“Yeah,” he said as he smiled down at me like I was shameless. He was right. I was warm all over, especially under gentle blue eyes.
Gabe let down his tailgate and cracked a fresh beer from his cooler, and Marcus appeared out of nowhere, a woman by his side. We barely had time to meet her before Nate was stuffing me into his truck.
“You ashamed of me?” I prodded Nate as I fought him, standing on the running boards of his Tahoe to blow a kiss at Gabe before I pointed my extended foam finger at Marcus. “You the man!”
They laughed as I was stuffed into the seat and Nate managed to strap me in.
“I’m perfectly capable of doing this myself. I’m not inebriated, Butler. I’m passionate!” I laughed at my own inside joke as he lifted one side of his mouth and let out a heavy breath.
Rolling down the window, I decided I wasn’t done with my finger or my farewell. “You kids have fun.” I pointed in their direction. Nate gave them man hugs and soon we were off. I turned on Nate’s radio and “Just Dance” by Lady Gaga echoed out the speakers mid-song.
“Oh, she’s good,” I said, shaking my shit in the passenger seat, playing maestro with my finger.
Nate looked over at me. “You really needed to get out.”
“Right,” I said, pointing our way through the parking lot. I pressed the tip of my finger into his face. “You’re going to take a left up here.” I barked out a laugh as Nate turned the heat up, his laugh echoing mine. Nate sped out of the parking lot in an attempt to miss traffic.
“Why are we in such a hurry?” I asked as he easily navigated us out.
“Didn’t you say you had a show tonight?”
“Not going,” I said, putting my finger on the floor. “I’ve got a better idea.”
He looked over at me and read my mind. “NO!”
“YES!” I said, settling the matter.
“Hell no. No way in hell. No.”
“YES!”
“No,” he said as he turned into my driveway with a chuckle, his protest fruitless.
Xanadu.
Hours later, I was jerked from sleep on the couch by Lexi’s shriek as she burst through our front door. “Stella!”
Slightly hung over, I looked for Nate, who must have slipped out when I fell asleep. For a second, I got disheartened. It was all lighthearted play; at least I thought it was. I had forced him to watch Xanadu while I did commentary. I slapped my own forehead and grimaced.
That nagging awareness I may need to apologize struck fast. The thickness of my tongue told me it may be the one responsible for his absence. That heavy feeling hit until I saw I had a note waiting from him on top of my foam finger with the game schedule printed on the back. It was the promise of another game. Lexi waited for my attention, and I gave her a sleepy smile. “What is it?” I asked, rubbing my eyes free from debris. She wanted my full attention, but I couldn’t shake the awareness of the man who left me covered in a warm blanket on the couch. He’d even cleaned the table and put all the Chinese food up. There was nothing about Nate Butler I didn’t like. Nothing.
Lexi walked over to me and eyed my new sweatshirt as Ben burst through the door.
“Did you tell her?”
“No,” she answered quickly, throwing him a forced smile. Why was she faking smiles for Ben?
“Why didn’t you show?” she asked with her arms crossed. She was irritated, and it took a lot to get her there. Still, I couldn’t miss the undertone of hurt. She had needed me.
“I’m sorry. I was with Nate,” I said with a whiskey-coated throat. I needed a toothbrush. “I meant to come but I got too buzzed at the game.”
Lexi looked me over. “You don’t like football.”
“I do now. I’m not missing a game. You have got to come with me to one of them, so much fun!”
Lexi said something under her breath about a clear schedule, and I leaned toward her with drawn brows.
“What?”
“They got signed,” Lexi said with an apprehensive smile.
“Signed?” I looked to Ben, who nodded. Suddenly, their world seemed planets away. “The Sergeants got signed? By who?”
“Sony,” Ben said with the most beautiful smile on his face as he looked over to me. “One of the scouts for Sony read an article about an up and coming band. I think we might owe her for part of it.”
I was glad I was sitting. My heart was pounding wildly as I tried to absorb his words.
“That scout said the girl who wrote it was in love with the band.”
She wasn’t the only one.
I could feel Lexi’s heartbreak from feet away. I didn’t even have to look at her. She would kill me if I acknowledged it in front of him, so I concentrated on Ben. I sat on the couch in shock. “They read my article in Speak?”
“That scout came out and saw us a few times. We submitted a demo we made in March. When he read your article, he drew it out of the pile. You made this happen, Stella.”
“No,” I said, slowly standing. I felt like my heart would explode. I was playing off the emotions flying around the room.
“Yes,” Ben said, taking a step forward.
“March?” My attention snapped to Ben, fully focused.
“But that would mean,” my heart began to pound as he slowly nodded. My lips trembled as I looked over to Lexi. “Reid.”
“He was there tonight,” Lexi said carefully, her concern for me evident as her heart began to shed. “They all got signed.”
Pushing all selfish thoughts away, I leapt over the couch and pulled Ben into a hug. “Oh my God, Ben! Oh my God!” He laughed and hugged me back. “I knew it.”
“You called it,” he said with a laugh as I hugged him tighter. “Stella, if it wasn’t for that article, fuck knows what would have happened to us.”
“Stop it,” I said with happy tears streaming down my face. “They signed you because you guys are amazing. It was never a question.”
We both paused, the same thought flickering between us.
“He’s going to be okay,” I whispered hoarsely.
“He’s going to be better than okay. He’s going to rule.” I hugged him to me again.
“King Crowne,” I whispered as he nodded into my shoulder. “Thank you.”
“Damn, Stella, what can I say? We owe you. All of us.”
“I may ask for a favor one day,” I said with a laugh. “So, where is he?” I pulled back and searched Ben’s eyes. “Rye, Adam?”
“They’re back at the club celebrating.”
I didn’t need any words. I had Reid’s.
We were never supposed to happen.
“Okay. It’s okay.”
He was no longer a lingering ghost. He’d just evaporated. My heart opened the door and swept the rest of the hope out before slamming it shut.
Lexi pulled a chilled bottle of vodka from the fridge and lined up three shots.
“To Dead Sergeants,” she proposed, and we all threw them back. I looked pointedly at Ben. “Just don’t forget about the little people.”
“Never,” he said before he poured another set of shots, his eyes resting on Lexi and hers on the bottle he was holding. “To my girls,” Ben toasted, as Lexi quickly wiped a tear from her eye just in time for him to miss it.
The space between she and I disintegrated in that moment, as she watched any future with the man she loved move past her in a one hundred mile per hour blur. And I hated that she knew what it felt like. But it was time to return the favor.
Xanadu
Olivia Newton-John/Electric Light Orchestra
I locked the door behind Sierra when she left the following Tuesday. I felt ridiculous and time was of the essence. I had only texted Nate once to apologize, and he insisted I was fine, but I couldn’t help but feel like I had somehow sabotaged my chances with him. So, I let myself open up to finally having what I deserved with a man who deserved me. I thanked my lucky stars it was Halloween as I set up the boom box I left at the front desk, along with the tabletop disco ball.
“Fuck me,” I said under my breath, my nerves getting the best of me.
“Sierra?” Nate called from his office.
Shit. Shit. Shit.