Beautiful Mistake Read online

  “What time is it?” I asked, feeling both super tired and super hungry.

  “It’s almost noon. I wasn’t going to wake you, but I have to be in the studio in an hour to lay the final track of the song, and I really really want you there … you know, for moral support. And you know, it’s your song. And well, now it’s my song or a Grind Revolution song … anyway, it’s so awesome I want you to be the first to hear it. I want you there when we record it.” He was smiling so wide I thought his face would crack.

  He was like a little boy with a new puppy, but I understood his excitement. I had the same feeling on stage in front of a stadium full of people the night before.

  “Sure, I wouldn’t miss it. This looks so good, and I am starving,” I said as I dug into the food.

  It was good. Sage wasn’t the best cook, but he made eggs and toast work. I gobbled up breakfast as fast as I could and hit the shower. I was a little disappointed he didn’t join me, but we were on a time crunch, so I understood. I dressed in one of the amazing outfits he bought me in New York, and we were off to the recording studio. I felt butterflies in my stomach at the thought of hearing Sage sing my song. Even though it was New Year’s Day and recording studios were supposed to be closed, I guess he found a place that was open.

  “How did you manage a recording studio on New Year’s?” I asked, truly curious.

  “I know people. Fuck, you look hot.” His eyes lit up.

  “Thanks,” I gave him a flirtatious little curtsy. “My stylist really knows how to dress me … and you should see him … he’s so hot.”

  He leaned in and kissed me. “He better stay away from my girl.”

  “Oh, your girl am I?” I kissed him back. “And Happy New Year to you.”

  “Okay, let’s go. They’ll only keep the place open for a few hours … and Happy New Year’s, babe, this year is gonna ROCK!” He gave me the peace sign and the weird rocker guy was back.

  No worries, he was probably just really excited about recording his song. We got to the place and everything was set up and ready to go. I was shocked to see so many people there. He had a full gospel choir. How did the heck he get them away from all their families?

  “Where did you get the choir from?” I asked, amazed.

  “They have a New Year’s show at the church down the street. Tony plays in the church band and he got them to come. We’re paying them, and the church isn’t, so …” Sage shrugged his shoulders, some sort of new tick.

  “Great way to make it worth their while. This is going to be insane; you have a gospel choir … Sage? Hello? Amazing.” I truly was impressed.

  “Right!” He left me in the sound booth with the sound designer and their manager.

  Ed the sound guy smiled at me and made small talk. “Sage says you wrote this song?” he asked, already knowing my answer.

  “Yep.” I smiled, not sure what else I was supposed to say. I wanted to ask him to rep me too, but that would be weird, and he didn’t offer.

  “The song is terrific, you should be proud.” He put the headphones on and focused on his work.

  “I am,” I responded quietly.

  “Okay, guys. I’m ready when you are.” He fiddled with the keys on his console, and I tried to keep my heart from beating right out of my chest.

  From the first note, I was hooked. The guitar chords were hard at first, and when Sage started singing, he made the words sound like an impassioned love song that ripped you to shreds and then applied a gospel bandage. It was so good … almost too good … and painful. The song, which I’d sung as lamenting and soulful, he sang as a painful epiphany. I wasn’t jealous of him, but a little in awe. He took my song to the next level, that’s for sure. He also revealed a little more of himself that also took me to the same dark questioning place he was singing from.

  “Ever after you and me, so happily, living the fantasy

  and I am fine … and we’re sublime as long as my eyes can’t see,

  what’s in front of me.”

  He sang the first lyrics, skeptical, jaded unwilling to believe … and then the gospel chorus sounded like a mockery and yet not … it was a distant hope … so distant.

  I’m here for this, for the ever after, evermore …

  I’m here for this the fantastic journey, and adventure galore,

  I’m here for this, you and me and to a degree

  I’ll wait and see if you ride up on your white pony …

  it’s all so good … the ever after fantasy.

  The fairy dust from a pixie’s wings,

  the heartbreak when a lover sings,

  the days of old are but gone and yet live on in a fairy song.

