Free Full Circle by Lisa Marie Davis Page A

three in the morning, he was
    tucked in the back of a cab, heading home, satisfied
    sexually, but still restless emotionally and mentally. He had just gotten back to New York that morning, after nearly three full months on the road, and he hadn’t even been to his
    penthouse yet.
    His agent, Marcus, had scheduled several interviews
    and a dozen appearances, the last one ending shortly after
    eleven.
    Jaylin knew he could have gone home then, to catch up
    on some much-needed sleep, but he had hit a familiar bar
    instead, and less than an hour later, he had found just what he was looking for.

    83
    Full Circle | Lisa Marie Davis

    Close to it, at least.
    Carl was a beauty—tall and tan with dark hair and eyes
    that weren’t the exact shade of brown he preferred, but
    Jaylin had gotten past that. He always did. He didn’t go out and pick up guys that often, but when he did, they were all a certain “type” and he had long ago stopped pretending he
    wasn’t looking for some hint of the man he had lost seven
    years ago.
    Staring out the window, he wondered if he had called
    out the wrong name again. He had done so more than once.
    A few guys ended up pretty pissed. Most didn’t care. But it still made things just a little awkward, which was one of the many reasons he avoided the morning after at all cost. He
    rarely saw the same guy twice.
    What was the point?
    He wasn’t looking for a relationship; he just wanted to
    take the edge off now and then. He didn’t screw a different man each night and, really, he didn’t want to. But every few months, he liked to have a distraction, some no-strings sex.
    He never pretended he was interested in anything more and
    the men he involved himself with understood that.
    His mother felt he was denying himself a chance to be
    happy, to have a relationship that was meaningful, but
    Jaylin disagreed.
    “You can’t close yourself off forever, Jaylin. It’s not right.”
    “I’m not closed off. I have a full life.”

    84
    Full Circle | Lisa Marie Davis

    “Career wise? Yes. Personally? No. And you know it. And I don’t want to nag you, but you need someone there.”
    After years alone, his mother had finally found someone.
    She had married a wonderful man the year before and she
    and her new husband were now traveling. And Jaylin was
    happy for her. Harris was a good man and Jaylin wanted his
    mother to be happy, but he knew his one chance at being
    happy had passed him by.
    He had found and lost the love of his life when he was
    eighteen years old.
    Trying to build a life with anyone other than Max would
    seem hollow and meaningless.
    Shaking the tangled thoughts aside, as the cab stopped
    in front of his building, Jaylin paid and tipped the driver and then quickly made his way inside. He hoped a hot shower
    would relax him enough so he could drift off to sleep for a few hours. He needed the rest. Marcus was pushing hard for
    him to take a few months away from touring, but Jaylin was
    hesitant. He hated having too much down time on his hands.
    It gave him too much time to think.
    When he was on the road, he was constantly going,
    moving quickly from one city to the next. He didn’t have time to get lost in the past or wonder about what might have been and he liked it that way, even if others did believe he would burn himself out if he wasn’t careful.
    Reaching the top floor, he let himself into the
    apartment, smiling to see the cleaning lady had left the lights 85
    Full Circle | Lisa Marie Davis

    on for him. No doubt the kitchen was stocked with anything
    he might need. Marcus had found someone to handle all the
    shopping for him. It wasn’t a task he had much use for, and he didn’t leave himself a lot of time for it.
    Besides, he often pointed out, the apartment was just a
    pit stop. He wasn’t there often. Even after three and a half years, he hadn’t done much to make the place feel like home: he hadn’t bothered to decorate beyond a big-screen
    television, a stereo