Page 64 of Taste of Surrender

“Where the hell have you been?” I asked.

He slid his sunglasses into the neck of his T-shirt. “Got stuck in traffic.”

“Where’d you come from? San Diego?” Elliott teased. Silas didn’t live that far from WeHo, so there was no reason for him to miss the barbecue and be late for sound check.

“Nah,” Silas replied. “I was out in Huntington Beach.”

“Why?” I wondered.

He smirked, and it clicked. He was with a chick.

“Say no more.” I shook my head and then we all took the stage. I suppose being with a chick was better than being high on coke.

As we satin the green room, waiting for the show to start, my phone buzzed with a group message from Olivia:

Jasper’s fine. The sting wasn’t that bad, and the doctors are taking good care of him

I breathed a sigh of relief as I looked over at Jesse. He nodded with a small smile and then I went to the makeshift bar and poured myself something stronger than the beer I never got to drink at Jesse’s.

The crowd wasamazing as we sang song after song. I got lost in the music, the stage feeling like home. I tried not to think about Jasper, but occasionally, I would look in the front row, wishing he was there, but I figured he was back at Jesse’s and probably sleeping.

Once the concert was over, we headed backstage, where we were doing a meet and greet with VIP fans. I played my part, taking pictures and signing autographs. Savannah and I even kept up our dating ruse and people were loving it. But the entire time, I wanted to bail. I wanted to get Jasper and go back to my place and see for myself that he was okay.

So, I did.

Getting into my Mercedes G-Class, I typed out a text to Jasper before I left the parking lot:

Awake?

A few seconds later, my phone buzzed with a reply:

Yeah. How’d it go tonight?

I’d like to tell you in person. I’m on my way

What if Olivia sees your car?

I’ll park a few houses down

Are you sure about this?

I want you in my bed tonight

I don’t know if I’m feeling up for that

*That* isn’t what I mean. I want to just be with you and wrap my arms around you

All right. I’ll be waiting down the street for you ?

19

Jasper

The smellof bacon and coffee had my eyes blinking open. It took a second for me to get my bearings and remember I had spent the night with Malachi at his place. The last time I had actually slept in his arms the entire night was after my winter formal when he got a hotel room for us. Otherwise, we were always sneaking around and slipping out of rooms before anyone could catch us.

I was about to climb out of bed and go find my man when the door opened. Malachi entered with a plate piled high with eggs, bacon, and toast in one hand, and a mug in the other.

“Don’t get up yet,” he ordered.