Page 99 of More Than a Spark

The next afternoon,I waited on the couch for the guys to arrive for our band meeting. Ryder had left already to spend some time with his dad. We’d had a quiet evening at home again last night after spending the day out and had ended it with another session of hot sex before bed. Ryder was indeed, my dirty boy. I sighed, my dick stirring with the memories of his fine ass.

Silas and Cash walked out from the hallway after taking showers, both with wet hair. “Anybody here yet?”

“No, not yet.” I sighed. This was going to suck. It felt like I was abandoning them, right when the band was taking off.

Jeremy and Gabe walked into the kitchen from the garage, Gabe setting his car keys on the counter. “Hey, Milo.” He rounded the sectional and dropped in next to me, then hooked his arm around my shoulders and drew me into his chest. “Fuck, I’m going to miss you.” He kissed my cheek.

“Me, too.” Cash sank in beside me and took my hand in his. “And I just met you, what, six months ago?” He bit his lower lip, his eyes glistening.

“Fuck.” Silas paced behind the couch, raking his fingers through his long hair. “We shouldn’t make Milo feel bad. This is good for him.” He stopped and faced me. “We’ll be able to sit here and play one of your video games one day. Think about it.” He scoffed through a grin.

Axel burst in through the front door with Caleb and Devin following.

“Dude, congrats.” Axel sauntered to me and bent over to give me a swift hug, then straightened. “Fuck, man. Gonna miss you. Not going to lie.”

Caleb walked up behind Axel and placed his hand on my shoulder. “Me, too.” He huffed a breath. “Fuck.” Planting his hands on his hips, he strode off and dropped into a chair at the dinette.

Standing in front of me, Devin said, “Milo, I know what it’s like to leave everything you know behind to follow your dream. It’s a mixed bag, right?” He tensed his mouth. “I mean, I’m sure you’re looking forward to living in an exciting, new city and doing your dream job, but I also know how close you are to all of us.”

My vision blurred. Fuck, he was going to make me cry. I clenched my jaw and swallowed the lump crawling up my throat.

Devin crouched down in front of me and grabbed my free hand. “I think I can speak for everyone here when I say that we’ll always be here for you. We’ve become family, all of us, and family sticks together through everything. It doesn’t go away just because we’ve moved or…or changed.” Wrinkling his forehead, he looked up at me.

Cash sniffled and wiped at his eyes.

Silas stepped forward, slapping his hands to the back of the couch. “We’re not getting a new keyboardist until after you leave. That’s final.” He glared at each one of us. “Right?” He tapped his fingers on the cushion.

“Absolutely,” Gabe said, then held me tighter, pressing his forehead to the side of my hair. “You want to keep playing gigs with us until you leave, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” I croaked out. “I might cry through my last gig, but I’ll be there for every one of them until January.” My chest squeezed and a hot tear plunged from my lower lid. This was torture. Every gig would be surreal from now on. I wasn’t sure I could do it. How was I going to leave them all? And Ryder, too? My breath hitched and a sob broke free from my throat. “Fuck, sorry.” I buried my face into Gabe’s shoulder.

“Group hug.” Axel stepped to us from behind and wrapped his arms around me and Gabe while Cash came in from my side.

As arms wound around arms, pain poured out of me, and I wept. Why did it have to be like this? Why couldn’t AllAction be headquartered in Phoenix? What the hell was I thinking when I’d filled out the job application? Had I been insane? In a wavering voice, I said, “I…can’t go.”

“Yes, you can, Milo. You can do this. We’ll visit. We’ll see each other as much as we can.” Gabe pressed a kiss on my cheek. “Maybe someday you can move back and when you do, we’ll pick up right where we left off.”

“Yeah, you’ll always be the keyboardist of Knot Me.” Silas sniffled. “Whoever takes your place will have to step down when you come home.”

I choked out a chuckle. “Fuck, Silas, that’s not going to be very cool for the new guy.” The pain settled and I breathed through it, calming myself. These last few months were going to be the hardest of my life. Did I even have the strength for this? “I love you guys.”

“Love you more.” Cash said, holding me tighter.

* * *

Later that night,I FaceTimed Ryder from my bed. He’d wanted me to check in with him after I’d had the band meeting. I was a hot mess. I held the phone to my face and dialed, gazing into the reflection on my phone. My eyes were still red and swollen. Fuck, I looked like hell.

The phone picked up and Ryder’s stunning face filled the screen. “Hey, babe.” His gaze darted over me. “Shit, it was rough, huh?”

“Yeah, it might have been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.” I let out a ragged sigh and my eyes stung with tears for the thousandth time that night. In a wavering voice, I said, “Ryder? I don’t know if I can do this.” My lips bowed down.

His gaze softened and he touched his screen. “I’m so sorry. I should be there for you right now. I’m coming over.”

“No, you don’t need to be here. You have to get up early and it’s already late.” I shifted up in my pillows. I had to be strong. If he was worrying about me and tired, he might hurt himself again at the academy. “I’m fine, really. It was just an emotional night.”

He side-eyed me. “You sure? It’s no problem for me to come over, really.” The ghost of a smirk played over his lips. “I sleep better with you in my arms anyways.”

“That’s good, because you’ll be moving in this weekend and have me in your arms all you want after that.” I couldn’t wait to have him here with me all the time, especially now. Twisting my lips, I thought through the logistics of the week. “You’re seeing the therapist with your mom on Wednesday night, right?”

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