Page 32 of Finding Emotion

“Tell me.” A sleepy sigh escaped her. “About your ex.”

Damon’s pulse pounded like it always did when Karyn rose in his thoughts. He hadn’t spoken about her, even to the guys. In the dark, with the moonlight falling on them where they lay, he told Skylar. He talked about how he hadn’t realized what she was doing to him, the steady chipping away at his confidence with each sneer or negative remark. Karyn had often laughed at him, reminding him of his own shared memories of what a nerd he’d been.

“I was an honor roll student back in high school,” Damon admitted. “Straight As in every subject, though math was my favorite.”

Skylar’s fingers rubbed the back of his neck. “Makes sense. Music is math.”

His hands paused in surprise that she shared his own idea about music before continuing their swirling massage. “The dweebiest part was my body. I was too skinny, with sticklike arms and legs. I didn’t get bullied as much as my friend Blake, but I faced my share. The other boys got bored because I was too easy.” Damon laughed as he remembered how he’d gone down with a single punch. “Still, it led me to Malcolm, so it wasn’t all bad. Mal could never stand it when someone was bullied. I’m still shocked he graduated, what with how often he got suspended.”

She hummed in her throat as her hands slid over his shoulders. “You’re not so bony now.”

Damon liked the way her hands stroked him, and he shifted her hips away from him as he grew hard. “Yeah, well, I worked at it. Still do.” It wasn’t all running. Damon focused on weights when he could.

“Your hands are good too.” Her head shifted against his chest, as if burrowing into a pillow, as her hands slipped off his shoulders to rest against the carpet. “Your massages are amazing.”

“That’s because of my mom. I spent a lot of time with her when she was in the hospital. Scalp massages helped the most, but the chemo often made her hurt all over. My love of music came from that time.”

“How so?” Skylar’s low, husky murmur seemed to weave into the peaceful calm that had surrounded them.

“It was another coping mechanism I had read about. The treatments were long, but it was so hard for her to concentrate during them. We shared headphones. I started with classical, and was fascinated by the pattern that formed with each song. My mom preferred words, though, and we switched to rock soon enough. Older stuff, though.”

“Shit, don’t tell me. Manilow?”

Damon chuckled. “No, not him. My mom liked Heart and Captain & Tennille; then she developed a soft spot for The Rolling Stones and some Aerosmith. I didn’t care what we listened to, as long as she wore that hint of a smile.”

“Momma’s boy.”

There wasn’t a sneer in it this time, though maybe Skylar was too tired for that.

“It’s true. I was.” Damon blinked away the warmth in his eyes. “I still miss her.”

Skylar was silent. Damon wondered if she’d drifted off, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop the steady strokes along her back, not yet. It was as if they had stepped out of time. With the energy Skylar normally exhibited, he hadn’t pictured her as capable of stillness. But apparently she ran until she crashed, as this was the second time she’d ended up in his arms.

Damon didn’t hate it.

“How’d things end?” she asked. Her head shifted, and it seemed as if she’d had an itch along her nose with the way she rubbed it against his chest.

“The cancer took her.” That had been so long ago now.

“Nuh-uh. The ex,” Skylar clarified, relaxing against him again.

“Oh. Turned out, she was more into another guy in the band. He could sing, too, though he played bass at the time, and I got ditched.”

“That was Come Together?” she asked.

Damon blinked up at the ceiling. “I didn’t realize you followed my career.”

She just hummed again, her body softening even more under his ministrations.

“It worked out. I struck out under my own name after that. And here I am.” Damon would have never guessed he’d be lying on the ground holding a rock star like Skylar against him and contemplating sleep.

Her breathing grew even, the soft sound making his own eyelids heavy. His hands stilled but didn’t move away from her as he slowly nodded off.

Chapter 15

Skylar woke up more relaxed than she’d been in a long time. Of course, she’d actually slept through the night, on top of passing out for most of the afternoon the day before.

She used her hands to lift up enough to study Damon’s face. He had stubble, though it didn’t make his cheeks look any tougher. No, his arched nose, gorgeous cheekbones, and full eyelashes were all heartthrob. He didn’t snore either, which just wasn’t fair.

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