Page 460 of Rock Me All Night
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We swimin circles as the sun sets. Orange bleeds across the sky, casting the house in a beautiful glow. It sinks lower, the sky goes red, then the sun is gone, swallowed up by the horizon, and everything is a serene shade of indigo.
It's quiet here. Much more quiet than what I imagined.
Tom slides his arms around me. We're still naked, and he's still as sexy as the day is long, but there's more to the gesture than heat. There's affection. Love.
The words already want out of my throat. But I can't say them now, not with all this weight hanging around his shoulders. I press my eyelids together and soak in the feeling of Tom's chest against my back, his neck against my cheek. His skin is soft but his muscles are hard. I can feel them flexing against me as he shifts his weight, as he breathes.
Love might chase him away. Might end this for good. And then I'll have to spend the next month as miserable as I was at the last show. The pictures I took were total shit. I can't do that. I can't waste this opportunity.
Okay, I'm scared. I'm looking for excuses. I'm the one who told him this relationship was worth the risk of getting hurt. Maybe the words can wait. Maybe they don't matter as much as being with him.
"You're off someplace," Tom says. "Good or bad?"
Both. I turn around and stare into his gorgeous green eyes. Can my gaze say it for me? I try.I love you. Nothing in his expression changes. It's that same intense affection.
Screw the eyes. I let my lids flutter together and raise to my tip toes to kiss him. His lips are chapped from swimming all afternoon. He tastes like chlorine. And like Tom.
His kiss is that same intense affection. When it breaks, I can barely breathe. That wasn't enough. I need to tell him.I love you, Tom. I practice it in my head, but I can't do it. Not today.
Not tomorrow.
Not until after he knows whether or not his mom is going to be okay.
It's an excuse, I know, but it feels right.
Tom cups my cheek. "You hungry?"
"Yeah." Now that I think about it, I'm starving.
He leads me to the pool's steps and helps me out. "Let's order something. You want Indian or Thai?"
"Let's cook."
"Not sure we have much actual food. Mostly it's snacks. There hasn't been much cooking since Miles and Drew moved out."
"They used to live here?"
"Yeah." Tom leads me into the kitchen. He nods to the ceiling above the fridge. "Technically, that's still Miles's room." He points to the ceiling on the other side of the room. "And that's still Drew's. Our label rented this place for us way back when. Whoever was in charge of kicking us out forgot to do it."
"You live here rent free?" I ask.
He wraps his arms around me. "Yeah."
"Damn. Rock stars get all the breaks."
"You can stay here. If you decide to move to Los Angeles after the tour."
I look up into his eyes. "Really?"
"Yeah... till you find your own place."
Oh. I don't expect him to invite me to move in with him. We've only been in a not even official relationship for a few days.
I break his hug. Damn, where is my dress? I can't have this conversation naked. I excuse myself to the living room, find my suitcase, and change into the first acceptable outfit I can put together—a skirt and a tank top, underwear but no bra.
Tom follows me into the living room. He leans against the wall, utterly comfortable with his lack of clothing, and stares at me.
