I sucked harder, increasing the pressure until he came, spilling in my mouth.

He collapsed to the floor, pulling me on top of him and cradling me close. We were sweaty and tired and out of breath, and it was the best I’d ever felt. I pressed a kiss to his broad chest as his arms enfolded me tightly. “Never leave me, Buttercup,” he whispered in my ear.

“Never,” I said, gazing into his eyes.

We lay there and held each other for a long time.

WE BOTH JUMPED when someone pounded on Leo’s door.

“What the fuck?” Leo yelled out, searching for our clothes.

Boom, boom, boom.

They pounded again, louder this time, like they were trying to wake the dead. “Who is it?” Leo barked through the door.

“Sebastian. People are starting to leave. I thought you’d want to know.” I heard him chuckling. “Want me to come in?”

“No!” We both yelled at the same time. Leo hurriedly got back in his costume, and I watched, trying not to pout.

“This will be continued later,” he promised me with heavy, possessive eyes I felt all the way to my toes.

I arched my brows.

He kissed my lips. “I hate to leave you. Just give me a few minutes. And when I come back in here, I want you naked and in my bed.”

I grinned.

He traced his fingers along my face and said uncertainly, “You are gonna stay with me aren’t you?”

“Always, my love,” I told him, holding his hand next to my heart.

He searched my eyes like he was unsure.

I shook my head. “Go! Stop worrying, I’ll be fine. I’ll find Sebastian and Mila.”

I shooed him out and tried to fix my hair and costume. When I walked out the door, Sebastian was waiting, leaning nonchalantly against the wall, a happy smirk on his face.

“Band done?” I inquired.

He nodded. “Yep, all wrapped up. Vital Rejects was a hit.”

I sauntered over to him, and when I got close enough, I popped him a good one the arm.

“Ow, what was that for?” he whined theatrically, moving away from me and rubbing his arm.

“For banging on the door,” I said with a grin.

“But it was so fun,” he said, laughing. “And you know you got the rest of your life with Leo.”

We reached the end of the stairs, and my eyes searched the crowd until I found him talking with a group of muscled guys. Being a responsible business owner, he had commitments, and he couldn’t be my doting boyfriend all the time. We would be on different paths until I was done with college, and it wouldn’t always be easy.

Sebastian snorted. “God, you’re glowing with it. You guys are going to make me sick with all the goo-goo eyes and shit.” He made a gagging sound and grabbed his chest. “What if you guys get married! Holy shit, you’d be my step-mom!”

I rolled my eyes at him.

Mila came over and stood with us.

“Where did Tiffani go?” I asked her.

She snickered. “She got pissed and left as soon as Leo started singing. He loves you, Nora. I gotta say, I’m a little jealous,” she said with a sincere smile.

“Hey, you always got me,” Sebastian exclaimed, picking her up and swinging her around and around until she shrieked loudly.

I had an epiphany, staring at them. “Damn! It was right in front of me the whole time,” I said with excitement, while they looked at me in confusion. “Of course, all that blond hair, the cocky attitude. Yep, Sebastian, you’re the king of the jungle . . . which is a total misnomer . . . really, the lion is the king of the savanna, whatever . . . I digress.”

Sebastian sat Mila back on her feet. “This I gotta hear,” he said, walking over to me. “Okay, lay it out for me. You’re saying I’m a lion?” he said sarcastically, but I could tell he really wanted to hear it.

Mila gave him a hip bump. “At least you’re majestic. I’m a freaking rabbit. A scared bunny with a nose that twitches,” she huffed.

I chuckled and cocked my head to study Sebastian. “Like a lion, you’re dramatic, obviously, and regally handsome . . . don’t get a big head about that one. You’re tough and ferocious and protective when someone hurts your loved ones. But in the end, underneath all that hissing, you’re still just a big ole pussycat at heart.”

“Here, kitty, kitty,” Mila said, poking him in the ribs.

“Huh, not bad,” he said with a teasing smile. “You might make a good mom after all.”

I yelled and took off after him . . .

AROUND ONE IN the morning, Leo was still talking to his guests, yet periodically sending me hot looks. I’d send them back, my body throbbing with need.

Soon though, I headed back upstairs to get in his bed. Before I did, I opened the shuttered window in his room and gazed out at the stars. The sight of them gave me hope, and I thought of a quote by Van Gogh: “I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of stars makes me dream.”

I didn’t know what the future held for us, but my dream was that we’d be together forever. I did know with certainty that life is full of bad people, broken people, sad people, betrayed people, twisted people, and people with secrets and scars the world never sees.

Yet, it is also full of people who love each other. People who are happy.

We all have a choice in life, to either quit or try again, and you can be sure I was going to try, try, try. Even though I was far from being what I wanted to be, my path would lead to happiness. Yes, life would suck and be scary sometimes, but I would keep going and searching for those happy moments, because in that direction lies grace and love.

I didn’t want to do bad things; I wanted to be true to myself. And being true meant I was not the bee champion, beauty queen, piano-playing genius my parents had shaped me into. No, I was just a simple, young girl whose love for a boy would last until the end of time.

IT WAS TWO o’clock by the time I got the last guest out, and I was exhausted, but all I could think about was her upstairs where she belonged. Mine. She was mine. Forever.

I tiptoed in the bedroom and remembered another time when I’d lain beside her in a bed. I’d tried so hard to distance myself from her then, but she’d broken through my defenses. Even at eighteen, she’d been smarter and wiser than me.

She was naked, lying on top of the covers on her stomach. Her red hair was spread out over my pillow, and I stroked my fingers down her luscious wings, tracing the tips over the script. She stirred a little, and I straightened up and took my clothes off. I pulled a condom from the side table and rolled it on my hard cock. I got in bed and straddled her legs and leaned down to kiss down her shoulders and back, my hands kneading her ass. I kissed behind her knees and down her calf. I kissed the arch of her feet. I kissed her sweet toes.