Chasing Lyrics (Music & Lyrics #1) (15 page)

Chapter
29

‘Never
thought I’d be singing for you, hell, so much I never thought we’d do’

Lyrics –

      I can’t stop staring at
this rock on my finger. Even with his mouth on my neck, I’m in shock. I am
actually going to be Mrs. Tanner Staff. Can’t believe Mom is actually going to
be my legal mom, well mother-in-law, but still, it’ll be legal! If this were
anybody else, I would get my brain examined for accepting, but it’s not, it’s
my Tanner.

     When we were fifteen years
old, Tanner was already tall and good-looking. I swear he never went through
that awkward teenager stage. I most definitely went through the awkward stage. I
was very tall for a female, raised by my dad on a farm. so fashion and make-up
didn’t play a very big role in my life. It wasn’t that classmates teased me; it
was more that I was invisible. The only time the girls in our school really
noticed me was when they thought I was Tanner’s gatekeeper. They would walk up
to me, twirling their perfectly curled hair, and pitch themselves to me as if
we were in some sort of selling contest. As soon as I would tell them that he made
his own decisions, they would roll their eyes and walk away. One time in the
lunchroom, this girl named Sabrina Noles, not only rolled her eyes but added as
she was walking away, “Don’t know why he hangs out with her plain ass.” Tanner
overheard this and rushed past me straight to her. He smiled at her and she got
all giddy. He leaned down and whispered something in her ear. Her facial
expression turned from happy to pissed off in .05 seconds. When Tanner walked
back to me, he had a big smile on his face and grabbed my hand, pulling me
outside.

      He asked me, “You okay?”

      I lied and said, “Of course.
I wouldn’t let that bitch get to me.”

       He kissed me on the
cheek and said, “Good. How they don’t see what I see in you is beyond me. Oh
well, their loss!” My feelings were hurt but he changed that immediately. He
always made me feel special, just the way I was. When I asked him what he said
to her, he laughed and told me, “I told her that I hang out with you because
you are the coolest, most beautiful girl in this place, but mainly because you
are nothing like her.”

      We have so many memories
together. With Tanner, I feel safe, like home. There is nobody else in the world
that could have actually gotten me to sing a song I wrote. I write them for him
to sing, not me. I was satisfied with just being his best friend and
suffocating my deeper feelings towards him. Now, holy fucking hell, I am going
to be his wife!

      So many thoughts are
spinning in my mind but feeling his hand thread through my hair, those soft
lips grazing over my skin…how could I ever think of anything else? I glance at
my hand with that magnificent ring on it and cannot help but smile. Tanner
notices my smile and says, “Glad you like it, baby.”

      I yell, “Like it? I
fucking love it! I love you! I love the idea of being your wife! I love the
idea that we are going to have kids together! I love Germany!”

      He giggles and says,
“Well I love the fact that you said yes!” He looks at me and says, “I’d really
love to make love to my fiancé right now.” My heart practically explodes.

      As his arm loops around
my waist, he pulls me on top of him as he falls backwards onto the bed. Looking
down into his beautiful brown eyes, my lips magnetically draw to his. His soft
lips and the way he controls my mouth sends shocks that start at my mouth and
pretty much settle in my pussy. He flips me over and nips at my nipple as he
lifts my shirt up over my head. Every move he is making sends me into a frenzy.
As I reach down, it is more than obvious that he is on the same frenzy train
that I am. He says, “I don’t want you to leave. I don’t know how I will make
four months of this shit.”

      I stop him and softly
say, “Babe, let’s just enjoy this last day here together. I have to leave early
tomorrow, let’s not waste any time, okay?” He flips me over and nods his head. The
force he grabs me with as he is kissing me, leaves no question that he is
scared to be without me. We shimmy out of our clothes and the feel of him
inside of me brings a certain comfort that I have never felt before. We belong
to each other, without a doubt. Our breathing synchronizes with every motion. This
man will be my husband, my one, my forever…as I always imagined, but even
better. Quietly, we finish at the same time and neither of us makes a move. It
is perfect. Our bodies are molded together and right now, there is nothing
wrong in my world!

