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Elena

Erica was on Elena’s last nerve. They’d been in stage rehearsals for three weeks, and Erica kept whining about changing the location of her piano almost every day. Elena didn’t remember Erica being such a diva the last time they were on tour together. She looked at Skylar, who seemed equally as annoyed.

Skylar shrugged. “I don’t know, dude.”

“She needs to get her shit together.”

“Agreed.”

They were standing by a fold-out table that contained various snack items. Skylar was munching on a handful of chips as they watched Erica boss around the stagehand to move the piano for the second time that day.

“At this point, why don’t we put her front and center on a rotating stage? I think that’s the only thing that’ll make her happy.”

Elena snorted a laugh at Skylar’s comment.

“What? You know I’m right?”

“Has she always been like this? Or do I hold the past in some positive light?”

“The latter,” Skylar laughed. “Erica’s always been a diva. We just didn’t care before.”

Elena checked her smartwatch. “It’s almost noon. She’s literally been at this for half an hour now.”

“Yup,” Riley chimed in. She was eating a turkey sandwich and looked as annoyed as Skylar and Elena felt. “I’m supposed to be finishing up the band profiles for the social media posts leading up to the tour. But guess who can’t find the time in her busy piano shuffling to talk to me?”

“Oh, speaking of which,” Skylar pulled her phone out of her pocket and showed something to Riley. “Can we use this picture of Atlas for my post?”

“Absolutely!” Riley took her phone, admiring the dog. “He’s so big.”

“He’s huge,” Elena corrected. “And don’t play with him near water because he’ll knock you in. Fully clothed.”

Skylar chuckled as Elena looked at her and smiled.

A few weeks had passed since their dinner date at the Mexican restaurant, and somehow they’d managed to keep their distance from each other. It had been harder than Elena had anticipated. Every time she saw Skylar, a part of her wanted nothing more than to kiss her. But she’d made herself stay away. Skylar was right; they had to keep their distance for the sake of the tour.

Elena and Skylar were a lot of things, but twin flames were definitely one of them. Their chemistry had always been electric, and it was clear the years hadn’t faded that. While their love could have lit up the darkest nights, it also had the potential to burn everything down around them. And neither of them wanted that to happen to Maine Event. Not again.

“Elena, Skylar,” Erica called from the stage, “what do you think about this setup?”

“If she’s happy, I’m happy,” Elena muttered through her smile as she and Skylar walked out onto the stage. Somehow, Erica had managed to arrange the stage into exactly the first arrangement Elena had suggested. She resisted the urge to point it out and instead kept her thoughts to herself.

Unlike Skylar, who mumbled, “Looked great when you set it up that way the first time.”

“Just let her have this.” Elena smiled at Erica. “This looks great, Erica. Are you happy with it?”

Erica beamed from behind the piano. “I am.”

“That’s great.”

“Yeah, great.” Skylar’s voice didn’t match Elena’s mock enthusiasm. Elena tried to subtly elbow her side, but Skylar avoided it as if she knew it was coming. “Where are the boys?”

“I don’t know.” Erica looked around as if she just realized it was only her left on the stage. “Probably lunch.”

“Well, we need to wrangle them in because we need to run through the whole set list one more time. Our first concert is next Friday.”

Excitement mixed with fear as Elena thought about their first headlining tour in nearly a decade. Although Elena had still been performing, she knew it would be nothing compared to the adrenaline she’d feel standing in front of sold-out venues again.

After the tickets went on sale, Harlow surprised them with a large sheet cake with the words “sold out” in blue frosting. Elena immediately hugged Skylar, although it violated their five-foot rule. But Elena didn’t care; she had been too damn happy. That happiness has carried over all through rehearsals, and now, they were at their last one before the tour. Elena’s excitement was about to bubble over.