Winter Waites (Aster Valley 0.50)

That the crazy path, the lonely road, led home to you.

And my whole life took a turn.

It turned to you.

He was full-on crying now, the tears on his cheeks catching in the stage lights. The crowd had gone stone silent as my low words and soft chords filled the air.

I sang to him about finding my way home to him as the words settled deep into my heart and all of my fears blew away like dandelion fluff. He was my home, and no matter what happened with my job or his, we would hopefully travel the road together.

When I finished the song, the silence lasted for a few more beats before the entire concert venue shot to their feet and roared with cheers and applause.

Before I had a chance to even put my guitar down, Winter crashed into me, grabbing the back of my head and kissing me hard on the mouth. I scrambled to turn off the microphone to protect our privacy in the moment.

“I love you,” he said. “I love you so much, and I was so scared you—”

I cut him off with another kiss before pulling back and meeting his eyes. “I love you, too. I want to come home to Aster Valley and build a life with you.” I searched his eyes for his true feelings on my crazy plan. “I know we haven’t known each other very long but—”

Tears spilled again as he nodded and gave me a wobbly smile. “You sure?”

“More than anything,” I said. “I’m yours, if you’ll have me. And I hope you do because… you belong to me.”

The rest of the night passed in a crazy whirlwind of adrenaline and emotion. The crowd’s energy was insane. Winter sat on a stool offstage where he could watch without being mobbed, but as soon as we eventually left the arena, it was a mob scene.

Two burly security guys wrestled us through the throngs and into a dark SUV limo where Uncle Doran already sat with an open bottle of champagne and several glasses.

“Fucking finally,” he said, filling glasses and passing one to Winter then me before clinking them in a toast. “To new beginnings. Now, let’s get you two back to the house and tucked into bed. I’ve already scheduled a full weekend of looking at properties when we arrive in Aster Valley tomorrow, so you’ll need your rest. Naturally, I focused on the ones with large guesthouses. I have a feeling you two will want some privacy.” He winked at Winter, who blushed deep red.

“Winter, meet Doran,” I said before taking a sip of champagne and letting the bubbles fizz along my tongue. “Why are we leaving LA so soon? I thought I’d show Winter around a little first?”

Doran sighed and patted my leg. “Oh, hon. You have no idea what you’ve just set into motion, have you? The media is soiling itself with the news that Gentry Kane is not only gay, but in love with an unknown hunk of man candy. You’ve just unleashed the Kraken, darling.”

The reality of it came crashing down on me. I turned to Winter and took his hand in mine. “He’s right. I’m so sorry. I should have thought things through better. I should have talked to you about it first.”

He didn’t look as freaked-out as I suddenly felt. “Gent, do you think it would have been possible for us to date without the media finding out?”

Doran scoffed.

I sighed and shook my head. “Not really. Not in the age of cell phones.”

“Then, what’s the difference? You just need to teach me how you want me to handle it. I know your reputation and your brand is important to you, and I don’t want to mess anything up for you guys.”

“I love him,” Doran said decisively before sitting back and crossing his legs. “We’re keeping him.”

“That’s not even up for debate,” I said. “But we’ll need to beef up security until the news dies down.” Doran met my eyes and nodded. I trusted him to take care of it because he knew how important it was to me to keep Winter happy. And I was going to probably suck at relationships, so I needed all the help I could get to keep additional stressors like the paparazzi out of our way.

I leaned back against the cool leather seats and pulled Winter with me. He leaned against my shoulder and began telling me his favorite parts of the concert.

It turned out, he’d swapped seats with a young teenager who’d had a cast on her broken leg. “There was no way she’d be able to see once everyone started jumping up,” he explained. “So I gave her my spot.”

Doran met my eye again and smiled. Lucky bastard, he mouthed.

He was right. And maybe one day I’d write another song about it.