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He dipped to speak low next to my ear. “Your boy’s pumped back there.”
“You went backstage?”
He nodded. “Yep. It’s debauchery central. Like a scene from a movie about rock stars.”
I looked him over slowly, and that’s when I noticed his dilated pupils and bouncy feet. “I see you partook.”
He rubbed a finger under his nose. “When in Rome, right?”
I shrugged. Who was I to judge? I was a little high myself, although cocaine was well outside my pay grade.
Our VIP passes brought us to a partitioned area near the stage. Tino and Heather got us all drinks, and I was sipping mine when a young brunette in dark makeup and black leather came up to me.
“Tali, yes?” Her voice was raspy in a way that sounded like she’d smoked for fifty years, even though she couldn’t have been over thirty.
“Yes. Hi?”
She grabbed my hands and kissed both my cheeks in quick succession. “Nice to meet you in person. I’m Ceri.”
I gasped. “Oh my god, hey! It’s nice to put a face to a name.” We’d emailed a few times last fall about Jude but had obviously never met. I introduced her to everyone else, then we talked for a minute about the Busted festival tour she was organizing.
“The boys signed the contracts for the Busted tour this afternoon,” she informed me.
I held in a squeal, but just barely. “Holy shit, really?”
She smile broadly. “Yes, indeed. Are you prepared for your boyfriend to be touring all summer? It’s eight weeks.”
“It’s his dream. I’d never hold him back.” Although my stomach twisted at the thought of not seeing him for so long. Where would that leave us?
Every word in the human language escaped me when the lights went out and Never Again was announced. Tino draped his arm around my shoulders, but I didn’t lean into him. All my attention remained focused on the movement at the front of the stage. The barely perceptible glint of silver of Jude’s wallet chain. The outline of long legs and slim hips I’d come to know so well tapering out to strong, broad shoulders.
I was weak-kneed.
“I love him,” I whispered.
Tino chuckled. “Honey, pretty soon, everyone’s going to love him.”
One day, I might turn what he just said over and over in my mind. I might torture myself with it. But not today. Not when the lights flashed on, revealing Jude’s hazel eyes trained on me, like he’d known exactly where I’d be.
I guess he had.
I only had his attention for an instant, but it was enough.
He cupped the mic in both hands, speaking low and growly. “New York City, you’re beautiful.” The crowd whistled and applauded as politely as a rock ‘n’ roll crowd in this city could. “We’re Never Again. You might not have heard of us yet, but you will. You’re gonna walk out of here tonight and say, ‘Never again will I forget those fuckers.’ Clever name, right?”
Jude smiled, big enough to crinkle the skin around his eyes, and there was a collective swoon in the audience. When he sang, he had their attention, and he kept it the whole time. Jeremy, Jin, and Seven were there too, doing their thing, but Jude captured the spotlight in every way.
My fingers went to the beaded bracelet on my wrist, rubbing over each bump. Ben caught my eye, watching my movement. When his gaze flicked up to mine, he gave me a pinched smile and turned his attention back to the stage.
I’d been to a hundred concerts. Had been affected differently by all of them. But I’d never experienced such a twisted feeling of both pride and possessiveness. Jude was mine, and I wanted everyone to know, but I also got off on sharing this part of him. Hearing the audience whoop and cheer produced a heaviness between my legs that almost had me writhing on the spot.
My lungs ceased doing their job when the opening chords ofmysong hit my ears. He’d played it for me more than once, but I’d never heard it with the band behind him. It had always just been him and me, on his bed, the four walls of his bedroom our only audience.
I was singing along with him when his eyes met mine for the second time. He held steady on me. We could have been in his bedroom, it was so intimate.
Between strumming the last note and moving onto the next song, Jude shaped his fingers into a heart, andmyactual heart swelled so big, I felt it in my throat.
Tino laid his head on top of mine. “Well, damn, baby girl. I think I just got second-hand high on your love.”
