“How the hell did we get here?”
“I was just thinking that,” I said softly. “I was thinking, if I had never asked you to kiss me, would we both be better off? And then I remembered all the good that came from it.”
“Baby,” he croaked, shaking his head as if to ward it off, “you had a stroke?” His eyes fogged, and then I saw more emotion run down his cheek. I felt it then, the ruin. The same pain I saw all those years ago when we parted.
“I did,” I said as my eyes filled. “But it’s not your fault, Reid. I don’t blame you, and if I weren’t so whacked out after, I never would have told Paige you were there the night before. She told my dad but my mother doesn’t know. That’s why you’re still alive. You should probably save yourself.”
“Damn it, Stella,” he said as he pulled me into him. I sighed, letting myself sink into his arms. We rested silently in each other, our hearts beating the same with too much between us. I had to snap myself out of it. Free us both.
“Fucking tequila,” I chuckled. “It’s just not a good look on us, Reid.”
“I ate the worm,” he murmured with his own chuckle.
“We’re like an atom bomb every time we get together,” I said as I noted the fresh weariness in his eyes that I put there.
“You finally went off, huh, Grenade? And I pulled the pin.” We both laughed inappropriately. Because that’s what we did.
“I should go,” he said, releasing me.
“Paige didn’t mean it.” I gripped his hand. “She loves you, Reid.”
“It’s so crazy,” he said. “I can sell out stadiums all over the planet, but I still can’t get your sister’s approval.” He shrugged. “Money used to be the whole fucking problem, and now it can’t solve any damn thing.”
“That was never a problem,” I said.
“God.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I just made a fucking fool out of myself.”
He sighed as he pulled some money out of his pocket and threw a wad of it on the bar to replace the glasses.
I shook my head. “You have to make a fool of yourself, Reid. In my experience, it’s the best way to show you care.”
“Didn’t make a damn bit of difference, did it?” he asked before he grabbed the bottle of tequila off the bar, not waiting for my answer. “I didn’t come here to hurt you,” he said softly. “I just thought—fuck, Stella, I just hoped—”
“Reid?” Paige said with tear-filled eyes from the doorway. “Can I please talk to you?”
I looked between them and sighed. “I’ll leave you two alone.”
She’s Everything
Brad Paisley
Dancing. That’s where the real relief came that night. The party was in full swing at the country club, and I could see the wait staff was terrified, and with good reason. Aside from hanging from the chandeliers, the party was out of control. Paige and I were partnered up, dancing our asses off while the accordions rang out through the speakers my cousin Junior rented just for the party, stating the sound system at the club “Didn’t have enough bass.”
“God, I feel awful,” Paige said.
“Hey, at least you caused the drama at your own wedding,” I chided, twisting my hips.
She glanced Reid’s way. “He’s been quiet all night.”
“You really are terrible,” I said as she hung her head. “Paige, he’s here for you. Go talk to him. He’ll be leaving soon.”
“I did. But I know he’s still mad at me.”
Curiosity got the best of me.
“Has he been calling you?”
“Yeah, ever since he left Austin. He called from rehab.”
I let go of her hands. She read my anger. She came quickly to her defense.
“He didn’t let on that he wanted anything more with you. Was I supposed to tell you as much? Twist the knife in for good measure, Stella? He only called once every few months.”
“And asked about me?”
“Yes, and us. He was our friend, you know.”
Standing in the middle of the dance floor, I couldn’t help but to finally clear the air.
“Why can’t you just accept the fact that I love him?”
She crossed her arms. “Love him?”
“Loved him,” I said, playing it off. “And we were together, and it wasn’t some crush on my part or some fling on his. We loved each other, Paige.”
She moved to walk away.
“Oh no, you don’t get to open that can of worms and walk away!” I jerked her to the side of the dance floor and she fought me with guilt written all over her face.
“That’s it, Paige. Do you hear me? God, I’m done paying for it! I loved him! I loved him enough to gamble with our relationship, and I’ve already paid the price. When are you going to let it go?”
“Paige,” Neil said gently, approaching us both.
I ignored him, gutted inside with Reid’s confession of what could have been and the longing I still felt and resented because it made me feel like a liar. It twisted all logic and put me in the position to defend my relationship. My life with Nate. “I wish you knew how it felt to have your chest ripped out like that. You got lucky with Neil!”
“Paige,” Neil interrupted again.
“What?” We both turned to him, our argument permeating the air. Half of the party was staring at us. I looked over to Reid, who was oblivious, talking to a table full of my cousins, a sincere laugh coming out of him. My heart squeezed at the sound. He’d stayed against his better judgment, for Paige, and managed to blend in pretty nicely.
“It’s our song,” Neil said softly to Paige, pulling her ring finger to his lips before he kissed it. Neil’s disappointment trumped my anger. Paige’s tearful eyes ended our argument.
“I’m sorry, Neil. Take your bride.”
Paige turned to me, exhausted. Her emotions had run rampant for once and mirrored mine. I couldn’t fault her for it. “I’m sorry, Stella.”
I nodded. “Just stop trying to protect me from him. I don’t need your protection. I can handle myself.”
I loved her, as much of a drunken idiot as she’d been. And so did her fiancé, who was trying his best to salvage their night.
“I trust you enough to give you away to the man you chose, and I expect you to do the same for me. Trust my judgment. Trust me, Paige.”
With her hand still tied to Neil’s, she leaned in and threw an arm around me. “I will. I promise. Please just don’t let him hurt you again.”
“I won’t,” I said as I hugged her and then drew back to double tap her forehead. She rolled her tear-filled eyes.
“Enough, sister dearest, go dance with your groom.”
“Okay,” she said as he gave me a worried look over her shoulder. “You’re going to show up tomorrow, right?”
“Only for him,” I said as I winked at Neil.
Neil chuckled and pulled his bride to the floor as Brad Paisley sang “She’s Everything”.
Country was my least favorite genre of music, but as I listened to the lyrics while they swayed on the dance floor, my heart tipped in favor of the declaration of love from Neil to his bride. My eyes drifted back to Reid, who was watching me closely. He was listening, too. I mustered up my best smile, but he didn’t return it, his face solemn.
It was a dream to hear those words come from him. Everything. That’s what he’d said. Everything. That’s what he’d promised to give to me.
We’d missed so much time.
There was so much I wanted to know.
I didn’t know where he lived, what his life was like. I just assumed he was living the dream of every rock star, but he’d told me different. As much as I wanted to discredit his words, to throw his notion of us away because of the way he hurt me, I felt a glimmer of hope long forgotten. He was right there, waiting for me. Swallowing hard, I began to move toward him. My father was quick to grab my hand before I got to the edge of the floor.
“Stella, what are you doing?”
My father swept me into his arms as I kept eye contact over his shoulder.
“Dancing with you, Daddy,” I said as he led us around the floor. My eyes stayed fixed to the rock star sitting in the middle of the room.
“Where is Nate?” my father asked, jerking me out of my haze, and out of Reid’s view.