Until now Pt. 01

Lyric pushed her milkshake away as she gave me a wide smile, lifting her shades up then and resting them on top of her head. "That's good news."

"Yeah? Why's that?" I smiled back at her, hoping that is was because she was enjoying my company. Lyric didn't answer right away instead waving to the waitress to indicate that we were ready and reaching for her purse then. "Because that means we have more time." She pulled out a large wad of cash then, with several hundreds poking out and smiled at me again. "Don't worry, I got this."

I tried to hide my surprise at the large amount of money she was carrying around with her as if it was loose change, curious once again what it was exactly that she did to earn her money. "You win the lottery or something?"

Lyric only let out a dry laugh, counting out some cash already and putting the rest away just as our waitress approached the table and smiled at her as she held the cash out to her. "It was delicious as always Linda." I looked to the waitress's name tag my just as she was pointing to it, taking the cash with her other hand. "My name is Helen."

Lyric looked unbothered, getting up out of the booth. "Yeah? I like Linda more." She flashed her another smile. "Keep the change." And looked to me then. "You ready?"

She was already leaving, not seeming to care whether I was or not. I gave Helen a shy smile as I stood up. "Thank you Lin- Helen, it really was very good."

She nodded at me numbly, watching Lyric leave as she reached for our dishes. "Yeah, have a nice day."

I followed Lyric out to her car and got in with her, watching her as she fixed her hair in the mirror for a moment, untangling her glasses before perching them back on her nose and starting her car. "So you gonna actually tell me what it is that you find so unfair?" She flipped her sun visor back up, peering over her shades at me. I gave her a small grin, I'd figured she didn't want to actually know. "Well that you know everything about me and I know nothing about you."

"There's nothing to know." Lyric spoke as she pulled out of our spot, heading back towards our apartments then. "I didn't win any lotteries if that's what you want to know."

"So what is it you do then?"

Lyric smiled to herself as she shrugged. "I'm just trying to live right now."

"You gotta give me more than that, come on." I gave her a cheeky grin as I leaned towards her. "Tell me what I gotta do to find out more about you and I'll do it."

She looked thoughtful for a moment, looking out to the road ahead of us for some time before she responded. "You gotta be able to keep a promise."

"What's the promise?"

Lyric frowned as she shook her head at me, shifting gears as she spoke. "No. I mean you got to have that skill." She leaned over towards me, ignoring the road for a moment. "Do you think you have that capability Leo?"

"I haven't broken one yet." I answered her honestly, loyalty and discretion were at least two good traits I possessed.

She didn't look satisfied though, leaning away and looking ahead again. "It's not that I don't believe you, but I'm going to be honest with you Leo, I don't think there's much I can tell you that would actually be true." She let out a little sigh as she slouched down in her seat. "And you're the first person I've ever met that I don't wanna lie to."

"So there's nothing you can tell me then?" I turned in my seat and leaned against the car door with my back as I looked at her. "Age? School? Where you grew up? Parents?"

"26. Academy of Our Lady of Peace then UCLA. Mission Valley. See me as a disappointment."

I hadn't expected her to actually answer any of my questions, let alone all of them, and that had been more information than she had provided me with until then. I was familiar with Lady of Peace, had spent some time even around girls that attended that school growing up, it was a private catholic school that usually only allowed admission for certain types of people, and Lyric didn't seem like the type. "So you're catholic?"

Lyric let out a loud laugh, not looking away from the road. "No. My family is."

"What did you go to UCLA for?"

"History."

"Are you telling me the truth?"

"Yes."

I sat back in my seat again, looking out to the road. "See, now we're getting somewhere." I waited a moment to see if she would say anything before continuing. "Why do your parents think you're a disappointment?"

"If I answer that question it won't be with the truth."

I didn't push it anymore for the rest of the drive after that, figuring I would have to accept what she was willing to give up for the time being.

Lyric took my hand once we were in our courtyard, giving me no choice but to go up to her apartment with her, not that I wanted to go anywhere else necessarily, and only let go of it once we were in her apartment.

