My screams of laughter from being tickled mercilessly seem to add fuel to the fire, as he laughs and enjoys his form of torture way too much. Writhing and squirming as much as I can under his weight, I try to get away, but his grip is too strong.
“Are you going to make fun of my predicament again?” he asks with mock intimidation in his tone, his left eyebrow quirked up in playful challenge.
“No,” I reply on a heavy breath. “No! I won’t!” I scream when his hand moves back in place.
“That’s what I thought.” He smirks at me. His hand flattens against my side as his mouth covers mine, instantly changing the charge in the air. He moans appreciatively as I slip my tongue into his mouth.
“You’re trying to kill me,” he whispers against my lips. “You know I definitely want to stay home with you now.” He quickly glances at his watch, and his face registers the disappointment he feels. “Damn, if I don’t leave now, I’ll be late.”
“You better go then, Luke. Mack will be mad if he’s there this early and you’re not. It’s best for you to keep in his good graces,” I sigh. He kisses me one last time before he gets up. My body instantly feels the loss of his warmth, and the craving is so bad it causes me to shiver.
Rising on shaky legs, I fill his water jug and assemble his snacks while he gets his gym bag from the bedroom. When he rushes back into the kitchen, my heart skips a beat as he smiles brightly at me when he realizes I’ve saved him a little time.
“Thank you, baby. I love you,” he says sincerely as he threads his fingers through my hair. “Wake me when you get home tonight.”
“Oh, with pleasure,” I reply seductively as I kiss him goodbye.
He walks out the door to the garage, and I can’t help but smile when I hear him mutter under his breath, “Fucking killing me.”
Since we both dread the same unavoidable consequence of our separation, I’ve finally decided what to get Luke for Christmas. I’ve spent my mornings decorating the house with lights and garland over the past week. The tree is up and ready for a few packages with all the bows and shiny wrapping paper.
Since I have some free time this morning, I move quickly to finish putting up the last of the decorations, pick up the house, and then get dressed. I have a couple of destinations to hit this morning, and neither will be easy to get to in the last-minute Christmas rush. There are two malls in the Buckhead area of Atlanta that are calling my name. I don’t know why I didn’t think of these gifts earlier, but now I have no doubt that they’re perfect.
Pulling up to the area of the first mall, my bottom jaw drops. Atlanta traffic is bad on a good day, but it’s an absolute nightmare during the shopping season. By the time I finally find a parking spot, I’m convinced I’m no closer to the mall than I was before I left my house. Partly walking and partly sprinting, I finally make it inside and elbow my way through the crowd.
It’s now that I realize the line for the cashier is extended outside the store and into the main corridor of the mall. With a groan of frustration, I stand in line and wait for my turn. Checking my watch repeatedly only adds to my frustration as time keeps slipping away from me. At this rate, I’ll slide into the studio parking lot, taking the curves on two wheels, and rush inside just in time to be late.
I grab as many accessories as I can in this store so I won’t have to try to find them somewhere else later. Once I’m finally at the cash register, the young girl behind the counter stops and stares at me for a moment before blinking again.
Smiling as I try to remember that she’s probably just as frustrated as I am in this crowd, I speak first. “Hi. How are you? I’m running a little late, so if I can just get these and run, I can figure out how to program them on my own.”
“You’re…you’re Andi,” she stutters.
“Yes, that’s right,” I reply, confused.
“You’re…you’re going on tour with Sound Bar!” she shrieks loudly, causing other heads to snap to our direction.
“Umm, yeah,” I reply, unsure of what else I’m supposed to say. I never thought anyone would recognize me since I’m just the first opening act.
“Oh my gosh! I can’t believe you’re here! Can I get your autograph?” she gushes.
“Yes, as soon as you hand over my credit card receipt,” I tease. “I’ll be glad to sign another one for you, but I’m really late, so I need to finish up here. Please.”
“I’m so sorry! Here you go.” She finally hands me the papers to sign. “I’m sorry, really. If I’d known you were in line, I would’ve had them bring you up first.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary at all. I just have another stop to make, and I’m already running late for it. Thanks again, Peyton,” I say, reading her nametag.
She squeals again when I say her name. “I can’t wait to see you and Travis Malone sing together! It’ll be amazing!”
I smile and wave to her as she dreamily watches me leave. I feel sorry for the person behind me who’s still waiting to be checked out. But I don’t feel sorry enough to stop now that I’m out of the store. Rushing to my next location, I’m relieved to find it is much more organized and easier to maneuver through the crowd to the jewelry store. The clerk expertly helps me find the perfect item and sends it off for engraving.
Once I’m finally alone in my car after my shopping excursion, I replay the conversation with the young girl at the first mall. I had plenty of interactions with the paparazzi when I went through a very trying time publicly, but this felt so different than that incident.
This was an average, everyday person who recognized me as the opening act. After experiencing that odd sensation of a stranger knowing me, I can only imagine what it feels like for Travis to experience that to the thousandth degree. His fans are zealots over him. I’ve heard stories about how they wait outside his hotel, behind the arenas, and at his tour buses just trying to get a glimpse of him.
Once Luke’s name and face get out there, it’ll be the same for him. His rugged good looks, his muscular physique, and his fighting prowess will quickly propel him to the top of the top of the world’s sexiest man category. I’ll either have to fight every living female off or I’ll have to quickly get used to women throwing themselves at him right in front of me. I didn’t handle that so well when it happened with one waitress, and now it’ll be with hordes of women who are clamoring after him.
I have exactly five minutes to spare, and the gym is on the way between where I am now and the studio. Making an impromptu decision to stop and see my man, I whip into the gym parking lot and rush inside. The enormous gym is as packed as ever with men of varying skill levels and weight classes working on their boxing skills. But, it’s the view in front of me that stops me dead in my tracks.
