Jace climbed into the back of the truck. Though it was chilly outside, the air inside was stifling, thick, and moist. It smelled like an unwashed gym sock. Sed was bench-pressing twice Jace’s weight, his bulging muscles straining against his skin.
Jace moved to stand at Sed’s head and peered down at his red, sweaty face. “Need a spotter?”
Sed lifted an eyebrow, but instead of pointing out that Jace would make a piss-poor spotter, he nodded. “Sure.”
Jace watched Sed do a couple of reps, hoping to God he never actually needed a spotter. With one useless arm, there was no way Jace could possibly hold that much weight, much less lift it off Sed’s chest.
“Did you come in here for a reason?” Sed asked.
Jace shrugged.
“Hiding from your chick or something?”
“Nah, she’s an angel.”
“Eric?”
“Nope. We’re cool.” For once.
Sed grunted and lifted the metal bar to rest on the bench’s stand. The truck rocked slightly with the shift in weight. Sed sat up and wiped his face on a towel. “Got a problem?”
“Kinda. I need to build up the strength in my arm. It’s about healed, but…” He shrugged.
“Aren’t you supposed to wear that sling for two more weeks?” Sed acted more like his father than Jace’s actual father ever had. Jace had always found it comforting. He never wanted to let this guy down.
Jace ducked his head, disappointment sinking low in his chest. “Yeah.”
Jace turned to leave the truck, but Sed caught him by the back of his shirt. “Let’s see it.”
He hesitated and then pulled his shirt off his arms and let it hang around his neck. The puckered skin of the scar on his upper arm looked a little less angry every day. He needed a mirror to see the one on the back of his shoulder, but it had healed shut as well. They no longer required bandages. The problem wasn’t the wounds though. It was the loss of muscle mass from wearing that sling so long. Jace could see the difference in the size of his two arms, and apparently, so could Sed. He poked Jace’s right biceps.
“You should start out pretty light and build up to heavier stuff. We’ll get you evened out, but I don’t want you to hurt yourself by rushing this. We’ve got Jon until you’re better.”
Jace pulled his shirt back in place, embarrassed by his puny arm in the company of ripped-beyond-belief Sed. “That’s why I’m ready to get stronger. Now.” Jace lifted his head, forcing his gaze not to waver. “I don’t want Jon to take my place anymore.”
Sed smiled, which always made him look less tough and reminded Jace that Sed really was a nice guy and genuinely cared about people. “I guess it would be boring to be stuck on the tour bus for a month and not get to be onstage. We’ll get you back out there soon.”
“I never wanted Jon to take my place,” Jace clarified.
Sed scratched his head, looking perplexed. “But you wouldn’t have been able to play a month ago. We would have had to cancel tour dates.”
Jace’s heart thudded. He knew his next words would make his feelings perfectly clear, and he had no idea how Sed would respond. Jace expected him to tell him to get lost. Permanently. “You did it for Trey.”
“But there was no one readily available to take Trey’s place like there was with you.” A look of realization crossed Sed’s face. “Oh.” Sed blushed. Jace didn’t know that Sed was capable of blushing. “If you felt that way, dipshit, why didn’t you say something sooner?”
Jace rubbed the hoop in his earlobe. “It’s selfish of me to feel that way.”
“So what. We’re not going to know how you feel about stuff unless you tell us. It doesn’t mean it will change our decisions, but at least we’ll understand where you’re coming from. You’re part of this band, too, you know?”
Sed hadn’t told him to get lost. He had sort of chastised him though. Jace soaked it up like a sponge.
“I want back onstage as soon as I can get my strength up,” Jace said, “but I don’t want to suck. I want to play properly. I know I’m not ready for a full show yet. Maybe I can play half of the next show. A few songs at least.”
“Whatever you think you can handle.” Sed went to a rack of hand weights and lifted a set of fifteen-pounders. He handed them to Jace and selected forty-pound weights for himself. “Let’s get busy then.”
Sed put him through the ringer with repetition after repetition. The weight was far too light for Jace’s left arm, but he struggled to lift even fifteen pounds with his right. He’d never let Sed know that though. He worked until his muscles refused to contract.
“You’re done,” Sed said.
Sed set his weights on the rack and took Jace’s. Good thing. Jace probably would have dropped it on his foot. Sed set the weights down and then cuffed Jace on the side of his head. “Go rest for a while. We can work out again tomorrow.”
“How about later tonight?” Jace should have recovered enough to move by then.
“You shouldn’t overdo it, Jace.”
Jace lowered his gaze. He preferred to work out with Sed. The guy was a body builder. Sed knew what he was doing, but Jace could do this on his own if necessary.
Sed chuckled. “You’re really determined to get stronger, aren’t you?”
Jace met his eyes. “Yeah.”
“Then it’s a date.”
“A date?” a feminine voice said from the end of the truck bed. “Sorry, Jace, but I’m the only one he’s dating for the next forty-eight hours.”
Sed gasped, his eyes widening with shock as they located their guest. “Jessica.”
“Hey, baby,” she said, with a beautiful smile on her face. She climbed into the truck and dusted her hands off on her frilly white dress. The woman was amazingly sexy. No wonder Sed was already racing toward her. “Did you miss—”
Her words were cut off by Sed’s enthusiastic kiss. He was hugging her so close Jace wouldn’t be surprised if he broke her ribs. After a long moment, Sed pulled away and looked at her as if unable to believe she was really there. He touched her face, her long, strawberry blonde hair, and then settled both hands on her shoulders, tilting her back slightly so that her belly brushed against his sweaty, naked torso. “How did you get here?”
She laughed and cupped the side of his face. “Brian sent me a plane ticket. He told me to ditch school and get my ass to Canada before you spontaneously combusted. I’d have been here sooner, but I needed a passport.”
“Brian did?”
“You’re welcome,” Brian said from the ground at the end of the truck. He had his arms crossed over his chest and looked pleased with himself. Jon stood beside him grinning, but when he noticed Jace, he scowled and slinked away.
“You two better make good use of that bedroom tonight,” Brian added, “because Myrna will be here tomorrow, and we won’t be leaving that room for two days.”
Jace wasn’t sure if Sed and Jessica even heard him. They were lost in each other’s eyes. “You’re all sweaty, baby,” she murmured. “And damn, you’re ripped. What have you been doing with yourself?” Her hands stroked his bulging biceps with obvious appreciation.
Sed’s hold loosened. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get my stink all over you.”
Jessica leaned closer and licked the sweat off his collarbone. Sed’s body tensed. “I want all of you, Sed. All over me.” Her hand disappeared between their bodies, and Sed gasped brokenly when she found her target. “Inside me.”