Winter Waites (Aster Valley 0.50)

When we finally pulled into the spot next to my place, he turned off the engine and faced me. “Stop,” he said softly. “Give me more credit than judging you by the house you live in, please.”

He was right, of course. But it didn’t magically make me less self-conscious. I nodded and opened the door, looking immediately for a cat-shaped blanket lump on the sofa. Dillie came wandering out of the bedroom instead, her little nose working overtime on the new arrival.

“Hey, sweet baby,” Gent murmured as he squatted down and held his hands out.

And that was it. I completed my ridiculous swan dive into full-on love with Gent. With the real man behind a global celebrity who I could never really have. And who was leaving tomorrow to continue his big life.

“I’m going to miss you,” I admitted, feeling my throat swell. “Like… a lot.”

He finished scratching Dillie’s chin and stood up before grabbing me in a tight hug. “You too. Fuck, Winter. I don’t want to leave.” Gent pulled back and clasped me by the face. “If you didn’t have such a great job here, I’d ask you to come with me.”

I huffed out a laugh. “Not sure being a groupie pays well.”

He pulled me in for a soft kiss which turned into more as it always did between the two of us. It was different this time, of course, because now I was desperately filing it away in my memory banks for later.

Gent finally broke the kiss. “I… um…” He looked down and then out the living room window and then back at me with a sheepish grin. “I wrote a song.”

My stomach tumbled a little every time he talked about his music. I craved new songs from him, and I felt honored to be one of the first to hear the music he’d been creating this month in his little cabin in the woods.

“Another one? That’s six songs you’ve written in, like, three weeks? Will you play it for me?”

He always did, so I was surprised when he shook his head. “It’s not ready yet. But I was thinking…” He swallowed, and it occurred to me he was nervous. Gent always seemed so together, so confident and relaxed. “If I get it where I want it by the end of the tour… can I come back here and play it for you?”

The air whooshed out of me, and my chin trembled. All I could do was nod and try not to cry and freak him out. I hugged him again as hard as I could. “That would be really nice,” I managed to say in a rough voice.

“I don’t want this to be the last time we see each other, Winter,” he said softly. “I don’t really have much to offer you in the way of time, and you know I don’t really do relationships, but… I…”

“Same,” I whispered before clearing my throat. “I like you too much to let go.”

He smiled, but in his eyes I saw a kind of relief I wasn’t expecting. “Then… you’ll let me call you and we can stay in touch? And then when I get back to the States I can schedule another visit?”

I nodded and grinned, giddy with the knowledge this was no longer goodbye. “Absofuckinglutely. Now… how about a tour of my place? We can start with the bedroom.”

The next day wasn’t easy, by any means, but it was a hell of a lot easier leaving for work knowing I might see him again in a few months. I tried to stay busy, and even had a few mobile client visits that evening that I’d specifically scheduled in hopes of throwing myself straight into bed the first night of Gent’s absence.

But when I got home, I saw that he’d left me something on my kitchen counter.

It was a note with a little computer flash drive sitting on top. The note said:

Winter,

I recorded the new songs for you since I thought you might like them (but I knew you’d never ask for them). I also included copies of all the selfies and videos we took together this month. I wish we’d had more time. There are so many things I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet. Like how I sometimes play with that little curl by your ear when you sleep, and how I want to laugh every time I hear you humming the Happy Birthday song while you brush your teeth. And how proud I am to know you as a friend, as a patient, as a man. Our story isn’t over yet. Hopefully, it’s just beginning.

I tried so hard not to do this to you, but I can’t help it. I’m too selfish. So here it is…

Please wait for me.

Gent

I slapped the note to my chest and blinked up at the ceiling. A ridiculous grin stretched my cheeks. Holy fuck. Gentry Kane wanted me to wait for him. What were the chances he’d still feel this way in three or four months? Pretty slim. But I was going to walk on air in the meantime and hope like hell I saw other signs along the way that would confirm this was real.