Page 131 of Becoming Us
With a final crash of the cymbals and a dramatic flourish, the song ended. I opened my eyes to find his face in the crowd, cheering and clapping—and not just him, so many more behind him, doing the same.
Forus.
A burn prickled behind my eyes, overwhelmed by the sheer joy pounding through me.
“Told you it was something special. Noah Rossi, everybody,” Paxton called out, pulling me out of my daze. Our eyesmet, and he grinned. Really grinned. I’d never seen him this happy. His expression was almost maniacal—matching the wild exhilaration I knew was echoed in my own.
Holy fuck, we did that.
He gave me a quick nod before turning back to the crowd.
And then we played. And kept playing—driven by the roar of applause, by adrenaline, bythose eyesin the crowd that set me on fire every time I caught them.
With each song, my confidence built. The rhythm locked in tighter. The energy synced. We were a unit—flawless and fast, feeding off each other until the final number had the whole place shaking.
We took our bows. Hugged it out backstage, breathless and buzzing.
But my mind had already zeroed in on one thing.
Getting to Atty.
As soon as I spotted him weaving his way toward me, I didn’t think—I ran. And the second he was close enough, I threw my arms around his neck, holding on like I never wanted to let go.
Atty held on to my waist, hugging me close as he lifted me off the ground.
“That was amazing,” he whispered into my ear.
“Did you see that? I can’t fucking believe I did that, Atty.” I tightened my grip around his neck, heart still pounding.
“I did. All of it. I didn’t know you were going to sing. It was incredible. Everything—you. It was perfect.”
Our words tumbled over each other in a rush, like we couldn’t speak fast enough to keep up with the adrenaline. My heart was still beating out of sync, impossible to calm.
He set me down gently and cupped my face, pressing his forehead to mine. “I’m so proud of you.”
My eyes burned at his words, but before I could even close them, his lips found mine. A soft army of kisses landed, one afterthe other, broken only by the low hum of praise he whispered between them.
I tugged on his wrists, guiding him back until my shoulders hit the wall behind me.
“I’ve never felt anything like it, I swear,” I told him.
His hands slid inside my shirt, rising from my waist to my ribs, his eyes chasing the same route until they caught on my face.“You look incredible too.” The heat behind his stare crashed into me full force.
I pulled him back in, crushing our mouths together. This time the kiss was harder, hungrier, with leftover charge that needed an outlet. Atty kissed me back like he needed it just as badly, but it wasn’t the same as before. This wasn’t anxious or frantic—it wasus, lit up in the most electric way.
My fingers tangled in his shirt, then in his hair, tugging him closer as his palms swept across my back, searing warmth wherever they touched.
“Hey, lovebirds.”
We broke apart, breathless, and turned to the sound of Jaden’s voice.
He watched us with a crooked smile. “I totally get and approve of the after-show horniness, but the boss is calling.” He gestured to the dressing room, where Paxton stood, arms crossed, nodding while talking to some guy.
I pressed a quick kiss to Atty’s cheek before stretching up and nibbling at his ear. “We’ll definitely revisit this later.”
He answered with another lingering kiss.
With his arm slung over my shoulders, we made our way to the dressing room. It was ridiculously cramped, now also filled with Jaden’s girlfriend, Lexie, plus Holly, Ezra, and Colin.
