It’s amazing. These are the moments that every performer lives for.
And I just hope that Colt is experiencing this bubble with me.
As the last notes of the last repetition of the chorus fade away into the rafters overhead, the shimmering moment lasts for several extra seconds, with me frozen with my fingers on the fretboard and my strumming hand floating in the air. When I drop my hand and raise my head, the bubble pops with the eruption of applause.
This time my smile is genuine, and my breath whooshes out in relief.
The crowd loves it.
I only hope Colt does too.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Colt
I have no idea what’s going on right now.
None.
Nada.
Zero.
Alexis is on stage.
Why is Alexis on stage?
Why didn’t I know Alexis would be on stage?
“What’s going on?” I hiss at the stage manager, who’s standing next to me, careful not to raise my voice. Because holy fucking shit Alexis is on stage. “What’s she doing here? Where’s Tom? Did he call her? Get Tom here right now. I want to know what the fuck is going on.”
Why would Tom call her? I told him that she wasn’t available. Why in the world would he go behind my back and get her here? And what did he do to make her feel like she had to come?
If he threatened her in some way …
My molars grind and adrenaline pumps through my veins and if I didn’t have to perform in literal minutes, I’d be tempted to smash my guitar against the cinderblock wall.
Except I really like this guitar, so I probably wouldn’t actually do that in any circumstances.
But I really, really want to smash something right now.
Alexis is talking to the crowd, her usual bubbly infectious energy drawing them in. But her voice turns a little more somber, and I start paying attention to her words, explaining how spending time with her mom had helped her gain perspective and make some decisions.
My gut clenches. What decisions?
Didn’t she already make her decisions?
Though I guess freeing her of my presence weighing her down didn’t necessarily solve all her problems. I guess she’d still have to decide certain things.
It’s nice to know where she’s been hiding, though. To know that she’s been safe and with someone who loves her.
Because that’s all I really want for her—to be safe and happy and getting everything she wants in life. Even if that doesn’t include me anymore.
I didn’t really expect it to. That wasn’t our deal, after all. And even though things had definitely progressed beyond the bounds of our original arrangement, we hadn’t really promised each other anything. A sham wedding on a beach hardly counts as eternal vows, after all.
We were only supposed to be together until our relationship ran its course. And the divorce papers hiding under the bed were all the evidence I needed that we’d come to the end of our road.
Which is why I really don’t understand why she’s here now.
Tom appears at my elbow. “Dude. What’s wrong with you?”
I turn on him, my nostrils flaring, and shove him toward the green room. But he resists. “No,” he says stubbornly, pointing a finger at the stage. “I don’t know what the fuck your problem is, but she just announced that she’s playing a brand new song for the first time ever right here. I’m going to listen to it. You can go have your hissy fit by yourself, and I’ll come find you after.”
Gritting my teeth, I resist the urge to grab him by his designer collar and drag him to the greenroom behind me, but assault is still illegal even if I’m super pissed, and I actually really want to hear Alexis’s new song too.
I hate that she’s playing something that I haven’t heard before its debut. But I guess I better get used to that feeling because I no longer have the right or the expectation to hear her songs in progress.
A hush falls over the audience as she starts singing, and I follow Tom to the wings so I can watch her perform. He’s muttering something about me being an asshole, but I ignore him, transfixed by Alexis. Caught in the same spell she’s cast on everyone.
She’s breathtaking.
Beautiful, vulnerable, powerful.
Amazing.
The wound in my chest pulses with the ache of having lost her.
And then I really start listening to the words of her song.
Is she …?
No. She can’t be. She was acting weird. She had divorce papers. She was just trying to find the time to tell me, and