“Gets you right in the feels, huh?”
I cleared my throat and took it, dabbing under my eyes. “Damn right.”
Light flooded the arena as the song reached its final lines.
“Don’t ask me what comes after, I don’t know how to leave.
All I have is this moment, and it’s asking me to believe...”
Then everything fell away. The percussion. The backing vocals. The piano.
All that remained was Bodhi’s voice, ringing clear through the arena.
“When the noise falls away and the crowd’s out of sight,
I’ll stand in the dark, I’ll be the last light.”
The crowd exploded. The roar shook the building, rattled my bones, made my ears ring. The floor trembled beneath stomping feet.
Bodhi stepped back from the mic, smiling bright, eyes glassy under the stage lights. Riff, Mick, Ghost, and Thump gathered around him, arms slung over each other’s shoulders. Mick waved. Riff bowed dramatically. Thump hurled his drumsticks into the crowd.
There was one last thank you shouted into the noise. Then the lights cut out.
They disappeared offstage one by one, and when Bodhi came off last, I didn’t even think. I marched right up to him, wrapped my arms around his neck, and squeezed.
He froze for half a second, then his tattooed arms came around my waist, holding me close. I had the presence of mind not to kiss him, even though every instinct screamed to. There were too many people. Too many eyes. This, at least, could still pass as a congratulatory hug.
Even if it lasted a little too long.
When I finally pulled back, Bodhi didn’t let me go far. His hands stayed on my hips, grounding, like he needed the contact after giving so much of himself away onstage.
“You were incredible,” I breathed, still in awe of his performance.
He grinned and brushed a lock of hair behind my ear.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
His thumb lingered against my cheekbone, and like magnets, we drifted closer without meaning to. The space between us shrank until I could feel his breath against my lips.
“Yo, lovebirds!”
I jumped. We both did. And when I turned, relief hit so hardmy knees nearly gave out. Riff stood there, arms crossed, grin sharp and smug enough to make me want to punch him.
“What’s up?” Bodhi asked.
His fingers scrubbed at the back of his neck, a tell he had when he was embarrassed. Though the flush on his cheeks and the tips of his ears also gave him away.
“Time to roll out,” Riff said. “Grab your shit and get on the bus.”
We nodded and started walking without a word. But Riff slipped between us, throwing an arm over each of our shoulders.
“Relax,” he said lightly. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
Then he winked and took off down the corridor, cackling like a maniac.
I wasn’t sure what woke me. Whether it was the sound of quick, ragged breathing, or the clatter of someone falling from their bunk and sprinting for the bathroom at the back of the bus.
When I slipped from my bunk, I peeked into the others, pulling curtains back just enough to check without waking anyone.
