Kissing the Shy Guy - Stephanie Street Page 0,68

thirty minutes. They wanted to meet together to watch. I looked at the sheets posted at intervals around the Performing Arts Center that told where each performance would be held and checked for Lillian's name. I wanted to make sure I went to the right stage.

"Jenna."

I'd know that voice anywhere. He was here. He'd made it. And I did the only thing I could do, I spun around and threw my arms around his neck.

"I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry," I cried into the space between his collarbone and neck.

He only hesitated for a second before his arms came around me, pulling me tight into his body. "What are you sorry about?"

I lifted my head to see into his eyes, his beautiful, warm, kind eyes that I'd missed so much because I'd been an idiot.

"I'm sorry for not trusting you. It's all I could think about after I left your house. You were right." I stopped to take a breath and would have started again, but Adam was grinning.

"What?" I asked.

"You. That's all." And then he lowered his lips and kissed me.

"I'm so glad you're here," I whispered once our mouths parted.

His eyes searched mine, taking in one and then the other before he spoke again. "I told you I would be."

I stared at the hollow in his throat. He wore a plain white t-shirt that contrasted brilliantly with his tanned neck. Without thinking about it too much, I kissed that small patch of skin. I'd missed him.

His throat convulsed, and his breath rattled uneasily between his lips. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you."

28

Adam

It hadn’t been that difficult to spot Jenna in the crowd milling the Emerson Performing Arts Center. My body seemed to possess a natural radar that knew exactly where she was at all times. I could feel her.

I’d left my parents at Diana’s apartment. They’d agreed to get a taxi later to make it in time to see our performance. I’d checked the schedule online. Jenna and I were the last act for our category. After we performed, there was a break, and then the winners would be announced.

I’d been trying not to think about my bandmates. Right now, they were at the most famous arena in New York, maybe even the country, getting ready to go on stage in a few hours. I’d gone to dinner with them the night before and hung around earlier for sound checks. I regretted not being with them, but at least my spot in the band was secure.

Jarom and I had had a long talk about my decision to perform with Jenna and not Breakout. He’d needed reassurance about my commitment to the band. But I made sure he knew I was committed to Jenna, too. And what kind of jerk would I be to leave her now? I’d be just as bad as Josh. The thought of that was enough to make me want to punch something.

Anyway, Asher talked to his mom about the situation. She offered to find someone to fill in for me just this once. I promised I wouldn’t miss a single performance this summer unless I was dying.

With the band handled, I focused on fixing a few other things—like my sister, Laura. I’d been furious with her for what she’d done, purposely undermining my relationship with Jenna. We had a heart to heart that included violent threats. I extracted a promise that she would keep her nose out of my business and then forgave her. But I wouldn’t forget.

I made the decision to skip rehearsals with Jenna for a reason, or several reasons. The first being, we were ready. We knew what we were doing. We didn’t need to rehearse. Second, I needed some distance. When Jenna left my house that night, I was angry, hurt, and ready to give up. But that wasn’t really what I wanted. When we didn’t let outside influences distract us, we were so good together. I knew beyond a doubt if we could trust each other, this thing we had would be the most incredible relationship of my life.

So, I waited until a few hours before our performance to find her. And when she hugged me, I knew I’d done the right thing. The guys could handle one concert without me. I’d make it up to them this summer.

After hugging me, Jenna had pulled me into a dark auditorium to watch one of her diva friends, whatever that meant, and my heart began to settle. We were going to