Not Your Baby ║ Billy Hargrove

Chapter Twenty One

Billy and I carefully walked up to the house as we surveyed the woods with caution and a little bit of terror. Somehow sensing my unease, Billy nonchalantly slid his hand in mine as we walked. I gave him a reassuring glance as he rounded the asphalt driveway of my childhood home. I relayed the game-plan of getting to my bedroom window and, within minutes, Billy was already scaling the side of my house. Confused and a little worried about why he was so good at scaling mid-century homes, I shook off the oddity and followed behind. As he hopped atop the garage addition, he extended his hand for me to use for leverage. I cupped my fingers in his as he effortlessly hoisted me up.

Nearing the bedroom window, I quietly slid in front of Billy to jostle the unlocked window open. Despite always telling my dad that the window has an insanely loud creak every time it's opened, dad's response was always "I'll get to it, Nel" (it's now been 6 years). With steady hands, I slowly moved the 4-pane window to the right, guiding it on its rusted track to avoid any type of noise. I quickly slid into my room and glanced at the bedroom door to ensure it was closed. I beckoned Billy in with a quick hand gesture and intently watched him step inside; fear boiling inside my body that he would trip and wake my parents.

I watched as Billy surveyed my walls. Moonlight lit up my bedroom as he slowly walked around. He stopped at the photo collage of my childhood friends on my wall next to my desk. His finger pointed and pressed itself on an old photo of Nancy and me. "You've known her for a while, huh?"

"Yeah." I slowly walked over to the photos, taking his jacket off and laying it on the chair. "She and I go way back."

He strolled over to the large poster of Billy Joel I had taped up on my closet door. Billy's smile grew wide as he glanced over at me; his curls bopping in the air with every movement.

"All of this time you liked classics and you never told me?" I could hear the intrigue spike in his voice. 

"Why do you think I never told you to turn the music down?" I flirted back and took a seat on the bed.

"Look at you with the one-liners." Billy's arms came pounding down on either side of me on the bed; his face inches from mine.

"You're not the only one who's good with their words." I grinned as his head came closer, kissing me with passion and force. Seconds later, his hands reached under my back and scooped me into the middle of the bed.

As we intertwined, I noticed that he wasn't reaching for my bra or my pants. Oddly relieved that we weren't going that fast, I opened my eyes to have his open moments later.

"Listen, that's not going to happen tonight." It was as if he could read my fucking mind. "You've had enough memories for tonight. I would want that night to be a whole separate one."

"You shock me every second I'm with you." I softly spoke as my fingers navigated their way through his curls.

"Well, it's the hardest thing I've ever had to say, so don't get used to it." The compassionate, kind Billy was suddenly overshadowed by the boastful, arrogant one yet again. I rolled my eyes as I knew he was just saying that to save his ego. I turned on my back and rested my head on my pillow before I felt his arm scoop my neck on to his chest. "That's better." Billy exhaled as he adjusted to ensure I was comfortable.

As I laid on his chest, I felt his steady heartbeat once again. The strong smell of his cologne met my nose once more as I took steady breaths in. Billy's hand tightly wrapped itself around my shoulder and kept me as close to him as possible. My hands found themselves on his chest, gently resting between his chest and his crucifix chain that illuminated in the night. Billy stretched his neck down and gave me once final kiss atop my head before I began to feel my eyelids draw heavy. My breathing drew slowly as I steadily began to drift asleep.