Anna cried out, “Oh God, Griffin, yes…yes…fuck yes…” then her sounds became animalistic noises that drove me over the edge. Clutching her ass and pulling her into me, I stretched out my body and let the wall of restraint crash down. Pure bliss exploded from my cock and spread throughout my body. The sounds I made weren’t coherent words, but they made Anna moan my name. “Yes…come for me, baby…” she moaned.
When we were spent, she sagged against me. “You’re so hot when you come,” she murmured against my skin.
I ran my hand up and down her back. “I know.” And I did. I’d filmed myself jacking off once, just to see what I looked like, and I had to say, it was pretty amazing. Anna was one lucky woman.
We lay together for a while, me still inside her, then Anna whispered, “Griffin…is everything with you and the band cool?”
I adjusted my head so I could look at her better. She was concerned at the least, scared at the most. I wasn’t sure how to answer her, so I went with what I thought she wanted to hear. “Yeah…sure. Why? Would you be upset if it wasn’t?” Narrowing my eyes, I studied her reaction.
Her expression turned thoughtful as she tilted her head and considered that for a moment. “Not upset. Just worried. Our life…it wouldn’t be the same without the band, you know? Plus…Kellan and Kiera, Matt and Rachel, Evan and Jenny…they’re family.” She gave me a small smile.
I supposed they were, but sometimes being around your family all the time wasn’t healthy. Take the situation currently happening at our house, for instance. Remembering our day of freedom made my dick start to stiffen back up. Anna felt the difference, and her eyes widened. “Again? Already?”
Happy to change the subject, I crooked a smile and shrugged. “You’ve unleashed the beast, there’s no putting it back.”
She frowned. “I don’t know if I can…” She stopped talking as I started moving inside her, gently, slowly, just rubbing our fun parts together with no real purpose other than making us feel nice. “Oh…wow…that feels really good…”
She started moving with me, just as gently, just as slowly. It was hot, and she was right, it did feel good…like getting a backrub in all the tight spots all at once. Her eyes fluttered closed and her breathing picked up as we moved together. It was intoxicating to watch her, and for once, I didn’t care if I came or not, I just wanted to watch her do it. “Oh, Griff…I think I can…don’t go any faster though…I need…slow…”
I hadn’t planned on changing my pace, so I just kept on doing what I was doing. She slowly went from calm and content to squirming with unfulfilled desire. I could tell she wanted to go faster, harder, pound herself onto my cock, but she was taking her time, teasing herself. Fuck, it was hot to watch the erotic torture. I might come after all.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I had no idea who it was or why they were calling me, and I didn’t care. Voicemail could get it. But then I thought…I’ve never had sex while on the phone before…this could be really erotic. Knowing Anna would be cool with whatever kinky thing I wanted to try, I told her, “I’m going to answer this, but don’t stop. I want you to come while I’m on the phone, baby.”
She grunted some sort of acknowledgment, and I smiled as I picked up my cell. I almost answered with “Guess what I’m doing?” but I used the standard “Yeah?” instead.
Anna groaned right on cue, and I had to bite my lip. Fuck, it was just as erotic as I thought it might be. The person on the other end hesitated, then said, “Mr. Hancock? This is Harold Berk. We met last night?”
“Mmmmm, did we?” I had no clue who this Harold guy was or how he’d gotten my cell phone number, but my wife was grinding on me, and he was unintentionally witnessing it, and it was fucking awesome.
“Um, yeah, we talked about the TV pilot. Remember?” Anna sucked in a breath and groaned again, and Harold slowly said, “Is this a bad time? I could call back later?”
Looking at the expression on my wife’s face, I shook my head. “No, your timing couldn’t have been more perfect.”
“Um, okay. Well, I wanted to go over more details about the project you signed on for.”
Anna’s face grew frustrated, and I knew the speed was too slow for her, I thrust my hips harder, helping her out. Come for me, baby. Let this guy hear it. Her reaction was spectacular. “Oh God, yes…there…right there…don’t stop…”
I held on to her hip with my free hand and let her have it. Her cries grew more intense, and knowing what’s-his-name could hear without really knowing what was going on was about to make me come. Fuck yes.
