Page 44 of Never Again (Never Blue)

I pinched her big toe, and she squealed, pulling it away from me. “Not nice.”

With a smile, I let my eyes roam over her one more time. She smiled back until she yawned. “Tired?” I asked.

“Yeah, but I don’t mind missing a little sleep.”

She might not have minded, but I saw how weary she was. She’d been traveling and working. The part of me that wanted to take care of Tali roared to life, and I stood, holding out my hands. “Come on, Stripes. Time for some rest.”

She let me pull her to her feet, winding up a few inches away from me. This was almost a replay of the night we spent on the rooftop pool, except this time, she let her hand linger in mine.

“You’re being a good influence now?” she asked, eyebrow raised.

“I’m a reformed man.” I meant it to be playful, but also truthful.

Her fingers squeezed mine before she let go. “I kind of believe that to be true.”

As she turned to head for her bunk, I said, “I ODed that night.”

She whipped around to face me. “The night at the club?”

I nodded. “If Jin hadn’t taken me to the hospital when he did, I would have stroked out. At least, that’s what the doctors told me. I went into rehab as soon as I left the hospital. I just...I realized I didn’t want to die.”

Her lips pressed in a tight line and she shook her head. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. I half expected her to walk away. Instead, she stepped into me, wrapping her arms around my waist.

I froze. My hands hung in the air, scared to touch her, scared to move.

“Hug me back, Jude,” she murmured against my chest.

Like they’d done a thousand times before, my arms closed around Tali, holding her as close as she’d let me. My embrace was tentative, only because I was scared as shit she’d run away before I was ready. Hell, I didn’t know if I’d ever be ready to let go now that I had her again. The gentle motion of the bus soaring down the highway rocked us. Each moment that passed, we were in a different place than we’d been before.

She sniffed. “I’m glad you’re here.”

I didn’t ask if she meant here on earth, or on this tour, or in her arms. It didn’t matter; not right then. “I’m glad I’m here too.”

Somewhere in the middle of Europe, holding my first love in my arms, I found my home again. I’d been wandering without realizing it. I’d been a vagabond with my heart tucked away in my satchel.

But this...whatever was happening, made me want to unpack, put things in their proper place, and settle the fuck in.

With a deep breath, Tali stepped back. My arms opened, letting her go. But she didn’t go far. Not right away.

She reached up, brushing her fingers over the side of my hair, like she had earlier. “When I first saw you here, when I really let myself look, I saw the silver in your hair. Even though I didn’t want you here and I was pissed, I couldn’t help thinking how happy I was you’d lived long enough to start going gray.”

“We were supposed to go gray together.”

She tossed her long, dark hair over her shoulder and gave me the haughtiest look I’d ever seen on her. Fuck if it wasn’t sexy. “Well…plans change. I will not be going gray in the foreseeable future, nor will I let myself look like a witch.”

I laughed, remembering all too well the conversation she referenced. When I started humming “Witchy Woman,” Tali let a little laugh slip out before clamping it down and flipping me off.

“Goodnight,Jude,” she said as she headed toward the bunks.

“Goodnight, Stripes.”

When I got to my bunk and climbed in, I kept my curtain cracked, just as Tali had, and for the first time in a decade, I fell asleep looking at her.

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