Michael or Mac Ep. 10

As I walk around the back, one of the stagehands shouts in my ear. "Mac, do you mind doing one more? We need more time to the next act."

"Just one," I ask back.

"Yeah, as long as it's around ten minutes," he says.

I shake my head and then go over and let Emma know I'm doing one more. She is buzzing as much as I am and kissing me excitedly.

I grab a bottle of water, walk back out to cheers and whistles, and stop at the front of the stage. I breathe for a moment and take a drink of water, trying to think what to play next.

I laugh. "Looks like I have more time to fill," I say.

"When We Were Young," someone shouts. Then a round of applause goes around, urging me to sing another of Adele's; she won't talk to me all week.

I start to play the guitar, and the crown roars when they hear the familiar tune.

Then dead silence again as...."Everybody loves the things you do

From the way you talk....."

I give it my all, just like I did when I was on Jimmy Fallon's show. I close my eyes and can see the look on Adele's face as she witnesses me. I hear her encouragement for me to give it my all and not hold back, so that's what I do. I want people to remember this day and know what I am about. This is my one and only performance here, and I am determined not to waste it.

******

I close my eyes as we take off. I can't believe what happened. The helicopter is silent when we leave the ground. Everyone seems stunned by their experience tonight. Even Sam quietly holds Jay's hand while playing with his fingers. I smile; I can't believe my biggest achievement tonight is to silence the great Sam.

"Mac, mate, that was incredible," Jay says through my headset, breaking the silence. Our eyes meet, I smile and nod to acknowledge him, but I can't get rid of this uncomfortable feeling when someone compliments me. You would have thought I would be used to it now, but for all that has happened tonight, I still don't see myself like that.

I raise my hand and press the intercom button. "I'm still buzzing," is all I can say. "That was an experience of a lifetime," I finally get out.

"I think we can all claim that, even without this," Isabel says, smiling as she holds up her left hand. She turns and kisses Jay. "You realize we may never live that down or up to the expectation of being proposed to in that way?" Isabel says over Jay's mic. He's left the intercom on.

"You may be right, but it will be fun trying," He returns with a broad smile that gets him a kiss on the lips. I feel Emma squeeze my hand. Turning to look at her earns me a kiss as well.

We land in Exeter and say our goodbyes for around five days. The pilot is keen to get going, but the city airport closes soon, and there's not much time to get there. I get hugs from everyone, and Emma and I get back on the helicopter. She puts her head on my shoulder and holds my hand as we take off and head east.

It takes an hour and a quarter to get up to London, and as we fly over London, all the famous sights that are lit come into view. I've been here a few times, but not since my parents passed. We are too late to land at the City Airport, but the helicopter pilot has permission to land at Canary Wharf, where a small heliport doesn't close until twelve.

I've phoned Adele, and she's sent a car to pick me up. She apologizes but doesn't want to bring her son across town at this time of night.

It's a quick switch from Helicopter to LandRover, and we are traveling through the streets of London. It's about a half-hour trip, so I sit back and close my eyes. I'm feeling the downside of having such an adrenalin rush.

Emma shakes me awake as we pull up outside a house, and the engine dies. "We're here, baby," she says.

I nod, "Sorry, I feel like I've been hit by a truck," I say.

I look at the house we've stopped outside. All the lights are on, and a bathrobe-covered Adele is standing at the large front door. Emma sees her and jumps out as soon as the door opens. She runs up and, to my surprise, greets Adele like a long-lost friend.

I'm slightly more lethargic as the driver, and I struggle with my guitar and bags up to a very happy couple of women. "Watch ya, Mac," Adele says. She draws me into a hug. "You bugga. Did ya av to do two of my songs? Bloody 'ell mate, you were incredible." She releases me and smiles at me. "Come on; you must be exhausted. I've put you two in the guest wing," she says, full of energy and not letting me get a word out.

"Hi, Adele," I finally get out. "Sorry we are so late; we had to take the guys back to Exeter."

"No probs," she says, beaming. "I'm so pleased you are here. It's set my juices running," she adds. Then she stops, realizing she's getting ahead of herself. "We are still good to go into the studio?"

"That's the plan," I say, making her smile return. "Is there any chance I can get a shower?"

"Mate, everything is in the guest wing. Let's go into the kitchen, and we can catch up."

We follow Adele into her kitchen and all sit around a central island. Emma does most of the talking for us, and we go through what we've been up to since we were in New York.