I followed her into her living room, staying there as she headed into her kitchen and filled her wine glass with water before coming back out into the living room. "Help yourself to something in the fridge if you're thirsty."

"Thanks." I said over my shoulder before turning my attention back to one of her paintings I hadn't noticed the night before. "Why did you study history when you can paint like this?"

"Studying history wasn't a choice of mine." She came and stood next to me, taking a sip of water as she also looked at her painting then. "I didn't want to go to school at all actually."

"Who's the woman?" I asked as I pointed to the woman that appeared in all her painting, lying on a bed in the one I was looking at then.

Lyric turned away as she answered, setting her glass down then. "Doesn't matter, she's dead."

She started walking away, leaving me where I was standing. "I need a shower, please don't leave."

"Okay."

I went and sat down on the sofa, still looking at the painting as I heard the sound of her turning music on followed by her shower starting a moment later.

I got lost in it as I waited, getting pulled into the brush strokes she had left on the canvas, following each line and color with my eyes as I wondered who the woman was.

She took her time, returning to the living room after some time with a fresh set of clothes and her wet hair tossed up, coming and sitting down next to me on the sofa then.

She gave me a sweet smile as she came closer, resting a hand on my shoulder as she spoke. "Something about you tells me we're going to be great friends." She climbed onto my lap then, cupping my face in her hands as she looked at me. "Don't you think?"

"Yes." I answered in a shaky voice, being reminded of that morning then as my body began to react to her sitting on top of me again, taking a deep breath as Lyric gave me another sweet smile, leaning in towards me then.

She actually did kiss me this time, pressing her hips into mine again as our lips met, still cupping my face in her hands as our kiss deepened. Her lips were as soft as I had imagined, the kind of soft you couldn't get enough of, just like everything about her.

Any sense of restraint that I had been able to maintain until then was gone, quickly getting tossed aside as I began kissing her ardently, opening my mouth and running along her soft lips then.

She had her hands in my hair by then, pulling me to her as she opened her mouth, allowing our tongues to dance for a moment as she pressed her hips into me again, well aware of the reaction she was getting out of me by then.

Lyric let go of me suddenly, pushing me away from her as she turned away, placing a hand over my mouth then as she listened for something. I heard it then as well, the sound of the locks on her front door being opened followed by the sounds of someone entering her apartment.

She seemed to know who had just let themselves into her apartment, and was more concerned with what they were going to think of her than what they were doing here, jumping off of the couch quickly then.

"Brook?" A male voice called out from the hallway, not far away from her living room door, making me start to feel frantic myself as I watched her "Yeah! I'm in here!"

She gave me a helpless look as she headed over to her door, fixing her shirt as she stepped into the doorway. "Hey Michael, what are you doing here?"

He was glaring at her as he stepped into my view, not having noticed me yet as he looked at her face. "Are you seriously actually asking me that right now? Look at your face!" He paused for a second as he gave her a dirty look. "People are saying you're dead, dad told me to come check on you."

"Good. Let them think I'm dead." She waved her hand at him dismissively. "Even better idea, have a funeral for me so people really believe it."

It seemed that this Michael guy was her brother, one of the last people I wanted to be meeting in that moment, making me wish I could just disappear into the background before he noticed me.

I was shit out of luck though as he looked over to me then, shooting me the same kind of glare his sister was capable of. "Who the fuck are you?"

"He's my friend and none of your business." Lyric answered before I could but Michael kept his gaze on me as he jerked his head towards the door behind him. "Time for you to get going."

Lyric shot me a glare then, making me freeze in my place as she spoke. "No. You stay." She looked back to her brother, taking a step towards him. "It's time for you to get going Michael, go back to mom and dad and report that I'm fine."

He crossed his arms as he gave her a defiant look. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what kind of trouble you got yourself into again."

"I didn't get myself in any trouble."

He got in her face then, towering over then as she tried to take a step back. "What happened to your face Brooklyn?"

