Page 48 of Everything Changes

Layla caught her breath. “So you’re really coming home… coming to be with him?”

“If he still wants me.” Carey paused significantly, waiting with bated breath for her next words. It would serve his dumb ass right if Jase had moved on. Well, he wouldn’t accept that, anyway. He wasn’t such a pussy that he’d step aside without a fight.

“Well, you won’t know until you get here, will you? I’ll text you the address for the gig.”

And with that, the phone went dead. Carey sighed. Jase’s friends were going to punish Carey a little for hurting him, he could see. But it wasn’t anything more than he deserved. His next call was to the local airline as he packed up pieces of his old life to take to his new one.

CHAPTER 14

JASE LIFTED his arms overhead, acknowledging the thunderous applause that greeted their encore, a brand-new original composition called “I’ll Take Today.” Jase had written it one day in about three hours’ time, and when he’d sung it for his bandmates, accompanying himself quietly on his guitar, their mouths had dropped open, and even Quinn Patterson had a tear in his eye when it was over. It was about two Army buddies during the war, and one had been wounded. It was about friendship, love, and loss. Jase had poured his heart and soul into that song, and it showed. “Write about what you know” had turned out to be true. It was sure to be a hit, everyone assured him. He didn’t care about that, not really. He had just needed the catharsis.

Jase ran off the stage, wiping his sweaty face with a towel Layla handed to him, then guzzling the bottle of cold water she tossed him next.

“Great set,” she gushed. “You guys knocked it out of the fucking park!” Quinn picked her up off her feet and spun her around in a big hug.

“Fucking DeSantis!” he crowed. “That song is gonna make us, dude.”

Jase grinned, joining in the back-slapping hugs, the adrenaline high surging through all of them as they processed the success of the concert. Their first recording session with their new label was just a week away, and Jase finally let it sink into his mind and heart that Eloquent Isolation really was on its way.

He felt antsy, giddy, and as he glanced off to the side, he saw Jayden hovering near the backstage entrance. The man was wearing tight leather pants, a flowing royal blue shirt half tucked in, the buttons undone so the shirt was open to the waist and displaying his smooth chest. Jase’s eyes traced the long legs, the slim hips, and lust surged through him like a tidal wave. He crooked his finger, beckoning Jayden over.

“Jase,” Layla said quietly, but with an urgent tone to her voice. “Bob is going to be here in a minute. Why don’t you just go to your dressing room for a while, calm down.”

“That’s what I’m gonna do, Layla,” Jase said impatiently, wrapping his arm around Jayden’s waist as he reached him. Jase could smell an enticing, spicy cologne wafting up from Jayden’s open shirt, and his eyes fixed on Jayden’s full lips. At that moment he wanted nothing more than to see those lips wrapped around his cock while he drove down the groupie’s throat.

“What about Carey?” Layla asked, her fingers digging into his biceps.

Jase shrugged her hand off. “What about him? He’s not here, is he? I haven’t heard from him in weeks.” He turned and started to lead Jayden in the direction of his dressing room, his hand dipping down to squeeze Jayden’s ass. Maybe he’d go ahead and fuck him too. Why the fuck not?

“Jase, don’t—”

Jase whirled on her, and he could feel his face flushing with anger. He’d reached his limit. He’d reached his limit of pain, of false hope. He was sick of waiting around. It was time to move on.

“He doesn’t want me, Layla!” Jase shouted.

“Yes, I do.” The voice was quiet, but it cut through all the noise in Jase’s head. He whipped his head around to see Carey standing a few feet away. He must have come from Jase’s dressing room—oh, God. He jerked away from Jayden as though he’d been burned, taking a step toward Carey, his eyes pleading.

Jayden huffed angrily and grabbed Jase’s arm, trying to hold him back. Jase shook him off again, and Carey advanced on Jayden, his fists clenched.

“Back off,” he snarled. “He’s mine.” Pete and Jase quickly grabbed Carey’s arms to hold him back as Jayden cowered away.

“You should leave,” Quinn said to Jayden, putting his hand on his shoulder and pushing him toward the door.

“But Jase—” Jayden began, and Quinn interrupted him.

“He’ll talk to you later, Jayden, okay? But for now, you just need to go.”

Jayden hesitated, threw Jase one last glance, and then strode quickly toward the backstage door, disappearing through it.

Carey was breathing hard, his blue eyes glittering, and Layla looked back and forth between him and Jase, her eyes wide.

“Are you gonna be all right?” she asked, walking to Jase and putting her hand gently on his forearm.

Jase swallowed hard, then nodded. “Can you guys cover for me in there?” He jerked his chin toward the party room full of fans and label execs that were waiting to speak with him. He could see one of them now, Bob Something, hovering in the background. “Give me and Carey a few minutes alone?”

“Of course,” she replied, squeezing his arm encouragingly before moving off to greet Bob Whatever with a bright smile and a firm handshake, adroitly steering him away.

Quinn looked at Carey, then spoke, his voice soft but with an underlying thread of steel, “If you’re here to hurt him anymore, man—”