Spite Crush (Rock Hard #2)

Epilogue One

~Zak~

Six Months Later…

I pulled up in front of the eighth house I’d scheduled to look at in two weeks and prayed that this would be the one.

Kellen had made me the appointment with the realtor, then once again was too busy working to accompany me on the viewing. And I couldn’t even be angry at him, because he was so excited about this new project, that it made me happy watching him be so happy.

We’d both already sold our places and moved into a rental condo after the Panthers picked up my contract. It had been bittersweet leaving the Inferno, but the idea of a fresh start with Kellen was too tempting to turn them down.

And they’d been nice enough to let me keep my number thirteen, which had been important to me and to Kellen.

As I walked into the main entrance, I got an immediate good feeling. It was open and spacious, with lots of windows looking over the huge front yard. There was plush white carpeting, which was an anomaly apparently because every other house I’d looked at had nothing but hardwood throughout.

Didn’t anyone like to sprawl on the floor anymore?

“Mr. Dempsey, how nice to see you again.” Kate, our realtor, stepped out from the hallway and reached out to shake my hand. “I think you’re going to love this one. ”

“I hope so,” I told her, following her through the living room to the kitchen.

“It has an enclosed pool out back, six bedrooms plus two offices, four bathrooms, a finished basement that Mr. Fox could easily convert into a studio, and an attached four car garage.”

The studio had been the biggest sticking point for us so far. Kellen had to have a space that he could use for recording, and none of the other houses had quite the right fit .

As I looked up over the stove, I frowned at the lack of cabinet space. I guessed we could have some built, but I didn’t want to have to delay moving with a bunch of construction on a new place.

“What’s wrong?” Kate asked.

“There’s not much storage space,” I admitted.

She smiled and grabbed my shoulders, turning me around to face the other wall, which was covered in open cabinet shelves.

“They don’t use open cabinetry by the stove because the grease will get on everything,” she explained, walking further into the kitchen. “Plus this is a full-size pantry here and there is additional storage in the dining room for dishes and flatware if you need it.”

I knew I needed to see the basement before I committed, but the idea that Kellen wouldn’t have to worry about closing cabinet doors anymore had already sold me on this place.

I’d lost count of the number of times he’d apologized as I walked into the kitchen in the condo and started shutting doors that he’d left open. I couldn’t have cared less, but it bothered him. So this was an excellent way to avoid the issue all together.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” I admitted to her. “Can I see that basement?”

****

When I got back to the condo we were renting, Kellen was sitting on the floor of the living room, two laptops open on either side of him and the original Star Wars playing on the television set .

“I thought you were too busy working to come look at the house,” I teased him as I dropped onto the sofa behind him and started rubbing his neck.

“I am working,” he insisted, motioning toward the computers. “Star Wars helps me think.”

“Well, I can understand that,” I said, watching as Greedo forced Han to sit down. “Oh, this is my favorite part.”

Kellen stiffened slightly and I glanced down at him, but his gaze was locked on the screen .

“You know, Disney changed this scene on their streaming service,” I said, digging into his suddenly tense shoulders.

“I know,” he said. “That’s why I keep all my DVDs.”

Han fired and I froze, wheels turning and suddenly clicking into place in my head.

“Oh. My. God.” I shoved him forward as I burst out laughing. “You’re fucking kidding me, right?”

“What?” he asked, clearly fighting not to smile as he got to his feet .

“Han Shot First? You named your band Han Shot First?”

“We named ourselves HSF,” he argued. “That’s the band’s official name.”

“So you really have always been a giant nerd.”

“Says the guy whose life-sized Boba Fett is keeping my Darth Vader company in storage.” He shook his head. “Well, now that you know I’m going to have to kill you.”

“That’s fair,” I agreed, reaching out and pulling him down into my lap. “ But then you’ll never get to see the amazing house I just bought for us.”

“You liked it?” he asked. “Thank God. I’m so sick of house hunting.”

“You’ve done literally nothing,” I reminded him.

“I sent you the listings.”

“Okay, you played on the internet, doing the fun part, and sent me schlepping all over Portland to look at them.” I chuckled. “But yes, I loved it. And you will, too. ”

“I have no doubt,” he said, leaning down to kiss me. “Because I love you. And I really love Portland.”

“Yeah?”

I’d been worried that he might not want to uproot his life in L.A., but when I signed with the Panthers he was the first one of us to put his house on the market.

“Yeah,” he said. “And when Rye and Austin get here, we’ll have friends to hang out with.”

“We have friends,” I reminded him. “A whole team full of them. ”

“Yes, and I adore them. I’m just excited to get to work, and it’s hard coordinating with Rye on the other side of the country.”

“I know. How is the label coming along?”

“So good,” he said, shifting to straddle my legs so he could wrap his arms around my neck. “I got the website up today and everything has been filed and it’s official. Intrepid Records is open for business.”

“Babe, that’s great.” I kissed him gently. “I’m so proud of you. Your own record label. That’s incredible. ”

“It is a little,” he agreed. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I didn’t do shit,” I insisted.

“You believed in me.” He shrugged. “That’s more than most people have done.”

“You’re an internationally famous rock star, you have three platinum albums, your songs are on movie and video game soundtracks, and you’re fucking hot. Who wouldn’t believe in that?” I kissed him again. “You did that. All of it. ”

“Save it for the bedroom, Dempsey,” he teased, his cheeks tinging pink at the compliments.

“If you insist.” I stood up and carried him down the hall, happy to know that this might be the last time we had to fuck in a rented home on a lumpy queen-sized mattress.