Page 82 of Pretty Obsessed

Iris took a seat next to me, not giving what River and I did a second glance. "You understand perfectly then. Just a different media for you."

"It is. We should talk about it over drinks after the show. I'd love to see how similar our brains really are." Iris had spent a lot of time with us or alone.

I assumed he gave us the time for sex, but River always worried about him when he left. He rarely took a bodyguard with him, calling it his silence hours. Alone getting into trouble was one thing, but in another country was a whole other story.

"You should get a tattoo with us."

"Who's us?"

"Depends on who's up for it. It's frequently Cas and me, but it was all of us for the first and a couple of the other big milestones." He pointed to a tiny gold bar on his bicep. "We all got a gold something when our first record went gold, then we all got rings when we went platinum. Cas and I have shared a lot of experiences, so we have some similar ones." He shrugged, casting his eyes down. Sadness was written in his words.

He loved him. Shit. I think I'd finally figured out what happened. Was I reading too much into this? I didn't think so. All the pieces fit. They spent all their time together and suddenly stopped talking. It would fit if I were writing an unrequited romance. Maybe this was more of my writer's brain filling in the details I wanted.

It might be bad to point it out to River later. Or maybe I should. I didn't want to give him more to worry about with Iris.

"Are you in?" Iris asked.

"I don't know." I looked between them. "I don't want to intrude on your thing."

Iris waved me off. "Doesn't have to be what we're getting. Get something for yourself. Mark the occasion of us all being alive and on the Earth and in Japan for the first time together. This is bigger than me and him, us, and for a few moments of forgetting.”

“You’re just trying to make sure I can’t go to bathhouses without you.”

Iris gasped. “Wait you have none? How old are you?"

River laughed. He knew I didn't have any. He’d seen every inch.

"Twenty-nine. I've thought about it, but never found anything I thought I'd want long term. I have wicked ADHD and I change my mind like a motherfucker."

Iris held out a fist for me to bump. "Me, too. Medicated-child or parents-denied-it-was-real camp?”

"Parents-denied-it-was-real camp. I got diagnosed in college." I pressed my knuckles to his.

"My teachers told me I had to be medicated to go back to school. Zoned me out so they could deal with me. Now if I don't take them, I can write but little else. I don't feel like myself without them and maybe I need more of that." Iris pushed back to his feet. "I think I hear the other guys. Think about later, ya?"

River sat up with a groan. "I need to go check in with Alexander even if I don't want to."

"Okay." I didn't move, not sure what I'd do. We hadn't talked about when I'd go home, or what I planned to do while they toured. “What for?”

“Make sure you’re all set with a backstage pass tonight.” He side-eyed Iris and I figured there was more to it than he said. The moment was broken, and we were back to some semblance of friendship. It was the weirdest juxtaposition

My brows rose. "Are you inviting me to be backstage?"

"If you'd like to be."

"I've never been backstage for a concert."

"Are you saying I'm going to break your backstage cherry?"

I stepped closer to him, tilting my head to the side. "Does this involve some actual cherry breaking?"

"Are you going to be in my dressing room waiting for me when I'm through?"

"Ask me to be, and I will."

"It's that easy, is it?"

"Exactly that easy. If you'd like it."

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