Page 50 of Rush

I gulp down the remaining wine, desperate to erase the anxious dread burning in my throat.

Please, don’t let him have seen that.

Tears blur my vision before I even realize they’re falling, hot trails sliding silently down my cheeks. My gaze fixes helplessly on the dark ceiling. My vibrator’s blinking light mockingly reminds me it’s still charging, but now frustration has overtaken every other feeling.

I am so fucking stupid.

My phone dings, lighting up the darkness like a tiny explosion. Heart lodged painfully in my throat, I reach for it.

Alexander Westerberg liked your post.

Oh my God.

He saw, and he liked my photo back.

My pulse races as I open the notification, hands trembling. The image he chose to like—the photo I’d shared of the serene lake near his family’s cabin in Sweden. Our lake. Our bubble. The one place where, for a brief moment in time, it was just us—two people suspended in untouchable bliss.

Before everything blew up.

I clutch the phone tightly to my chest, eyes drifting closed, breathing ragged. Maybe this means nothing. Or maybe…it means everything.

Fresh tears spill freely down my face, soaking quietly into my pillow.

I don’t know what hurts more: missing Alex, or knowing there’s a chance he misses me too.

Chapter 6

Run Away With Me

The day was finally here. The sound of the arena echoes all around me—cables being dragged, guitars strummed, techs shouting instructions into headsets. A chaotic symphony that should make me feel like I’m on top of the world. Instead, my stomach is in knots, my fingers tapping against the metal railing overlooking the arena.

You’re going to be fine.

I repeat it to myself—a mantra that hasn’t quite kicked in yet.

“First time nerves?” a playful voice asks from behind me.

I turn and nearly freeze. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing one of my idols in the flesh.

Ava stands there calm and collected in oversized sunglasses wearing designer sweats.

She pulls her sunglasses down slightly to look at me, a cheeky smirk on her lips.

“A little…I think.”

“You’ve got this girl! I wouldn’t have asked for you if I didn’t think you had it in you,” she says.

My jaw drops.This was news to me.“Wait, you asked for me?”

She nods.

“Why? Surely you could have had anyone?”

She shrugs. “This can be a lonely business and there was something about you I liked—I knew we’d get on, plus you’re insanely talented!”

Her words hit harder than I expect. She’s been nothing but kind to me since we met—checking in during rehearsals, offering quiet encouragement I hadn’t expected from someone like her.

They always say never meet your heroes, right?