Page 110 of Tight End

My breath hitches when I catch Sam’s eye in the mirror.He’s dressed in all black, and with his dark hair, bronze skin, and heated gaze, he makes me want to strip down and bend over the arm of the couch.

We exchange a secret smile and I know he’s thinking the exact same thing.

“You ready?” he asks.

“Yep.”

There’s a knock at the door and Tyler pokes his head inside. “It’s time.” Then he winks at me. “Let’s roll.”

I give him a little nod and fix the sides of my black shirt.

“Are there enough holes in your jeans?” Sam asks me, staring at my legs.

“Easy access for later,” I murmur so only he can hear me.

Sam’s dad shakes my hand and brings me in for a quick hug when I walk out. Mandee’s eyes are wet with tears. I lace my fingers with Sam’s and walk with him backstage. There’s a chair set up right behind the curtain. Mandee and Bill wave, and Ben is waiting to escort them to their seats in the front row. They don’t usually stay close to the stage, but tonight is a special night.

Lane swoops down on us. “Every fucking song, bro. I can’t believe it!”

Tonight is the opening show for theUnbreakabletour, and four songs off our new album are sitting at the top of the charts. It’s unheard of for the label, to have a band with that many hits at one time.

But each one we’ve released has gone viral almost immediately.

It’s like each one was sprinkled with some magical music fairy dust.

Okay, maybe that fairy dust shit is the influence of my three-year-old niece, but you get thepicture.

Aiden and Dak jog over to us. “Full house. Let’s rock this thing.”

I guide Sam toward the chair. “Hang here, okay?”

“Why?” He waggles his eyebrows. “I love your ass, but I’d rather see you from the front when you perform.”

“Don’t worry. I promise your view will be perfect.” I give him a wink and Tyler gives me a thumbs up behind Sam’s back.

We usually run on stage and slam on our guitars to introduce the first song.

But tonight, I’m doing things a little bit backward.

We run onto the stage and the Sun Arena practically shakes from the screaming.

Best fucking sound I’ve ever heard.

I grab the microphone off the stand and hold it to my lips.

“What’s up, Oakland,” I bellow. “This is a really special night for us. You wanna know why?”

Deafening cheers make my ears ring.

“It’s because of you. The fans who made our music fucking rocket. And tonight we wanna sing you all a little song called Love-Hate.” I smile when the crowd goes absolutely fucking nuts. “My boyfriend Sam Hartley was the inspiration for this song. And you guys made it a number one hit!”

The music erupts around us, sucking us deep into the moment. And like always, the words make my heart dance and sing just as hard and just as loud as I do into the mic.

Couldn’t look you in the face or listen to your voice

Didn’t like the words you said, would have left given the choice

But something shifted, don’t know how or when

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