“It is,” Jodie confirms, setting her mug down again and opening the first one. “If my more senior predecessors are correct, it’s nowhere near as much as ‘back in the day,’ but it’s still a decent amount. This is just the beginning—it’s still doable.” She gestures at the table. “It’s gonna get much worse. Orbetter, depending on how you look at it.” She frowns at whatever she’s reading and flicks a quick glance at Jace, but composes her expression immediately when she catches me watching.
“How did you get it here?” I frown because I had trouble sending Jace his birthday gift, which is still in my bag because of it. Didn’t really find the time to give it to him last night. My sore ass is proof of that.
“The label sends it upfront. This is the haul from the last couple of weeks.”
“And what about those?” I point to the one in her hands and the others that she separated from Jace’s stack, which he’s flipping through with that familiar shit-eating grin of his, the offensive banana now gone.
“Ah. These are the less enthusiastic ones,” she answers diplomatically, fluttering the letter. “I screen the mail before I give it to the band. That way they can focus on the good ones, positive reinforcement and all, and I focus on the bad ones and check if I need to forward them to security.”
Security? I want to grab the letter but Jodie shakes her head, her wild hair bouncing.
“Ah, don’t.” She places her hand on mine in reassurance. “I wouldn’t recommend that. It’s mostly bullshit anyway, andnothing serious ever happens. No need to let it fuck with your head. Just focus on the good stuff.”
“Mostlybullshit?” I raise a brow, not liking this one bit. “So it’s not bullshit all of the time?”
“Ty. It’s okay,” Jace interrupts. the corner of his mouth pulled in a soft smile. “Don’t worry about it. Haters are gonna hate, you know? We have other people to deal with that stuff now. I’d rather read the compliments and the many offers of people who want to do fun stuff for me.” He opens the first envelope with a crooked grin.
“For you ortoyou?” I scoff, a smile tugging at my lips as he winks at me. “I know youlovethat.But what if someone threatens you?” My eyes flick to his stomach, to the scar that’s behind the soft fabric of his shirt. He got stabbed once for proudly being who he was, and just last year; he could prevent something similar from happening. I know he’s quite okay with it, more okay than a sane person should normally be if you count my humble opinion. But even ifheis fine, it still givesmeanxiety sometimes, thinking about the fact that something like that can just happen so easily, slip through the cracks. In a matter of seconds, it could all be over,thiscould be over. He could be stolen from me.
One psycho is all it takes.
“We have a very good team for this, Tyler.” Jodie’s hand is on my arm now, and I notice she has tiny, colorful little flowers painted all over her nails. “You can trust us. We’ll keep him safe.”
I give her a smile, although I’m not fully convinced. She’s right, it is her and her team’s job and I shouldn’t meddle, but still…
Jace snorts out a laugh and gets my attention. I raise my brows. “Oh, this is hilarious. Told you these letters are funny. Mostly.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a poem!” He clears his throat. “‘In the land of windmills and tulips, there once was a charming lad. With hair like spun gold, and eyes that made my heart glad. Jace, the rockstar from Encore, they say. With his dazzling smile that could make any girl sway…’” He chuckles, snorts. “It goes on for a bit. Oh, should I write a poem back? She threw in a picture…”
Jodie conjures up some pens and stationery, and my boyfriend starts to scribble something down as I stare at the picture of a cute redhead.
“Do you always write an actual letter back?” I ask him as I pick up my coffee. He never told me this, but it sounds like a Jace-thing to do.
He nods and smiles, one of his bare feet now lodged in between my legs on my side of the bench. “Gives me something to do during these long hours on the road, and I like to engage with them, you know? Itryto interact a bit on social media and stuff, but that’s more Ava’s turf. I like it better when I have a sharpie and a piece of paper. I like something stiff in between my fingers.” He wiggles his toes against my crotch and winks.
“Yes, I know how much you love that,” I mutter, grinning against the rim of my mug. “But give me a couple of hours. I don’t think I can get it up even if you danced naked in my lap right now.”
“Didn’t need to hear that,” Jodie chimes in on a mutter. “But you have to wait a bit before you two disappear again. The crew has already begun setting the stage up.”
“Nope.” Jace throws his sharpie on the table. “I’m always happy to help them, but not today.” He folds the piece of paper and stuffs it in an envelope on which he already scribbled an address. “I have plans with my Tyler.”
“You do?” I figured he had stuff to do, follow his usual routine in helping to get the gig ready, do interviews, perform, and Iwould spend my time here mostly just tagging along or trying to get some fitness in while he’s working. Or to help them haul equipment around before the show. Can’t wait to see him live.
“Good. Feel like a run?”
My grin stretches impossibly wide. Running with Jace is one of my favorite things. Always has been. It’s our thing. Even though I ran long before I ever met him, it’s different with him.
Better.Ours.
But then something twists in my chest. “Won’t Mick be there?” I try to keep it casual, but I know the resentment shows. It stings that he’s been inserting himself on Jace’s runs. I know Jace ignores him mostly, puts on his music and justruns. He can’t really do anything about it, but still… It’s fuckingours.
Jace’s smile falters, just for a second, before he steels his gaze and nudges my foot with his in silent reassurance. “Nah. He’s not there every day. And fuck him very much. If heisthere? He’s so fucking slow, babe. We’ll outrun him without even trying.”
My shoulders drop, the tension bleeding out of me with a quiet exhale. Just knowing he sees it, gets it, makes something tight in my chest loosen.
“So, we’re going?”
