The guard at the gate yells for me to stop, but I sprint past him and wave my pass. "I'm with the band."

I dodge the fans lingering in the corridor and reach the door leading backstage. Again, I flash my pass to the guard, not bothering to slow down or explain myself.

I'm almost there.

At the end of the hallway stand the double doors leading to the loading area. I slam through them, and my knees buckle under me as I take in the empty lot. Every bus is gone, and the gates are closed. I'm too late.

It's not the end of the world; I'll see Kade tomorrow. But tomorrow feel like a lifetime away.

I blot the tears from my eyes and take a deep breath. Running both my hands through my hair, I turn to go back inside but stop dead in my tracks. I blink, fearing my eyes are playing tricks on me.

Kade leans beside the double doors with his hands in his pockets. His black locks are a wild mess, and his amber eyes stare straight at me. The crooked smile on his face tells me he knows what I'm here for.

With my fingers still gripping the roots of my hair, I walk to him. I'm afraid that some sort of anxiety attack is taking over, and I'm hallucinating. Honestly, a fake Kade is better than no Kade.

"Why aren't you...how did you..." I stop just before I reach him and hold my breath.

"Nicky," he says.

"I told him not to say anything to you."

Kade shrugs. "Are you really mad?"

"No." I take a step closer and kick the small gravel on the asphalt with the tip of my shoe. "I had this all planned out and ran through all the things I'd say to you, but now that I'm here, I can't remember how it was all supposed to go."

There is something about the way he is looking at me. It's not necessarily smug, but he knows he has me, and he has no intention of letting me off the hook that easy. "Give it a try." He cocks his eyebrow and crosses his arms over his chest.

I bite my bottom lip to hide my smile and let my heart guide me. "You asked me what I wanted before you left. I was over-complicating it; I tried to think of all the things a normal nineteen-year-old girl would want to do, like see the world or try something crazy. I thought the point of all this was for me to be on my own, but I realized something—I don't want to do any of those things without you. The answer is so simple. I just want to be with you. Where you go, I want to go."

He gives me a lopsided grin. "And?"

"And my life is only the way I want it to be with you in it. With every single cell in my body, I love you. I'm so in love with you, Kade."

He slides his long fingers into the belt loops on my jeans and pulls me to him. I press my lips to his—hard and full of passion. Moving my palms to the back of his head, I let the strands of hair run through my fingers. His hands move to the back of my shirt and glide up my spine, and I'm dying to feel his skin against mine. Running my hands in between us, I find the hem of his shirt and lift it. My fingers brush the hair trailing down from his navel, and I want more. My fingers change their direction and move to the button of his pants, and with little effort, it slides through the hole. Kade takes my hand in his and guides it away from his jeans with an anguished moan.

"Ari, you have to stop," he says, his lips move against mine. "The buses didn't leave. They're parked outside the gate, and if we stay here much longer, someone is going to come looking for me."

"Damn." I step back and straighten my shirt as he fixes his pants.

He places his hands on either side of my face and kisses my forehead. "So, Ariella James, I'm guessing you're back on staff with the road crew."

I tilt my head and smile. "If you'll have me."

Kade rolls his eyes. "The only thing left for you to do is decide if you're going on the crew's bus or are you staying with me?"

"You, Kade. It will always be you."