Page 59 of I Need You Tonight
Chapter 20
Nicole
It didn’t take me long to get into the rhythm of touring. The days were all pretty much the same. Long hours on the bus. Interviews. Screaming fans. Late nights. Random soccer games between the band and the roadies whenever we could squeeze them in. The sole difference was that each night was spent in a new city. But as Mason had warned, we never got to see much, rushing from one location to the next.
Not that I regretted my decision to join the guys. Even after nine weeks on the road with them, I was having a great time. Nolan, Jared, Kirk, and Aaron had become like brothers to me.
Mason, not so much.
We still hadn’t had sex since September, on the last night of the band’s break. Instead, before they were due onstage Mason and I would disappear for a few minutes to make out—all for the benefit of the fans, mind you. Even though Mason was still restless compared to when he was staying at my house—especially since I knew he wasn’t hooking up with groupies or anyone else—the kissing seemed to help. And given that it was the only time I allowed us to kiss, I craved the moment like a flower craved the rain—more so with each passing day I spent touring with them.
The hallway we’d disappeared down was empty, like every time we slipped away from the band to do this. His hands rested on my waist, and every nerve in my body felt alive.
This wasn’t the same feeling you got when the man you lusted for touched you, and all you wanted was for him to fuck you until your body shattered around him. No, this was more than that. It was like being cocooned in a warm, soft blanket on a cold winter day. It was heaven.
I sank into him, and let him consume me as I consumed him. Our kisses weren’t pure hunger anymore. They were now sweeter. Sweeter, but at the same time still hot.
My tongue glided against his, and I moaned. I was completely done for. The man who didn’t have all of the characteristics on my list of what a perfect man needed—other than that he was kind and sweet, had a great sense of humor, was honest, and had no bad addictions—had become the man I was in love with.
Fine—maybe I was willing to ignore the parts about him not being a professional (like a dentist or a doctor or an accountant) and having tattoos.
But there were two things I couldn’t ignore. First, he wasn’t the kind of guy who’d settle down and have a family. And second, his life revolved around his job. Thanks to his touring schedule, I wouldn’t get to see him much. It wasn’t easy for both Hailey and Callie when it came to the men they loved, but they made the best of the situation. They were better people than me—I knew I could never live like that.
Not that it made a difference. Other than our kissing, there was nothing to indicate that what we had between us was going anywhere.
“Break a leg,” I murmured, my lips so close to his, we were sharing the same breath.
He laughed. “I’ll try not to, but thanks for the sentiment.”
We returned to the room where the band and Callie were waiting. She had flown in that afternoon to join Jared for the weekend, since the tour was spending two nights in New York City and we were staying in a hotel. Logan was with Jared’s parents in L.A.
Callie was sitting on Jared’s lap, and he didn’t look like he was ready to let go of her anytime soon, his arms tight around her. He’d been restless for the past week, unable to wait any longer to see his wife.
Mason and I sat next to Nolan on the couch, Mason took his smartphone out of his back pocket and opened the crossword-puzzle app he had downloaded a few weeks ago. “Five-letter word for ‘snooze,’ ” he said to me. Nolan, Kirk, and Aaron were busy debating where to eat after the show.
I pulled my feet onto the couch and wrapped my arms around my legs. What I really longed to do was straddle Mason’s hips, but that hardly seemed professional.
Not that the narrow gap separating us could be considered professional either. We were in each other’s personal space…just so I could help him solve the crossword puzzle. Or so I liked to tell myself.
“Sleep,” I replied, after working through a few possibilities in my head.
He entered the word into the app. “Correct.”
“And the crowd goes wild at my sheer brilliance.” I faked a fanfare.
“As if there was any doubt.” Mason’s dazzling smile had my heart doing a quick little happy dance. That was the same reaction his smile always got whenever it was leveled in my direction.
My life would be so much emptier once that smile was no longer part of my day.
He bumped my shoulder with his, and my body buzzed with need. In the nine weeks I’d been touring with the guys, that hadn’t changed. If anything, the more time I’d spent with him, the more my body reacted to him. I’d never felt this way about a guy before—comfortable around him and at the same time hyperaware of everything about him.
We continued working on our crossword puzzle until it was time for the guys to go onstage. Then Callie and I escorted them to the stage entrance. We hung back as they climbed up the metal steps, and had to cover our ears at the screams and cheers as the first beat of Mason’s drums filled the arena.
“If this is what it’s like when they’re just the opening act,” I said, “can you imagine what it will be like when they’re headlining?”
She laughed. “I’m afraid to.”
From our location offstage, we could pretty much see the show. Despite how many times I had seen it during the past nine weeks, I had yet to grow bored of watching them in concert. If anything, I’d become addicted to the nightly performance.
