Page 155 of Take What You Want

“You look sexy tonight,” Jane says, running his hands down my chest and smoothing my shirt along the way.

“Just tonight?” I tease.

She pats me playfully. “Always seeking validation, pretty boy.” She presses a kiss to my lips, then wipes away the bit of lipstick she transfers.

“You look breathtaking as always.” I wind my hands around her lower back and tickle the exposed skin there. Her black, sparkly dress is backless with a high neckline in the front. She paired it with red heels that match the color of my shirt tonight. When I asked if she did that on purpose as we were getting dressed, she gave me a coy smile and sank to her knees, getting me off before I threw her on the bed and made us late for my album release party.

“I can’t believe it’s finally here,” I say wistfully as I look around at all the people gathered to celebrate tonight. An excited energy charges the room as people mingle and drink ahead of my private performance of a few select singles tonight.

“It’s your moment,” she says, looking up at me with so much admiration. “Soak it in.”

I am. Every single second of it. There was a brief, terrifying time when I thought I wouldn’t make it here. That maybe my reputation wouldn’t be able to survive the scandal or that I couldn’t do this without Walker, Hayden, and Reid.

But Arun was right. People love the fact that I’m with Walker’s sister more than they remember the short-term relationship I had with Kerra. It’s a blip in my timeline at this point and for the most part, it seems like everyone has moved on.

As far as my bandmates go, I still miss making music with them. I poured my everything into this solo album and I’m so incredibly proud of it, but as I’m gearing up to tour it across the country in the upcoming months, I wish nothing more than they could be with me.

Jane senses the melancholy shift my mind has taken. “They’re all still here to support you tonight, even if you’re doing this on your own.”

“I know.” I glance over her shoulder and spot Hayden and Carter gathered around one of the bar tops, eating the appetizers being passed around and chatting away with my brother. Reid’s off to the side, talking with Arun, but I saw him greet them all when he arrived.

Baby steps.

“It’s just hard to picture creating two more whole albums by myself.” My contract is for three and although I’m already eager to start writing the next, I still miss the days where it was the four of us creating them.

Jane brushes a lock of hair back from my forehead. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“The lawyer is telling me I don’t have to abide by a contract?” I poke her side, and she giggles.

“No, I’m saying that your girlfriend was smart enough to have some foresight to create a little bit of…wiggle roomin that contract.”

My lips part in surprise, before curling into a grin. “You smart, clever woman.” I kiss her and she tangles her fingers in my shirt.

She won’t be my girlfriend for much longer. I have plans to make this woman my fiancée very,verysoon.

“You two want to get a room, or are you trying to bait Walker into punching you again?” Reid drawls as he strides up to us. We break apart and Jane rolls her eyes at him.

“I’m not usually an instigator of violence. I leave that to you,” she snarks.

Reid raises his glass incheers.

“No one’s punching anyone,” I say. It took almost a month until Walker wanted to sit down with me and Jane to talk. By that point, most of his anger had washed instead and all that was left was hurt that we had lied to him.

Things aren’t back to where they were, but he’s come around on the idea of us together and doesn’t cringe every time we touch each other in his presence anymore. Plus, he’s got his own shit with Scar so he hasn’t had the energy to hold onto the grudge.

“I’m going to go chat with them for a bit,” Jane says, looking past Reid’s shoulder toward Hayden, Carter, and Milo. With a chaste kiss, Jane is off and I watch her retreating back the entire way. That dress clings to ass in a way that has my palm twitching.

“Glad he could make it out here,” Reid says in reference to Milo. “How long is he visiting for?”

“I don’t know,” I groan. I love my brother, but he’s already been living in our house for two weeks and doesn’t show signs of wanting to leave. “His vacation is turning into a temporary residence.”

“He needs a kick in the ass.”

“Always one for a delicate approach.”

Reid shrugs. But as much as he’s putting a bit of a damper on my spontaneous sex life with Jane around our house, I’m happy to have him here. Neither of my parents came out for tonight. I haven’t spoken with either of them in the last few months, and honestly, I don’t see that changing.

These people here, my friends, are my family.

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