Page 33 of Wild Heart
Tate tore his mouth from mine, stood, and wrapped me in his arms. “I’m glad there’s only a week left on the tour.”
My cheek was pressed against his naked chest, the scent of him making my knees weak. “Mmhmm.”
He brought his hands to either side of my face, tilted my head back, and kissed my forehead, the tip of my nose, and my lips once more. “Let me walk you out.”
“No. It’s okay. Honestly, I’ve had the guy waiting to take me for too long as it is.”
He studied me for a moment, his frustration evident. But whatever he wanted to say, he kept to himself.
Tears pricked my eyes as he took me by the hand and led me to the door. “Have a safe flight, Ava. Let me know when you land, and I’ll see you when you get back.”
One more kiss.
Just one more.
I lifted on my toes, touched my lips to his, and kissed him. I was hoping the kiss would be enough to last me for the rest of my life, but that wasn’t possible. There would never be enough of him. Pulling back, feeling my stomach churn, I whispered, “Goodbye, Tate.”
A moment later, I was gone.
And there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop the ache from spreading from my heart to every other part of my body.
8
AVA
“One show left.”
I should have started with my makeup. The dark circles under my eyes were proof of my restless week. I looked as awful as I felt.
Ivy’s declaration forced me to take a deep inhalation. This would have normally been a bittersweet moment for me. The end of a tour meant leaving the comfort of my routine and coworkers for the last sixteen months. It had been a wonderful experience traveling all over and getting to perform in front of sold-out crowds. Though I hadn’t ever been on a tour that was this long before, it was typically always nice to get to the end and be able to go home to rest, recharge, and reconnect with the people and places I loved.
Sitting in the hotel bathroom with my curling iron in one hand while my best friend was on speakerphone, I didn’t feel any of the same emotions I’d felt when coming to the end of another tour. I wasn’t sad about the tour being over or the friends I’d miss. And I certainly wasn’t looking forward to a return to my hometown.
I sectioned another piece of my hair and rolled it up in the curling iron. All this effort just to go out with a few of the otherdancers and pretend I was happy. “Yeah, I kind of can’t believe it. My life has been nothing but this tour for nearly a year and a half. It’s kind of crazy.”
“It really is. But please tell me you’re looking forward to taking a break,” Ivy begged.
If there was one thing that I could say was unequivocally true, I was absolutely looking forward to a break. Ever since I’d left Landing the morning after Wyatt’s wedding, I hadn’t really had much of an opportunity to sit around and think. I desperately needed time to do that. As much as I was looking forward to having some time off, though, I was dreading not having an excuse for not being in Landing. Nobody, not even Ivy, knew about my decision to not return.
Releasing the lock of hair from the curling iron, I sectioned off another piece and did the same process to curl it. “I’m ready to have some downtime,” I confessed.
“Alright, well, I’m okay with you taking a few days once you’re back, but not long after, I want us to go out. I think I could use a girl’s night that gives me some hope.”
My stomach pitched uncomfortably. She had no clue I wasn’t coming back, and she was going to be devastated once I shared the news with her. But before I revealed that tidbit of information, I asked, “What do you mean? Hope for what?”
“Finding a guy,” she declared. “Do you know that I haven’t gone out on a single date the entire time you’ve been gone? The last time was probably six months before you left. Two years, Ava.Two.How is it that Cooper, the guy who wasn’t interested in finding someone, somehow did, and yet, I’m interested in dating and can’t manage to land even one?”
My heart hurt for her. When I was home, before I even left to come on this tour, Ivy and I spent a lot of time together. She’d struggled to find someone willing to ask her out, and I was too caught up in Tate to be interested in dating anyone else.
I wanted to give her the hope she was seeking.
“He’ll come around soon enough,” I promised her, releasing the curl and gathering the final section of my hair. “Just be patient.”
“I know. But if there’s a way for me to hurry the process along by putting myself out there, I’m going to do it,” she reasoned. “So, what do you think you’re going to need? Three, four days?”
I had to tell her the truth, but I was terrified for her reaction. This was going to break her heart—maybe worse than the lack of a boyfriend—the same as it had already broken mine.
“That’s likely, but?—”