We were all swarmed by fans after that, wanting autographs, wanting photos, wanting to know where to buy our music. It was all so bizarre; I almost couldn’t process it. What the hell is my life right now?

It was super-late by the time I was able to call Kiera, but I was still soaring with energy. There was no way I was sleeping any time soon. We were back on the bus, moving through the night to get us to our next show. I was stuffed into my cubby; I hadn’t needed to worry about the poker game after all, since Evan had grabbed me a bottom bunk while I’d been sleeping. The cubby was slightly too small for me, and I had to bend my knees to completely fit. I was really going to miss being able to stretch out, and I suddenly wished I was a lot shorter. Staring at my phone, I listened to the people around me. Some were deeply snoring, but a lot of them were still awake too, talking to each other or to someone on a phone. I could hear Evan across the aisle from me telling Jenny that he missed her. I had the curtain on my cubby closed for privacy, and the light from my phone was bright in my hands as I pressed the button to call Kiera. She’d closed at Pete’s tonight, so she should still be awake.

I heard the call connect, then Kiera’s breathy voice was in my ear. “Hi…” Just that one word sent a pulse of energy through me.

“Hey, gorgeous. Did I wake you or are you just lying down?”

“Just crawled into my large, cold bed.”

My eyes fluttered closed as the image of Kiera spread out on her mattress flooded through me. “Ah…God that sounds nice. I wish I was there with you.”

I heard her let out a wistful sigh, and I knew she wanted that too. It made me feel warm all over. “You are, remember?” she said. “Our bed is just too big for me to feel you is all.”

That made me smile, and a small laugh escaped me. “Yeah, that’s right. Well, I’d wrap my leg around yours and bury my head in your neck if I were closer…” I sighed as a wave of homesickness tightened my chest. “I miss the smell of you…” The feel of you, the sight of you…all of you.

“I was going to say the exact same thing.”