“Hell yeah, Chicago! That’s what we like to hear.” My heart races when Madden turns my way, his eyes locking on mine as he continues. “This next song is something I wrote with the help of my girl—the love of my life. This woman is the world to me. I need you all to show her some love!”
The crowd starts chanting “Natalie” repeatedly, and just like every time, my face turns red with embarrassment and I feel like I’m overheating. Especially when all attention is locked in my direction as if they all know where I stand at every concert. I swear he does this on purpose.
Another thing I’ll never get used to is random strangers stopping me in the streets, asking for a picture with me and fangirling over me because I’m Madden’s girl. It’s complete insanity if you ask me, and not something I ever wanted, but for Madden I’ll live that life. It’ll take some getting used to, but I’m sure it’ll die down eventually, when they all get bored of our relationship and it’s not so fresh.
Madden laughs into the mic as he begins playing his guitar, warming up for the song. “That’s a lot of love there. I think you earned it.”
The noise slowly dies down once the band joins in. Every time they perform this song I think back to our trip. I miss the week we spent there together walking in the woods and playing games. I even miss the bickering we did. It was nice having some privacy with him, and I’m already looking forward to the next trip.
“…hanging by a thread, and close to unraveling. I’m holding onto nothing, ready to give in. Even when I knew I shouldn’t want you, my heart wouldn’t let me stop. ‘Cause there’s no pretending you’re not here creeping into my bones. You’re crawling under my skin and it scares me shitless, in a way I’ve never known…”
By the end of the song, Madden is covered in sweat, and when he grabs a water bottle from the stool to pour it over his head like he always does, he smiles and winks at me. My heart jumpstarts just like every time he smiles in my direction.
“That’s all for tonight, Chicago!” he yells into the mic. “Who wants to see us next year?” The crowd screams at the top of their lungs and a few of the women in the front row start jumping up and down and reaching out for Madden as he walks by. “Fuck yeah, Chicago. You’ll be seeing us soon. Until next time…”
“Thank you for coming out tonight,” Landon adds. “We wouldn’t be here without your love and support.”
“Hell yeah!” Hendrix says next. “Who will we see in Wisconsin next weekend?”
A good portion of the crowd screams, which isn’t surprising. It seems a lot of their fans follow them around from show to show when they play close enough to their home state.
The other bandmates are still talking to the crowd, but the moment Madden gets free he walks directly to me, lifts me into his arms, and kisses me long and hard. My body ignites into flames when his tongue dips into my mouth and he lets out a little growl to show me how much he needed this kiss.
“You guys were incredible, as usual,” I point out when he sets me down to my feet.
“Is that right?” he whispers against my lips. “Did you see how the crowd went wild after our song?”
I smile and nod. “I don’t know why you still give me credit. I didn’t do anything other than—”
“Inspire it. You’re the reason I wrote the song, Nat. You deserve credit. You had me in my feelings and confused as shit, because I knew even then that I wanted you. Scared the fuck out of me.”
“I was scared too, Madden. I still am at times.”
“Why?” He squeezes my hip and moves in closer.
“Because I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you. I’m scared shitless of these feelings I harbor inside me. They’re so overwhelming at times that I can’t breathe. Do you know how that feels?”
He smiles against my lips. “Yes.” His lips brush mine before he tugs the bottom one between his teeth. “Every fucking day.”
“You two lovebirds ready?” Landon asks, hurrying past us with his drumsticks. “We’ve got some autographs to sign.”
Hendrix squeezes his way in between us and smiles. He’s full of sweat and water just