Something Great

Chapter 15

Ralley woke with a start. She blinked in order to adjust to the single ray of light that was shining through a gap between the curtains. She thought she had woken up with a purpose, but when her eyes fell on Calum's slumbering form, she forgot it. 

His skin glowed tan against the wrinkled white sheets, and his hair was a disorderly mop atop his head. He had one arm wrapped around a pillow, pressing it to his cheek and making his lips part slightly. The other lay heavy with sleep between Ralley's body and his own, like it had held Ralley at some point during the night.

Ralley couldn't help but smile at him. She felt like light was shining out of her chest every time she looked at him. She thought of last night...

-

Calum reluctantly pushed himself off of Ralley and made quick work of tossing the soiled condom in the nearest bin. He returned to her side immediately, collapsing on the bed and snuggling his head into the crook of her neck. 

Ralley was staring up at the ceiling, eyes wide, in a state of bliss she'd never experienced before.

"Oh my God," she breathed, her chest rising and falling heavily. Calum placed his hand on her abdomen and drew odd shapes on her dampened skin.

"Better than John? Or whatever his name was?" Calum asked, pressing little kisses to her shoulder.

"Can't remember his name," Ralley smiled, rolling onto her side to face Calum. He smirked back at her, maybe a little too proud of himself. Ralley's face softened into a look that Calum would call "loving" if he was daring enough.

"My God, you're perfect," Calum whispered reverently, entranced by her hazel irises.

Their lips became entangled once again, but it was slower and sweeter than before. Ralley's stomach growled.

She pulled away, blushing.

"I'm gonna go get an ice cream sandwich... Want one?" she offered.

Calum's eyebrows jumped at the thought of what he could do with ice cream. "Of course."

Ralley rolled her eyes, well aware of his naughty train of thought.. "Calm down, ya lil pervert."

"This lil pervert just gave you the best orgasm of your life," he called after her as she left the bed and began to exit the room. She rolled her eyes again, even though he couldn't see her face.

He watched her body move as she walked. 

"You have a dimple on your ass," he added with a giggle.

Ralley blushed and threw her middle finger up over her shoulder.

Calum propped himself up on his elbow. "If you wanna go Round Two, we can go Round Two," he joked.

-

Ralley bit her lip to hold back a giggle. She'd brought back two ice cream sandwiches, and they had stayed up until nearly four o'clock in the morning talking about everything. 

The doorbell rang. Her eyes widened. So that was what had woken her up.

She struggled to slip on a pair of shorts and a tee shirt quickly. God knows how long the people at the door had been waiting! She heard Calum mumble something as she rushed out of the room.

She nearly ended up nose-deep in the slick linoleum flooring, but she made it to the door just as the bell rung again. She threw open the door psychotically, hoping whoever it was wouldn't think too much of it.

Two hey's chorused from the front porch, and Ralley's jaw fell open. Her eyebrows drew together slowly. She really shouldn't have been so surprised, but she found herself speechless. Well, for a few moments at least.

"LIZ?!? KARRIE??" She screeched, disregarding her bandmates' bags and nearly jumping into their arms for a hug. "I can't believe you're here!! I'm so glad, but I can't believe it!"

"Yeah, the family was getting a little overbearing, and Marie wants us to start writing the next album so we figured: why not do it in Australia," Karrie explained.

Ralley let out anoither high pitched squeal and pulled Karrie into a hug.

"Oh! I'm sorry; come in, come in," Ralley urged, stepping back into the house. "I'm just so excitedd," she sang.

"So how've you been?" Liz asked, setting her bags down in the hallway. "You look tanner!"

"Do I? That's a miracle," Ralley laughed loudly. She felt so happy, so light. She hadn't seen Liz and Karrie in nearly two whole months since the tour ended. God, she'd missed them.

"Where's Ava?" Karrie asked, looking past Ralley to survey the vacation house.

"Oh.. She's at a... A friend's house right no--"

"Hey, babe, what's going on," a drowsy, naked Calum asked as he wandered out of Ralley's bedroom.

"Oh fuck," Ralley muttered, squeezing her eyelids shut. Unlike most of the people involved with the entertainment industry, Liz was rather conservative. She was the 'Momma Bear' of To the Stars,  always keeping the other girls in line and on task.

"Oh shit," Calum said.

"Oh fuck indeed," Liz commented, staring at Ralley disapprovingly with her lips pressed into a narrow line.

Karrie coughed quietly and turned away, suddenly very focused on finding something in her purse.

"I didn't realize--"

Ralley cleared her throat. "Calum."

Calum nodded shortly and retraced his steps back to Ralley's room.

"So... How were your flights?" Ralley queried with a nervous smile after a beat of awkward silence.

"They were alright," Karrie answered.

Liz rolled her eyes. "They almost lost my luggage in Greece--"

"Buuut, they didn't, and the stewardesses were very kind," Karrie interrupted.

Ralley was glad for it. She loved Liz to death, but she had the worst temper sometimes, and she didn't know if she could take it with all this embarrassment.

Liz sighed. "So, Ral, have you and Ava done any writing while you've been here?"

"Honestly? No," Ralley replied. "I tried to, but nothing came to me. And Ava's been out a lot..."

"Oh. Well, at least you're getting some... Inspiration," Liz said sourly. 

As if on cue, Calum returned from Ralley's room, fully clothed in jeans and a tee shirt.

"Hi, I'm so sorry about that! I'm Calum, Ralley's boyfriend," Calum said, reaching to shake hands with Karrie.

Ralley froze in place, shocked and pleased by Calum's introduction.

"Hi, I'm Karrie. It's nice to meet you." Karrie shook Calum's hand, directing a questioning look towards Ralley.

"I'm a huge fan of your music," Calum added, looking to Liz for some sign of acceptance. She chuckled cynically.

"Obviously." She glanced at Ralley pointedly. "Oh, I'm sorry. I should introduce myself. I'm Liz, and you're leaving."

Karrie stifled a laugh.

"Liz," Ralley groaned. "Please be nice. I really like him." She took a step back so she was next to Calum and grabbed his hand protectively.

"I should hope so," Liz sighed. "Nice to meet you, Calum." She bent down to pick up her bags. "You're lucky I'm jetlagged. I'm going to go take a nap, but when I wake up, we're going to talk about just how sorry you are and proper attire as a guest in someone else's house."

"Alright," Calum chuckled nervously.

Karrie rolled her eyes as Liz made her way down the hall to find the guest bedroom. Ralley slumped onto Calum's shoulder. She had a feeling this summer was going to be a little less relaxing than she originally thought.