  Are you imaginary mi amor … ever after evermore?”

  His voice wailed and stretched and sang like he was eating pain. He had taken something that was so deep and personal and made it universal. People were always just searching for nothing … a fantasy, fairy dust. It was weird to hear a man sing about fairy songs and yet the ironic grit in his voice made it perfect. So many juxtapositions all pointing to the same thing … love is a fantasy.

  That’s exactly as I wrote it, but I wrote it hoping it wasn’t.

  He sang it knowing it was.

  When he was done, I held back my tears. They played it a few times to make sure they got a good recording, and I was moved just as much if not more, each time. They sang their final take and Sage emerged, sweaty and victorious.

  “Holy shit,” I said with my mouth hanging open. “You … you’re a genius.”

  “I felt it, Mel. It was so there.” He pounded his heart.

  “You guys nailed it,” the technician said fiddling with his dials.

  “I’m taking everyone to Ruth’s Chris to celebrate,” his manager announced. “You wrote a great song, Melody.” He approached me. “We can deal with the legal stuff later, just have your lawyer ring me.”

  Right, I thought. What lawyer? I’d have to go to Reyna and figure this all out later. I was sure she knew someone.

  Everyone was going to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, but it was really Sage’s thing. He and his bandmates needed to celebrate this; it didn’t feel like my victory. In fact, I felt a little like I didn’t actually belong there at all. Sage didn’t leave me out, he just sort of wrapped his arm around me and dragged me around everywhere. I was really tired and didn’t want to go with them. I wanted Sage to have this to himself. I didn’t need him constantly reminded that I had written the song, so I pulled him aside to talk.

  “Sage,” I started. “Is it okay if I duck out of this? I haven’t been home in over a week. I need to do laundry and just … chill. Would you be terribly offended if I didn’t join you at Ruth’s Chris?” I hoped I wasn’t being too selfish, but I absolutely needed some ‘take care of me’ time.

  “Sure, no problem, babe. I’ll hook up with you later. I’ll call, K?” He gave me a big, weird … too big-y squeeze and a passionate kiss that got the attention of everyone in the room.

  The kiss was hot … super-hot, but also a little gratuitous. The only time we let our tongues tango that hard was when he was revving up for one of his hard poundings. Those usually came from his unabated lust. This … this was more for show.

  “Okay,” I said, finally pulling away, resisting the urge to wipe my mouth. “You guys have a great day. Happy New Year, what an incredible start.”

  “See ya,” is all I got in return.

  I was making the right decision, some time at home with Charlynn was all I needed; she would help me put my head back on straight. When I got home, Charlynn wasn’t there, she was probably out with friends. So, feeling overwhelmed, I got a pint of ice cream out of the fridge and put on a movie. Somewhere during the film, I fell asleep and woke up after dark. I looked at my phone in a panic.

  There were no calls.

  I looked at my texts. Nothing. Emails, nada. Sage hadn’t even tried to contact me. It was almost eleven o’clock at night; he certainly wasn’t still at the restaurant.
I thought he might have continued on to another celebration, so I decided to call him and let him know I was going to stay in that night. It would actually be the first night in over a week that I didn’t spend with him. I felt happy to have some space, but sad as well. When I called, his phone just rang and went to voicemail. I called a few more times and it happened again. I sent a text saying goodnight and I got nothing back. I started to panic.

  Chapter 15

  Sage

  It felt so good to be on top. I did it. I recorded the hit song that had been eluding me. Finally, I was doing this thing right.

  After Ruth’s Chris, we went to a friend’s house and got wasted. He had whiskey; we smoked pot and snorted a few lines. I wasn’t a drug addict, but I liked to party on occasion. It’d been a really long time since I’d done anything hard, and since it was New Year’s I figured why not? I deserved it. My bandmates and I got totally blitzed and not wanting to waste my good high, I started texting a bunch of friends.

