Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34927 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 175(@200wpm)___ 140(@250wpm)___ 116(@300wpm)
“To be part of or adjunct to or—”
“You are part of me. It’s that simple. You don’t need to analyze the data. It’s clear as day. At least, it is to me. You’re the only one I want. And you belong anywhere you want to be. I just hope you want to be with me. I love you, baby.”
I launched myself into his arms and held on tight. “I love you too. I love you, I love you.”
Bobby J pulled back to capture my face and crashed his mouth over mine. The city noises blended and merged into a sweet cacophony, then faded altogether till I could almost imagine we were the only ones left, standing on the sidewalk under the stars with a blank slate and a new beginning. This wasn’t a dream. This could be my real life. And if I could start anywhere, I wanted to be somewhere…with him.
Epilogue
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”—Carl Sagan
Bobby J
A cool February breeze blew through the campsite, sending a fine layer of red dirt spiraling nearby. The wool blankets helped stave off the worst of the chilly bite in the air, however, the true genius had been packing a giant thermos of hot chocolate. It was fucking freezing out here.
“I’m cold,” I complained.
“Me too, b-but, this is so b-beautiful.” Cody burrowed closer to my side, tangling his leg between mine and resting his head on my shoulder.
I glanced up at the inky black sky dotted with millions upon millions of radiant stars. More stars than I’d ever seen at once. It was as celestially wonderous as my boyfriend promised it would be. Moreover, it was humbling. A reminder from the universe that we were but specks of dust with a lot to learn. Cody and I were up to the challenge. We might never be Einsteins, but we’d made a pact months ago to always try new things and have many adventures…together.
The first one was pretty damn exciting. Cody moved into my place last fall. Best decision we ever made. Waking up next to the person I loved was pretty damn cool. I thought we’d have to wait till January, but Topher moved into a new house in Pasadena with a few friends of his and Cody’s. Apparently, they had an interesting side project they wanted to complete in their final year of grad school and decided it was more doable if they shared a house. Cody’s job at JPL was close to his friends’ new place, so he still saw them often. He shared hilarious stories about the Script Club they’d started. When he told me they wanted to use his editorial about the geek and the rock star, I laughed. But hey, it made a great story. A grand adventure in the making.
Though truthfully, most of our adventures took place at home and probably wouldn’t sound particularly exciting to anyone but us. We baked cookies, cupcakes, and another terrible pineapple upside-down cake. We planted a lemon tree in the yard and tulip bulbs that would begin to bloom within the month. And yeah, we had cape sex. It was one of those funny things that got the motor running but quickly became a pain in the ass.
We’d done some traveling too, although mostly for work. Cody joined me on tour with the band to the East Coast last summer. He’d been nervous about going. The logistics of traveling with a large group from city to city, dealing with huge crowds, long hours, media attention, and a lot of strong personalities had to seem daunting as fuck. Maybe it had been selfish of me asking him to come along, but damn, I wanted him with me. I felt like a better version of myself when he was around. More balanced. More in tune with the pieces of me I’d thought I’d have to give up for music.
I didn’t have to give up anything. I could rock out in front of rabid fans, whipping Jealousy’s audiences into a frenzy with raunchy guitar licks and onstage hijinks, and go home to my sexy boyfriend poring over data while watching the Syfy channel. Although most of the time, Cody came to our shows. Whether he watched from the side stage with Charlie or in a reserved spot at the front, I made sure he knew I played for him.
Every bend in the notes, every rise and fall, every fast-paced riff and plaintive scream of the strings was dedicated to him. I told him that after a show in New York City. He’d blushed furiously and said he wished he had more to offer. I hadn’t liked the sound of that. He gave without thinking…constantly. His soft-spoken wisdom, his time, his intelligence, his heart, his body, and his passionate, unrelenting curiosity.
And tonight, he gave me the stars. Literally.