“If we listened to what people say, and none of us dedicated our lives to the arts”—Noah handed the painting to its owner once he was done signing it, too—“the world would be such a sad, ugly place.”
The guy’s eyes brimmed with tears as his smile grew. “Thank you. It means so much coming from you.”
“Okay… It’s photo time!” Aksel exclaimed as he walked toward the thick black curtain the staff had prepared as a photocall, his arm around Artist Boy’s shoulders.
The four musicians took a picture with him and his sister, holding the two masterpieces to show them off, of course.
Time flew by as they posed with everyone else in the room, making silly faces and throwing up rock horns. Before they knew it, dinner was over and they were backstage, warming up.
Xander got up from the couch and stretched his back. His mouth moved, but Kaj couldn’t hear a thing over the music blasting through his headphones.
“What was that?”
“I was saying, I’m gonna go watch Dreadful for a bit.”
“Okay.” Kaj gave him a quick nod, wondering when and where Aksel had gone.
“Be right back.”
“Sure.”
As the bassist disappeared through the door, Kaj realized he was alone with Noah. The vocalist was standing across from him, opening and closing his mouth, pouting and moving his jaw to the sides, making weird noises as he went through his vocalization exercises. He’d already done an entire body stretching routine, plus all the breathing, puffing, and panting warm-ups that engaged all the respiratory muscles and always made Kaj hyperaware of his presence.
In an attempt to ignore him, Kaj put on his headphones again and tried to focus on shadow-drumming the song he was listening to, but he couldn’t help stealing glances at Noah. Kaj’s skin prickled, too conscious of every small movement he made.
“What?”
Kaj didn’t hear him, but he could perfectly read the word on Noah’s lips.
“Nothing.”
Noah’s eyes narrowed as he pulled out his earphones, motioning for Kaj to do the same. “Do notnothingme. You’re staring.”
“I wasblanklystaringpastyou,” Kaj countered. “Happens a lot when I’m concentrating.”
“Bullshit,” Noah barked. “You might think I’m stupid and haven’t noticed how uneasy you are around me since yesterday.”
Kaj’s heart hammered in his chest. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do,” Noah said. “You want me. I know you do, no matter how hard you try to deny it.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Kaj scoffed.
Noah closed the distance between them, looking down at Kaj when the tips of their boots touched. “Then what was that fucking loud jerking-off session in the bathroom while I was in the next room? You knew I could hear you. Youwantedme to hear you.”
“Of course you’d think that was about you,” Kaj said, raising an eyebrow, trying to look unfazed and bored. “So full of yourself.”
“I know it was about me.” Noah smirked. “Because of the way you stare at me when you think I’m not looking, the way you avoid being alone with me, and the way your pupils dilated when I smeared my cum on your lips.”
Kaj’s dick twitched at the thought. The warm, musky saltiness of it was so good he just wanted another taste. “Whatever sick ideas you’re cooking up in your head, they’re just that—ideas, fucking fantasies.”
“A fantasy?” Noah chuckled, but there was no humor in the sound, more like exasperation. “Is that what you tell yourself to make it easier?”
Kaj stood up, invading Noah’s personal space. “You don’t know shit about me or what I want.”
“I do.” Noah’s eyes flashed dangerously. “You’re just too much of a coward to admit it.”
“You’re delusional,” Kaj hissed, clenching his fists at his sides.
