Page 46

Forty-Four

Jensen

M y hands are shaking as I watch him sing my song. I’ve heard it hundreds of times at this point, and it never fails to knock me off my feet.

A hand claps on my shoulder and I look over to find my dad smiling at me. When the song ends, Sadie is wrapping her arms around me lovingly. His entire family pulls me in, smothering me with love and acceptance.

He does the rest of his set with renewed energy. This is the part of the show where he loses the undershirt and dances around with those tight abs and that flirty smile. The fans eat it up.

His family and I dance and sing along, celebrating all of Isaac’s accomplishments together as we should. I couldn’t be prouder of him.

And I couldn’t be more eager to get my hands on him later.

When the concert comes to an end, the cheers for the encore are the loudest I’ve ever heard. My own voice will be hoarse after this. I glance over to see his brothers all cheering and whistling for him. Sadie is practically screaming his name. Even my dad is piercing ears with that whistle of his.

For the last two songs, Isaac comes out and puts his all into them. They are the crowd’s favorites. The ones everyone fell in love with years ago when he was just an indie performer, hustling on social media and in small bars and venues. These are the songs that captured hearts. They certainly captured mine.

I can almost remember where I was the first time I heard them. I knew there was something special about him even then. The lyrics captivated my soul and spoke to me in a way no other songs ever had. He speaks about the struggles of living in a way that makes them both relatable and beautiful at the same time. Who knew songs about loneliness and depression could also have a good beat you could dance to.

Isaac is a prodigy. He’s a miracle. Quite simply, he’s the greatest person I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing, and I’m the lucky bastard who somehow gets to call him mine.

After the show, his entire family and I head toward the backstage area. The security guards wave us all through and we wait in a group for Isaac to run out after his final bow.

His mother is crying as she watches him from the wings. And when he finally runs off after his final bow, I stand back and watch everyone swarm him with love. My heart swells at the sight. He deserves this.

He almost missed this. Who would be standing here for him if he hadn’t gone back home? Who would be here if I hadn’t gone to that show where we met? I’ve never been more grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given than I am right now as I bask in the happiness on his face.

After hugging his entire family, he spots me. I’m itching to hold him again, so I don’t hesitate. I pull him into a tight embrace. I kiss the side of his face and breathe in the musk of his sweat-soaked body. I want him exactly like this.

I don’t care that there are people around. I pull Isaac’s face to mine again and kiss him because I can. Out here in the open. Only slightly less public than the one during the concert. This time, I lick the seam of his mouth and he parts his lips for me. When our tongues collide, I feel whole again for the first time in months.

His hands grip my sides as he pulls me toward him. When he moans into my mouth, I know that if we don’t stop now, we’re going to cause a real scene. And neither of us wants to go to jail tonight.

“Get a room,” Sadie calls after us, and we peel our mouths apart.

“Where are you staying tonight?” he whispers, gazing into my eyes.

I chuckle because it reminds me of our days on the road, but we’re not on the road tonight. We live here.

“Where are you staying tonight?” I reply. Winding my hand around his waist, I slide my finger into one of his belt loops and jerk him toward me.

As he runs his fingers through the overgrown hair at the back of my neck, he winks with a seductive smile. “Between your body and my bed. All night.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” I mutter before leaning in and kissing him again.

“There’s an after-party at my place,” he says as he gazes into my eyes.

“Good.” I smirk before running the back of my hand along the stubble of his jaw. He leans into my touch and it sends heat down my spine.

“All right, seriously, you two,” Luke mutters as he leans close to us. “Mom is here, and she wants a picture of all of us together.”

“Shit, yeah. Good idea, Mom,” Isaac says as he links his hand with mine. His entire family huddles together while the bassist takes someone’s phone. Isaac wouldn’t let me out of his grasp if I tried. So I stand slightly behind him. He slings his other arm around Luke and we all squeeze in close.

Smiling brightly with Isaac in my arms, I can’t remember the last time life felt this good.

The crowd out back waiting for Isaac is like nothing I’ve ever seen. His entire family is escorted to their cars while Isaac and I are ushered together toward a black SUV. The security team clearly doesn’t want him stopping to talk to the massive crowd, but Isaac digs his feet into the ground when the big guys in black shirts try to push him forward.

I adore his boldness as he beelines straight for the crowd behind the rope. They scream his name as he comes toward them. One girl starts crying immediately as he signs her album. Another one reaches out, just wanting to touch him. He takes a few selfies with them as I stand at a distance and watch.

“Can he get in it too?” one couple asks. My eyes widen as Isaac waves me over.

“You want to?” he asks.

“Me?”

“You did kiss me in front of the entire world.” He laughs as he grabs my hand and tugs me into the horde. We pose for a few selfies and fans are clearly excited for just a fraction of his time. They snap pictures of me, even when I’m not expecting it. And when I lean in close to Isaac, they nearly lose their minds.

Fame is weird. It’s like some small part of him belongs to his fans. They crave his attention or an iota of his life, but as someone who started out as his fan, I get it. I wanted to be in Theo Virgil’s realm too. Although, now I have to say I prefer Isaac Goode even more.

“All right, I gotta go,” he says, waving to everyone he didn’t get to speak to. They call out his name, telling him how much they love him as he intertwines his fingers with mine and walks with me toward the SUV.

Security opens the door for us and we quickly shuffle inside. The moment it closes and we’re nearly alone—except for the driver—Isaac buries his face in my neck. I hold him against me in the back seat, squeezing him so tight it’s as if I can squeeze out all the time we’ve been apart. If I hold him tight enough, it’ll be like those weeks away never happened.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” he whispers.

“I didn’t want to overshadow your big day,” I reply, stroking the side of his face.

“You don’t overshadow anything, Jensen. You make everything better.”

With that, I tip his face up toward me and I kiss him softly and quietly.

“I missed you so much,” I mumble against his mouth when our kiss comes to an end.

“I missed you more,” he replies with a smirk. “I kept a notepad on my phone; it’s full of all the things I wanted to tell you. It’s very, very long.”

I chuckle before leaning in for another kiss. “I can’t wait to hear it all.”

After a moment of heavy silence, Isaac looks into my eyes. “Did you get all the time you need? How are you feeling?”

It makes me smile to see how empathetic he is. “I am much better. I wouldn’t have come back to you if I wasn’t ready, I promise.”

“I’ll do whatever you need,” he replies. “Anything.”

I settle him on my chest and rest my chin on his head. “Right now, this is all I need.”