"Can it, Sheri. Like you didn't deserve that." But he lifted her into his arms all the same and strode through the house.

A caveman and a gentleman. Awesome.

After receiving congratulations by a few of the onlookers, Alys turned to us. "Well, this has been an exciting day. How did it go with you?"

"I've been informed that I'm now seeing someone," I replied dryly.

Alys's eyebrows rose up.

Lili beamed from ear to ear. "They were totally making out in the bushes!" she crowed.

"Classy," chuckled Alys. "Maybe Sheri is right. You're nothing but bayou backwater trash."

Lili and I cracked up.

Flipper and X joined us, both of them smiling broadly. X seemed unable to take his eyes off Alys, and she was trying hard not to notice this.

"I remember you three bein' a lot of fun," said X. "But that was full-on entertainment."

"Lucky that Jason wasn't here to see that," said Flipper. "He doesn't like Sheri gettin' hurt."

"Sheri was askin' for it. I love her, but that was some fucked-up shit she was spewin'," defended X. "I think she's seriously wasted though. She's usually pretty nice."

"Who is she?" I asked, curious about the woman who had given all of them head.

"Our road manager," said Flipper. "And she takes good care of us. I think she's a tad jealous. Probably sees you as a threat."

"So, she's Jason's girlfriend?" asked Lili.

"Who knows? They fuck each other, and she doesn't really fuck anyone else-" X volunteered.

"Unless Jason's watching," joked Flipper.

"Ew!" barked Lili. "There is a thing as too much info."

X and Flipper stiffened but more in embarrassment than anger.

"Yeah, sorry," X mumbled, sliding a glance at a slightly disgusted-looking Alys. "We're all used to being pretty open around here. We've lived with each other for a long time. Not a lot of privacy."

I was both intrigued and appalled. The absolute dirt I could get on these guys, on Phil, could probably fill an encyclopedia-although I'd rather hear it from him, if I were honest with myself.

"Well, it's been a long day, and I'm ready to call it a night," said Alys.

She looked at me, and I nodded.

I didn't want to leave, but I knew that if I stayed, I wouldn't be able to resist spreading my legs for Phil fuckin' Deveraux. Twice in one lifetime was asking too damn much.

"You guys are leavin'?" asked X, looking and sounding disappointed.

"We've all been up since early yesterday," explained Lili.

"It's kinda refreshing, hanging with you ladies," Flipper told us. "You guys seem really genuine, you know?"

The three of us gave him a blank look.

"No?" he asked.

"What do you mean by genuine?" asked Alys.

"Well, you seem really comfortable with being yourselves, and you don't give a shit if anyone else accepts you or not."

"Oh, totally." Lili laughed.

"Well, I'd like to say bye to Phil," I said.

"I'll take you to him. I think he's just waitin' for Jace-you know, Jason to show up. He went to get some weed," said Flipper.

"I'll talk to my guy and see if he can get some extra for you guys," I said to him as he led me through the house.

We headed up a staircase, down a hallway, and hung a left. The third door on the right was cracked, and the light was on. Flipper stopped and tapped on the door.

"Yeah?" Phil's voice floated through the crack, like audible hot fudge.

"Hey, man. Kenna's takin' off-"

We heard a bit of frantic scrambling, and the door was wrenched open. Flipper jumped out of the way before Phil steamrolled over him.

Breathing heavily, his eyes locked on me, and his body eased.

"Watch over Sheri, yeah?" he said softly to Flipper.

"Damn it," Flipper grumped as he headed into the room.

"No!" wailed Sheri. "I want Phil! Where's Jace?"

Phil's jaw clenched with irritation, and he softly shut the door. "She's just a friend."

"I know," I replied. A very good friend who passes around the oral. Bitch has had his cock in her mouth.

"Don't go." His voice, so deep and wonderful, caressed its way through me. "Please, Baby Girl," he begged, taking my hands in his.

"It's been a long day, and my girls are ready to head home," I told him.

"I don't want this to end," he whispered, almost sounding scared.

"I'm pretty sure it's just the beginning, Phil," I assured quietly.

