Chapter 37 Jesse
THIRTY-SEVEN
JESSE
My mic falls to the stage, the sound of it hitting the surface jarring me back into my right mind. I pull back, but only far enough to get a breath.
“What are you doing?” I ask as the lights go down, but I’m acutely aware of the cameraman still trained on our faces. We’re still being projected onto every screen in the stadium.
“Loving you,” Luc says simply, “out loud.” His chest is heaving, either from being out of breath or from the adrenaline of what he just did.
“I needed to show you how serious I am. I don’t care who sees or photographs or talks about me, I can live through all of that. But I can’t live without you, Jesse.”
“But–”
“I don’t care,” he says, and kisses me again, pulling me tight across his body.
My arms come up to wrap around his neck, and the crowd roars again before we’re plunged into darkness.
We stay that way until Cory taps us on the shoulders and tells us we have to move because they’re breaking the stage down.
Luc takes my hand in his and pulls me into the closest tunnel until we find a quiet space.
“You’re fucking crazy,” I say, although my tears and the smile trying to take over my face aren’t exactly an admonishment.
I feel like all the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders, or like the sun has finally come out on the coldest, grayest day.
Just his hand in mine feels like the whole world has been set right.
“There’s not a chance in hell I was going to risk you walking away again without showing you once and for all that I’m not afraid. I want you and whatever comes with that.”
Turns out, what comes with that is a suspension and a hefty fine, but both of us still have smiles on our faces when we walk out of the stadium hand-in-hand.