Page 97 of Goodbye Note

How the fuck had he climbed over me to even get out?

I forced myself from the cubby, blinking as my eyes adjusted.

Arik sat with Serafin and Kiernan.

“Good morning,” Arik said, lifting his chin toward the coffee. “Kiernan just made a fresh pot.”

“What time is it?”

“Early. Ten. We’re here already.” Arik didn’t take his eyes off me.

“Why are you up so early?” I asked carefully when I really wanted to know how the hell he’d gotten out of the bunk, but I didn’t know how much he’d told his bandmates and his manager.

“I couldn’t sleep. Not a big deal. I was writing and needed coffee.”

I shouldn’t be surprised. My hand itched to check his journal entry.

I brought my mug over to sit next to him on one of the bench seats, looking over his shoulder at his phone, which was open to his journal page.

i believe in stardust today

Magic made wishes come true on shooting stars

long nights i never want to end

movie marathon of all the ones You’ve never seen

days chasing the Heat

sharing our best and worst mEmories

tattoos my pArents will kill me foR

buT i’d do anything for more marks on my skin

I lifted a brow, staring into his eyes.

“Like it?”

“Yes.”

He smiled. “Should I post it?”

I reached over him and hit the button. “Marks, eh? I think you’ve told me about those…”

He raised one shoulder, sitting back while pulling his knees into his chest. “I’m tired.”

“Go sleep. At least get a nap.”

* * *

We didn’t talk about the tattoos, but the guys noticed them. They noticed how much time we spent together, but they didn’t question that either. They let us do our thing. Maybe it was a well-known secret, and maybe it wasn’t, but we were happy and that was all that mattered.

If I thought Orlando had been bad, a thousand guys trekking through the South while humidity strangled the festival put everyone on edge. Even the most hardened roadies turned into assholes.

Busses became unbearable. Not only for the heat but the smell of six to ten guys sweating their balls off. We’d taken to sleeping on a blanket or in hammocks outside until our call time. But on nights like tonight, the air pressed in tight, stagnant and suffocating.

Neither Arik nor I could sleep. We laid out watching the stars and got no alone time.

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