Page 62 of Love You Like This

But Stone and I don’t have the same demons that haunt Tobias. We grew up loved by solid parents who would do anything to help us succeed. He grew up taking care of himself because of a shitty, unreliable family.

He nods. “Can you get rid of it?” A bit of desperation colors the question.

I don’t ask if he means bag it back up or fully get rid of it. I go with the latter. Fuck whatever is tormenting him. His ghosts can’t have him. I grab a disinfectant wipe and brush the powder away.

Stone comes in with his arm tossed around Hazel. As soon as he and I lock eyes, he stops. His eyes dart to Tobias, and then he whispers something in Hazel’s ear. Her eyes darken as the happiness drains from her eyes only to be filled with concern. She nods and presses a quick kiss to his lips before saying she needs to find Jade.

Stone grabs three waters from the fridge and joins us at the table. The rest of the time before the show, we spend quietly together. Just the three of us. I’m assuming Hazel said something to Jade or Darren since no one comes looking for us, aside from wardrobe dropping off our clothes for the show.

Throughout the show I sneak glances to my right. Every time I’m greeted by the sight of Jade watching me. Her body moves subtly in time with the music. Occasionally she’ll speak with Hazel or Darren. The latter of which has his attention locked, and I mean locked, on Tobias. His phone never appears in his hands which, I’m not kidding, is a first.

Stone’s brow furrows when he notices that the ladies have disappeared. When he looks at me for answers to his silent question as to where they went, I give a little shrug. I’m not worried, Jade probably wanted to get shots of us performing from a different angle. Stone, on the other hand, looks as if he’s ready to launch into the crowd at the first sign of trouble.

After what happened to Hazel at one of our earlier shows, I don’t blame him. It was terrifying to watch her be separated from her security and swept into a surging crowd. I’ve never seen Stone so angry, it might have been the first punch he’d ever thrown.

The tension doesn’t leave his body until they reappear about five songs later. Tobias absolutely kills his improv drum solo. I sneak offstage while the lights are focused solely on him to take a drink. Andi, our tour manager, hands both Stone and I opened bottles.

Stone takes the opportunity to plant a long, sloppy kiss on Hazel’s lips. Darren gives them a look of disgust and steps away from the girls. But Jade watches them with a bit of wistfulness.

“Someday I’m going to kiss you like that,” I whisper in her ear.

She stills, and I take the opportunity to feather my lips over the shell of her ear. I glance down at her neck, noting the way her pulse has kicked up from my proximity. Another surge of hope powers through my body like a tidal wave crashing ashore.

Of-fucking-course we have this breakthrough on a night where we have to get straight on the bus. The drive from Phoenix to Dallas is long, so we’ll sleep on the road tonight. As we go back onstage for the final three songs, I manage to convince myself that delayed gratification is good for me.

But as we take our final bow and I sneak another look at her offstage, a plan formulates in my mind. I hand my bass off to the crew to pack up. Another crew member comes to take the pack from my waistband and my in-ear monitors. I make it offstage faster than Stone for the first time this tour.

The sweat running down my body doesn’t bother me a single bit as I catch up to Jade. She turns, surprised when I pull her into the closest doorway. It turns out to be a mostly empty room. There’s a lighted vanity and black leather loveseat. Perfect. I kick the door closed behind me.

“Xander?”

She barely gets my name out when my lips are on hers. Our kiss earlier wasn’t enough. One kiss will never be enough.

Her body stiffens in surprise, but when my hands grip her waist and pull her flush against me, she gives in. She parts her lips, welcoming my tongue with sweeps of her own. My skin tingles as her fingers dive into my hair, nails scratching my scalp.

I walk backward and sit, pulling her onto my lap. The cool leather of the small sofa feels amazing against my back. Our lips never break apart as she settles into a comfortable position with her knees bracketing my hips. Her hands roam down my chest and abs with a familiarity I feel down to the depths of my soul.

Reaching a hand behind my neck, I pull my sweat-dampened shirt over my head. She sits back, letting her eyes roam over me. She hasn’t looked at me like this in so long.

“What are we doing?” she whispers. “This is a bad idea.”

“This is the best idea we’ve had in years.” I pull her back to me, determined to erase any concerns from her head by whatever means necessary.

Her hips rock over my erection, searching for friction. “Oh god.” Her head falls back as I kiss down the column of her neck. “The worst idea.”

With inhuman strength I pull away from her, so I can look up into her eyes. “Do you want me to stop?”

I see the battle raging in her eyes as she formulates her answer. “No.” She drops her lips to mine. “Please don’t.”

Relief like I’ve never felt crashes through me. My hands move from her hips to her denim-covered ass. Our tongues dance together as our mouths fuse.

“Why are you wearing jeans?” I say in between kisses. “You never wear jeans to our shows.”

“I don’t know,” her answer is breathless. “Worst decision ever,” she mumbles against my lips.

“Definitely questioning your decision-making skills,” I answer back.

I cup one of her breasts over her shirt, my thumb instinctively finding her beaded nipple through the fabric. She gasps and arches her back into my touch. My dick strains angrily against the zipper of my jeans.