A Dream for Two (7 page)

***

Elise hurriedly brushed her teeth and then stepped into her state-of-the-art waterfall shower. It took her a moment to get it working but finally it was cascading hot water down onto the stylish dark tiles. Elise removed her terry cloth robe and turquoise pajamas and stepped inside. The water upon her skin instantly felt cleansing. She pivoted happily beneath the stream, humming quietly to herself. Over the sound of the water she didn’t hear the bathroom door open.

She jumped as two strong hands gripped her waist and spun her around. Dylan was in the shower. He was completely naked. He leaned down to kiss her. Elise was still in shock at his sudden presence but she couldn’t deny him a kiss. As their lips connected his hands felt their way down her wet, bare body. Elise felt a thrill of delight dance down her spine and make her toes tingle. Their kiss deepened as the shower continued to soak them both.

“Do you want this?” Dylan asked breathily as he pulled away from her and whispered into her ear.

“Yes,” Elise gasped. She knew that she wanted him more than anything. He was all she thought about.

Their bodies united beneath the torrent of hot water. Dylan was a skilled and sensitive lover. He pressed Elise up against the damp tiles and tenderly made love to her. Elise closed her eyes in euphoria. The sides of the shower steamed up, sealing them within their own cloud of hot, passionate love.

***

“So are you glad I stopped by?” Dylan grinned playfully as he wrapped a white towel around his toned torso. Elise couldn’t stop gazing at his perfect chest.

“Hey, I’m not a piece of meat, you know,” he quipped.

“I know,” Elise blushed. “That was just all so…unexpected.”

“In a good way?”

“In the best way,” Elise reassured him, kissing him softly on the lips. They were both still flushed, and not just from the shower.

“I wish you could stay longer,” Elise sighed. She wanted to never leave his arms.

“I know,” Dylan gave her a sad smile. “But destiny awaits. We just need to complete these last few tracks, then things should calm down.”

“Same for me.”

“So we just finish our albums and then we’ll have all the time in the world for each other,” Dylan held her in his arms as he spoke.

“That sounds good,” Elise agreed wistfully. Each minute she spent with Dylan was precious and every time they parted she yearned to be with him once again.

“So we’re really pleased with the album,” Jake beamed to Elise as she sat across from him in the plush offices of Cloud Records.

“Oh, good,” Elise sighed with relief. One month had extended to two but finally the album was recorded and being prepared for release. She was excited to have recorded her first album but more excited to now be able to spend more time with Dylan. She’d barely seen him while they had both been locked in the studio. But now both their albums were complete they’d have more time for one another.

“But now is when the real work starts,” Jake warned her.

“The real work?” Elise repeated his words with unease. She’d been working every hour God sent for eight weeks straight. She was sleep deprived, exhausted and emotionally drained. She couldn’t work any harder than she had, she had nothing left to give.

“Yes, now we need to start getting the word out about your album,” Jake explained. Elise wasn’t sure how this work would involve her; the label had always assured her that they’d handle the lion’s share of the promotional work.

“Okay,” she nodded at him, wondering what would be required of her next.

“We’ve actually been able to secure you a really exciting opportunity which should ensure your album’s success.”

“Oh?” Elise leaned forward expectantly in her chair. Was one of her songs going to be featured in a movie? Or in a TV commercial? She knew that many artists got their big break that way. It was a great way of getting your music heard by a broad audience.

“You’re going to freak when we tell you!” Jake grinned.

“Okay, then tell me,” Elise prompted.

“Guess who is going to be supporting Claire Parry on the European leg of her world tour?”

Elise had no idea. She shook her head.

“You!” Jake declared as he pointed a finger squarely at Elise.

“Me?” Elise couldn’t believe it. Claire Parry was a huge star. And Europe! Elise had never even left America. Coming to New York was the first time she’d left her home state. She wasn’t sure she was ready to visit an entirely new continent!

