Page 96 of My Song for You
Callie
My phone pinged from my purse as I drove down the interstate from San Francisco. My heartthump-thump-thumped a fast pace the entire way, and it had nothing to do with my family dying on this same road.
My heart was racing me back to L.A. solely because of Jared.
He and the band were leaving next week for their promo blitz tour, and then, according to their announcement three hours ago, they were opening for Endless Motion’s extensive U.S. tour. If I didn’t tell him soon how I felt, it would be a while before I got to tell him face-to-face.
The sun had long since disappeared below the horizon when I arrived at Jared’s building. I parked my car, jogged to the front door, and buzzed his apartment. No one answered. Hailey had told me the band was flying back home tonight after the show. I hadn’t thought to ask her when exactly they were due to land.
There was no guarantee he was even coming straight home, but it was a chance I had to take.
I sat on a nearby bench. The area was well lit and the neighborhood decent, but that didn’t stop my body from switching to fight-and-flight mode at the sounds sneaking up on me—every rustle of the leaves, every footstep, every car engine that hummed past.
I reached into my purse. My hand brushed against the velvet box next to my phone.
Jared had texted,Thinking about you.How are you?His words warmed me on the inside, a marshmallow in hot chocolate. By now he would know that I hadn’t stuck around to see him perform. He didn’t know I had actually watched him—and realized how big an idiot I’d been for not seeing it sooner. He loved me like I loved him. That thought, along with a gallon of coffee, had kept me awake on the long drive home.
I removed the velvet box from my purse and opened it. The silver glinted in the glow from the streetlight behind me. I fingered the fine chain and the silver guitar pick, a symbol of my love for him.
After the band left the TV station, I told Samantha something had come up and I needed to return to L.A. I left her place and drove straight to a nearby mall, where I bought the pendant for Jared.
I pulled my hoodie around me, and thanked God we lived in L.A. and not Chicago. Otherwise I’d’ve been sitting there in a winter coat and still shivering.
A car door slammed shut. I glanced down the path to the road. A cab was parked there, but that wasn’t what caused the air in my lungs to pause.
The dark-haired, dimpled guitarist standing there with his gaze locked on me was the one to blame for the way my lungs had temporarily ceased functioning. He walked slowly toward me, as if certain I was nothing more than an illusion that might vanish in a puff of smoke if he moved any faster.
During the drive from San Francisco, I’d been busy deciding what I would say to him. Some attempts had been witty. Others had been the equivalent of three Kleenex boxes of emotional. There was even the version where I got down on my knee and proposed to him.
But after spending hours practicing exactly what I longed to say, I forgot it all the moment he stepped out of the cab. Instead, I closed the distance between us, gazed at his heart-melting eyes for a second, then crashed my lips against his…and let everything I had to tell him be revealed through the kiss.
His arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me closer. All those practiced words in my head meant nothing, truth be told. But this—the kiss, the way he held me, the love between us—was perfect. Any doubts I might have had? Evaporated.
Eventually I shifted away and rested my forehead against his. Our breaths came fast and hard, and it took a minute for me to slow my breathing enough for me to utter the words I did need to say. His arms remained around my waist. My hands stayed threaded in his hair.
“Jared Michael Leigh.” My voice was soft but certain. “Will you marry me?”
A slow, sexy smile curled onto his full, kissable lips. “Yes, I would love to.”
And then we were kissing again…until kissing wasn’t enough.
How we made it upstairs with all our clothes still on was beyond me, but they certainly didn’t stay on once we entered his apartment. Somewhere between the front door and his bed, my shoes, socks, jeans, and T-shirt had left my body. His clothes had suffered the same fate.
Jared kissed me again, but this time the kisses were gentle and unassuming. Which was funny given our state of undress. If anything, you’d have thought we’d be ravishing each other at this point.
That’s not to say I didn’t want to. Eventually.
I smiled against his lips. “I love you, Jared. I’ve been in love with you since I was seventeen. I don’t think I ever stopped loving you.” I brushed my mouth against his and continued along his jaw. The stubble there teased the tip of my tongue as I forged a path to below his ear. I gently nipped him. His answering moan stirred me. And the mere thought of what he could do to my body almost had me coming in my panties.
“God, I’ve missed you,” he murmured against my ear. “And I’m not saying that because I’m about to make love to you.”
Good thing I was holding on to him, because my knees gave way at his words. “I’ve missed you too. More than you can possibly imagine.”
He tenderly traced his fingers down my arm. “Are we going to be okay? I mean, when I go on tour?” Hope filled his beautiful brown eyes.
I smiled and caressed his face, the movement soft but reassuring. “I know we will. I’m not saying it’ll be easy, but as long as we trust each other, we’ll be fine.”
That gave him the measure of reassurance he needed, and with it came the kisses I craved. His mouth devoured mine, his tongue creating havoc against my own. He guided me back onto the bed. His fiery gaze consumed me, igniting the heat between my legs.
