Page 42 of One Last Song

A line appears between my eyebrows as I look up at him. “Why would you forget the lyrics?”

“Because I’m going to be too busy staring at you.”

He smirks at me and gives me another quick kiss before leaving the greenroom. I get cleaned up and touch up my makeup. As soon as I’m ready, I take a deep breath and head for the stage.

This is it. My big comeback.

I bounce around on the balls of my feet backstage, trying to shake out the nervous energy. One of the stagehands brings over my guitar, and I take a deep breath as Matt walks out on stage first. The drums start as Ben walks out, already playing the bass.

Tyler looks at me and winks. My heart races as I take a deep breath and smile at him. Everything is going to be fine. I’m with Tyler. We can do this together. We’re going to go out there and put on the show of our lives.

“I talked to Ben and Matt,” Tyler says, his voice low as he walks over to me. He tucks a strand of my curled hair behind my ear. “We haven’t talked to White Hot or Tony yet, but we want you back in the band for the tour.”

My mouth drops open as he kisses my temple before giving me a gentle shove toward the stage. I take a deep breath and start strumming, trying to put my excitement about rejoining the band to the back of my mind.

I might get to go on tour again. I might get to keep chasing my dreams.

Right now, it looks like I’m going to get everything that I ever wanted. A successful band, my dream home, and Tyler.

I step on the stage, strumming the guitar and grinning out at the crowd. The crowd chants my name, making the nerves fade away.

I don’t know what I was nervous about. This is as natural as breathing.

Matt starts drumming the opening to the first song on our setlist. Me and Ben join in as Tyler walks on stage, his microphone in his back pocket and his hands raised high above his head.

“Are you guys ready?” he says as he puts the microphone to his mouth. “As a special treat, we have our original guitarist back to play with us. Everyone, put your hands together for Cassie Wyman!”

Tyler tucks the phone back into his back pocket and turns to face me. He looks at me like I’m the only person in the room as the rest of the instruments fade away. I grin and start a solo, dancing around the stage as I play.

When my solo ends, I make my way back to my position as Matt begins the start of our first song over again. Tyler bounces around the stage in a circle, clapping his hands above his head in time with the beat. The crowd goes wild, screaming his name.

They love him just as much as I do.

I watch him walk back to the center of the stage as I strum. As he starts to sing, I know that all of this could go away tomorrow, but I would still have Tyler by my side.

But it isn’t going to go away. I’m going to be joining the band again. I’m going to go on tour with them.

My cheeks ache from smiling as I sing along with Tyler, our voices blending in perfect harmony. We play one song after the next, dancing and having a good time. The crowd is completely under Tyler’s spell.

“All right, everyone,” Tyler says, pulling out a black bandana and wiping the sweat from his forehead. “We’ve got a new song to play for you tonight. Cassie spent weeks corralling my ass into rehearsal while writing the song, so we hope you enjoy it.”

As he winks at me, my heart thunders against my ribcage. Blood rushes in my ears and it feels like the entire room is spinning.

This is the feeling that I’ve been missing for the last eight years. Being on this stage again — being with him — is everything I’ve been craving for the longest time.

This is the dream, and it has finally come to life.

Tonight, I’m alive.

CHAPTER 18

TYLER

Sweat pours down my face as the final song of the encore comes to an end. I stand at the edge of the stage, my arms spread wide as the crowd cheers. The rush I get from standing here is nearly as addictive as Cassie.

She laughs and bows deep before stepping off the stage with the rest of the band. Screams echo through the arena as the lights dim. My voice feels raw and I doubt that I’m going to be able to speak in the morning.

Shows like this are worth it, though. There is nothing quite like the rush of stepping on stage and knowing that all eyes are on me.