“Oh, I’m up for something too.” His eyes darken with unmistakable lust. “And Ty?”
“Yeah?”
“Tell me something new.”
I smile. “I’m going to see the man I love today.”
“Damn right you are.” His smile is unreal. “Now go pack your bag. I’ll be waiting at the gate.”
FIVE
I’mnervous.Sofreakingnervous that my palms are tingling, my heart is stuttering in my chest, and I have to swallow down the burn in my throat every few seconds.
It’s been too long. Way too long.
What if it’s different now? What if something’s off? What if he sees me and decides that no, the waiting and pining was all for nothing? Then what? What should I say? What do I do when I see him?
Can I jump him like I want to? Does he evenwantme to do that?
What if he doesn’t want me anymore? What if we see each other and all that hot-as-fuck chemistry is just...poof, gone?
Fuck, I’m a mess.
“Can you stop bouncing? You’re makingmenervous,” Ev mutters, brown brows pulled into a frown. Mick’s bodyguard insisted on driving me to the airport, offering to handle the rental. I know it’s only because he doesn’t trust me behind the wheel of a car without a clutch. Imighthave complained a bit too much about the lack of gear-shifting in this country, and now he’s convinced I’ll crash it.
I told him I’d be happy to pick up Ty with the tour bus—sounded fun to me—but he shot that idea down immediately. Said it would draw too much attention.Jeez.
When I don’t stop bouncing, he puts a massive hand on my leather-clad shoulder to still me.
I’m wearing my new-ish black biker jacket—the one with the dark-gray hood currently pulled over my head. I bought it at the start of the tour, back on the East Coast. In California, I never needed a jacket. I didn’t evenownone. But once we hit the road and the cold started creeping in, especially in some of these cities, I made a beeline for the store. The ever-changing climate over here is a challenge on its own.
But whatever, it looks awesome on me. And the hood is just a bonus for when I don’t want to be recognized.
Yeah, that’s something that’s slowly started happening. We’re nowhere near superstardom yet, and I’m not about to jinx it by saying that’s where we’re headed. But wedoget recognized now. More in the bigger cities than the smaller ones. And since I’m the lead singer, most of the attention falls on me.
The first time it happened? Total mindfuck.
We were in some gigantic supermarket in the female hygiene aisle, where I was trailing after Missy while she stocked up on tampons and whatnot, loading them into my arms whilecomparing prices and texting Ava to check which brand she needed.
And that’s fine, you know. Tampons don’t scare me.
But two teenage girls who screamedveryloud the second they recognized me? While I’m completely zoned out, fantasizing about all the ways I want to make Tyler come the next time I see him?Thatscared me.
I flinched.Hard.The boxes went flying, maxi pads and those weird tampon-tube-contraptions shooting across the floor like fucking confetti.
And yes, those little rockets you torpedo up your private parts? Turns out they’re super easy to slip on. So there I was, flat on my ass in the middle of aisle nine, tampons everywhere, gasping for breath with a fresh shot of pain zipping up my spine.
Missy nearly laughed herself into a hernia. Doubled over, holding her side, tears of joy rolling down her face. Glad to be of service, always.
Needless to say, I wasverygrateful nobody filmed it. I took about a dozen pictures with the girls just to keep them quiet. Luckily, they were excited enough to meet me. They didn’t even comment on the tampon-pocalypse.
So yes—the hood is up now. And Iwould’veworn sunglasses too, if it wouldn’t have stood out more. It’s ten p.m., after all.
A few people glance my way, eyes lingering, brows furrowed—trying to place me, trying to figure out where in the depths of their subconscious they’ve stored the image of the guy they’re now low-key staring at.
But thankfuck, nobody bothers us. According to the label, and Jodie, and pretty much everyone else, that’s probably going to change real soon.
It’s something I’m dreading and looking forward to at the same time—if that’s even possible. For now, I’m just grateful it looks like I’ll get to reconnect with my mansomewhatprivately.
