Not wanting to embarrass her, I didn’t say it, just ran my hand over her hip, around to her ass. I wanted to pull her hips into mine, let her feel how much I wanted her. Honestly, I wanted to shift her onto her back and taste every sweet inch of her…but I knew she wouldn’t be okay with that. I studied her face, waiting to see if she’d be fine with just the little bit I was offering.

She genuinely looked torn, but eventually she bit her lip and shook her head. I wasn’t too surprised. Smiling at her, I brought my hand up to run the back of my fingers over her cheek. “Another time, then?”

She nodded, then pulled on my head, leading my mouth back to hers. It was…heaven.

Our languid kisses eventually slowed, then stopped. Kiera let out a long, content sigh, and I could feel her slipping, relaxing into sleep. Not tired yet, I watched her for a long time. Having her by my side again was incredible. I wished it could last longer than one night. Our earlier conversation about her plane ticket flashed through my mind, and I cautiously reached across her to grab my phone and my wallet. She’d agreed to let me buy her a ticket from Reno back to Boise, so she could still use her round-trip ticket, but that just seemed stupid. I’d rather she take a direct flight back home.

Careful to not wake her, I slipped out of bed so I could make arrangements. Surprisingly, Matt was still up when I got to the front of the bus. He was staring out the window, a peaceful smile on his face. He looked over at me when I sat down across from him. “Hey. How come you’re still up?” I asked.

His grin widened. “I couldn’t sleep. I just…I can’t believe it. We got signed, man. It’s actually happening.”

My smile matched his. “Yeah, I know…it’s crazy.”

He tilted his head at me. “You knew we were being scouted, didn’t you?” Biting my lip, I nodded. Hopefully he wasn’t mad about that. He didn’t appear to be. He let out a small laugh and shook his head. “And how long were you sitting on that?”

I cocked my head as I thought. “January?” Early January.

Matt laughed more, his face incredulous. “Damn, man. Why didn’t you say anything?”

With a sigh, I looked out the window. “I saw what it was doing to the other bands. I didn’t want you guys to…freeze up or anything.” Or ever find out about it if she said no.

Matt was silent for a moment. I returned my gaze to him, and he softly smiled at me. “Thanks,” he said. “I know that probably wasn’t easy for you.”