Page 127 of Hope & Harmony

I tilted my head, a shiver running through me as he kissed down the side of my throat. “If by ‘let’s shower’ you mean we’re showering together, I like this new plan.”

In reply, he flashed me a dirty grin, grabbed my wrist, and pulled me towards the door.

CHAPTER 5

CURTIS

“You know, we’ve been dating for three months now, if we count our first date as the first time I came to watch your band play.”

I came to a stop at the foot of the Millennium Bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral behind us, and turned to Jaxon, a smile spreading across my face. “It’s been three months already?”

“Yeah.” Sliding his fingers through mine, he led me over to the side of the bridge, down the steps, and stopped next to the river Thames. Releasing my hand, he leaned in, giving me one of his soft kisses that gave me fucking butterflies every time. “I was thinking it was time to make things official.”

“Official, how?”

His lips curved upwards. “I’d like to officially call you my boyfriend.”

Boyfriends. I wanted that so badly, but there was still so much I didn’t know about him. He refused to talk about the events that had led him to come to the UK, or his previous career, changing the subject every time I brought it up. He didn’t have any form of social media, either, so I had no clues about his recent past. I didn’t want to push him, but I also couldn’t help feeling like he just didn’t trust me enough to share important parts of his life with me.

But then again…there was so much Ididknow. I knew he was kind and generous, and he was so easy to talk to. Aside from the off-limits subjects, we could talk for hours about anything and everything, and we’d shared so much with each other. Tom and Huxley had been teaching him to play the guitar, too, and he’d started penning song lyrics in a battered notebook he’d taken to carrying around with him, matching the lyrics with guitar chords and coming up with simple melodies that he played for me as he sang. His kisses were so fucking addictive, and the sex was out of this world. But waking up next to him, seeing him all sleepy and vulnerable with his arm slung over my chest, was my favorite thing.

The truth was, I was falling for Jaxon Messier hard and fast, and I’d be a fool to give him up. I just had to hope that eventually, he’d realize he could trust me with everything there was to know about him.

“Boyfriends.” Turning to face the river, I leaned my elbows on the low stone wall. The water glittered in front of me, and on the other side of the Thames, I could make out the Tate Modern with crowds of people milling around outside, enjoying the mild weather. “I’d like that.”

His arms slid around my waist, and he placed a kiss on the nape of my neck. “Good. Then it’s settled.”

Tugging my phone from my pocket, I unlocked the screen and held it up. “Selfie to document the moment. Just for us—I won’t share it anywhere.”

He hooked his chin over my shoulder, pressing a kiss to my jaw as I took the photo. “Sorry. I know… Fuck, Curtis, I know I’m?—”

Twisting my head, I cut him off with a kiss. “It’s okay. I hope that one day you’ll be able to trust that I’d never?—”

“I do trust you. I think I trust you more than anyone, other than my dad. It’s just…there are so many things I want to tell you, but I don’t know how.”

Turning to face him properly, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “Jax, listen to me. I’m not putting any pressure on you.”

He sighed against me. “You’re incredible.”

“So are you,” I reminded him softly. “I like you so much. You know that, right?”

A cool breeze ruffled his dark hair, blowing it across his forehead as he nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

After our conversation, Jaxon had been extra attentive, taking every excuse to touch me as we made our way across the bridge and through the Tate Modern, and the smile had never left his face. The butterflies in my stomach had developed into a swarm, and now we were strolling along the riverside with his fingers wrapped around mine, I’d never felt happier.

My life was so good. I got to be a drummer in a band with people I’d clicked with from the moment we’d first played together, I was doing well in my degree course, and I loved living in London.

But Jaxon? He was the delicious icing on the cake. Something I hadn’t even known was missing until I had it. A man who had connected with me right from the start, and who had rapidly become such an important part of my life.

“Jay Bowman!”

The high-pitched screech from our left made me jump, but it was nothing compared to the effect it had on Jaxon. His entire body froze, his fingers stiffening in my grip, his eyes turningwild and panicked before he took a deep, shuddering breath and shuttered his expression.

“It is you! Isn’t it? You disappeared, and no one knew where you’d gone, andomgyou’re in disguise, right? We won’t say anything, we swear! We love you! Troy sold you out! No, Mizar did! They didn’t deserve you!”

The breathless excitement from the teenage girl clutching her friend’s arm, both staring at Jaxon in complete awe, had my gaze swinging between the three of them, my brain scrambling to make sense of what was happening.

That was when Jaxon ripped his hand away from mine, gasping like he couldn’t get enough air in his lungs.

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