He pulled me into his arms, enfolding me with his huge body, and I was so tempted to just throw caution to the wind and do whatever he might ask of me. I'd like to think that I wouldn't have jumped into bed with him all those years ago, so I wasn't going to now. If I stayed, that was exactly what would happen. I wouldn't be able to help myself.

"Stay with me," he said into my hair.

"One day soon, I hope to do just that," I told him. "But not tonight."

Slow and shaky, his breath left him. "All right."

"Will you walk me out?"

"Of course."

Holding my hand and lacing our fingers, he led me back downstairs where Lili and Alys were waiting for me. X was standing awfully close to Alys, and I didn't think she even realized it. Lili did, and she was making pointed eyeballs at that developing situation.

Alys tossed me her keys. "You drive. I've had a few."

"All right," I replied, catching them midair.

Phil was still holding my hand as we headed to the silver SUV. I clicked the unlock button, and Alys and Lili piled in.

Phil and I just stood next to the driver's door, looking at each other, not wanting to part ways. He reached up and touched my face. He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, causing an entire mass of butterflies to dance through my tummy.

Leaving feels so wrong. I want to stay. I want to keep talking to him, touching him, kissing him.

"Call me when you get home?"

His voice pitched so deep that it hit something inside me. If he'd asked me to stay in that musical note, I'd be stripping off my clothes.

Yanking my head out of the gutter, I dug in my bag for my phone and handed it to him, so he could punch in his number.

"I..." he started to say. His thumbs clicked away at the keys on my phone.

Then, he simply pulled me to him, crushing my mouth beneath his, kissing me until my toes curled up in my Adidas.

He broke the kiss, panting slightly. "Do you work tomorrow?"

"No," I replied, my voice sounding airless.

"You're mine tomorrow. And the day after that."

"Okay," I said softly.

"And every day after that, too."

That made me smile. "If you say so."

"Too fuckin' right."

Two minutes later, we pulled into our driveway, and I killed the engine. Pulling out my phone, I saw that he'd saved his number under Your Phil.

"Wow!" Lili breathed right by my ear, reading it over my shoulder. "He's really fucking serious then."

"That was so cool-how he just threw you over his shoulder and dragged you out of there," said Alys.

"Me Phil, you Baby Girl grunt, grunt," agreed Lili.

"What did you guys talk about?" Alys asked.

"They weren't talking when I found them," Lili laughed.

"We talked about what would have happened if we hadn't gotten kicked out that night," I explained, ignoring Lili's smarmy comment. "And he asked me if I was seeing anyone, and when I said no, he informed me otherwise."

"I guess you didn't mention that we live in his backyard," said Lili dryly.

"No, I think I want to wait before he knows that. Sort of see if this is going to work, you know?" I said.

We were quiet when we headed inside, and we went up to our bedrooms, calling it an evening.

In my room, I stripped out of my sweaty clothes and all but tore off the bra. I jumped in the shower, hoping it would help bring my energy level down a bit.

I'm dating Phil fucking Deveraux. Tonight, I made out with him, and I held his hand. He told me he thinks I'm beautiful.

I touched him, felt him, tasted him, and smelled him, and he was even more gorgeous than I remembered. Age had honed his face and body into a powerful force of beauty. He'd taken good care of himself. I had felt the ripped muscles in his chest and abs when he held me close to him. He was so big that he dwarfed me in comparison. With him tonight, I felt like the small feminine woman I always knew was hiding deep inside me.

Thinking of him with his hands on me, his mouth possessing mine, I ended up rubbing one out before jumping out of the shower. Feeling a bit more relaxed, I threw on my threadbare NOLA's Junk T-shirt and pulled out my phone.

We'd left less than an hour ago. I could still hear the party going on, so instead of calling him, I sent a text message.

Me: Got home OK. It was great seeing you again.

My phone rang less than a minute later.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Baby Girl."

Gods above, if chocolate was a sound, it'd be this man's voice.

"Hey, Phil," I said, grinning like an idiot.

"I wanted to hear your voice."

I always want to hear your voice, I thought.

"Well, I figured since you have a party going on, I didn't want to bother you," I explained.

"You're always bothering me," he stated. "You've been bothering me for the last six years, and it bothers the fuck out of me that you're not here now. Come back."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Not tonight."

He sighed. "It feels surreal. I can't believe I fuckin' saw you."