“I love you.”
“You love me,” Skyler said again.
“I love you,” Trevor repeated.
He had a feeling Skyler was going to do this constantly, get Trevor to tell him he loved him at every opportunity. And he didn’t think he’d mind. He would probablywantto say it all the time, no prompting necessary.
Because he was in love with Skyler James.
And he was going to make sure Skyler knew that every single day.
SKYLER
Their first show wasamazing.
They’d rehearsed it a hundred times. Not only the singing, but practicing what they’d say in between, each of them taking turns introducing the songs. When the time came, they fed off one another’s energy and joked around, making their audience laugh along with them. Skyler quickly discovered he was a natural at interacting with the crowd, his years of theater training preparing him to improv.
It felt so right. Being onstage, singing, performing for thousands of people. He could feel it in his bones—this was where he was meant to be.
He’d never been happier. Though whether it was from the thrill of performing or the thrill of being in love, he couldn’t tell. The fact that the two best things to ever happen to him in his life were happening simultaneously entwined them together in his brain until there was no separating them. He imagined when he was old and looked back on this time, Trevor’s face would shine as brightly in his mind as the stage lights they’d stood under.
After the show, all the guys hugged one another backstage for a long time, no one wanting to let go. Becausewow, they’d really done that. They were still buzzing from it in their dressing room while they changed into more comfortable clothes and gathered their stuff, getting ready to head onto the tour bus for the night.
Oli snuck into the bathroom while Noah was taking a quick shower and stole his sweatpants, hiding them under the couch. When Noah came out witha T-shirt on and a towel around his waist, he immediately knew who the culprit was, but Oli wouldn’t reveal where he put them, forcing Noah to chase him around the room until he tackled him onto the floor.
Skyler, Trevor, and Jermaine watched in amusement until there was a knock on the door. Their new tour manager Christian’s deep voice came from the other side. “Need you on the bus in ten minutes, boys.”
Maggie would only be with them for some parts of the tour, and she wasn’t traveling on their bus. She’d already left immediately after the show, taking a separate car to their next destination. It was sort of freeing, since they’d hardly gone a day without her telling them what to do since this whole thing started.
Christian was younger than Maggie. In his early thirties, if Skyler had to guess. And he seemed cool, but they’d just met him, so it was hard to tell for sure.
Trevor turned to Skyler. “Ready?”
When Skyler nodded, Trevor threw both their bags over his shoulder. Skyler smiled at the gesture as he looped his arm through Trevor’s and followed him out, leaning comfortably into his side. They made their way toward the back of the venue where the bus was parked and found a small group of fans waiting for them at the edge of the lot. A metal gate and a security guard held them back.
Skyler felt like he should go talk to them, thank them for coming. But he was exhausted now, and two more members of the security staff appeared out of nowhere to escort them toward the bus. So he remained nuzzled into Trevor’s side and gave the group a wave as they walked by.
Through the excited noise, he could make out a fewawws, and one girl shouting, “Oh my god, they’re so cute!”
Skyler hid his grin in Trevor’s shoulder.
After everyone made it onto the bus, they all hung out in the lounge area a bit, still talking excitedly about the show, until no one could keep their eyes open any longer.
The back of the bus had tiny beds built into the walls. Skyler’s was above Oli’s, Trevor was above Jermaine, and Noah got a bottom bunk with no one above him.
Skyler figured he’d fall asleep the minute his head hit the pillow. But the bed was too small for him to even stretch out his legs completely. And it was weird trying to sleep knowing he was on a giant bus speeding down the highway.
It was weird trying to sleep without Trevor.
He tried. He really did. But the more he attempted to stay still in the confined space, the more his body itched to flail around. He needed to get some sleep, so he did the only thing he could think of to solve this.
As he climbed down from his bed, he accidentally stepped on Oli’s leg.
“Ow! What the hell, Sky?”
“Shit, sorry,” he whispered.
“Where are you going?”
