Page 10 of Everything Is Yours
Lily’s brow bunched then relaxed, and I guessed she was probably figuring out why Mya had told her one thirty, and then she was digesting the last part of my sentence. She stiffened again in my arms. There was a fleeting look of panic because she didn’t have a bag ready for a trip. I could read her like a book.
She started babbling about warm clothing and what she thought she needed, but I cut her off by closing the inches between our mouths and swallowing her unnecessary anguish with a deep kiss. When I broke the kiss, her pupils were dilated, and she was breathless. I took that opportunity to get a word in.
“You have everything you need for the trip, honey. I had your mom hook you up, and it’s all in the trunk of Henry’s car. All you need is your passport, and we’re all set. You have that with you, right?”
Lily smiled and nodded, and for a moment she seemed to just stop and stare at me again.
“How did I get so lucky?” she queried.
Her eyes glanced at mine with pure adoration that made my heart squeeze with the love I had for her.
“Because I’m easy?” I questioned back in a teasing tone. She swiped my arm before pulling free of me.
“Alright, Mr. Black, rock star. I hope you’re going to show me a good time.”
“Of course I am, honey. I’m Alfie Black, when have you ever known me to give a bad performance?”
Watching her dirty mind kick in was funny. Lily tried not to react, but her lips twitched before they curved into a smirk as she fought for control by raising one eyebrow. I knew she’d struggle to find much wrong with me in bed, so I waited confidently to see what she could come up with. Eventually, she sighed and shook her head as if bringing herself out of some kinky flashback. She slid down my body past my erection, until her feet touched the floor. Taking a step back, she flung her arms out to the side.
“All I’m saying is if there has to be one it can’t be this weekend,” she giggled.
I grabbed her wrist and tugged her back to my chest in a quick hug. While Lily collected some things from the bedroom, I headed for a quick shower. Ten minutes later I was clean, dressed and ready to leave. I swiped my wallet from the side of the dressing table and headed out the door with her.
Chapter 6 Adulation Versus True Heroes
Henry was waiting in the back alleyway of the hotel with the car to avoid the various band fans who had gathered out in front as soon as they knew Lily, Rick and I were staying there. All in all, our getaway was fairly uneventful with just a handful of fans clocking the car as we pulled out into the traffic. The blacked out windows were a godsend. Lily always felt skittish when they cupped their hands to the window trying to catch a glimpse of who was in there.
Fifteen minutes after we started our journey, Henry pulled up at the drop off zone of the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. During the journey, Lily learned about the amazing young guy who had requested to meet me. My PR team received the call, and I was glad I was in London to be able to meet his request.
The young man I was visiting was Archie Simmons, a sixteen-year-old guitar player who had dropped out of school and was currently trying to organize gigs for his band from his hospital bed. I’d been told I was his hero. Me. Alfie Black. All I had ever done was play in a band and got insanely lucky. With what Archie had been through with his chemotherapy treatment, he qualified for the hero tag much better than I did.
We prepared our disguises in the back of the car; mine a beanie, black puffer jacket and dark prescription glasses I used for reading by the pool. Lily wore a dark green puffer jacket, big faux fur hat, and oversized sunglasses. Lily’s disguise was very effective, especially with her hair tucked into the jacket. I was always surprised when this stuff worked. One of the wardrobe guys said it was because no one expected to see us in their local vicinity.
The number of visits I’d done to teenage cancer wards must be close to a hundred, and it choked me up every time, but it was near Christmas and Archie, a young survivor, was on his way home the next day. He knew he was being released from the hospital, but not that I was coming his way. A children’s charity had requested the visit two weeks ago, but my PR team only told me the day before. There was no way I was leaving London until I’d made good on our pledge that I’d do my best to grant his wish.
Seeing kids in oncology wards always uplifted me. They were normal kids experiencing an abnormal life event. It didn’t stop them from following their favorite bands, studying for tests or having girlfriends, nor thinking about future aspirations.
We made it to the floor without challenge or recognition, and the ecstatic look the nurse had given me before she opened the coded door when I took my glasses off, told me I was expected. When we entered Archie’s bed was straight ahead, I looked around and saw there were four beds. At least he had company, and the fact there were other beds meant those kids weren’t a high risk for infection.
The bed nearest the door was empty, and it made my heart happy that one was free, which meant no one with cancer to fill it. A brief flashback took me to the times when I visited my mom in her oncology suite before she died. I continued to take in the room, and its inhabitants. In the bed on the same side next to the window, a teenager was lying on his side with his back to us reading from a Kindle. Glancing across, the kid in the bed opposite was on a laptop typing rapidly then laughing, so I figured he was in some kind of chat conversation.
I finally spotted the kid I had come to see. Archie was lying with his eyes closed; his ear buds in and his tablet displaying our Crakt Soundzz album cover while I could only guess he was listening. His hand was strumming as he fingered his imaginary fret on his air guitar from where he lay. Maryse, as the nurse’s name badge read, wandered over to him. Lily and I held back by the entrance to give her time to explain to him what was happening.
Archie pulled a bud out of his ear to listen to the nurse as he opened his eyes to look up at her. When I saw her mouth move, Archie sat bolt upright, his eyes seeking us out. His hand flew to cover his mouth, then he placed them on his knees with a stunned look that quickly turned to one of disbelief.
Sporting a wide beaming smile he shook his head as we approached and I stretched out my hand to greet him.
“Hey there, Archie. I heard you wanted to see me. Is that so?”
Lily broke his incredulous stare when he didn’t say anything by reaching her hand out to him as well.
“Guess you get a two for one with us, Archie. Do you mind me staying?”
Shaking his head, Archie reached into his small locker on the right side of the bed and pulled out his iPhone, held it up and snapped me first, then Lily. Only then did he break his silence.
“Sweet man. You’re actually here? I meanactuallyhere. You came to see me? Who asked you to do that?”
I was about to speak when Lily interjected.
