Page 42 of The Music in Me

He looked at me and took a very long pause before he said, “The first time I watched you sing.”

“You mean…” I gasped. “Are you saying…?”

“Yes, Kira. I’ve always been in love with you. Told myself it was just my imagination at first, and when I saw you with someone else and got jealous, I would lie to myself and claim I was only being protective. Over the years, it got harder and harder to keep lying to myself.”

“You’ve been in love with me for ten years?” I whispered, and he nodded. “You waited ten years to tell me you love me!” I thundered at him.

He frowned. “Wait, you’re mad at me?”

“Yes, I’m mad at you. We could have been together for the last ten years, and you’re just now telling me?”

He smiled. “You weren’t ready, Kira. Not for the way I wanted to love you.”

“Well, I’m ready now, and you owe me ten years of love.”

“That’s one debt I don’t mind repaying,” he said, grinning as he leaned forward to kiss me.

We ate breakfast together, laughing and chatting as the time skipped past us. When we were done, Leon made me lie on my stomach while he rubbed the ointment on my sore ass. I was wet and ready when I felt him slip his cock inside me, and he gave me my first orgasm.

We went on our hike and jumped in the lake when we got back. Leon made love to me in the lake before carrying me into the house. He handed me my old guitar, then headed to make lunch. Sitting in the living room, still basking in the euphoria of my last orgasm and the almost overwhelming feeling of being loved right for the first time in my life, I began to strum the strings, picking a melody and then playing it over and over again.

This time, the words came effortlessly, the lines spilling out of my heart and through my lips. I finally had my mojo back, and I was working on a second song when my muse walked in with lunch. Between the bites of food Leon fed to me, I wrote a second song. A fun, carefree song I decided no one but Leon would ever hear, especially since it was mostly naughty about his cock and how much I loved it.

Our last lovemaking session was less about chasing the high of an orgasm and more about exploring our bodies. It didn’t make the climax any less earth-shattering, and as we got ready to leave the cabin, I admitted it was the best weekend of my life.

“Promise me we’ll do this again soon,” I said to Leon as he drove away from the cabin. “Find a place where it’s just you and me.”

“I promise,” he said, kissing the back of my hand. On the way back to the city, he pulled up to the front of a small bar. “Last item on the list,” he said, reaching to the back of the car for my guitar.

“I don’t understand,” I said, looking confused.

“Full circle, Kira. It’s time to reclaim yourself.”

I glanced at the bar. “You booked me a gig here?”

“Not the place people book gigs in,” he said. “But they’ve got a stage and a mic. It’s all you’ve ever needed.”

We got out of the car and walked into the bar. It was packed full, and Leon found a table for me before going to get us drinks. He returned a few minutes later and handed me my drink.

“Talked to the guy behind the bar, and he says the stage is all yours if you want it.”

I looked at the crowd around me, wondering if any of them recognized me. So far, no one seemed to have. “I don’t know…”

“Kira,” he called, and I looked at him, “you can do this. This is who you are, and that bastard doesn’t get to take that away from you.”

I nodded and got to my feet. Throwing my drink and wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I picked up my guitar and walked to the stage. No one paid me any attention as I adjusted the mic and slung the guitar strap across my shoulder. Taking a deep breath, I looked around the room and felt myself transported back years to the very beginning. Then my gaze stopped on Leon, and he nodded encouragingly.

I launched into my first song without introducing myself, ignoring the crowd's noise as I sang one of my earliest hits. Slowly, I heard a hush fall over the crowd, and they all fell silent until only my voice could be heard in the bar. The mic was a little scratchy, and the feedback was horrible, but I sang from my heart, and nothing could hide that.

I saw the shock and admiration in the faces around me and watched as some of them pulled out their phones to record me. Everyone would be talking about it come morning, and I wondered if that had been Leon’s plan all along. He never forgot things like that. I didn’t care, though. I had found the joy in singing again, and I allowed the magic to consume me.

After the first song, I got a standing ovation. I waited a few seconds before starting the second, another old song, this one lesser known than the first. The crowd didn’t care, or maybe they didn’t know. They loved all of it. Finally, I sang the song I’d written that afternoon. It was far from polished, but to this crowd, it was amazing.

As I sang, my eyes found Leon in the crowd. He watched me perform, wearing the same expression of wonder he’d had the first time he saw me. The same expression he had when he watched me perform. I wondered how I’d missed it all this time when it was so clear how much he loved me.

I sang to him because this song was for him, and when I was done, I walked off the stage to a standing ovation and cameras flashing around me. I walked up to Leon and kissed him, not caring who saw. I wanted the whole world to know I was in love. He felt the same way too because he pulled me close and kissed me back.

And in his arms, I knew I’d found more than myself.

I found my soulmate.

My daddy.

The End