kiss and she began to play.
As usual, watching her sing blew me away. She seriously had no clue how powerful her songs were with her voice behind them.
The lyrics to Bent drifted through the auditorium almost lazily. That’s how good Layne’s slow, honeyed voice was. It seemed effortless. And to her, it probably was. That’s what made her one of the rare talents in this room. She was born to do this.
She sat up there on a stool, so small and unassuming. If you didn’t know her, it was easy to see just a tiny girl—someone easy to overlook. I could see how a lifetime of that perception had shaped her into someone who was scared to show that she could be more, do more, have more.
The labels people give us are hard to overcome. I knew that better than most. But I was so freaking proud of Layne for breaking free of her chains. I had a feeling she was going to inspire quite a few people in this very room to do the same.
For someone so small, her presence took up the whole stage. The spotlight illuminated her, and my heart glowed as I watched her sing her heart out. It was just her, her guitar and my leather jacket. But that was more than enough. She was wearing my fedora too. She’d had it on when we sang karaoke and started calling it her lucky hat, because she told me that was the night she first knew she was falling for me.
I told her I was a goner long before then. Probably from the moment she barged into my mother’s office in her cute dorky glasses. She was wearing them now as she belted out the song that had changed my life. She may be wearing my fedora for luck, but she didn’t need it. And as I looked around at the captivated audience, I knew Layne had this in the bag.
The place was spellbound. And rightfully so.
We were witnessing magic.
Chapter Sixty-Four
Layne
Singing my song to a live audience and having them leap to their feet to applaud, left me breathless. I was trembling with joy as I waved and walked off stage. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life.
No matter what happened, I’d always have this moment. I’d done it. I’d faced my fears and chased down a dream. And I’d done it to the best of my ability. I could rest knowing I’d given it my all out there on that stage. And just knowing that made me feel like I’d already won.
The only thing better than the feeling of playing my music on stage, was leaping into Wyatt’s arms when I was done. He met me backstage and swept me off my feet swinging me around in celebration.
We were immediately shushed, so I let him lead me outside where we whooped and kissed until our hearts’ content.
“You nailed it!” Wyatt said, setting me back on my feet after I gave him one of my now famous victory kisses.
“I thought so, too!”
“Layne, you were amazing. And I’m not just saying that because I’m your boyfriend.”
“And musical partner,” I reminded him.
He waved me off. “Everyone knew I was just up there for moral support.”
“And sex appeal,” I teased.
A healthy blush crept up Wyatt’s neck filling the hollows of his cheeks.
“Wyatt Nash, are you blushing?”
“Um, yeah. A rockstar just called me sexy.”
I grinned and twined my hands around his neck. “I prefer the term diva.”
He barked my favorite kind of laugh and gave me one more toe-curling kiss. “Come on, my little diva. Let’s go watch the rest of the show.”
Wyatt and I sat in the front row and watched the rest of the performers in the singing and songwriter categories. There was so much talent in this room, but instead of making me anxious it filled my heart with joy. This was where I was meant to be, and I couldn’t be happier to be here with Wyatt.
I didn’t know what the future held, but I knew that I wanted him to be a part of it. And as he held my hand, tracing circles across my knuckles, I knew that no matter what the results of the competition were, that I’d walk away a winner, because I was walking away with Wyatt—a boy who gave me his heart, and taught me to chase my dreams.
Before I knew it, I was back on stage with the rest of the songwriters, taking our final bow