“Mr. Hancock, maybe I should call back later?”
“No, no, I’m listening. All ears. Tell me about this TV thing. Now. Do it now…” I was talking to Harold, but speaking to Anna. She started panting, then stiffened, and let out an exceptionally awesome cry of release. Unexpectedly, I came right after her. Damn, I hadn’t thought I could. I should have known better.
As we lay there panting, the person on the other line quietly said, “Is everything…okay?”
“Fuck, yes.” He’d been talking in my ear the entire time I’d been coming, but I honestly had no idea what he’d been saying. I could barely remember his name. Harry? Larry? Fuck if I knew. “Could you repeat all that, I wasn’t listening. Start from the beginning.”
Anna rolled off me. Lying on her back, she laughed as she shook her head. Some girls might have a problem with what I’d just done, but not Anna. She just found it hot. She was so fucking awesome.
A long sigh from the phone met my ear. “My name is Harold Berk. We met last night at the bar. I told you about the TV pilot, the drama about a rock star? You claimed to be interested in being the star of the show. Do you remember any of this? You were kind of…under the weather.”
What I’d been was drunk, but flashes of the conversation were coming back to me, especially after he said star. You would be the focal point…the star. But something seemed off. “Wait…I thought your name was Arnold?”
“No, sir. It’s Harold.” Definite irritation was in his voice now.
“Oh…so that whole thing was real? I didn’t dream it?”
He sighed, like he was put out with me. He shouldn’t be. I’d just let him listen to a hot girl have an orgasm. He should be thanking me. “It was real, and the offer is real. I can have papers in your inbox this afternoon. Unless you’ve changed your mind…if that’s the case, I suppose I will have to contact another musician on my list. Maybe one of your bandmates?”
I immediately bristled at the thought of another D-Bag stealing this opportunity from me as well; they’d already taken way too much from me. Words rippled through my mind—You are never going to play lead. Not tonight, maybe tomorrow. He is the talent. The frustrated phrases settled into the pit of my stomach, where they mixed with the knot of discontent that I always carried around with me. When the answer to Harold’s question bubbled out of my mouth, it was laced with power. “No, no way. I’m still in.”
Anna was giving me a questioning look, and I wondered what to tell her. If this series took off, and with me as the lead, it would definitely take off, I might have to part ways with the band one day, or at least scale down. She wouldn’t be happy about me taking a break from our “family.” But I wouldn’t be doing it for nothing, I’d be doing it to be a successful actor. It was a lateral move. No, it was a step up. I’d be the lead. For once, I’d be the star…like I should be.
Smiling, I told him, “I’m in one hundred and ten percent.”
“Excellent!” he exclaimed. He asked for my email address and I happily gave it:
[email protected]
. “The pilot starts filming next month. Can you get down to L.A.?”
Giving Anna sidelong glances, I sniffed and said, “Sure, not a problem.” How I was going to do that without everyone going ballistic, I had no idea.
When I disconnected the phone, Anna was staring at me with expectant eyes. I knew what her question was even before she asked it. “Who was that?”
Sh
rugging, I tried to play it off with vagueness. “Just this guy who wants me to do a little side gig with him. Nothing major.” Yet.
Her brows drew together as she turned onto her stomach. Nope. Vagueness wasn’t going to cut it this time. “What did you agree to, Griffin? I thought you said you wouldn’t do anything rash without talking to me first?”
Running my hand over her back, I shook my head. Oddly, my fingers were trembling. I wanted this to happen, I didn’t want her to tell me no. “I said yes because it’s nothing. Just a one-time acting thing.”
Sitting up on her elbow, her expression was precariously balanced somewhere between curious and furious, and I knew I had to be very careful about how I answered her next question. “Like a commercial?”
