Page 19 of Silent Verity

“You sure you’re ready for this?” I quietly asked Jesse as he reached for another slice of pizza.

He nodded, turning his head to look at me. “I’m sure.” He smiled at me. “I never feel more alive than I do when I’m on the guitar.”

I arched a brow at him. “Oh, really?” I asked.

He flushed. “Well—I—” he stammered.

I laughed and leaned in to kiss him, humming in appreciation when I pulled back and licked my lips, the taste of pizza exploding on my tongue. “I thought so,” I teased.

He rolled his eyes at me, but there was no hiding the blush staining his cheeks.

16

Jesse

This was one of the biggest things I lived for. This was one of the reasons I was still alive today. That I hadn’t given in to the impulses to just end it all. To no longer suffer.

The crowd in front of us was small, but they were roaring. The charity event Richard was hosting was a sort-of exclusive thing, and the ticket prices were astronomical with all proceeds going to a charity supporting trans rights. And fuck if I wasn’t all for playing at the drop of a hat for a cause like that, too.

Even Salem, who’d still been salty about the short notice, had lost his ire when he found out what the charity event was for.

“You ready for this?” Dalton asked as I slid my guitar strap over my shoulder and began to tune my guitar. Many people thought the lead singer would be the most vital part to a band, but we all knew without each of us playing our parts, this band wouldn’t even be a thing. I took pride in being the bass guitarist, and I knew Tor and Salem were relying on me to hit my notes just right to really give our elements the darker, moodier note they needed.

“More than ready,” I assured him. Lifting my head, I looked up at him. He looked fucking good in ripped black skinny jeans, tan boots, a tan shirt to match, and a black leather jacket. He was the picture-perfect image of a rockstar, honestly. And damn if I didn’t want to get him into a dark corner and sink to my knees for him. “What about you?” I asked.

Dalton was our rhythm guitarist, one of the more vital parts of the band. Apart from Tor being the lead singer, I felt that Dalton’s job was the hardest.

“Always,” he promised. Leaning down, he kissed me. “We’ve only got a minute before the curtain rises,” he warned me.

I stood to my feet and took my position near the back of the stage. I drew in a deep breath, steadying myself. I widened my stance, planting my boots shoulder-width apart. My jeans were baggy, so they didn’t stretch uncomfortably. It was hot in the arena, so sweat was already beading on my skin where it was exposed by my black muscle tank.

The curtain slowly rose, and the crowd was defeaning as they screamed for us. I grinned and looked over my shoulder at Dalton, who was already looking at me. He flashed me a quick, devilish grin, and goosebumps littered my skin.

“How are we doing tonight?!” Tor yelled into the mic. The crowd went fucking wild for him, just like they always did, no matter where we played. Tor was practically the face of our band, and the fans fucking adored him.

When their screams died down, Tor cleared his throat. “Before we begin to play, I just want to say a few words. Trans rights are fucking human rights.” The crowd went wild again. “Trans people should not be battling for the right to fucking exist!” Tor shouted to be heard over the crowd that was growing increasingly louder with every word he spoke. “And if you’re watching us right now, whether you’re here or someone is recording us for you, I want you to know we see you, we love you, and we want you here!”

With that, Tor stepped back, and Salem nodded once at us, giving us the signal to launch into our first song of the night.

I was breathing heavily, sweat glistening on my skin and running from my hair onto my face as we ended the last song. I could barely hear myself think over the cheers from our fans, but I grinned, nonetheless. This had been everything I’d needed. It was the cleansing my soul had been seeking.

Sometimes, I just couldn’t bleed my emotions out of me unless my fingers were working tirelessly over my guitar, and I could barely breathe from the exertion of playing song after song.

“What—” I gasped when I was suddenly spun around. Then, Dalton’s fingers were lacing in my hair and he was crushing his mouth to mine. I moaned, one of my hands coming up to grip the side of his neck. I vaguely recognized the crowd going even wilder, but I was too lost in Dalton to care that our kiss was no doubt being broadcast all over the world at that moment.

“You were—” Dalton heaved a breath as he rested his forehead on mine, “—so fucking beautiful,” he rasped.

I grinned and leaned in to kiss him again. “I love you,” I murmured against his lips.

He groaned. “I love you, too, baby.” And then, he was kissing me again, plunging his tongue into my mouth for the entire fucking world to see.

Epilogue

Dalton

Tor sang the last note of his song, then took the headphones off, signaling to the sound engineer that he wanted a break. We’d already recorded the music itself, and now it was up to Tor to get the lyrics in. The rest of us technically didn’t have to be there, but we always showed up in support of him. Recording music could sometimes get to be too much for Tor, especially since without us there as backup, Delia liked to try to push him to record more than he was comfortable with recording in one day.

As Tor was stepping out of the recording booth, the main door opened, and Richard appeared, his tall, broad frame filling the doorway. I frowned, my arm tightening around Jesse’s shoulders as he lifted his head from my chest. He’d damn near dozed off, honestly, his phone limp in his hand, the game he’d been playing still open with the GAME OVER message flashing on the screen.

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