Page 113 of Fame & Rhythm

“You’re so goddamn beautiful, you know that?” he says, and I smirk and shake my head.

“Have you seen yourself lately?”

He rolls his eyes and shakes his head, then pauses, looking at me lovingly. “Thank you,” he says, gently caressing my cheek.

“For what?”

I see a sparkle in his beautiful blue eyes. “For giving yourself to me. I couldn’t be happier than I am right now,” he says, and I smile and suddenly feel a little shy around him. “You okay?” he asks, bringing my chin up to look at him.

“Yeah, it’s just… well, a year ago I would never even have thought of this happening between us, and now it’s all I think about.”

“Me too, baby, it’s all I think about too. And it was perfect, every second of that was pure bliss,” he says, and then leans in, kissing me gently. I run my hands through his hair, and he holds me as we kiss for a few minutes, still both coming down from our breathtaking experience together.

He pulls his lips from mine slowly and looks me in the eyes. “We better get dressed. As much as I don’t want to,” he says, and I nod and smile.

I stand up from the sofa and notice a small amount of blood on the seat. “Oh shit,” I say, and Aston looks down and winces.

“Fuck, did I do that?” he asks and pulls me into his arms.

“I think it’s normal.”

“Yeah. Caleb said it could happen, but that means I must have hurt you more than you let on?”

“I’m fine. I really enjoyed it, Aston. Please don’t worry.”

“Okay, but I’d better clean that up,” he says while walking over to the tissue box. He brings it over and cleans the mess.

“Put some clothes on, Annie,” he says, and I nod, pick up my panties and jeans, and pull them up my legs. I follow with my bra and top, and by the time I'm done, Aston has finished cleaning and is putting his clothes back on too.

My mind drifts back to before we got together, when I used to see him as a brother.

Well… you definitely don’t do what we just did with your brother. The thought unsettles me more than it should. I loved it—every second of it. So why does guilt creep in so suddenly?

I promised Mum I would tell her before Aston and I had sex… and I didn’t. The weight of that settles heavily in my chest as I sit back on the sofa and pull on my combat boots.

Aston joins me a moment later, already dressed, slipping his arm around my shoulders and drawing me into his side. All I want is to melt into him, but the guilt rising inside me stings behind my eyes, threatening tears.

“Annie, that was… you are… amazing,” he murmurs, pressing a soft kiss to my temple. He shifts, turning me to face him, his hands coming up to cradle my cheeks. “There’s something I want to tell you. I’ve wanted to for months, but it’s never felt like the right time.”

My heart starts to race as I watch the small smile form on his lips. The confusion swirling inside me only deepens, twisting together with everything else I’m feeling.

“Annie…” he breathes. “I… I love you.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Annie

My ears ring, heat flooding through me as the music playing in the green room drags me back to reality.

“Please Don’t Say You Love Me” by Gabrielle Aplin filters through the speakers, and the irony hits me like a punch to the chest.

Don’t say it… if you don’t mean it.

My head spins.

Why the hell would he say that?

“Annie?” Aston’s voice cuts through the noise, grounding me just enough to focus on him. “Annie, please say something.”