My heart started racing as I debated what to say to her. She’d just said we worked because we were honest, brutally honest, but if I told her the truth now, she’d never let me go to L.A. She’d tell me I was being foolish, then she’d drag the guys into the decision…she’d hold me back. And I really couldn’t handle the idea of Anna holding me back. I needed her support, even if she didn’t realize just what she was supporting.
Feeling my headache returning, along with a surge of nausea, I said, “Yeah, something like that. And…they’re filming it next month, so I’m going to have to fly to L.A. Just for a couple days though, I won’t be gone long.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Did I really just say that to her? Yes, I had. I’d just told a major-ass lie to my wife, one I couldn’t hide forever, and when she did find out the truth, she was going to fucking kill me. But I had no choice. She’d shoot down my plan if she knew all the details, and I was dying in the D-Bags’ shadow, I needed to break free. She’d see that once the show erupted. She’d support me then, I just knew it. I’d be totally honest with her…when the time was right.
Anna studied me a second longer, and I prayed my poker face stayed in place. Fuck, was I sweating? Just when I thought she was going to call bullshit, a huge smile broke her tepid expression. “Ah, babe, that’s great! A commercial was kind of something I’d been tossing around in my mind. It will let you stand out, but it won’t interfere with the band. It’s a win-win!” Leaning over, she gave me a heartfelt kiss. “See, I told you your talent would be recognized and appreciated soon.”
She leaned over to kiss me again, and I had to swallow the lump of shame in my throat; it was the first time the emotion had ever truly touched me, and I didn’t like it. At all. I probably shouldn’t have done that. But it was too late now…I’d already spun the web, and all I could do was follow it through. But fuck…on the other side of my deceit was the Promised Land—a TV show, where I was the star! Fuck, yes! This was going to be amazing.
The next few weeks were filled with endlessly meeting the guys and working on the new album. I kept quiet on my “side gig,” which was a really hard thing for me to do. It made me appreciate myself even more. I mean, if the guys understood the restraint I was using on a daily basis around them, they’d be seriously impressed.
Arnold, Harold, or whatever the hell his name was sent me the lengthy electronic contract right away. Since it all seemed legit to me, I signed it without reading it all the way through. Two weeks after I signed the contract, he shipped me the script for the pilot episode. Luckily, I intercepted the package before Anna saw it, and immediately hid the script away in my office. My lie to my wife would be completely exposed if she saw the thick manuscript I’d been sent—no commercial had that many lines—and if I slipped up now, my dream would never come true. To keep my hope alive, I had to keep Anna in the dark, so I only read through the script when I was alone.
It felt strangely horrible to not include her in my excitement. I was so used to telling her everything, no matter how small, and this was huge for me. Holding back from her made me feel incomplete, like I was constantly forgetting something. But I knew what would happen if I told Anna the truth, and because I wanted this so badly, I maintained the lie. It was temporary anyway. Once the show got picked up, I would have to come clean to her and the guys. Even if I was ordered to keep quiet, I wouldn’t be able to hold that shit in.
I was anxious to start filming, and I often practiced my acting technique in the bathroom. But memorizing the script was harder than I thought. I hoped they let me cheat while filming, have someone saying the lines in my ear or holding up cue cards that I could glance at. Something.
By the first part of December, the D-Bags were putting the finishing touches on our third album. Matt was stoked about it, said it was our best one yet. Considering the fact that they’d shot down every single one of my ideas, I wasn’t so sure it was anything more than mediocre. It saddened me that the guys refused to listen to me, refused to let me guide our band to epicness. For all of Matt and Kellan’s pretty words about pushing the envelope, they were sticking with the status quo. It was disappointing, to say the least. But I had bigger and better things on my horizon, so for once, I wasn’t worried about it.
I wasn’t worried about the album, but I was a little concerned about what I was going to tell the guys when it was time to fly to L.A. to film the pilot. I’d have to explain my absence somehow, and I had no idea what to say. “I’m blowing you guys off for a while” probably wouldn’t go over too well. It was a Saturday afternoon in mid-December when I finally got the call from Harold that I’d been waiting for.
