Page 63 of Saving the Rockstar

Mason hummed, his head tilting to the side as he studied Dylan's face with a calculating sort of intensity.

"Funny," he said, his voice low and thoughtful. "Because I could’ve sworn I heard the words'gag reflex'being thrown around somewhere in there too."

I nearly choked on my own laughter at the expression on Dylan's face, his eyes bulging comically as he gaped at Mason in a mixture of horror and embarrassment.

"I never...!" he stammered, his words tripping over themselves in his haste to deny the accusation.

But Mason just smirked, shaking his head as he pushed off the wall and sauntered past Dylan, his shoulder brushing against him in a gesture that was halfway between a challenge and a caress.

"Relax, Dyl," he said, his voice warm with amusement. "I'm just messing with you. But for the record? I happen to think balloons are a highly underrated gift. Especially when they come with a side of shameless flirtation and thinly veiled innuendo."

And with that, he was gone, leaving a sputtering, blushing Dylan in his wake, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open in a moment of stunned disbelief.

It was a pattern that continued over the next few days, Mason giving as good as he got with every teasing remark and subtle prank. Like the time he replaced Dylan's hair gel with hair color, leaving him to take the stage that night with a head full of shimmering locks that caught the light like a disco ball.

Through it all, I could feel the tension between them growing, the sparks of attraction and desire that crackled like electricity in the air. It was only a matter of time, I knew, before one of them finally gave in, before the dam burst and the floodgates opened, releasing a torrent of pent-up emotion and unspoken longing.

As the days turned into weeks and the miles stretched out between Jared and me, I found myself clinging to every text, every phone call, every tiny scrap of contact that tethered me to him.

Me:

Darling J,

I wore your old t-shirt to bed last night, just to feel close to you, to breathe in the scent of you. Is that silly? I don't care. I used to think I was broken, too damaged to be loved. But you've taken all my shattered pieces and made them into something beautiful, something whole. I'm in love with you, every beautiful, complex bit. You are my answered prayer, the punchline to the cosmic joke of my life before you. I thought I knew what it meant to love, but you've rewritten all the rules, redrawn all the lines.

Loving you is a revelation, a revolution. It's showing up, even when it scares the hell out of me. Especially then. Because that's what you do. You take my hand and help me face down the monsters, stare down the demons. Take all the time you need there. Be present. Let yourself feel it all. The good, the bad, the decades overdue. I'll be here whenever you need an escape, a friendly voice, a shelter from the storm. That's what we do, right? We hold each other through the hurricanes. I love you more than there are stars in the sky and fish in the sea. Come back to me soon.

Forever and always,

Your Ash

Jared:

My beautiful Ash,

I don't have your way with words, but I'll try my best to tell you what's in my heart. I'm sitting here in the hospital cafeteria, a tear streaming down my face. Seeing my mom like this, so fragile, so unlike herself, it breaks me in ways I didn't know I could break. But then I think of you, of your smile, of your unwavering faith in me, in us, and I find the strength to keep going.

Your message... it's everything. You're everything. I feel like I've been wandering through life asleep, and you've woken me up. I wish I could hold you right now, lose myself in your warmth and your love. Soon, my darling. I'll be back in your arms before you know it, and I'm never letting go again. You're my soulmate, my destiny, my forever. I'll love you until the stars burn out and long after.

Always and forever,

Your J

Some nights, when the loneliness and the fear threatened to swallow me whole, I would scroll back through our messages, my eyes tracing over the words like a lifeline, like a promise of better days to come.

Chapter 20: Asher

As I stood in the crowded airport terminal, my eyes scanning the sea of faces for the one I longed to see, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, my palms damp with sweat and my breath coming in short, shallow gasps.

It had been weeks since I had last seen Jared, weeks since I had held him in my arms and felt the warmth of his skin against my own. And now, as the minutes ticked by and the anticipation mounted, I could feel a desperate, aching need building inside me.

And then, suddenly, Jared was there, his tall frame emerging from the crowd like a beacon in the darkness, his eyes locking with mine across the bustling terminal.

For a moment, the world seemed to fall away, the noise and the chaos fading into the background as I drank in the sight of him. And then, before I could even think, I was running, my feet carrying me across the polished floor as I launched myself into his arms, my face burying itself in the crook of his neck as I clung to him like a lifeline.

"Jared," I whispered, my voice choked. "Oh god, Jared. I missed you so much."

He held me close, his arms like bands of steel around my waist as he rocked me gently back and forth, his lips pressing fervent kisses to my hair and my temples and anywhere else he could reach.

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