“Yes, you!” Jake clarified. “I told you it was a great opportunity! A chance to play your music live to thousands of fans every night! You must be thrilled.”

“I am!” Elise nodded enthusiastically. And she was. But something soured what should have been a joyous moment. Dylan. It meant leaving Dylan. She wasn’t sure if she could do that.

“How long would the tour be for?” she asked tentatively.

“Two months,” Jake replied factually.

“Two months?” Elise’s eyes widened. That would mean another two months away from Dylan, only this time she’d be in a different country, in a different time zone. He wouldn’t be able to pop over with flowers when he had spare time. They’d be completely apart.

“Yep, and you leave tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Elise’s head was spinning.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got all your flights and hotels covered. You just need to pack and rest up.”

Elise knew that she needed more than one night’s sleep to rest up. Her body ached and she was beginning to forget small details like her phone number. She needed a good two weeks’ rest to be back on top form. Each morning when she woke up it was becoming an increasing effort to drag herself out of bed.

“So go home, rest, get ready. Tomorrow is the first day of your big adventure.”

***

“Two months?” Dylan cried in dismay as Elise delivered the news.

“I know,” she sighed as she reached out and cupped his hands in hers. “But I couldn’t pass it up, it’s Claire Parry.”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s a great opportunity,” Dylan agreed but she saw the disappointment etched on his handsome face. He squeezed her hands and gazed despondently at the television mounted on the wall which was currently playing the rental movie he’d brought for them to watch together.

Elise had tried to delay telling him and just focus on enjoying their date night. They’d ordered in pizza and planned on a romantic evening together, but then Dylan noticed her packed luggage by the front door and started asking questions. Elise knew that she owed him the truth.

“I just…I feel like I barely see you,” he admitted sadly.

“I know,” Elise pinched back tears. Every fiber in her being wanted to stay with him in New York. Instead she was jetting off the London, Paris, Milan. Places which had previously just been dots on a map to her.

“Two months without even seeing you,” Dylan looked intently at her. His eyes bore into hers as though he could see right down into the depths of her soul.

“How will I cope?” he asked, forcing a slight smile.

“How will I cope?” Elise deflected as a solitary tear danced down her cheek. “I can’t bear being apart from you.”

Dylan reached out and embraced her, pulling her tightly into him. She breathed deeply, savoring his heady, cologne-laced scent. She wished she could bottle it up and take it with her and smell him each and every night she was away.

“We just met each other right at the start of our careers so it’s tough,” Dylan whispered to her. 

“But it shouldn’t be,” Elise pulled back from him and wiped at her eyes. “It should be awesome and excited but I’m not enjoying any of it.”

“What do you want me to do?” Dylan’s look darkened. “Do you want me to set you free? To tell you to go follow your dreams and forget about me?”

“No!” Elise insisted, cupping his face in her hands.

“You are my dream,” she told him sincerely. “You are more important to me than any of this.”

“But I’d never ask you to give it up,” Dylan gently lowered her hands from his face. “I don’t want you to go back to being a waitress. I want you to be a superstar.”

Elise sniffed tearfully.

“I’ll be right here waiting for you when you get back off your tour,” he promised her, sealing the promise with a soft kiss upon her lips.

“Can’t you come with me?” she asked hopefully.

“I can’t,” Dylan sighed. “I still need to finish the band’s album. We’re already worryingly behind. I can just never motivate them. If they worked half as hard as you do we’d be done by now.”

Elise heard the resentment in his voice. Things with his band were not going well.

“They just want the glamour and the fame,” he continued. “They’re not about the music, they’re not willing to put in the work.”

“Not everyone is as committed to being a rock star as you are,” Elise smiled at him.

Dylan grinned at this but then abruptly stood up. He went over to her pile of luggage, including her guitar case, which he popped open. He removed her beloved guitar and came back over to the sofa. He sat down and positioned the guitar on his lap, his hands either side of it, ready to play.

