“Do you ever get inspired to write a song about the stars in the sky?” she asked laying back and looking up, taking in the splattering of silver orbs dotting the black ink panoramic view. She rested her head on her interlocked fingers.
“Sure,” he replied looking up. “There’s inspiration everywhere you look.”
“But have you ever written a song specifically about stars?”
He chuckled. “A song specifically about stars?” He paused. “Well, as a matter-of-fact I wrote a song called, ‘Simplicity’ a few years back that mentioned stars quite a bit. My good friend Dierks Bentley recorded it.”
She quickly sat upright. “Wait a minute,theDierks Bentley?”
“Yeah.”
“Dierks Bentley, the famous country music singer?”
“That’s the one.”
“Holy shit,” she muttered under her breath. She watched Clay ease himself off the tailgate and walk forward a few steps on the ancient blacktop of the parking lot. He paused and looked up into the sky.
“Sing some of it for me,” she insisted.
“What?” he snickered turning to look at her. His silhouette was dark and masculine in the moonlight.
“Give me a little sample of this song you wrote that Dierks sang so I know which one you’re talking about.” She watched him kick a rock with the pointy-toe of his boot as if contemplating her request.
With his back turned and his hands shoved into his denim pockets, he started to hum. And then he began to sing a familiar melody she had heard countless times on 94.9 The Bull. His voice was comforting and smooth as he sang acapella about kissing a girl under the moon and the stars. Katie sat perfectly still and held her breath realizing just how famous Clay really was. Now she understood the selfies and the autograph signing at the reunion. Everything fell into place and made perfect sense. Georgia Clay, as he was known, was more than just a songwriter. He was a songwriting-force-to-be-reckoned-with. She suddenly knew he was probably friends with a lot of famous people in the music business and not only Dierks Bentley.
“…up in the starry, starry sky.” His last note hung in the air as goose pimples splattered across her bare arms. Nothing was said for several seconds.
“Wow…” Katie could hardly find the words to let him know how incredible his serenade was. “That was…wow.”
“Dierks sings it way better,” he said softly, approaching her. He boldly came right up to where she was sitting and gently placed his hands on her thighs. She almost squealed from his warm touch, instinctively pressing her knees together under her pencil skirt.
“Your version was pretty amazing,” she replied in a whisper, looking up into his shadowed face with wide eyes, aware that her breathing had hitched. Her fingers were suddenly touching a soft curl near his ear. It was as if she had no control over her own hands.
He leaned his face into hers, his breath warm and panting. His lips grazed her cheek and then she felt his hand cup her chin.
“Kiss me, Clay,” she said confidently.
Full lips pressed against her own and she felt his thighs lean against her knees. His hands were in her hair pulling her forward by the nape of her neck, his tongue slipping into the seam of her mouth. She wrapped her arms around him, fully surrendering to the shy, sexy man known in the music business as Georgia Clay. And she immediately saw stars.
He breathlessly pulled back from her and leaned his forehead on hers. Their fingers were tangled together nervously twisting.
“You’re a great kisser,” she mumbled, wishing she could see his full expression. His shadowed face revealed a trace of a smile.
“You are too Katie. Do you mind if we do that again?”
She giggled and hoisted herself off the lift gate of the truck, purposefully standing with bare feet on the tops of his boots. “I wouldn’t mind one bit,” she whispered, reaching her arms around his waist and staring up into his face.
He leaned down and pressed his mouth against hers again, briefly running his tongue across her top lip, making her moan. Katie could feel his hardness rub against her skirt and briefly wondered what it would be like to be naked in his arms.
“You wanna lay on the blanket and look at the stars some more or do you wanna go somewhere else?” he asked, bringing her out of her daydream.
“Umm, yeah. Sure.”
Clay laughed as he caressed the sides of her arms. “Well, which do you want to do? We could hang out here or we could go a little further north to a much quieter spot.”
Katie licked her swollen lips. “Quiet is nice,” she answered hoarsely. “I’m a big fan of quiet.” What was she getting herself into?
Guiding her by the elbow with his warm fingertips, he walked to the passenger side of the truck and opened the door for her. When he got in on the driver’s side, he handed her the blazer and pointy shoes.