******

A bang on the door wakes me. Emma is already up and gone. Christ, that was a deep sleep. "Yeah," I say.

A door opens, and Adele walks in with a tray, followed by a shy-looking ten-year-old boy. "Mac, this is my baby, Angelo."

"Morning, Angelo. Good to meet you," I say. "Where's Emma?" I ask.

"She's in the kitchen planning her day with Mum," Adele says. I sit up, and she puts the tray on my lap. "There ya go. Eat up; we will be leaving in about half an hour."

I look at Angelo. "Is she always this bossy," I say. He smiles and nods. "So, are you coming with us today, Angelo?" I ask.

"No, I'm going over my mate's. The studio gets boring," he says. I smile and nod as I bite into a slice of toast.

We talk a while before Adele says, "We'll leave you to it, Mac," she ushers Angelo out, and I'm left to finish my large breakfast.

I walk into the kitchen with my tray and an empty plate. "I didn't realize how hungry I was," I said.

"Here, I'll chuck it in the dish washa, for ya," Adele says.

"Where is everyone?" I ask.

"Emma has talked my mother into taking her to the natural history museum, and my little man has gone over his friends. A car will be here in about twenty mins." She says as she opens her dishwasher and puts my plate and glass in. "Tomorrow, we can do something together with everyone else. I ain't dragging you to the studio on a Sunday."

"Okay, I am in your hands," I say as I park myself on a seat. "What are you looking for in the studio?"

"Sorry to drop this on ya, but I've invited several session musicians and singers. They all are looking forward to meeting ya big lug."

"So, what are you looking to do?"

"Ah, since we met and arranged this, I've become very inspired. I'm looking for a little Mac magic on this, the same as you did with Miley. The session musicians will show you what I want. I just need that clarity of music you give."

"Sounds simple enough," I say. "Are we doing something new?"

"Yeah, very new. It's a little different from my norm, but I think it will suit you better. I wanna hear that incredible voice of yours. We, Mr. Carter, are going to duel." She looks at me with a cocked eyebrow. I smile and shake my head.

When we walk into the studio, the place is busy. It looks like word has got around that Adele and I will be here today. We make ourselves comfortable in the sound studio, where we can sit and talk without half the studio's workforce talking over us.

Adele explains to the session musicians that she's used on many tracks what she needs. They nod, and then I'm left in the studio with the guitar player. He goes through what Adele has in mind and then leaves me alone.

Adele has already laid some vocals down, so I ask to listen to them, and after the third run, I close my eyes and add what I've been asked to play. When I open them again, everyone is looking through the window like I've grown two heads.

"Was that okay?" I ask.

"Okay, that was bloody brilliant," Adele says.

"Could we run it again and let me put my slant on it?"

"Yeah, fill your boots," she says.

Again, the track begins in my headphones, and I close my eyes and play. I can clearly hear my guitar being laid over the top of the recorded track. I play the same notes but double on multiple strings to layer the sound. I also use the two strings that are in the same key as Adele's and my voices.

When I play the last note, I open my eyes--this time, Adele is looking back at me with her hands clutched in front of her mouth and tears making her mascara run. I didn't ask if that was okay.

I walk into the technician's room, and Adele converses with the other musicians. I gather that they want to rerecord their parts to match what I've done, creating a larger sound. The studio agrees as long as it's done by lunch, so they hustle into the other room and get set.

I sit on the sofa and drink out of my bottle of water as I hear the musicians talk about what they want. Then they practice a little, followed shortly by trying to get something down.

Although they had until lunch to get something worth keeping, it wasn't until Adele and I walked back in after lunch that there were some relieved smiles. The rest of the afternoon was taken up with Adele teaching me what she wanted on the vocal. We sing some of her classics together to get used to pitching together. It's strange to be sitting next to a person you have listened to on the radio and got her albums downloaded. I hadn't noticed at first, but one of the guys was recording our jamming session on a video camera.

"What's the camera for?" I asked him.

He looks at Adele, a little confused. "We always film in the studio to promote anything we can use."

"You're okay with that, aren't ya?" Adele says.

"Yes, but I would have put more into it if I'd known," I said.

Adele's eyes got bigger. "You mean there's more?"

"Well, I would try to be more polished."

"Arc at im, more polished," Adele says, laughing. "Mate, you're polished enough."