He strummed a couple of notes, getting a feel for the instrument. Elise leaned against him, noticing how impossibly sexy he looked holding her guitar.

“I wish you didn’t have to go,” he sung gently to her. “But sometimes parting is good for the soul.”

He continued to strum a sweet melody, inviting Elise to sing a few lines.

“I’ll take you with me every step I take. Because this love is something distance can’t break.”

Together they jammed, singing a sweet song about parting but not saying goodbye. Outside the night darkened and the city became illuminated with a thousand streetlights glittering magically.

***

Elise awoke in bed to the sharp beeping of her alarm clock. Beside her Dylan was still sleeping. She could hear the steady rise and fall of his breath. Groaning, she propped herself up and leaned over to silence her alarm. It was still dark. She rubbed her eyes and wished that she could go back to sleep.

Quietly she crept from her bed and went to shower. When she emerged Dylan was undisturbed but she was running out of time. A car would soon arrive to take her to the airport. She left the bedroom and went out to her modern kitchen where she poured herself some cereal and made herself a fresh mug of coffee.

She sat eating from the bowl, with the city still twinkling beyond her window as the door to her bedroom creaked open and Dylan stumbled out, his dark hair matted around his head. He dropped down beside Elise and placed a hand upon her knee.

“You didn’t say you had to get up so early,” he told her, his voice groggy.

“I didn’t want it to encroach on our time together.” It had been after midnight when they’d eventually headed to bed. They watched the end of the movie, played the guitar and then made sweet music of a much more physical variety together.

“So you’re going soon?” Dylan asked sadly.

“Yeah,” Elise sighed and checked her watch. “I’m getting picked up at seven.”

“When is your flight?”

“Nine.”

Dylan groaned and buried his head in his hands.

“I don’t want you to go,” he admitted. “But I refuse to be the dick that asks you to say.”

Elise understood how he felt. She wanted to stay, but she knew she couldn’t. If she sacrificed her dream to be with a guy she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to forgive herself; her grandmother certainly wouldn’t. Yet it felt wrong to be leaving Dylan. Their relationship was still so new, perhaps if they were more established it would be easier to leave.

Putting down her now empty bowl Elise picked up her guitar which was resting by the sofa. She ran her fingers along the strings, checking it was still in tune. Then she began to strum a popular melody which Dylan instantly recognized. He lifted his head to turn to her and smile.

“That’s appropriate,” he grinned.

“My mother used to sing this to me before bed,” Elise explained. “It was her favorite song.”

Then she kept playing and began to gently sing the song:

“Oh my bags are packed, I’m ready to go…”

Dylan leaned back and listened contentedly to her rendition of “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” She sung with delicate, heartfelt emotion. It was beautiful to listen to.

“You know, I think I’ll try to incorporate that into my set,” Elise declared when she finished the song, her hand still resting by the strings, her fingertips itching to play some more.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Elise nodded. “And each time I play it, I’ll dedicate it to you.”

“You’d do that for me?” Dylan seemed incredibly touched by the gesture.

“Of course,” Elise leaned forward and gently kissed him on the lips. “I love you, Dylan Cornish, and I want the whole world to know.”

“I love you too,” Dylan whispered as they kissed again. “What time are you getting picked up again?”

“Seven.”

“So that gives us?” Dylan glanced down at her watch.

“Twenty minutes,” Elise told him breathily.

“That’s long enough!” Dylan playfully scooped her up into his arms and began carrying her back towards the bedroom. Elise squealed girlishly as he paused to spin her around. They were both laughing as he dropped her down into the center of the king-sized bed. Elise watched Dylan as he lowered himself towards her. Each time she saw him she felt like her heart might burst. By some miracle she’d found not only success in New York City but also true love. She just hoped that she’d still have both of those things when she returned from her eight-week tour. Dylan pressed his mouth against hers and as they kissed she momentarily forgot all about her problems and drifted away on the euphoria of his touch.