"Nothing, I fell." She lied to him, turning away from him and coming over to me then, grabbing my hand before storming past with him with me in tow. "If you're not going to leave we are, come on Dennis."

I gave her a confused look as I let her pull me out of the living room as her brother scowled at us, not saying anything else as we left him behind in her apartment.

"You like Dennis for me more now too?" I asked her once we were downstairs and in the courtyard, still confused about the sudden name change. "No, but he doesn't need to know you're real name, trust me." She went back over to her car, quickly getting in then.

"Where are we going now?" I asked her, reaching for my seat belt as she peeled away, cutting off several cars on the street.

"Los Angeles?"

"What's in L.A.?"

"There's a show some friends of mine are going to, maybe a party afterwards."

It didn't seem like I had much choice either way since she was already pulling away but it actually sounded like a fun plan, it had been a while since I had been to a show. "Sounds good to me."

We were in the city two hours later, Lyric having broken more laws than I could count on a drive up, and making me kind of thankful for the feeling of the pavement under my shoes once we were parked and heading into a bar near the venue the show was at later that evening.

"So that was your brother?" I asked once we were sitting with our drinks, not having had much of a chance in the car since Lyric had kept herself busy singing along to music. "One of them" She answered a flat tone, taking a long sip of her drink then. "How many do you have?"

"Four brothers and two sisters, I'm the youngest." She set her drink down, giving me a hard gaze then. "I don't really like talking about my family."

"Alright fair enough, can I ask you about your face then? Cause I know you didn't fall."

She kept her hard gaze on me for another moment, picking her drink back up then as it shifted to contemplative. "Pissed off the wrong people that's all." She finally answered, not giving me much to work with. "Those three guys you mean?"

She let out a laugh as she shook her head at me. "No, those guys are just the little foot soldiers." She leaned towards me then, speaking in a low voice. "That's all I'm going to tell you about that, anything else is going to be a lie just so you know."

"Okay, I'll let it go then. Probably for the best because anytime you answer one of my questions I just end up with more." I was reminded of where we had left off before her brother had interrupted us as she stayed leaning towards me, the smell of her shampoo hitting me then as she gave me a soft smile. "You're a very good kisser by the way."

Lyric was still smiling as she turned away from me in her seat, playing with the ice in her drink then. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'd be happy to remind you if you'd like."

She shook her head at me, bringing her drink to her lips then. "Maybe later we should get going soon." With that, she tossed her drink back and gave me a look as she waved a hand at my beer. "Drink up, we got places to be and people to see." She paused then, setting her glass down as she turned her body back to me. "By the way, you got to call me Mila tonight."

I remembered that name from one of her I.d.'s and gave her a curious grin as I set my drink down next to hers. "Should I ask?"

"It would be a waste of time if you did."

She wasn't lying when she said that either, leaving her car by the bar then and walking down to the venue with me where we then went past the line of people already gathering outside to head around back to where a security guard then led us into the backstage area where a group of people greeted her enthusiastically, ignoring the crew members as they moved hectically around us.

"Who's this?" One of the women in the group asked as she eyed me once they were all caught up with each other, Lyric pulling me closer to her then as she took my hand. "This is Leo, he's with me tonight."

She didn't let go of my hand as the woman leaned in and gave me a peck on the cheek, giving me a warm smile then as she pulled away. "Well Leo, you're in for one hell of a night then, I'm Castille."

The rest of the group had already dispersed by then, returning to what they had been doing before so her name was the only one I got for the time being, and the rest of the night as people constantly approached Lyric, greeting her just as eagerly as the night passed, making it impossible for me to remember anymore names that were really given to me.

If there was one thing becoming clear to me it was that Lyric knew a lot of people in Los Angeles, and they all seemed to love and or respect her, or Mila rather said, some here and there even seemed to fear her it seemed. Either way it resulted in me being treated in much the same way once they found out I was with her, something I wasn't necessarily used to after spending most of my life on the streets.

The venue wasn't that large, but packed full of people all there to see the band that was only now starting to make a name for themselves but were good at what they did, making the time pass quickly. Lyric came over to me towards the end of the show and leaned towards my ear. "Wanna have some fun?"