We get back just after six, and the house is empty. In the entrance hall is a delivery from Waitrose. "Elp me take this lot into the kitchen, please, Mac."

Emma returned with Adele's mother, Penny, about forty minutes after we arrived. She gives me a quick kiss before Adele excitedly drags her into the conversation with her mother about what we did at the studio. From what I hear, she's buzzing at what we have recorded already.

"Emma, your boyfriend is incredible. Even the other musicians had to admit I was right to get him in," she says, glancing at me. "I would luv to do an ole album with him."

"So what are we doing tomorrow?" I ask.

"Not sure; the forecast don't look good...I'm sure we can think of somethin."

The next day is not the best summer day in the UK. It's raining steadily as we sit around the kitchen, looking out the window and getting over a large breakfast.

"Ow, about I call my driver, and we go on a sightseeing tour?" Adele says.

"That sounds great," Emma says. "Could we go to Madame Tussauds and see your wax figure?"

"Mum, ave you been flappin your gob again?" Adele says to a slightly embarrassed Penny.

"We could get some dinner at Central, dear," Penny says, trying to stop Adele's glare.

"Okay, leave it to me," Adele gets up and leaves the room.

So that was our Sunday; we all squeezed into a limo and went on a sightseeing tour. We parked several times and got pictures in front of those iconic buildings. The London Eye was pointless on a day like today, and just after one, we pulled up outside a small restaurant called Central. It was just off The Strand, not far from Covent Garden. The owner was outside waiting, and she's cleared half the place for us."

"Hello, my Dahling Adele. How have you been?" she says in the poshest English accent I've ever heard.

"Watch ya, Kat, long time no see," Adele replies.

"Yes, well, since we had lunch in New York, it's been non-stop," she replies.

"Kat, this is my friend and co-conspirator, Michael Carter. Mac, this is one of my oldest friends and owner of this little gem, Kathrine Hughes."

"Hello, Kathrine. It's a pleasure to meet you. This is my girlfriend, Emma," I say in return as Katherine extends her hand to greet me.

"Mac, the man who doesn't want to be famous," she says with a smile. "Come on, let's get you seated. Don't mind if I join you, do you, Adele?"

"Nah, Babes, fill your boots," Adele says. Then she realizes her mistake. "Mac, Emma. Is that okay?"

I smile at her sudden, uncomfortable look. "No problem, she's your friend," I say.

We enter her restaurant and are seated at a table out of the way inside a large alcove. A waitress nervously comes over and hands out the menus before turning red when she gives me mine. I smile at her before focusing on what there is to eat.

"Mac, I saw your performance at Glastonbury," Kat says.

"Wasn't he fantastic?" Emma says a little loudly and almost gushing.

"Yes, he was Emma. Tell me, who was the young man who proposed to his girlfriend?"

"James and Isabel. They are friends of ours. James won the design competition for Mac's HQ. He's an incredible Architect. They've just finished at Cambridge and will return home with us for the summer," Emma says.

Dinner went smoothly, and we never got bothered once for an autograph or selfie. We sit around talking and having a good time, and before I know it, it's time to leave and finish our tour.

Lastly, we stop off at The Tate Modern. I feel it's somewhere Adele has wanted to visit for a while and has taken this opportunity. She has phoned ahead, and they allow us to sneak in as everyone else is being escorted out.

It's after ten when we walk back through the front door of Adele's home. Everyone is tired and ready for bed. Angelo goes straight up, and the four of us enter the kitchen for a nightcap.

"So what's on tomorrow?" Emma asks.

"Oh, ummm, your boyfriend and me are goin' into the studio again to do some vocals. Past that, I have no idea. What do you want to do?"

"Can I come and watch? " Emma asks as she stares into her hot chocolate.

"Sure, as long as you don't get bored," Adele says.

We finish our drinks and say our goodnights. Emma and I snuggle up, and we are asleep in minutes as the long day takes us both.

It's about four o'clock and just getting light when I'm not fully awake when I feel Emma shifting her weight on top of me. I sense her reach down to guide my already hard cock inside.

I groan as I feel her slide in. "Are you awake, baby?" she whispers.

"I wasn't," I reply.

"Sorry, woke up feeling....you know," she explains.

"No, you carry on. Don't mind if I lay back and enjoy the ride to you?"

