I'm met with a deafening silence.

"Asia? You fall asleep over there?"

"No, silly. Sometimes you just make me so happy that I can't even think or talk."

"Great. I make you brain-dead," I joke. "Just what I always wanted to do."

Her laughter makes me want to hug her, pull her clothes off, and kiss all her ticklish places. The king-size bed I'm in is taunting me with its huge space and lack of my naked wife.

"I should go," she finally says. "I have a lot of soap and lotion orders to fill tomorrow. Are you going to sleep now?"

"Yup, I'm in bed already."

"Call me or text me tomorrow?"

"I will, babe. Remember to set the alarm. I miss ya."

Two seconds after I end the call, there's a knock on my hotel door. Shit. I hope it's not one of the horny groupies that follow me from show to show. I climb out of the bed and cross the room to peer through the peephole in the door, and I'm surprised to see Storm standing there.

I swing the door open and look at him questioningly. "What's up?"

He pushes past me and stalks around the room, even checking the bathroom, before his eyes land on me. "You alone?" he asks.

"Fuck yeah, I'm alone. I was just gonna watch a movie and fall asleep."

He nods and grins. "Good. I wanted to make sure you weren't fucking up or wasted."

I wave my hand at him and sit on the bed again. "Dude, I'm good. I'm not gonna fuck up. I just talked to her; everything is awesome. I'm not going to screw this up."

He throws himself on the bed next to me and rolls over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. "I miss Evie. I just talked to her, too."

"I miss Asia, too. More than I thought. It's kinda fucked up."

"Yeah, it is. We used to play and party and get laid. Now we play and sit on the phone and wonder if they're missing us."

"That pretty much sums it up." I lean back on my pile of pillows and reach for the remote.

"It's worth it, though. Drinking and fucking got boring after a while, ya know?"

I nod and choose a horror movie from the movie guide. "Yeah, I do know."

He kicks off his boots and makes himself comfortable on the other side of the bed while I stare at him. "What are you doing?"

Taking the remote out of my hand, he turns the volume up a little and shrugs. "I'm gonna stay here and watch this movie with you. We haven't done this in years. Remember you used to hang out in my room when we were younger, and we'd stay up all night watching Headbangers Ball?"

"Fuck. I loved doing that. As far as big brothers go, you were pretty cool."

He kicks my leg. "Were? I totally mentored your coolness. And I'm even cooler now, man."

I shake my head and laugh at him. "Whatever. If you're staying, you gotta be quiet. And stay on your side."

He leans his head against mine and snaps a quick picture of us with his phone. "I'm gonna text this to our girls and tell them we're having a sleepover. They'll fuckin' love it."

I roll my eyes and shove his shoulder off me, but he's right. Asia will love getting a picture of Storm and me, and she'll probably sleep better knowing Storm is shacked up in my room.

Sure enough, a few minutes later my phone is buzzing.

Asia: omg is Storm really staying with you? LOL

Me: Yup. He's trying to relive our childhood I think

Asia: Awww :-) you guys are so cute

Me: We're gonna watch a movie and crash. Get some sleep, baby

Asia: Nitey nite <3

Chapter 28

Asia

This note was stashed in my craft room, with my soap-making supplies. When did he go around hiding all these notes? I want to ransack the house to see if there are more, but finding them at random times when I least expect it is too sweet to wreck. So I channel what little self-control I have and prohibit myself from going on a note-hunting spree.

I spend the next few hours making soaps of all different scents and shapes, the cupcakes making me smile remembering how Talon tried to eat one. I also make a few batches of lotions and lip balm, putting one of those aside for myself since he loves it so much.

While I eat dinner, I check my social media pages and email, and I see that Talon has tagged me in a status update.

I really miss my girl @asia_valentine and my little rug rat @princess_pixie

#Love #mywife #catsofinstagram #family

I don't read the replies to his statuses anymore because, although most are supportive, there are always a few that are nasty. And of course, those are the ones I tend to focus on the most, so I took Evie's advice to not read them and only read what Talon has typed. And I've read what he's typed about twenty times, my heart bursting in my chest when I zero in on one word I somehow didn't notice at first.

#Love

Does that mean he loves me?!

I send him a text.

Me: Love your status. Can't wait to watch you live online tonight! We miss you. Xo

* * *

A little before eight p.m., I take Pixie and my laptop up into bed with me and use the log-in information to access the website that is going to stream the live concert.

