“I never should have come to this battle of the bands,” I muttered. Singing at a karaoke bar was one thing, but in front of their fans and judges with a real prize on the line added an expectation I didn’t know if I could handle.
“Your voice is epic, and no one else has a girl singer,” Ash said.
“And you know all the songs. You’ve sung them a million times at practice,” Brogan added.
“Yeah, but these songs aren’t duets. How the hell do you expect me to work around that?” I asked.
“Uhhh…I guess it’s a good thing you and Parker screw around all the time making them into duets,” Ash explained like I was dumb.
“That was only a couple of times,” I grumbled.
“Enough for us. Besides, you guys have a freaky-deaky connection thing going on,” Brogan said. “Probably that brother-sister bond.”
Ash snorted, and I cringed.
“We are not brother and sister,” Parker growled.
“I don’t think I can do this,” I said, mostly to myself.
Parker turned to me, sucking all the oxygen from our space when he slid his hands against my cheeks and tilted my face up to his. The world faded just like it always did with him. All I saw were his deep blue eyes. I held on to his wrists, finding comfort in our connection—in the soft skin on the inside of his wrists, where I found the soothing beat of his pulse.
“Nova,” he whispered just for me. “You can do this. We can do this. I’m right there with you.”
We may not have repeated that night—agreeing to not push the limits, but there was no denying the relationship between us. I didn’t know much about intimacy, but the moments between Parker and me left me bare—stripped to nothing but me. I couldn’t fathom anything more honest or close.
He made me better—brave. Hence, why when I would shy away, all he had to do was hold out his hand, and I trusted him enough to step into his light.
Just like I would now.
“Okay,” I agreed with a nod.
His smile lit up my world, and it took all I had to remain rooted to the ground and not press up, closing the gap to latch on to his beautiful mouth. Not a day went by that I didn’t remember how perfect they’d tasted.
The guys whooped and high-fived.
I bounced around and shook out my limbs, waiting for them to call our name. I went out back and warmed up my voice. I’d never had professional training, but I knew my body well enough to know that first note was always hard to hit with cold vocal cords.
But all my nerves were for nothing. When I got on that stage, thirty seconds into the first song, the crowd faded. First, I lost myself to Parker, meeting his gaze during the first chorus as we locked into the perfect harmony.
Then, as we moved through the set, I lost myself to the music like I did with my art. I relaxed and danced to the beat Oren kept on the drums, played air guitar with my back pressed to Brogan. Jumped around with Ash and Parker during their most upbeat song. It was like any other practice of goofing around and having the best time.
I loved it. And I wouldn’t have had it without Parker pushing me.
When the set ended, I bounced off the stage and was hoisted up into Oren’s arms, and twirled around.
As soon as he put me down, another set of arms wrapped around me from behind. “Kickass, Supernova,” Ash whispered in my ear.
Brogan mussed my hair with his giant palm like I was a dog who did a good job. I was sure my cheeks would crack from so much smiling, and when Brogan shifted out of the way, there stood Parker, watching with pride and awe—for me. Knowing I put that look of wonder on his face had me flying even higher. I patted Ash’s arm, and he let me free so I could run into Parker’s arms.
When I leaped, he caught me. I wrapped my legs around his waist and squeezed for all I was worth.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” I whispered.
He smiled into my neck, and we held on for dear life like we were trying to meld our energy into one. “I didn’t do anything.”
“You know when to push me.”
“It’s okay to be in the spotlight, Nova. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
Almost desperate to place my lips on his, I somehow managed to divert and smack a giant kiss to his cheek.
“Hey, where’s mine,” Oren whined.
I blew him a kiss, and he caught it, rubbing his palm between his legs. “Gross,” I said, pretending to gag.
As much as I didn’t want to, I relaxed my grip to get down. What proceeded was the most erotic slide down his body, my mouth inches from his, my breasts scraping along every dip and curve of his chest, and I swore I could feel a slight bulge grazing my core and abdomen.