Page 61 of Wild Obsession

“Yeah, ‘surreal’ is the right word,” he says. “I don’t know if this feels more like a dream I can’t believe is real or like we’re seventeen but no one is ripping you out of my car this time around.”

“I guess it’s a bit of both.”

If my mother never found us, would our lives have been like this? Would we have left Baltimore together to escape our families and the restrictions they placed upon us? Would we have dated like normal people in our twentiesinstead of waiting all this time? We’ll never know for sure, yet this glorious morning holds a sweet, precious hint of what could have been.

“Either way,” I say, “I don’t want to waste another second. We’ve waited long enough.”

Keannen smirks down at me. “So eager. When are you going to have time to be a famous rockstar?”

“When are you?” I counter.

“We’ll see about that one. You’re the one in the big famous band. Baptism Emperor is still living in your shadow.”

I shake my head. “Not after this tour. Everyone saw how amazing you are. This is going to be your shot, I know it.”

Something tense settles between us. We both know that if I’m right (and I’m pretty sure I’m right) Keannen’s life could change quite dramatically quite soon. If both of us have tour schedules and interviews and albums to work on, as well as press on our asses, this fragile new thing between us could face a lot of scrutiny. We haven’t even begun yet and we’re already facing major challenges.

I don’t realize I’ve cast my eyes down until Keannen sets a finger under my chin and tilts my head up.

“We’ll figure it out,” he says. “Whatever comes next, it’ll be fine. Do you really think I’m going to let anything get in my way now that I have you?”

A smile quirks my mouth despite my worries. “No, you definitely won’t.”

“Exactly. So stop worrying about it. Start worrying about how you’re going to keep it together between here and Seattle.”

I blink. “What?”

“You don’t think I’m not going to text you every filthy thought that crosses my mind in the next two days, do you?”

I can’t stop blinking. I didn’t spare a second for the rest of our journey, but of course he’s going to torment me. We’ll be stuck on separate buses. I’ll have nowhere to hide.

“Oh God, our bandmates have no idea what happened last night,” I say.

He scowls. “I know. We’ll deal with it.”

He kisses me, and we finish up the shower far more soberly than we started it. We were in such a rush last night that we have nothing to wear but the clothes we walked in here wearing. They aren’t exactly the freshest, but in our defense, we’ve spent most of our time in this room naked, so they aren’t as bad as they could be. My actual change of clothes, as well as all of my toiletries, are in the room I was supposed to share with Cameron.

When Keannen and I finally leave our motel room, it comes as no surprise that both of our bands are standing outside waiting for us. They look over, and not a single one of them seems surprised.

Bastards.

“Finally awake?” Erin says.

“Finally awake, or is it more like finally out of bed?” oneof Keannen’s bandmates, Jacob, says.

I cringe, suddenly realizing how loud I was last night. Who was in the room next to ours? We were pretty far from my original room, so maybe it was the crew and not the people I have to look in the eye every single day for the rest of the drive home.

“Fuck off,” Keannen says. “You homophobic now or something?”

Jacob rolls his eyes. “Yeah, that’s why we’re annoyed, and not because we’re an hour behind schedule so you two can finally figure your shit out.”

“Hold on, finally?” I say.

Erin’s anger softens. Kelsey won’t meet my eyes. Cameron puts his hands in his pockets and shrugs.

“How long have you all known?” I nearly shout.

Cameron rubs at the back of his neck. Kelsey kicks a pebble across the parking lot.

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