"Uhmmmmohhhh, nooooo, god, that feels good," Emma growls in her own world. She doesn't say anything else that is coherent as she gets herself off before continuing until I explode inside her, triggering her second large climax.

Emma lays on top of me, lovingly kissing me while we return to planet Earth. The moment my cock gets soft enough to slide out with gravity. Emma slides off to my side before disappearing into the bathroom to clean up a little.

Five minutes later, Emma walks back in, kisses me again, snuggles back in, and I drift off contented.

I wake with Emma using my chest as a pillow and her leg draped over me. I listen to her rhythmic breathing for a while, happy to lay still and enjoy the moment. We haven't had many opportunities to be together over the last month, with her finishing school and me being busy in France. 'Life is getting complicated,' I think to myself.

Emma's moving brings me out of my thoughts, and I watch her go through the process of waking and working out where she is. A smile spreads across her face as her brain clicks in, and she remembers. She opens one eyes, and a broader smile spreads as she sees me looking at her.

"Good morning," I say.

"Hello, lover," she says. "I had this wonderful dream of waking up and making love to you."

"Really, I had the same dream," I answer. Happy with my response, she squeezes me closer and sighs happily.

There's a knock on our door. "Come on, you two. We'll be leaving in an hour," Adele shouts.

Emma laughs, "I really like her. Can we invite her to the ranch sometime?"

"Sure, you realize we have a full summer planned and then must focus on our future once the summer is over?"

"Yes, I am not talking this summer. Christ, we have most of our family and friends turning up, but we can talk to her about it." Emma says as she climbs off and makes her way to the toilet.

When I hear the shower start, I get up and join her. "Sure baby, ask her if she will be up for it if we can make the time," I say as I pick the body wash up and start to wash Emma's back. Emma doesn't answer as she feels me caress her back, but I can feel her smile.

We walk into the kitchen hand in hand and sit next to each other. Penny and Adele are busy finishing the breakfast piled high on our plates.

"Good morning, you two," Penny says. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, slept well in that comfy bed," Emma says.

"It is, isn't it? I sleep there when I stay over most of the time," Penny says enthusiastically.

"Adele, Mac, and I were talking in bed. Maybe we can arrange some time on the ranch when our life has settled?"

"What? Oh wow, babes, that's very generous. I would love to. I'm often in the US, so a break away from everything would be brilliant." Adele looks very happy with that as she puts our plates in front of us. "Eat up," she says.

We leave by ten and are in the studio a little later than planned. When we walk in, the atmosphere is electric. "What's going on?" I ask one of the sound electricians.

"We had a visit first thing from a couple of suits from Colombia. Words got out about you two," he says.

"Oh shit, what?" I hear Adele shout. She looks at me, worried. "Sorry, Mac, I wanted to keep this under wraps." She's looking pissed. "Okay, assholes which one spilled?" she shouts.

"Adele, chill. I'm already signed to a first refusal at Colombia," I say.

She looks at me, confused for a second. "Miley?" She asks. I nod in reply.

"Yeah, they were salivating at the possibility of something bigger than Emma," the engineer says.

"Yeah, but it doesn't get past the fact someone blabbed," Adele says, looking around.

"It was me," a guy says from the door.

"Dylan, what the fuck?"

"Sorry, Adele, but they are paying the bills, and they asked me to report anything worth shouting about, and from what I heard yesterday, my voice ain't loud enough," Dylan says with a smirk on his face. "If you two put the vocal down that I know you can both do, we have possibly the biggest record this studio has ever seen." With that bombshell, he turns and walks back the way he came.

That stunned Adele as her eyes fill up with tears. "Shit," is all she can get out, and everyone laughs.

"Shit is right," the sound engineer says next to me. "I've never heard Dylan give out a compliment in the four years I've worked here."

"Right, I want everyone...Oh, this is Emma," Adele says. "The Emma, so hands to yourself, Jerry and Dave, unless you want the world to hate you."

"What?" One of the guys shouts.

"Come on, Dave, please," Adele says. With that, everyone starts to laugh. "Mac, shall we," Adele says, pointing toward the door where we needed to go.

We walk into where we will be recording our voices. Adele takes one booth, and I take the next. We chat for a while, making sure we both know where the other is for the sound engineers to set everything up and eliminate whoever's not to be there.

Adele starts to warm up by going through her scales and singing some of her songs. I can hear her through my headphones as she sings. "There's a fire starting in my heart," she sings, then stops.