Instead of saying anything, I kissed him, gripping the back of his head and curling my fingers in his hair. I tugged him as close as humanly possible, my mouth feeding on his like I was in the desert and he was the only source of water. I couldn’t get him close enough, deep enough, to satisfy the need I felt.
I tugged at his jeans, yanking them down over his ass as he did the same to me. Somehow, we managed to get undressed and then he was inside of me. And everything stopped. The world, my brain, hell, I didn’t even know if I was breathing. Finally, finally, he was close enough to soothe my battered soul.
“I thought I’d lost you,” I whispered, finally giving in to all the emotion I was feeling and letting my tears fall unchecked.
“Aw, baby, I’m right here.” He kissed me lightly, his eyes boring into mine.
“Tell me you love me.”
“I fucking worship you.” He pushed deeper inside of me. “Yesterday, today, forever.”
“Forever?”
He smiled. “Forever and ever.”
Epilogue
Bash
* * *
It had been six weeks since Noah’s overdose. None of us had seen or spoken to him since the hospital in Anaheim, but today we were heading over to visit him. Nobody’s Fool had been back in Las Vegas on a break while Tyler recuperated, so a small group of us headed to Southern California for Noah’s first visit. He was halfway through the program, completely sober, and doing well according to Kiki, who texted with him regularly.
We didn’t want to overwhelm him today, so it was me, Bri, Stu, and Kiki. Kiki was barely recognizable now that she’d let her dyed black hair go back to its natural blond color, but Noah didn’t seem to notice, because the moment we walked through the doors to the big, open-air lounge where he’d been waiting for us, he scooped her up in his arms, spinning her around as they kissed.
He looked good.
Healthy.
Happy.
He was tan, his hair no longer limp and stringy, and his smile had brightened up the room when he saw us. I knew Bri couldn’t wait for her turn to hug him, but Kiki needed this more than the rest of us did. She’d broken down last weekend when she’d been over at the condo, sad because Noah had missed everything to do with the baby so far. He was all over her now, though.
“Look at you,” Noah was saying, one of his hands on her stomach. “Is she moving yet?”
She shook her head. “Not yet.”
“You look beautiful, babe.”
They whispered to each other for another thirty seconds or so before he turned to Bri and held out his arms. She threw herself at him and burst into tears as they hugged. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it didn’t matter. Coming here today meant so much to all of us, and anything that made her happy made me happy.
“A’right, enough of that.” Stu playfully nudged Bri out of the way. “Lemma have a look at you, mate.”
“How’s it goin’, man?” Noah asked, holding out his hand.
Stu ignored him and pulled him in for a hug, clapping his back.
“I need a bloody guitar tech, yeah?”
“I’m workin’ on it. They let me have my guitar—thanks for sending it, by the way—so I can practice a couple of hours every day. I’m getting better.”
“In more ways than one,” I said, finally taking my turn to say hello and give him a hug.
“You guys wanna go outside?” Noah asked. “We have all afternoon and we’ll have more privacy out there.”
“Sure.”
He took Kiki’s hand as we walked outside and settled at a picnic bench under a tree.
“So tell us everything,” Bri said to him, grinning.
He chuckled, glancing down at her left hand. “Seems to me you’re the one who has stuff to talk about.”
Bri’s cheeks turned pink as she held up her hand and flashed her new engagement ring. “I’m getting married!”
“Congratulations, you two.” Noah smiled at both of us. “Just don’t do it before I get out of here.”
“We have to wait until you’re out of here,” she told him solemnly. “You’re giving me away.”
“Not Dad?” He made a face.
She shrugged. “Dad isn’t speaking to me right now. He thinks I took his son away from him.”
Noah rolled his eyes. “Christ. Well, don’t worry about him. If it’s what you want, I’d be honored to give you away.”
Brother and sister smiled at each other with a look that showed a lifetime of love and respect. She’d never given up on him, no matter how bad things got, and he knew it. I hoped he’d include me as one of the people who never gave up on him too. Because I wouldn’t.
“Have you set a date?” Noah finally asked.
Bri glanced at me and I shrugged. “Up to you, baby. You want to do it now, we can run down to the nearest courthouse. You want to do it when we’re on tour, we can do that too. If you want the big wedding, we have to figure out when we’ll be home for a long enough time.”
“Do we know when you’re going back on the road?” Noah asked.
“Doc just cleared Tyler to go,” Stu said, “so we leave in three days. That’s why we came here now. We wanted to see you before we meet up with Onyx Knight in Atlanta.”
“They saved your place on the tour?” Noah asked in surprise.
I nodded. “Kingston said they’d use local bands at every show until Ty was better. They’ve been amazing about it. They kept our stuff with them so we didn’t have to ship it home, and Kingston checks in with Tyler every few days. It’s been good.”
“I’m glad.” Noah glanced at Kiki. “So they’re saying I should be good to go around December first. But I’m supposed to have a plan. I, uh, well, we need to talk about all that.”
“Let’s give them some privacy,” Bri said, starting to stand up, but Noah shook his head.
“No, wait. I mean, I’d like to have some time alone with Kiki, but this first part includes the band.” He looked at Stu. “If you want me back, I have to start getting paid.”
“But—” Kiki began.
“I know.” He turned to her. “I promise, we’ll talk about everything you’re thinking when it’s just us, but I have to make money and have health insurance and be a contributing member of society. I can’t just pocket thirty bucks a night as a busboy. You know that.”
“We’ve already talked about it,” I said. “We’re going to add you to the payroll, even if Tyler and I pay for it out of our pockets personally. We want and need you on tour with us, as long as it’s okay with you and Kiki.”
“Baby’s due at the end of March,” Noah said, looking from me to Stu. “I have to be able to get home for that. I know that’s not how it usually works, but if I can’t take a couple of weeks off to be with her, then this might not work out.”
“It’s all good,” I said. “Tyler’s old roadie, Rico Samson, is coming out with us when we get started back up, and he was the only roadie we had last year, so he and Lance can handle it while you take some leave.”