Chapter Eight #2
In the dark, on their sides and facing each other, they toyed with each other’s fingers.
Blaze’s muscles were sore, and he was worn out, but his brain wasn’t tired.
That sucker raced in every direction. They had officially been together for over five months.
The tour was almost done, and that practically guaranteed German would get moved to another job.
Blaze could not let that happen. If he asked German to choose him, it wouldn’t happen.
He couldn’t expect German to leave his job and do something he hated because his pride wouldn’t let him live off Blaze’s money.
That was why he had brought up marriage.
Blaze highly doubted German would marry him.
But he thought he had a better shot at that than just asking German to give up his life and choose Blaze.
“I love you.” Blaze never tired of saying that. He hoped German never got sick of hearing it.
A sweet smile passed over German’s lips. “I love you too.”
Blaze had another thought because those fuckers were all over the place. “You know, I’ve never thought to ask how you ended up named German.”
German chuckled. “Apparently, my grandmother was German and was proud of her heritage. She passed away from cancer when my mom was pregnant with me. Since I came out a boy and she would never give me a girl’s name, she named me German rather than giving me my grandmother’s name.
Funnily enough, it was Jamie, so it would've been fine. How did you end up a Justin?”
Blaze laughed. “As you know from meeting them, each of us boys has a J name. They just felt like doing that, I guess.”
German chuckled at his answer. “That’s fair.”
“About what I said in the shower earlier.” His mouth just started the conversation with zero planning.
German cut him off. “Don’t worry about it. I know you were just in the heat of things.”
“That’s the thing. I wasn’t.” Blaze took a breath and pressed on.
“This tour is almost over, and you have this career waiting that’ll definitely take you away from me.
Sooner or later, both our careers will tear us in two different directions, and I don’t want that.
” It was out there now. No going back, so Blaze didn’t stop.
“I know it’s not fair to ask you to give up your job.
It’s doubly not right for me to ask you to risk everything on just some guy you’re dating.
But when I say I love you, I fucking mean it with every fiber of my being.
I want us to make it. I’m scared as hell we won’t if I don’t give you a reason to stay. ”
German stared at him expressionlessly for what felt like forever. “So, you only want to marry me so I don’t go back to work.”
It wasn’t a question, but Blaze had to shut that bullshit line of thinking down now.
“No. Hear the firmness in my voice. I don’t use this tone often.
” A smile snapped to German’s lips, but Blaze was determined to make German understand.
“You’re not hearing me, and I know I’m not expressing myself well.
” Blaze decided to stop pussyfooting around.
“When this tour ends, and we get settled at home, I want to marry you. Like, I get this is sudden and you probably have a lot to think about, but—”
Someone knocked on the door, interrupting them.
They looked toward the door and then back at each other.
German rolled from the bed and pulled on a pair of jeans.
He checked the peephole. The way his muscles flexed was hot, but also worried him.
If people knew his room number, anything could happen, and German was just one person.
German’s shoulders relaxed. He tossed a perplexed look Blaze’s way. “It’s Dara and Ben.”
Blaze leapt from the bed and grabbed his pajama pants. The moment he was sufficiently covered, he motioned for German to open the door.
When he got his first full glimpse of Dara, he nearly gasped. She looked like hell. Her face was covered in bruises, and she had lost even more weight. Ben was asleep with his head on her shoulder. German waved her inside.
She flashed him a grateful smile as she set a huge duffle bag on the floor before she sat in the chair Blaze brought to her. German and he sat on the foot of the bed. It seemed none of them knew where to start.
“Who did that to your face?” He had been wrong. German seemed to know exactly where to start.
She checked on Ben, as if making sure he was still asleep. “My ex. That’s not important, though.”
Blaze shot to his feet. “That motherfucker! I—”
Ben jumped, forcing Blaze to stop. He sat down and waited until Ben’s eyes closed and a soft snore filled the air.
Blaze lowered his voice. “Your ex, as in Brian?”
Dara nodded. “That’s not why I’m here.”
Blaze nearly lost his shit again. “Not why you’re here? What the fuck, Dara? You’ve always let Brian get away with this shit. This is why Brian has zero rights to Ben and a restraining order. My lawyers will eat him alive. In fact, I have the connections to make that motherfucker disappear.”
