“I bet it’s Mads,” one fan says.
“Definitely Mads,” another agrees. “He always hangs out in the wings before the show.”
My phone buzzes, and I reach into my pocket to find that Maddox is texting me.
I couldn’t tell you back there, but you look fucking amazing, he says.
I clench my teeth to stop from grinning too widely.I thought you might like the added touch.
You know how much I love Sally.
It’s the scars, isn’t it?I tease.The stitches?
The legs, he says.
I chuckle at the screen, my gaze darting up to find that he’s disappeared.
I love how you smile at the phone when you’re texting me, he says, and I draw my lip behind my teeth, shaking my head because I can’t find him anymore.
Where are you?
Walking.
The lights go down.
The crowd erupts, and I know I only have a few seconds to prepare for the opening band. I feel security walk up behind me, though they’re closer than I like.
You’re going to kill it tonight, I text Maddox.I’ll see you after.
“What about now?”
The question comes in a hushed rasp from the person behind me.
My heart skips.
Maddox.
It’s so dark that I can hardly see him. Yet I know it’s him.I know.I can smell the woodsy scent of his beard oil. The strobes start up, and I’m granted a look at him in flickered glimpses. He’s wearing a long black jacket over the Bane vest, and the jacket’s hood is pulled over his head.
Though…
My eyes widen, my entire body caving at…
He isn’t wearing his mask.
My heart drops.
“Maddox?” I whisper in disbelief. “What are you—”
Panic grips me.
He’s out in front of the entire theater—with no mask—and even though he has his hood up, the Bane mask is in his left hand.
People just saw him wearing it.
“Maddox,what are you doing?” I ask.
“This.” He wraps his hand around my face, and I don’t have a second to think before his lips are on mine.