  I had the demo of the recording and thought I’d have a little impromptu listening party at the loft. The band and I stopped by a liquor store, the only one open anywhere, and bought out the store. The dude was so excited about the nearly two thousand dollar sale. I had a friend hook up some drugs, and I just started inviting my contact list. The sooner we got the buzz going for the song the better. I was on a drug high, an emotional high … and I hadn’t really even thought of Melody all day.

  Which was sort of a lie; I was thinking of her all the time, thinking about how I totally stabbed her song to death, but it was still so good my way. Thinking about how she’d hate the party, even though she had a hit of pot every once in a while, and how much I wanted her banging body. I tried not to think about how loving and perfect she was because I didn’t want that. I wanted dangerous and wrong! I wanted anarchy and chaos and so … I threw myself a party and forgot about Melody. I didn’t even call.

  The party was raging … I hadn’t had such a big party in years. We had the song on a loop, and a friend of mine threw down some re-mixes and we sang. I projected a movie onto the ceiling and we drank, snorted more coke, dropped Xtasy … and just got wild. Luckily, my apartment was the whole top floor. Under me was an indoor pool, so the next tenants below me were a few floors down. No one complained, it was New Year’s … we were livin’. Downtown Los Angeles was cool like that; people got it.

  By two in the morning, the party was still raging, and people were still filing in. That’s why I didn’t see her when she walked in. In fact, I didn’t see her at all, Tony did.

  “Sage, Melody’s here. She looks a bit pissed. Just giving you a head’s up,” Tony whispered in my ear.

  Tony was a solid guy; he was a Christian, and he was the only guy in the band who didn’t go crazy with drink or drugs. I trusted the guy with my life.

  “Shit.” I bit my lip. I fucked up. I should have called; she was probably worried sick.

  “You want me to get rid of her?” Tony asked. I wasn’t sure how he could have managed it, but I almost said yes.

  Melody came over to us before I could give him an answer.

  “Wow, Ruth’s Chris really blew up.” She looked around the room, stunned.

  “Yeah, we … um … you know. We’re getting our groove on, babe.” I decided to play cool, only I’d had so much ‘stuff’ all day, I had no barometer for cool.

  “Yep, looks like it. Well, I was just checking to make sure you weren’t dead. You’re not, so I’m going back home.” She turned from me and headed for the door.

  Even though I couldn’t see her face, I could feel her vibe. She was pissed, disappointed, and ready to bail, all in one. I was about to lose her for good. We hadn’t been in this thing long, and she’d be able to recover. The girl walking out of my house had no intention of walking back in again. The party was over anyway. People were starting to stagger; there were folks dozing on my couch, and the mess was epic. If I didn’t start kicking people out, I’d have puke on the carpet and sleepers on the couch who would be a bitch to extract in the morning, so I raced to catch Melody.

  I took her by the arm and turned her around. I felt her flinch and almost wrench her arm out of mine, but I held her tightly.

  “Just one minute before you go, okay?” I gave her soulful puppy dog eyes, and they worked for a minute, but I couldn’t expect that minute to last.

  “It’s okay, Sage. I really just wanted to make sure you weren’t laying in a ditch somewhere.”

  “Hey, all,” I yelled. “It’s time to say goodnight. Thanks for coming and listening to our new song, but it’s almost three in the morning, and I’m about to turn into a pumpkin. So out, y’all crazy people. Go,” I said to the crowd.

  I turned back to Melody. “Please just go to the bedroom, and I’ll meet you there. Let me get these folks out of my house.”

  “Is there anyone in there?” Melody asked, skeptical.

  “I’ll make sure there isn’t,” Tony volunteered.

  It took me about half an hour, but I was able to get rid of the crowd. Tony was the last guy to leave, and I just shut off the lights after I closed the door behind him. I’d call a maid to deal with the mess in the morning. I walked into my bedroom totally amped up, and Melody was just sitting on the bed, looking numb.

  “I should have called you,” I said as I sat beside her.

  “You didn’t have to. I just … answering my text would have been fine. ‘Melody, I’m having a rager; see you later,’” she teased, but I knew her heart was broken.