      The hotel phone rings and
we both jump. Tanner reaches over and grabs it. He says, “Hey buddy. You’re
back already? How’s your mom doing? Oh man, I’m so sorry to hear that. When is
the funeral? You okay? Yep, she is leaving tomorrow morning. No, haven’t seen
her at all, is she here? Thanks for the heads up. Let me know if you need
anything. Okay, I’ll be ready at nine a.m. Hey Chip, I’m glad you were able to
see your mom before, well, you know. Alright, see you tomorrow.”

      I ask Tanner, “What’s
going on?”

      He says, “It was Chip.”

      I roll my eyes and say,
“Yeah, I pretty much got that. What was he saying?”

      He says, “His mom died. Poor
guy.”

      Angrily I say, “Tanner, I
guessed that by the funeral remark. What the hell did he say about Jennifer?”

      He sits up and begins
putting his pants on. “He said she’s back from her spa retreat. Who fucking
cares.”

       I know he’s right but
for whatever reason, I care. She is a sneaky bitch and I don’t like her. I take
a breath and say, “Well, you have four months with her so better get used to it
now, right?”

      He says, “I don’t have
four months with her, I have four months left on this shoot; she just happens
to be there.”

      I fake a smile and say,
“I’m starving. Want to order room service?”

      He says as he pulls me to
him, “I have everything I want to eat right here!” He makes me laugh.

      I say, “For real, I’m
starving.”

      He grabs the menu, hands
it to me, and then says, “Order whatever you want!”

      As I am searching through
the menu, it dawns on me…we need to tell Mom! I throw down the menu and grab my
phone. Tanner looks at me like I lost my mind. I say, “We gotta tell Mom and Dads.”
He smiles. I take a picture of my hand with the beautiful ring and then a few
of us. I create a group text and push send. One minute later and ding, ding,
ding.

      Mom writes, “Oh my gosh! My
babies are getting married!” Sounds kind of weird but it is what it is.

      My dad texts, “About time!
I couldn’t be happier. Love you both.”

      Mom sends another,
“Dylan, we will get to planning as soon as you get home. Oh my goodness, we
will have so much fun!” Tanner and I are laughing because we both knew that Mom
would react like this. I am the luckiest woman in the world!

Chapter
30

‘Seventeen
years we’ve been side by side’

Tanner –

      It’s happening again. I
can’t breathe. I have been up for hours just watching her sleep. I have a bad
feeling stirring around in my stomach and I don’t want her to leave. No clue
what the bad feeling is, just know it is here. I look at the clock and it is
5:40 a.m. We have to leave in twenty minutes to get to the airport. As I kiss
her cheek, she gives me a sleepy smile. Her hand reaches up and caresses my
cheek.

      She says, “Already?”

      I reply, “Afraid so.”

      She opens up her eyes and
says, “Tan, it’ll be okay. We will talk all the time, promise.”

      I try my hardest to smile
but it doesn’t come. I say, “You need to get up and get dressed. Let’s get this
fucking shit over.”

      Lyrics slowly gets up and
gets dressed. Even in sweat pants and a baggy hoodie she is beautiful. She
looks at me and asks, “Ready?” I shake my head no but say yep.

     When we arrive down in the
lobby, Stefan took it upon himself to have a car waiting for us. He gives me
his phone, puts his arm around Lyrics, and asks me, “Mr. Staff, would you take
a picture for me?”

      A smile instantly forms
on all of our faces, I say, “Of course.”

      As he kisses her hand, he
says, “Ms. Dylan, you are a very special woman. It was such a pleasure to meet
you. I’ll look after your fiancé for you.”

      Lyrics smiles and gives
him a peck on the cheek. She whispers, “Thank you, sir.” We leave to the
airport.