“Mr. Hancock, I hope you’re having a great afternoon. All ready for Christmas?”
Even though he couldn’t see me, I shrugged. “Yeah, guess so.” Anna had been shopping for the girls almost nonstop. I swear our house had enough pink and purple presents in it to fill about six Toys for Tots trucks. She claimed most of them were small items, but I didn’t care. Kids should be spoiled, no harm in that.
My gift to Anna was better than anything she’d picked up for the girls though. Not long after Onnika’s baptism, I’d gotten one-way plane tickets for all of my relatives and sent them packing. Our house was blissfully quiet again. My parents were already trying to plan a return trip for the holidays, but I told them they’d have to wait until the next baby. God, I hoped Anna didn’t get knocked up again too soon. She’d kill me.
“That’s great!” Harold exclaimed. His tone never truly changed much, even when I was doing my best to either annoy him or embarrass him. It was like he was always in a great mood, no matter what was happening. I think I could have told him I was contemplating ending it all over the holidays and he would have answered me the same way. He reminded me of Jenny, but in an unrealistic way, like he silently cursed me the second he hung up the phone. Whatever. So long as he made me famous, I didn’t care what he thought about me.
“Good news, Mr. Hancock, everything is ready and we’re all set to film the pilot episode on Monday. Pack your bags, it’s time to come to L.A.”
“Great…I’ll be there.” Somehow.
“Perfect!” He gave me some pointers on where to go and how to get there, and then said, “Everything about this show is top-notch. I can’t wait for you to see the set. See you Monday, Mr. Hancock.”
“Yep, see you then.” Frowning, I tucked my hair behind my ears. It was nearly to my shoulders now, and I could easily pull it back into a ponytail if I wanted. I loved having it loose and free though. What should I tell the guys? Would they be fine with the same thing I’d told Anna? Probably not, they’d bitch that they weren’t included. I ignored the annoying section of my brain that was shouting that I would bitch too if I were them and focused instead on my storytelling skills. Fuck, I was a horrible liar. Hmm, it had to be somewhat realistic to be believable. I’d just say I was visiting family for a while. Yeah, that would totally work.
I let the guys know I was leaving when we met up that night at Kellan’s recording studio. “Hey, so…I’m gonna be heading out of town for a while…I’m leaving tomorrow night actually.” Matt, Evan, and Kellan all twisted to look at me. We’d just finished the final pass on the last song, and everyone was putting aw
ay their instruments. I was still playing with mine, while a strange emotion ripped my belly apart. Fear? Nerves? Guilt? Nah, couldn’t be that. I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I deserved this.
Matt furrowed his brow. “We just finished the album. We’ve got to get it to label so they can start production. We’ll have interviews starting soon, promotional tours, late-night TV gigs…you can’t disappear right now, Griffin. We’ve got work to do.”
I held up my hand to stop his rambling. “I know. Chill…I was just thinking of visiting my parents for a few days. Maybe check up on Chelsey. Her husband is still overseas, and she’s raising those girls alone, you know?”
Mentioning my sister softened Matt. “Oh, well, yeah, that’s fine. Just…don’t vanish or anything.”
A small smile played across my lips. Vanishing was the last thing I intended on doing.
Chapter 10
Awesometopia
The following night, I was on my way to Los Angeles to film the pilot for my sure-to-be-a-hit TV show. Anna had offered to come with me to keep me company and to check out the set of the commercial she thought I was filming. Having her there would bust apart my lie though, so I’d had no choice but to weave another half truth, something that would make her want to stay home. “It’s just a few days, babe, and I’m gonna stay with my family while I’m there. Mom wants to do a late Thanksgiving/early Christmas mega-holiday, so everyone is going to be there. It’s gonna be crazy loud.”
For a minute, I thought I’d miscalculated Anna’s desire to join in the festivities, but once I mentioned that it would be loud, she grimaced. “Yeah, okay. If it’s just a few days, I guess I’ll stay here. I am sad that I won’t get to see the set though…which reminds me, what is the commercial for anyway? You never did tell me…”