“Stop.” Dara sounded tired as hell. That was the only reason Blaze pressed his lips together and forced himself to stay silent.
When Dara seemed confident he would let her speak, Dara started again.
“I need the world’s biggest favor, but you guys are the only people I trust. You know I love Mom, but she also has the very old-school, strict mentality.
She thinks if she pushes Ben hard enough every day that she can force him into being her version of normal.
It’s long past…” Dara visibly swallowed.
“I have to get my life together. Ben deserves better than me.” Tears fell over her lashes.
The longer he stared at her, the more Blaze realized she looked as if she had been crying for hours.
“I know it’s a lot, but I wondered if maybe Ben could stay with you for a little while. ”
Blaze deflated. He reclaimed his seat. “You know there’s nothing I would love to do more, but I still have three weeks left on this tour.
I can’t leave. There are real legal implications.
Not just for me, but for the entire band.
Plus, the damage of canceling concerts would be a huge blow to our reputation. I can’t do that.”
Dara licked her lips, looking even more nervous than before. Her gaze slid German’s way. “Actually, I hoped you would take him.” She rushed to keep speaking as if she expected an automatic no. “You’ve really connected with him, and you accept him for exactly who he is. With you, I’d know he—”
“I’ll do it,” German said, cutting her off.
All Blaze could do was look between the two, like watching a tennis match.
“I told my boss I would take a job in Washington next week, but I can easily back out.” That was news to Blaze.
German just kept going. “Ben and I can head home to California tomorrow, and Blaze will be there after the tour ends. He needs you to get better.”
If Blaze hadn’t already been sitting, the tone of those last words would have had Blaze on his ass. No one in the family, as far as Blaze knew, had ever taken such a harsh tone with Dara.
German didn’t stop there. “I know you can do this. You have to, because you’re right: he deserves for you to be better.”
To Blaze’s surprise, Dara wiped her eyes and sat up straighter.
She gave him a sharp nod. “The benefits of having a retired judge for a mom, I know people. I had some paperwork drawn up today, before I changed my mind. If you’re really willing, it gives you, and Justin, of course, guardianship until I’m well enough to be a responsible mother.
I have his birth certificate, shot records, social security card, and basically everything you need to take custody tonight.
All you have to do is sign.” Dara’s voice shook, but she didn’t falter.
It was beyond obvious she felt like she was being a good mom by doing what was best for Ben, no matter how much it hurt.
German nodded. “Yeah.”
Blaze was blown away, but he had to help Dara get better. “Of course. Yeah. Whatever you need.” He heard himself saying all the words, and yet there was an odd disconnect. Blaze was too shocked to comprehend the full picture.
If German felt the same, he didn’t show an ounce of fear. “Just show me what to sign.”
Dara spent a moment swiping away the nonstop tears as she kissed Ben and woke him just enough to say goodbye.
The way he kept falling back asleep had Blaze a little concerned.
He didn’t think Dara would drug him or anything, but she had done a lot of things in the last few years he never would’ve thought she would.
Finally, she passed Ben to German. German got Ben settled beneath the covers in the center of the bed before he looked at the paperwork she had brought. Dara chewed the side of her nail and stared hard at German as German skimmed each page.
German paused. He looked up from reading. “This gives us permanent custody. It doesn’t say anything about temporary guardianship until you get better.”
Dara twisted her fingers in her lap. “I know. Mom is a former lawyer and judge. If I don’t state things firmly, she will try to take custody from you.
The lawyer I used assured me this is the ironclad way to do things to ensure he doesn’t end up with Mom.
She’s a good mom to us, but she isn’t the one who’s right for Ben.
We can fix the paperwork when I’m clean. ”
German stared at her for a moment before responding. “Do you have a pen?”
She glanced around, looking defeated. “Why didn’t I bring a pen? I swear I can be so stupid.” The venom behind the cruel words she spoke to herself pulled at Blaze’s heartstrings. He hated everything about this. If she hadn’t gone down this road—
“Don’t talk about yourself like that.”
Blaze snapped to attention at German’s sharp admonishment. He had never seen this side of German before. It was hot.