       Lyrics scoots in close
to me and leans her head on my shoulder. I am speechless. She begins to speak
and I interrupt her. “I have to say this to you. I love you. I mean, I love you
so much it actually scares me sometimes. For seventeen years, we have been side
by side, taking on the world one song at a time. Now, you are going to be my
wife and I can’t tell you what that means to me. Yes, Dylan, I know it will be
fine but my stomach hurts just thinking about waiting so long to see you, to
touch you. Just know, I am yours wholly, always. Through sickness and in health…”
The tears that fall from her eyes are oddly comforting to me.

      As the car comes to a
stop at the airport, I force myself to get out and grab her bags out of the
trunk. The driver looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind, and he would be correct.
With her ticket in hand, she wraps her arms around me, and I kiss her soft,
tremoring lips.

      She says, “I love you. See
you at home.”

      As hard as I’m trying to
fight it, the tears begin to pour out of my eyes. I whisper, “See you at home. I
love you, my Lyrics.” Watching her walk away feels like my heart is ripping out
of my body. When she disappears into the airport, I get back into the car and
the driver takes off without a word.

      The hotel looks massive
and cold as we pull up to the entrance. I shake the driver’s hand and give him
a tip. I just can’t find any words to speak. Luckily, Stefan isn’t at his desk.
I practically run to the elevator to avoid any possible conversations with
anybody. There is such a huge void in my life when Lyrics isn’t with me. I open
the door to the room and that too is huge and cold. Chip is going to be calling
soon, I know. I plop down on the bed and feel something under my pillow. It’s
an envelope labeled Tan. I rip it open and pull out a letter.

Dear Tanner,

      Thank you for such an
amazing time in Germany. In a million years, I wouldn’t have thought I’d be
leaving as your fiancé. I knew one day we’d get married, but had no idea you’d
propose in Germany. I want you to know that we will be fine. You are the motha
fucking Gap model, making lots of money so we can make music together when you
get home. I have loved you for seventeen years and that will never change.

     Don’t worry about Jennifer.
I don’t want you to be unkind to her; we both know she will make your life
miserable if you do. Just do the shoots and then your own thing. You can always
threaten her with my fist of death! Don’t turn your back on her though. I
really don’t trust her.

      I miss you already. Can’t
wait for December when you are back in my arms.

      I love you more and more
every single day.

Love forever,

Your Lyrics.

I fold the letter back into the
envelope and place it on my nightstand. I’m the luckiest man in the world.

Chapter
31

‘You’re
the only one sitting shotgun on this ride.’

Lyrics –

      Can’t believe it’s
already been two months since I left Germany. Mom and I have been looking at
dresses, venues, caterers…man, and the wedding shit is crazy! Tanner and I
decided to get married on April 25, 2017. Right now Tanner is in Russia. He
says Jennifer has been weirdly nice and seems to be sober for the most part. Chip
makes sure that they don’t spend too much time together. He knows what a bitch
she really is.

I have been staying with Mom more
than at my own apartment. Brent, Tanner’s brother, has been visiting with his
kids, which has been great. He and his wife are very good parents, even though
it is so weird to see him as a dad. Mom just loves her grandchildren and I can’t
wait to give her more. Brent and Tanner aren’t too close but get along great
when they are around each other. Tanner loves those kiddos though. I text
Tanner, “Hello my love. Brent and the kids want to tell you hi too. How is
Russia?”

      I get a text. “Russia
sucks, I miss y’all so much. Chase and Maddie, Uncle T loves you guys. I’ll
bring you some vodka back from Russia.”

      We all laugh, I text,
“The kids prefer whiskey, duh.”

      He texts back, “Haha. Just
like their Auntie.”

      I love the sound of that,
always have. I text, “We all love you, babe. Two more days and you’ll be in
Greece.”

      He texts, “Meet me there,
please.”

      I text, “I wish.”

      He texts, “Hugs to y’all.
Love you. BTW, I never want to see another pastel color in my life!” Everybody
cracks up.

      Everybody is going next
door to my Dad’s house tonight for his famous smoked brisket. The smell is insanely
delicious. Dad starts smoking his briskets at 4 a.m. and we eat around 5 pm. I
am so grateful to have the Staff family here for me. When I’m at my apartment,
all I can do is think about Tanner. Of course, Tyler stops by every now and
again, but the ring on my finger has mellowed him out a lot. He still throws
hints at me but he knows there is no chance. It is nice to talk to a friend
though.

