Page 29 of Second to None

Moving out.

I hadn’t even packed the boxes myself. Some discreet company had come in while we were still on the road, wrapping up my life like it was just that easy. I did a final walk-through to make sure they hadn’t missed anything important and then walked out, leaving the gate remote and my heart behind.

“Come on, Lee.” Mason’s gentle voice made me blink dust out of my eyes.

“Right, yeah.” I nodded and unbuckled my seatbelt, taking another second to gather myself before I slid out into the morning heat.

We let ourselves in with Mason’s code for the front door. Would mine still work or had Cass deleted it from the system? I didn’t try.

Air-conditioned coolness hit. The entry hall smelled faintly of vanilla and cedar, unfamiliar. But the sculpture by the stairs was… Christ. Still the same. An oversized, spinning globe, its metal gleaming faintly in the low light as I stepped closer. I’d had it made for Cass’s nineteenth birthday, something to anchor us when the world felt too big. Rather than a perfect record of our travels, its surface was a collection of significance.

There was the bright red marker for Wembley, the night we’d played to an ocean of fans that didn’t seem to end, their screams still echoing somewhere in my chest. Tokyo had a silver pin with a note that said‘Lost in translation’for that time Cass and I had escaped our hotel to search the neon streets for a late-night ramen place. And then, just off to the side, was a small, almost inconspicuous mark on the US east coast.‘The bus,’it said in tiny, slanted letters that mimicked my handwriting.

The first time. We’d just finished another show, adrenaline still thrumming through us and the bus rocking slightly as we rumbled towards another city. Sprawled next to me on the couch, Cass had been leaning too close, his laughter wild and happy as we teased Mason about falling over and taking the mic stand with him. Between one word and the next, Cass had turned to me, quick and certain. He’d kissed me like it was the most natural thing in the world, like we’d done it a million times in his mind and this was just reality catching up.

In some ways, it had been inevitable. Months of late-night conversations and slow smiles, the way his touch would linger even as I held back, waiting for him to be sure. When it happened, it didn’t feel monumental. Just right.

Until it wasn’t.

I let my hand drop and forced myself to move along, walking the walnut floors of a place that used to be mine. Used to be ours.

CHAPTER8

Cass

Beverly Hills, Saturday, August 16th

It had been almost six years since I’d come home to an empty house, only gaps where Levi’s things had been. Over time, I’d filled the holes, but I hadn’t redecorated. All those bits and pieces he’d left behind—they were still right there, holding their breath.

Like the grand piano in the music room that he’d insisted on, even though he only played to make me laugh. Like the room itself, its arched French doors framing the pool and garden.

I made sure to appear busy when Levi walked in with Mason in tow, too scared of what I’d see in his eyes. Pity, maybe, for a guy who was holding on to a love long gone. Jace and Ellis had already settled in, Jace with one of my guitars on his lap as he went through slow, familiar chord progressions, clearly a bit rusty.

“Good morning!” Mason boomed, far louder than the space required. “We’rehere. Time to get this party started.”

“That’s the spirit!” Ellis waved from the floor, tucking his phone away. “Classics? Or do we try some new stuff?”

“Coffee,” Jace countered. “Thenclassics.”

“Valid,” Mason said.

“You know where stuff is.” I pointed toward the kitchen, still keeping my attention off Levi even though I noticed the awkward slant of his shoulders.

“What kind of host are you?” Jace asked, the protest moot since he’d already set the guitar aside, rolling to his feet.

“With guests? Gracious and detail-oriented.” I shrugged. “But you’re family. So, serve yourselves.”

“Next you’ll have me moving cinder blocks,” Mason muttered, only to throw his left arm around Ellis’s shoulders, his right around Jace’s, and then march them out of the room. Levi remained near the door.

Well,subtle. If that wasn’t orchestrated…

I inhaled and raised my eyes to meet Levi’s, reaching for a smile that wouldn’t quite fit. “Welcome back, huh?”

“Yeah.” His voice was quiet, a little rough. “It hasn’t changed much.”

“I’m sorry,” was the only thing that came to my mind, and he frowned.

“What for?”

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