“You mean it?” he asked, uncharacteristically hesitant, his eyes shiny with unshed tears.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his. “I love you so much, and I mean it with every part of me. You may have loved me longer, but I promise you, Sawyer, I’m there with you now. And I don’t want it to end. Even if I’m still not sure what you see in me.”
“That’s easy,” he said, returning my kiss with the endless well of passion I’d just begun to get the sense of. “I see forever.”
CHAPTER 24
sawyer
Tonight was the last of the makeup concerts, four months to the day after I’d imploded Dick DeWitt’s illegal businesses. In that time, Hen’s health had improved by leaps and bounds.
He still complained about our workouts, of course, but now he did it while running.
Once the band’s shitty manager and DeWitt were out of the way, it was clear that their team of organizers truly had their backs. I didn’t know how they’d arranged everything, but three large venues had opened up for the guys, and they were able to honor every single ticket while taking care of the smaller venues.
Hendrix and I had spoken with Ren and verified that Mr. Paige would’ve been okay with him taking a break from his hiatus to fulfill his promises to his fans. After Hen’s initial social media post went viral, the rest of the acoustic series had more likes, reshares, favorites, and downloads than Hen had ever seen. Each video was more popular than the last.
Fans new and old were beating down their door to get the acoustic versions of the songs on the streaming platforms. I’d initially been afraid Hendrix might be pushing his voice toosoon, but I’d tracked down the best vocal cord specialist money could buy, and she was impressed with his continued recovery. She was also thrilled that he had agreed to retire his famous scream.
She would have preferred him to shut up a little bit more, but he laughed and ignored that suggestion entirely.
Once we had the doctor’s blessing, I arranged for time in a studio just outside of Canyon Lake. Sago and Robbie joined us, and the three of them recorded an album of their top hits in the acoustic format.
I didn’t know Robbie and Sago well and was heartened to find that they were good men. Robbie had grown up in Weslaco and Sago in Refugio, so they understood being raised in a smaller town in this state. More importantly, they understood Hendrix.
Even better, they fell in love with Central Texas and bought a place just down the road in New Braunfels. I didn’t talk about it much, but I knew that Hendrix needed more support from people who understood the life of a touring musician. I was thrilled that his bandmates had basically become our neighbors, and the Lost Boys welcomed them with open arms.
When we’d started to plan for the makeup shows, the first thing Hendrix had done was hire an intern to find out who’d been most impacted by the initial cancellations. The guys had personally reached out to a number of folks and made sure that their travel costs were taken care of.
When the first date had come around, Hendrix and the guys had been nervous and second-guessed their decision to shift several of the songs to acoustic. They needn’t have worried, though; the crowds had loved those songs in person even more than they hadonline. An unintended consequence of making that change was that they could hear everyone singing along at the top of their lungs.
All three of them had cried when it happened at the first show. And when Hendrix had pointed the microphone at the fans so they could scream for him, their response had been so loud it had nearly blown him off the stage. Overwhelming barely began to describe it.
The second concert had been just as good, and tonight was the best I’d heard him sing, ever.
I was waiting backstage after he made his final bow, and he leapt at me, sweaty from running all over the stage, a massive smile on his face. I didn’t care about the sweat or the people around us—I caught him tight in in my arms, loving the way he wrapped his legs around my waist. We kissed like no one was watching.
“You were spectacular,” I said when we finally came up for air. “Here, drink some water.” I handed him his canteen.
“It happened again!” he said between sloppy gulps, still grinning. “Did you hear them?”
“I did, baby. I really did.”
There was one more way that these shows were different from the way Hen used to perform—though we weren’t letting the rest of the world in on it. In preparation for his return to stage shows, I’d introduced Hendrix to the sissy cage. He liked it more than I’d thought he would, saying it felt like a physical reminder that I would always be there for him.
“Also, it’s punk as hell to secretly be caged up in front of thousands of people.”
We kept kissing as I carried him toward the green room. It wasn’t the most efficient way to get from point A to point B, but we made it work.
Hendrix scrunched his nose as we approached the green room door. Pushing his caged cock against my belly, he let out a whine. “I thought we were going back to my dressing room for some personal time.”
“We will, darling. But first, I have a small surprise for you.”
His pretty eyes lit up. “Ilovesurprises. What’d you get me?”
I kissed his thick, shapely brows, smiling. “It’s not what, it’s who,” I said, opening the door.
I’d flown in the entire Lost Boys crew for the final show, and they surrounded us as I walked in. Hendrix slid down and was immediately overtaken by an enthusiastic group hug. I touched my cheek and felt the dimple that seemed to come out all the time now.