     Mom comes and puts her arm
around me. She says, “Hon, only three more months. You okay?” I nod yes. We
head to the kitchen to make macaroni salad and baked beans for the dinner
tonight. She says, “So, your dad and Sophia are getting pretty serious. Did he
tell you that she is moving in with him?”

      I say, “Hell no, he
didn’t. He never tells me anything.”

      Mom says, “She’s sweet. I
think she makes your dad happy.”

      I say, “Yep, he is
definitely happier now that he has her. It’s great to see him like this. She is
sweet, but I hope she knows I already have a mom.”

      She smiles and says, “Yes
you do.”

      Maddie comes running in
yelling, “Grammie, Auntie Dylan…come outside, quick.” We stop what we are doing
and run outside to find a copperhead snake chopped in half.

       I scream bloody murder while
Mom gleefully asks, “Who’s the hero that killed him?”

       Chase raises his hand
and says, “Me. I killed him Grammie.”

       Brent is standing there
like a proud daddy. He says, “Sure did, Mom, he grabbed that shovel and did
what had to be done. Proud of you son.”

       I laugh and say, “Now
it’s a redneck barbeque!”

      Dad yells from over the
fence, “Supper is ready, y’all.” We grab the dishes we made and all start
marching next door. Sophia is in the kitchen with an apron on, Dad has two
spatulas in his hands, and the brisket is on the table. It’s nice seeing a lady
in Dad’s kitchen. Sophia comes to me, kisses my cheek, and gives me a hug. She
does the same to everybody else too. We spend about fifteen minutes on small
talk then Dad begins to carve the meat. Once everybody sits down and settles
in, he says grace. We aren’t a religious group but something about how my dad
says grace is meaningful to me. It is eerily quiet. Even the kids are quiet.

      Brent says, “You know
it’s good when all us blabber jaws are too busy eating to speak.” Dad nods with
a barbeque sauce smile. Dad startles everybody by standing up and announcing,
“I am so happy to have y’all here tonight. Wish my future son-in-law was here,
but y’all will do.” Dad is fidgeting and nervous. I have no idea what he has to
say. He looks at Sophia and smiles. He says, “I married the most amazing woman
imaginable and she gave me the most precious gift in my life, Dylan. God had
other plans for her and when he took her, He took a large piece of my heart; a
piece I never thought I’d get back. Then twenty some odd years pass and along
comes another angel of a woman. Sophia, you have mended my heart and have shown
me that I am capable of loving again. You make me happy. You make me laugh. I
want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side.” Everybody is in shock
and awe. I’ve never seen my Dad like this, I mean, sensitive and all. Sophia
seems to be in shock too. Dad walks over to a hutch he has in the living room
and opens the drawer. He pulls out a jewelry box, walks over to Sophia, and
gets down on one knee. He says, “Sophia, would you marry me?”

       Her eyes cloud up with
tears and she looks at me as if looking for permission. I smile and nod my head
yes. She looks at dad and says, “Yes. I would love to marry you.”

      Everybody begins
applauding. We all line up to congratulate and hug them. I go to dad and say,
“Dad, I’m so happy for you. You deserve to be happy and in love. She is an
amazing woman and as long as she loves you, I will love her.” Dad gives me a
big hug and tells me how much he loves me. I say, “So, are we having a double
wedding?” Everybody laughs.

      Dad says, “No, baby. That
will be your special day, and I’ll be walking you down the aisle.”

      I step back a little and say,
“Dad, is it okay if I have both my dad’s walk me?”

      Bo perks up and says,
“Really? You want me to walk you down the aisle?”

      My dad says, “Absolutely,
we have both shared in the raising of this girl, we should share in the giving
her away.” My eyes fill with tears.

      Mom comes over and
whispers in my ear, “You are such a good girl, Dylan. We all love you so very
much.” Although I should feel complete right now, I am missing Tanner so much!