyes. “Now, the visual of that is stuck in my head. I still can’t figure out how she got that far into the refrigerator or what they were doing with all those eggrolls.”

He hadn’t witnessed the infamous midnight snack incident, but whatever had occurred, the next morning, Damien and Cori could barely look at each other. A delayed chuckle shot out of him.

Cori buried her face into his shoulder and snickered.

He’d missed laughing with her, too, when he’d moved to Texas.

Grey tipped up her chin. He wanted to mention that, but if he did, it might make the moment awkward. He’d already told her that he’d missed her. She might think he was dwelling on the past if he kept saying things like that. They were just spending one night together.

Cori smiled up at him. “What are you remembering now?”

“I’m not remembering. I’m fantasizing.”

“About?”

“This.” He captured her smile in a kiss. “And this.” Grey sat up and sucked her nipple. As he rolled it over the roof of his mouth, Cori drew in a breath and laid her hand on the back of his head. “And this.” He sucked the peak of her other breast and stroked her sex. She lifted her hips, and he glided his finger inside of her silky heat.

“Oh…” Her moan was carried on a sigh. “I like your fantasy…”

Soon he was inside of her again, mesmerized by her pleas, her sighs, the way pleasure washed over her face with her orgasm. He’d remember all of it when he left in three weeks to meet his parents in New York.

A long time later, she was spooned back against him.

“Grey?” She yawned.

“Hmm?” He kissed one of his favorite spots on her—low on her neck near her shoulder.

“You…all the exciting things that happened when you moved to Austin.” Her sleepy voice grew softer. “I want the whole story, from then to now.”

Exciting was the last word he’d use to describe what had happened when he’d first arrived in Austin…or his circumstances there now.

He pressed his lips to Cori’s neck and breathed her in. “Get some sleep. I’ll tell you about it in the morning.”

From the answering silence, and Cori’s steady breathing, she’d already beat him to the suggestion. Unable to sleep, he stared into the darkness, the past running through his mind.

When he’d first moved to Austin, nothing had worked out as planned. There was a job and an apartment waiting for him, only the acquaintance that had promised both had left town. Without a local resume as a DJ, he’d had to start from scratch posting flyers where he could and handing out business cards. A couple of months after he’d arrived, his audio tech skills had landed him a job at a large hotel, one his family’s company, Latham Reeves Enterprises, didn’t own. A few months later, a DJ failing to show up for a wedding reception had opened the door to him deejaying parties at the hotel.

Pure hustle and the original mixes he’d posted on SoundCloud and YouTube had gained him enough of a following to land gigs playing at clubs in the popular 6th Street district. A few years ago, he became a resident DJ at a club called Breakers located in the district.

Since then, making connections, building his skills, as well as ending up in the right places at the right time had opened doors for him. He’d gained two more residencies in clubs in Dallas and Atlanta, and traveled to play at other clubs in Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Vegas, Montreal, and other places. When he wasn’t playing at a club, he performed at festivals and concerts. He wasn’t a household name, but according to some stats online, he was in the top one hundred of rising DJs and producers to pay attention to in the U.S. He was gaining street cred in the DJ and music entertainment industries to get himself to the top. Or at least, he had been until five months ago.

He’d been in Atlantic City playing at the Haven nightclub when he’d gotten the news his friend and protégé, Liam Matthews, was dead at the age of twenty-four. Since then, he hadn’t stepped back behind the DJ deck. He just couldn’t.

Helplessness and sadness started to rise inside of him. He shoved it back down along with the memories that came with them. How good it felt to be with Cori again. That’s all he wanted to think about. But in the morning, what would he tell her about his career and what he’d decided to do now?

Grey closed his eyes, trying to narrow his thoughts to holding Cori. But the question spiraled in his mind, waking up a dream he couldn’t stop. Liam stood in front of him in a gray space of nothingness, his steady gaze boring into him.

Heart skyrocketing in his chest, Grey woke up. Seconds passed before he realized where he was and that Cori lay asleep, snuggled against his side with her head on his shoulder.

Careful not to wake her, he slid Cori away from him and got up. Spotting his jeans near the foot of the bed, he picked them up and put them on. In the bathroom, he scooped cool water from the faucet and drank, loosening the tightness in his throat.