"We're gonna watch Daddy," I say as Pixie curls herself up against my side, facing the laptop. A band called Ever Lust plays first, and I'm surprised to see Finn playing lead guitar. I don't remember Talon telling me that Finn's band opened for them, and I wonder if this could be part of what causes some of the animosity between them.

The stage goes dark for a few minutes, and then red and white lights shine from above as fog drifts up slowly and floats across the stage. Dim lights glow from the floor, lighting up headstones scattered around the stage.

The guys are all standing on stage, not moving, as eerie screams and door-slamming blast from the speakers.

One by one, a spotlight shines down on each of them and they start to play. Their Halloween makeup is spot-on. Talon's face, arms, and chest are painted like a skeleton, all white and black, and his face makeup is seriously creepy. But also incredibly hot in a sick way. I don't even mind that he's not wearing a shirt for this because he looks incredibly spooky and sexy. He's got an old, tattered top hat on his head, his hair flowing out from under it, and I kind of want him to wear it while we have sex because something about it is turning me on in a very bad way.

I grab my phone and send him a text so he can see it later.

Me: Holy shit, you guys look amazing! The makeup is wild! And that hat? Bring that home. Me likey. Xo

The other guys look equally awesome. Asher has tiger makeup, Storm and Mikah are both made up like zombies, and Vandal has what looks like deep gashes and blood with a hatchet sticking out of the side of his head. It must have taken the makeup artist hours to do all this, which is probably why I haven't heard from Talon yet today. He must have been preoccupied with the stage setup and getting all that makeup painted on.

This live show is much different than the one I went to in Boston, which was smaller, with way fewer people. The arena they're playing in right now is huge, and the audience is packed. The stage is also about triple the size, and there are girls wearing sexy black cat costumes dancing around on the stage. I'm not sure if the girls are always on stage with them or if they are just extras for this Halloween theme, but I try not to have a jealous fit when one of them starts shaking her long, fake fuzzy tail right next to Talon and bends over in front of him. I mean, what the hell? Dressing up as a cat shouldn’t induce whorism. I watch Talon as he grins and goes into an amazing guitar solo, and she pounces away, and thankfully, he doesn't watch her ass sashay to the other side of the stage.

Even though I don't know all of the band's songs, I can pick out all the newer songs in the set because they have a slightly different sound. They're less metal and more rock mixed with blues and sort of a seventies-ish tone in some, and all the lyrics are catchy. I'm not quite sure what it would be categorized as, but it's unique and cool and I love it. Talon worked his butt off to write these songs, and I'm so proud of him and how talented he is.

I watch the entire concert, torn between loving the music and getting way too turned on watching my husband strut around like a sexy skeleton. I wonder if I should be a little bit concerned that the strangest things about Talon excite me. Things I never would have thought would make my heart speed up, like his hair, his ink, him wearing guyliner, stomping around on a cemetery stage wearing a hat. A few months ago, I never would have been attracted to any of that, but now…I can't get enough of it. Or him.

After the concert, I log off and put the laptop on my nightstand, write in my journal, and send Talon a text.

Me: The concert was awesome! I loved it! Love the new songs, too. And that hat… Don't forget to bring that home. ;-) Call me when you can, I miss you.

It's near midnight, so I brush my teeth, put on some lotion and get cozy in bed, still sleeping in Tal's shirt. I check my phone, but I have no text or call from him, which is strange because he likes to call every night to say good night before we go to sleep. I can't remember if he's staying at the hotel again tonight or if they are getting back on the tour bus, but I would assume if they are going back on the road tonight then he would be busy and may not have time to call. Or text. Even though that would only take about four seconds to do.

* * *

I wake up the next morning with my phone on my chest—still devoid of any contact from Talon. Frowning, I type up a quick message to him.

Me: Just want to make sure you're ok? Text me when you can. Xo

I'm not going to freak out. This is his job, and like any other job, sometimes he might be too busy to text or call. Even for an entire day and night. But I'm not going to worry or let myself get crazy. Because we're past that.

Coffee is calling my name, so I get dressed and go to the kitchen to make a cup, feed Pixie, then dress her in one of her new outfits, and take her picture for her blog. While I'm on the laptop in the craft room, I check the band's social media page and my heart drops to my feet when I see pictures of Talon with one of the cat girls and another beautiful, dark-haired girl. Scanning through all the photos of last night's show, I see some of Mikah with the cat girl too, but Talon is the only one with the other girl, and he's got his arm around her.