He winks. “More stamina, you’ll be fine. I’m gonna go shower and pack up my things, but fair warning, we’re not leaving this house until you sign your contracts.”
Rotating in my chair, I face him. We’ve been going back and forth about this for days. “It’s too much, Ev,” I tell him for the third or fourth time in as many days.
He wipes his face with the sleeve of his shirt and then rests his elbows on the table and looks at me. “Did you talk to Scout?”
He knows how out of my element I am because this manager role is new to me, so he encouraged me to talk to Scout about it since she’s been in this business for years.
“Yeah.” I reluctantly tell him because I know where this is headed. He would never say it, but it’s anI told you somoment.
“And?” he asks.
I lean back in my chair and squint at him while I parrot her words verbatim. “She commended you and Jesse for your generosity and said the contracts with Thicker Than Water and you, personally, to include Treachery’s Riot, are standard, comprehensive, and more than fair to you and me. She saw no issues and encouraged me to sign them.”
His hand drops to my thigh, his fingers warm on my skin, and I cover it with mine. We’re still deliciously in the middle of theI can’t not touch you when I’m near youphase of the relationship. I don’t see it ever coming to an end.
“I need more than ‘it’s too much,’ Soph. Help me understand why you don’t think you deserve this. Because you do,” he whispers.
No one in my life has ever talked to me with the level of care he does.
“I’ve always been very independent, and nothing’s ever come easy. I’ve worked hard for everything I have.” I lick my lips and lace my fingers with his. “This feels too easy. I feel like I haven’t earned it. Like I haven’t proven myself yet. I have so much to learn.”
He tips my chin in his direction and locks eyes with me. “Fair enough. As someone who’s lived with crippling imposter syndrome, I get it. But you wanna know what the rest of us see in you? You’re the voice of reason, a fierce advocate, a shrewd negotiator, a natural peacemaker, a relentless cheerleader, and a protector the likes of which I’ve never known. We wouldn’t be where we are without you. We went out on the road to escape. It was a placeholder until Jess and I figured out what to do next with our fucked-up lives. But you showed up, and suddenly there was fire and purpose and spark. You reminded us that more was possible. And that’s just professionally, because I’d still be a husk if I hadn’t met you. Not only did you breathe life back into me, but you gave me permission to be Ever.Just Ever. Someone the world hadn’t seen in years. You reminded me thatIstill mattered, music aside.”
“Because you do,” I interrupt.
He smiles softly. “See? This. This is what I’m talking about. Your passion isn’t normal.”
“Are you calling me a weirdo?” There’s a hitch in my voice because I’m tearing up, but it’s coupled with a laugh.
He nods, “Absolutely,” and winks, “It takes one to know one,” and then smiles again. “It’s one of my favorite things about you, how intensely you feel. Passion is the whole point, isn’t it? It’sthe reason you persevere, and you’re so fucking loved. I can’t help but love you.” He pauses as he watches my eyes fill again, but then pulls me in for a kiss before pressing his forehead to mine. “Sign the contracts, Soph. We’re a team. My heart’s been in your pocket since the first day we met. I go where you go. Or I don’t fucking go.”
“Slyly slipped your heart in my pocket and stole mine at the same time?” I ask. “I guess it was never about the kidney after all.”
“I’d give you both kidneys if you needed them, but I’m forever here to hold your heart. And your earrings.”
epilogue
10 MONTHS LATER
“The effortit’s taking to remain professional right now is…” Soph trails off as I pull her into me for a hug.
It’s warm out tonight, and I’m already sweating because I’m covered head to toe, but I can’t resist feeling her body pressed against me.
“Herculean?” I ask before kissing her temple.
She nods, and the tip of her nose brushes the strip of exposed skin above the collar of my shirt. “The mask is coming home with us,” she whispers. “I have plans.”
Her voice hides nothing. I never thought I’d perform as Raven again, for so many reasons, but it may be worth it just for this reaction from her.
“Bank robbery or luchador?” I deadpan.
Her chest rumbles against me in silent laughter. “I had fantasies about Raven for years.” She stands on tiptoe and presses her lips to the fabric covering my ear. Her breath is hot when she says, “I don’t think you understand. It’s obscene how much I want you to thoroughlydefile mewhile wearing this.”
“I’m about to go on stage in front of seventy thousand people, you can’t say things like that,” I rasp, as I adjust myself in my jeans. We’ve been together for a year now, and all it takes is a few words or a look from her, and I’m ready to go.
“Ever, you ready?” Scout calls out. She’s standing at the top of the three or four stairs I’ll climb to gain side stage access. “You’re on in less than sixty seconds.”
“Ready,” I call back, before I release Soph.