He walked out the room and closed the door behind him. In the dark, he found his way by memory down the hall to the living room.

In the large window overlooking a wide balcony, stars dotted the sky above the Washington Monument in the distance.

But memories from five months ago, of another window overlooking the city of Austin in the high-rise apartment belonging to Liam, filled his mind, along with their last conversation.

“You need to pull your shit together.”

That’s what he’d said to Liam, who stared back at him, bleary-eyed, face pale and blotchy, and his dark hair plastered and spiked from sleep. He’d been shirtless in a pair of jeans as he sat on the white couch in his living room, still reeking of booze from a party he’d attended the night before until earlier that morning.

He’d raked back his hair with a confused expression. “What do you mean? Why are you so pissed?”

“You missed the conference call we had scheduled with the Vegas promoter this morning.”

He and Liam were playing at a festival in Vegas. It was a collaborative appearance.

“That was this morning? Shit. I’m sorry.” Always needing something to do with his hands, Liam had reached over to the steel coffee table in front of the couch and unearthed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from the stacks of mail near a food container and a couple empty cups. He’d lit one up. “I honestly thought the meeting was next week. Were you able to cover for me?”

“Cover for you? How could I? You were posting pictures and videos on Instagram and Twitter until four this morning.”

Confusion had once again filled Liam’s face, as if he didn’t remember doing anything. “Are you sure it was me? I was with a lot of people. Someone could have used my phone. Maybe they were screwing around with my accounts.”

“No. It was you making an ass of yourself. And me. The festival is two weeks out. No one has time for this. They mentioned possibly dropping you from the event.”

Six months ago, when a business acquaintance had reached out to Grey about performing at the event and had mentioned wanting to showcase some fresh talent, Grey had said yes to the offer and had recommended Liam as well.

Three years ago, Liam had started working at Breakers as a barback. Whenever Grey was at the club, he’d followed him around, asking tons of questions about equipment, music, and how he could build on the little he already knew about deejaying. Not wanting to see Liam end up making dumb, rookie mistakes, Grey had taken him under his wing. A couple of years later, the kid had been playing sets as a DJ at Breakers during less busy time slots during the week and had started booking small gigs outside of the club. Missing meetings wasn’t like him.

“I can’t believe I messed up this bad. It’s just…” Liam had hung his head. “My life has gone sideways since Sofia moved out. I can’t stop thinking about her. I can’t sleep. I’ve been trying to find a way to get her out of my system.”

Grey had almost called bullshit on the excuse. Sofia had been a waitress at the club up until a few weeks ago. According to the grapevine, one of the main reasons she walked out on Liam was because she’d gotten tired of him staying out all of the time, partying with his so-called friends.

But then he’d thought about how he’d indulged in his early years as a club DJ. Like Liam, he’d done his share of partying until he’d screwed up and almost lost an important gig. He’d believed that now that Liam was facing the same, it would be a wakeup call for him. “I convinced the promoter not to drop you, but if you fuck up again, you’re out. And if that happens, it’s on you.”

“It won’t. Thanks.” Liam had looked him in the eye. “It’s all under control, starting now.” Cigarette smoke had hovered over Liam like a halo as he’d leaned back on the couch. But demons had chased Liam for most of his life. He’d grown up in an abusive home, but he’d managed to finish high school, and his older sister Fallon had been helping pay his college tuition. He also had raw talent as a DJ and a promising future.

Grey’s thoughts drifted back to the present, but that final image of Liam remained. All under control… He’d wondered what Liam had meant by “all,” but then he’d told himself it was the same as saying, “I’m on it” or, “I’ll get the job done.” Two days later, Liam was gone. He’d overdosed, accidentally mixing Oxycodone prescribed for an old injury with alcohol.

If only he’d kept a better eye on him. What if Grey hadn’t been in Atlantic City? Could he have prevented it from happening?

The weight of the loss settled on Grey. Since that moment, nothing had been the same for him, including playing music. The energy, that thing that allowed him to entertain and connect with the crowd, was gone. He’d even started freezing up on stage. Hell, he barely wanted to produce music anymore. And wouldn’t have again, if Damien hadn’t asked for an assist with putting together an upcoming set. But once he helped Damien, he was done. He was walking away from music and being a DJ for good.