  “I was just so excited about the song; I got carried away.” I kissed her cheek and hoped she’d understand.

  “I know. It’s a great song; I’d lose my mind about it too. It’s really late, Sage. I should go home and get some rest.”

  I was shocked; she’d been spending her nights with me, why would she be suggesting she should go home? “Melody? Stay here. I’m sorry I partied so hard and didn’t text or call or anything, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you. It just means I made a bad judgment call.”

  In fact, at the moment she was all I needed. I was so horny and crazed from the drugs and the party, my cock was alive and kicking and she was, as always, the best thing for it. She looked at me with earnest love in her eyes, and I did my best not to look like an errand boy. It must have worked because I finally saw a smile cross her face.

  “I was pretty mad at you,” she said.

  “We’ll now I’ve said I’m sorry,” I stripped away my shirt and wiggled out of my jeans. “Let’s get to the makeup sex.” I slid out of my underwear to lay naked before her, erect and ready for anything.

  She laughed when she saw how aroused I was. Her hand gently touched my cock, stroking it. “He never needs encouraging, does he?” she asked, pumping my bulging erection.

  “Nope. He’s always ready for action.” I swooped down upon her and gently unbuttoned the buttons on her shirt. Truly, I wanted to rip the thing off of her, but I knew how much I spent on the shirt and how much she liked it, so I took a deep breath and my time. She stopped pumping my cock and took a few minutes to slide her jeans and underwear off. We were past the point of sexual undressing; we liked being naked together, so when we were naked next to one another again, something in my mind just exploded.

  “You are my everything,” I confessed, diving in to kiss her sweet mouth.

  She tasted like toothpaste and purity; I tasted like an ashtray and the gutter. It felt so rock ’n roll. I guess she didn’t mind because her wandering hand made it back to my cock and started its pumping again. She really knew how to work my junk. I was writhing and twitching, and it was time to get her ready for me. I needed to fuck … hard

  “Get on your knees, at the end of the bed.” She gave me a curious smile but did as I asked.

  Her beautiful buttocks were raised high in the air, and I kissed her sweet pussy before I spread her legs open more and licked the length of it several times before diving at her clit with my teeth bared. She bucked forwa
rd in surprise when I grazed my teeth along with her sensitive button, and I laughed against her wetness. She flooded me with her desire, so I added a finger, then two inside her vagina and pumped hard and fast.

  Her breath sputtered, and she bucked and clenched the sheets as an orgasm was coming hard and fast. I pummeled her deeper, and she lost all control. I needed her under my spell and as soon as her arousal splashed all over my fingers, I knew I had her just where I wanted her.

  “Are you ready?” I asked, perching my cock at the entrance of her sweet vagina.

  “Mhmm,” she moaned, not able to make a coherent sound.

  That was all I needed.

  I slammed into her, and she bucked forward. I had to use all my strength to get into her tightness, but I soon felt her give way and let my cock in. It was bliss, the warm, wet, welcoming cavern sucked up my cock till my balls slapped her ass. I pulled out and pressed back in again, hearing the slick sucking sounds of our sex. I then lifted her up by the shoulders and hooked my arms around them, securing her to me.

  She tested my hold by wiggling a little, but I was a feral monster. I had her in my grip. My hands tightened around her shoulders, and my cock lodged in deep.

  “I’m going to take you to the moon,” I whispered in her ear, and she nodded her head, still swirling on her orgasmic high when I blasted into her hard.

  I bent her forward only far enough that I could get a better angle, and I pumped in and out hard and fast. The friction felt so good I almost spilled inside of her then, but I slowed down my pace and caught my breath. I didn’t want it to be over so fast. She put her head on the pillow and collapsed forward. I gently laid beside her and lifted her leg over my buttocks so I could see her beautiful face. She was flushed red with passion and smiling, in a hazy glow. I entered her again, gently lifting her onto me as I rocked myself in and out. Her mouth claimed me, and our tongues mirrored our bodies. It was such a nice cooldown.