Page 87 of Taste of Surrender

“I will. I need to get back to my table.” He pointed to a group of guys who were watching us. “It was great to see you, and nice meeting you, Malachi. Maybe I’ll see you at the concert.”

“Sounds good.”

As he walked away, I made a mental note to get him backstage passes for the show. Of course, that meant I should probably tell Malachi that Ryan and I had a bit more history than I had let on, but that conversation could wait until later.

We downed our drinks, and then Malachi leaned in and asked, “You want to dance?”

I nodded. “Lead the way.”

The music pulsed as we made our way to the middle of the dance floor where the lights swirled around us as we began moving together. His hands wrapped around my waist, and he pulled me in close to eliminate the space between us. Just like I did anytime we were together, It felt as though the rest of the world faded away until I could only focus on the two of us.

“I love you,” I said, trailing kisses down his neck.

His hand moved lower until he was grabbing my ass. “I love you too.”

Song after song, we grinded together, and I could feel the heat building between us. After a while, I was desperate to get him alone.

“I can’t wait any longer,” I said in his ear. “Take me back to the hotel.”

He pulled back, his eyes dark with desire. “Let’s go.”

27

Jasper

A daybefore Surrender’s first show in Boston, I was manning the grill in my parents’ backyard. We had decided it would be nice to get everyone together for a barbecue so we could visit and relax. The guys definitely needed the time with Silas, and it had been years since our entire families had all been together. Even Savannah was there to meet everybody.

“Hey, Jasper.” Norah, Malachi’s sister, came to stand beside me.

She was a year younger than me, and because of how close our families were, we had spent a lot of time together when we were younger. But I hadn’t seen her since the finale ofThe Band Showdown.

I wrapped my free arm around her shoulder. “Hey, how’s it going?”

“Just enjoying the summer off from college.”

“You graduate next year, right?” While I hadn’t seen her in some time, Malachi occasionally filled me in on what she was up to.

Norah nodded. “Actually, I’ll be graduating after the fall semester. While I’m going to miss Hawkins University when I’m done, I’m looking forward to starting my career.”

“Do you have a job lined up yet?”

“No, but I’m looking. Originally, I was searching for some marketing opportunities in New York, but last night Malachi and I talked and he offered to talk to Stellar Recordsto see if they had any internships available.”

“Oh wow. I guess I’ll be seeing you more often if you move to LA.”

She smiled. “Does that mean you’re staying out there after the tour?”

I took a sip of my beer. “Yeah. Obviously, that’s where your brother is, but I also really like the West Coast. Plus, there are a ton of job opportunities out there.”

“But it’s mostly because of my brother,” she teased.

“Pretty much.” I grinned.

“I’m really happy you guys are together.”

I started flipping the hamburger patties. “You are?”

“Yeah. Whenever I saw pictures of him out with random girls, I always wondered if they liked him for who he was as a person, or because he was Malachi Danvers, the lead singer of Surrender. You know the real him and somehow still love him.” She chuckled.