“Jay, why did Radioactive leave the tour?”
“Jay, is it true you got into a fight with Blake from Eleven, and they asked you to leave the tour?”
“Are you going into rehab?”
“Are you really sick?”
I don’t answer any of them.
Soren shuts the door behind him, but the flashes keep going off even though they’d only get reflections from the tinted windows.
Luce opens the door on my side and takes one of the two seats in front of us.
“Okay, I’ve never had that many paparazzi after me. Not even after I came out,” Soren says.
“See. I’m a real celebrity. You’re just an athlete.”
“Not anymore,” Luce says. “It’s going to take them three point two seconds to figure out who he is, and then they’re going to want to know why a hockey player is with us.”
I didn’t even think about that side of things. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think—”
Soren reaches for my hand. “It’s okay. I did. And it’s not like I’m completely new to all this. It’s just on a much bigger scale.”
Luce is on his phone, scrolling through something. “Okay, first stop is Joystar headquarters to grovel and talk about when we’ll be rejoining the tour. Then home. Benji and Freya are already there.”
“Home?” Soren asks.
“The band owns a place in the Hollywood Hills,” Luce says.
“We bought it as a reward for hitting our first number one.”
“And you all live there?” Soren asks.
“When we’re in L.A. yeah, we live together. It’s rare though. Benji and Freya go home to see Freya’s family in New York a lot.”
“You don’t go with them?”
I share a look with Luce and wonder how much I should say. “Not so much this past year, no.” Because when we haven’t been on tour, I’ve stayed in L.A. with Harley. That remains unsaid.
My life in L.A. almost feels foreign to me. It’s not my real home. I always see Noah and Matt’s place in New York, or even their Chicago penthouse, as home.
Home has always been people, not a place, so L.A. feels as empty as when I left it, but when I look at Soren, that same sensation that hit me that night he came to see me perform in Tampa is back.
He’s a piece of home and sets me at ease.
I reckon I’m gonna need that to see Harley again.
Chapter Nineteen
Soren
Okay, I’ve stepped off a plane and right into the chaos that is Jet’s real life.
There are more paparazzi outside of Joystar Records when we arrive.
“Don’t say anything,” Luce says. “Just get inside.”
When I exit the car, questions are thrown to Roman, and I can only assume they think I’m Roman Josi. I pause in my steps.
Just leave it.
Roman and I get mixed up all the time. We’re used to it. Still, it’s annoying.
Jet slams into my back. “Keep going.” That’s when he hears it too. He grabs hold of my hand and drags me toward the building, but he gives a backward glance. “Do your research, boys. Wrong hockey player.”
More flashes and yelling, and we don’t get a break from it until we’re safely inside where the paparazzi can’t go.
What have I gotten myself into? This is just the beginning.
The question rings through my head, but with one look at Jet, I’m reminded of why I’m doing this.
I still don’t know how things will work when I go back to hockey or even how long I’m still going to be playing. Perhaps Jet and I owe it to each other to take a few more years—him to experience all the success and me to retire.
But ever since the second he stepped off that helicopter in Fiji, all I’ve been able to think is this is our chance, and I’m going to take it—paparazzi, ex-boyfriends, and record labels be damned.
I follow Jet and Luce into the elevator, and we go up to the top floor.
When Luce points us toward a waiting room, he goes to speak to the receptionist.
“Sorry about that,” Jet says. “I figured the paps should get their facts straight.”
“I’m sure Roman is thankful.”
“They should put you on the same team and call you twins. Ooh, you could swap jerseys and confuse people.”
I laugh. “Thanks, but I have no desire to play for Nashville.”
Jet’s face falls. “Yeah, that’d be one way for me to dump your ass faster than you can say daddy issues.”
“I know about your shitty family back in Tennessee. Your brother has talked about it some—mainly, how your parents basically sold Wade to Matt so he would pay off their debts.”
Jet looks away and folds his arms. “Hey, at least they thought Wade was worth something. They threw me out and didn’t care where I ended up.”
Stepping forward, I wrap myself around him, and he buries his head on my chest. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“It’s fine. I get the last laugh, right? They never supported me, so fuck them. They’re not going to see a dime of my money. I don’t know why Matt bothers with them.”