Page 49 of One Last Song
We need to be able to talk about the baby and our future together without risk of anyone hanging up. I want to look at him and know he’s serious about this life with us. I want to know that he isn’t going to leave when things get hard.
Ineedto know that he is going to fight for us if he has to.
More than anything, I need to see if there is still a relationship there that can be rekindled. I love Tyler as much as I ever have, but I’ve ignored him for weeks. He’s tried to get in contact with me, and I’ve been too scared to pick up the phone.
When we talk, he also needs to know that I’m going to fight for him.
The crowd roars as Tyler walks onto stage. He grins out at the crowd as he starts to move his hips in time with the music. The women are screaming as he winks at them and starts to jump around.
Matt and Ben start the music low and slow, growing louder as Tyler continues to make his way around the stage. He claps his hands together over his head as Matt starts to play the first song. Ben joins in as Tyler approaches the microphone and grabs his guitar from the stand beside it.
He doesn’t look at the crowd as he sings. His voice is low and melodic, contrasting against the heavier beats that the rest of the band plays. His fingers move quickly over the frets, playing the chords as he sings.
He’s distracted. Something is bothering him.
Beside me, Paige sings along with the songs, dancing around in her spot. She grins and bumps me with her hip, trying to have a good time. My stomach is still tossing and turning with the thought of getting to Tyler after the show.
I pull out my phone and send Kennedy a message. She said that she was going to be here tonight when I spoke to her a couple days ago. If there’s anybody who’ll be able to get me backstage after the show, it’s going to be her.
I don’t want Tyler to know that I’m here until it’s time to tell him about the baby.
Nothing can draw his attention further away from the show. He’s already unfocused and looking at the back of the arena. Tyler’s body may be here, but his mind is a million miles away.
The band goes through a couple more songs, interacting with the crowd. Tyler is collected and charming as he moves from one side of the stage to the other, reading the suggestive signs in the crowd.
“All right,” he says, laughing as Ben starts to strum the opening chords to another song. “We’re going to play a new one for you guys. And by new, I mean that we finished writing it on the bus last night.”
The crowd goes wild. Bright lights spin around the arena. A large screen shows a zoomed-in picture of Tyler’s face as he looks out at the crowd. Sweat beads on his forehead, but for the first time all night, there is a genuine smile on his face.
“Now,” he says, pacing to the far side of the stage with a charming grin. “How many of you have been unlucky in love?”
Paige screams from beside me, raising her hands high above her head. She jumps and down. At the back of the stage, Matt raises a hand to his eyes, shielding them from the lights.
My heart comes to a screeching halt when he points a drumstick at us with a wide smile.
If he sees us, does that mean Tyler knows we’re here?
I don’t think he does. If he did, he would have said something by now. He would have called attention to me because grand gestures have always been his style.
As he pulls out his bandana and wipes away some of the sweat from his head, I shrink back into the crowd. I don’t want him to see me yet, even if Matt knows I’m here.
“I’ve been unlucky in love recently.” Tyler runs his hand through his hair, his smile falling. “Some of you may know Cassie Wyman. She’s been the love of my life since we met in college. I’ve fucked it up twice now, and I know that she’s getting tired of my shit. I wrote this song for her, and I hope that one day, she hears it. Cassie, wherever you are in the world tonight, I know I fucked things up, but I love you more than life itself.”
He loves me. He just told an arena full of people that he loves me.
Tears blur my vision as I stare up at him. He sighs, his shoulders slumping as he turns and nods to the band. Ben smirks and winks at me while Matt leans forward to grab his microphone.
My heart threatens to break through my chest as I wipe the tears from my eyes.
“Well,” Matt says, drawing out the word as he points his drumstick at me again. “It’s a good thing that you get the chance to tell her tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to ask Cassie Wyman to join us on stage right now.”
The lights in the arena swing, searching through the crowd. A bright white spotlight lands on me as a gasp goes through the crowd. Hushed whispers give way to cheers as the security team approaches the barriers in front of me.
Security opens the gates, and I feel like I’m walking through a dream as I make my way up the stairs and onto the stage. Tyler stands in the center of it all as the crowd goes wild.
His mouth drops open as I rush across the stage and throw myself at him. He catches me and spins me around. As he puts me down, he starts to say something, but I press my lips against his.
Our mouths move together, the roar of the crowd fading away. The kiss is searing, our mouths moving together as his hands grip my hips hard. The guitar between us is the only reminder that we’re in a public place.