"Always." I responded, giving her a curious look then as she gave me a sly smile then. "Open your mouth and stick your tongue out." I did as she said, letting her place a small piece of paper on my tongue then as she winked at me. "Keep it there."

I nodded at her as I closed my mouth, knowing exactly what I was in for now. Or about 45 minutes to an hour to be exact.

By the time the show ended and we were heading backstage the world around me was already changing, making me see all the things that were usually there but hidden from the eye. I could see every curl in Lyrics hair, every line in every leaf on the trees once we were outside, the ocean breeze as it blew passed us.

The people around me were moving fast and in slow motion at the same time, looking like a long exposure image shot at night as they chatted and laughed, the sound of it still ringing in the air long after they had stopped.

I got to a point in the night where I was chatting with the lead singer of the band we had seen perform earlier, finally coming to a little bit as I became aware that I was in a Beverly Hills mansion, talking to a semi famous musician about I didn't even know what, not even sure how I had even gotten there in the first place.

Just as fast as I had taken a step out of my trip I fell right back into it though, returning to my blur as the night continued, only stepping back out of it again once I was sitting on the beach in La Jolla with Lyric and watching the sunrise.

"Did you drive here?" I asked Lyric, looking away from the sand by my feet that was glowing in a bright orange.

She gave me a baffled look before bursting out in laughter as she tossed her head back, pointing behind her to her blue Firebird that was parked in the nearby lot then. "We literally just got here."

I somehow knew that but also didn't, giving her a sheepish grin then as I looked back out to the water. "Don't laugh at me, it was a long night."

"You're making it sound like it's coming to an end." Lyric sounded disappointed as she spoke, jutting her bottom lip out to me then as I pointed out to the sun. "I'm not saying that, the day is."

Lyric frowned as she looked out to the sun. "I don't want it to though."

"Why's that?" I gave her a curious look as I turned to face her, getting my knees then. "You said you were just living were you not? How can you do that if you don't let new days come?"

Lyric ignored my question, speaking quickly as she gave me a pleading look."Can you stay with me again?" I'm not sure if I was imagining it or not but I thought I caught a glimmer of fear in her eye as she asked, maybe she didn't want the night to end because she thought that would then mean she would be alone again.

"Of course." I smiled at her, leaning towards her as I gave her a reassuring smile, I didn't care in that moment if she was scared because she had some people out to get her, or just didn't like being alone in general, but either way I was happy to be the one to keep her company. For one, it was all I had wanted to for the last six months, but I also couldn't shake the feeling that I only had until that given moment with her, wanting to do anything in my power to keep the moment going for long as possible.

She met me halfway as I continued to lean into her, giving me a soft kiss then before dropping her head onto my shoulder as she let out a little sigh. "I'm not ready to go back yet though."

"Fine with me."

We ended up staying out there a while longer, watching the sky as we lied in the sand, only getting up to leave once people started showing up and setting up their spots around us on the beach for the day.

I didn't realize how exhausted I was until we were back in her apartment and curled up in her bed together, finding myself fighting to keep my eyes open as I felt her press her body into mine. We had been awake for well over 24 hours at that point and were both fighting sleep as I heard the fatigue in her voice as she spoke quietly and turned around to me.

"I'm happy I met you." I forced my eyes open again, giving her a sleepy grin then as I adjusted my pillow. "Me too."

"Do you want to fuck me?"

I blinked at her for a moment, wondering then why she was asking when the answer was pretty obvious.

"Well yeah."

"Is that the reason why you're hanging out with me?"

I furrowed my eyebrows at her for a moment, not liking that she would think I was that kind of guy.

"I'm not going to lie and say I'm not attracted to you, but I'm also not going to force or pressure you." I gave her a concerned look for a moment. "I hope I haven't already."

Lyric shook her head at me, chewing on her bottom lip for a moment.

"I want to sleep with you too, but I'm scared you'll think you're in love with me if we do that."