Most people look at Jace and see your stereotypical, tattooed, bad boy. But he’s more. So much more.
He finishes the song, and as the last note hangs in the air, his eyes meet mine.
I burst into tears while the patrons clap.
The restaurant suddenly feels too small, too stifling, and I abandon my drink and chair, rushing through the building and outside.
I burst through the heavy wooden doors onto the street.
I inhale big breaths of the cold air, hoping it’ll soothe me, but I’m far too worked up. I bend, pressing my hands to my knees while his words swirl through my mind.
The streetlight flickers above me, and I move away from it, walking down the street.
The door to the restaurant flies open and I look back. Jace stands there, his coat hanging on his arm, and his hair now falling into his eyes.
“Nova,” he calls to me, but I keep walking. “Nova!” His feet thud after me and a m
oment later his large hand wraps around my arm and he turns me around. “Nova,” he says my name again, softly this time, almost tender sounding. “You’re crying?” He frames it as a question even though it’s very obvious that I am, indeed, crying.
I nod anyway, wiping at the stupid wetness clinging to my cheeks. “That song …” My voice is thick, clogged with tears. “You wrote it about me.”
“That’s one.” I raise a brow at this and he adds, “I’ve written a lot of songs about you.”
“You have?” My voice squeaks with surprise.
He smiles, just a slight tilt of his lips like he feels shy over this fact. “I find that you’re very inspiring.”
My brows furrow. “Like your muse?”
He nods and slips his arms into his coat. He shivers, and I realize it’s grown even colder as the evening progressed. I didn’t even notice the temperature at first, my skin was so heated from being in the restaurant.
“Yeah, exactly like that,” he adds. Softly, he says, “I didn’t think it would make you cry.”
I count, breathe out, and force a smile. “It was beautiful but it …”
“It what?” he prompts when I flounder for words.
I shake my head. “I’ve never had someone see so much of me before. Things that I don’t even voice. You notice it all.”
He shrugs and clears his throat. “It’s easy to notice something when it’s like looking in a mirror.”
I swallow thickly. “We’re really fucked up, aren’t we?”
He chuckles, and for some reason, that makes me laugh too. “Yeah, I guess we are. At least we have each other.”
I inhale a deep breath and blow it out. “I still feel a bit freaked out,” I admit with a sheepish smile.
He smiles sadly. “I probably shouldn’t have sprung that on you like that. I’m sorry.”
I press my lips together and rock back on my heels. “Will you play it for me when we go home?”
“Are you sure?” He raises a brow.
I nod. “I want to hear it all. I ran out before you finished.”
He glances back in the direction of the restaurant and then to me. “Should we head home, then?”
I nod, shivering in the cold despite my coat. We start back toward the apartment and Jace pulls his cigarette pack from his pocket. He taps one out and cups his hands around the tip as he lights it. He inhales a long drag and blows it out, watching the smoke swirl through the air before it disappears.