Page 67 of Rocked: The Price of Dreams

“Yes!” My voice pitched high. “I love it.”

“That’d be cool.” Kyle nodded. “Let’s get them the day we graduate. The day we get the fuck out of here.”

“Yeah.” As I rested my head against Kyle’s shoulder, the breeze picked up. The hum of cars driving down the road a few hundred yards away sounded amplified in my ears. Every inch of my skin tingled, and a hazy calm swam through my head. I closed my eyes. Lyrics and music filled my mind.

Damn...we needed to smoke pot when we wrote music.

I straightened and took a deep breath. Hunter’s azure eyes shimmered in the dim light as he looked at me. I stole a glance at Kyle. His gaze was locked onto mine. Warmth meandered through my veins in slow coiling waves. I didn’t know if it was the pot or coming down from the high after performing or just our deepening friendship, but all felt right in the world. How did I get so lucky to find such incredible guys?

But they were being much too serious for my liking.

I burst out giggling. They joined in.

“Fuck.” Hunter grinned and hollered into the night. “Look out, New York. We’re coming.”

Four weeks to go.

Unable to contain my smile, I drew Kyle’s coat tighter around me. “What would you guys do if we won the SureHaven contest?”

Kyle leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. He turned his head toward me. “I’d love you forever.”

A new fire burned in his eyes, one that did strange things to my heartbeat. One that caused a tug to pull deep inside my heart. Maybe Kyle’s outlook and hope to find love one day had worn off on me. Maybe one day, love would be nice. But the inevitable failure of relationships and being fucked up by them killed my fleeting thoughts. Yep. I am stoned.

I slapped his arm. “You’ll do that anyway. That’s a given. But I mean...if we made it big...what would you do?”

“Me?” Hunter leaned back on the grass and stared at the stars. “I wanna tour. I wanna perform in front of thousands, in arenas and stadiums across the globe. When we have money rolling in, I want to ensure Jenny gets the right schooling, treatment, and help she needs. I wanna give Mom the break she deserves. Then, I’ll buy a fucking penthouse, fuck girls and live life to the fullest for the rest of my days.”

Hunter may have been cocky and arrogant on the outside, but inside, his heart was golden. He always looked out for his family. I loved that about him.

These guys were the closest thing I’d ever had to a family.

Our connection was thicker than blood.

“Me?” Kyle rubbed his hands up and down his thighs. “I wanna write songs. Compose them. Produce them. Record and release albums. I wanna see our fucking name lit up on billboards in Times Square.”

Yeah. That would be wicked.

I glanced across the park, softly illuminated by pathway lamps. “If we made it big, I’d just be happy singing our songs, playing beside you two for the rest of my life.”

“Yeah.” Kyle nodded. “Nothing else matters as long as we always do that.”

Marijuana fuzzed my brain. “We’ll stay the bestest of friends, forever. Nothing more. Nothing less. No fucking up what we have. Okay?”

Hunter chuckled as he narrowed his hooded eyes. “You’re really stoned, aren’t you, Gem?”

I giggled, staring at the tiny joint in his fingertips. “Definitely feeling good.”

“Me too.” Kyle swiveled toward me and lowered his voice. “The problem is Gem...I already love you. In some unexplainable, cosmic universe, profound way...I love you.”

My throat ran dry. My head spun. I swallowed hard. Then I burst out laughing. “Maybe you shouldn’t smoke pot. You’re intense enough without being stoned.”

Nodding, he stared off into the distance. “Yeah. That’s it.”

“Problem is, Gem?” Hunter blew smoke into the air. “I love you, too. Always will.”

“And I love both of you. As friends. With all my heart. There is no room for anyone else.” I clutched their hands. “We are fucking Everhide, and nothing, I mean absolutely nothing, will ever break us apart.”

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