Page 3

Chapter two

Daphne

The white lights overhead glow like suspended stars, casting a dreamlike haze over the stage. Liv and I push as close to the front as we can to catch the rest of the support band set.

“This is perfect,” Liv says, leaning close to my ear to be heard over the music. The press of bodies around us feels electric, moving to the same heartbeat.

“I’m so freaking excited,” I squeal, my giddiness matching hers as I rise to my tiptoes to see over a few heads in front of us. Despite me and Liv both being five-seven, there are a few taller guys ahead of us. But I’m not mad, this view is still perfect.

I needed tonight more than anything. A distraction. My twin brother, Finn, left on his world surfing tour yesterday and I’ve been in the dumps about it. We’ve never been more than a room apart, and then out of nowhere, he decides in his senior year of high school he doesn’t want to do college. That instead, he wants to travel for a year, entering surf comps starting in Australia. The annoying thing is, he’s good too; he could really make a career out of it. He’s been competing casually for years, but being without him sucks so far. I miss him like a lost limb. Finn always had this way of making life feel lighter, easier. Without him, everything feels…heavier. Like I was supposed to be someone bigger, better, but I’m not sure I know how to be that way without him.

“Stop thinking about Finn. I know you are.” Liv nudges me.

“I’m actually just thinking about how this is going to be amazing despite me missing my brother,” I shout back. Fake it till you make it, right?

“If we could get beer, I’d totally cheers to that. But we’re stuck with water and soda. Living that high life.” She taps her plastic cup against my water bottle and takes a sip before grabbing my free hand to dance.

I laugh as she twirls me slightly, and the crowd around us moves in sync. The music is infectious, the perfect hype band for Gracie. I let myself go for once, swaying and spinning with Liv as the beat pounds through the floor, enjoying this feeling.

“The lead singer is so freaking hot.” Liv raises her voice just enough to cut through the noise, leaning toward me.

“Yeah,” I agree. “He’s definitely your type.”

I swear I hear Liv saying she’d eat him with a spoon, but I don’t totally catch it over the final notes of the song. The band wraps up and waves their goodbyes, promising to stick around by the merch table after Gracie. Liv turns to me, eyebrows wiggling. “Can we swing by the merch table later?”

I snort. “So you can see the hot guy up close?”

“Duh,” she says. “I at least want to get his number. Maybe he’ll invite me to be his groupie.” As the stagehands get to work behind her, she jumps in place, shimmying a little, like that’ll convince me.

She’s insufferable. Chuckling, I roll my eyes. “We can go to the merch table. I want to get a t-shirt anyway.”

“Yessss.” She grins. “I love you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I say. “Love you back.”

It doesn’t take long for the stage to clear and, before we know it, the lights are dimming and the crowd roars. The first strum of Gracie’s guitar sends a ripple through the audience. My skin prickles in anticipation, and then she’s there, center stage, bathed in soft, golden light as she greets her audience.

The first few notes of a song begin and, immediately, Liv and I grab each other’s hands because it’s one of our favorites of hers. “Risk . ” The soft sound of her guitar echoes around us as the lyrics wrap around me, sinking into my chest. I can feel every note, every word. Liv leans closer, her eyes shut, singing under her breath, and I join her.

Gracie doesn’t disappoint with her next few songs, belting out “Felt Good About You,” “That’s So True,” and even some from her earlier albums. I’m obsessed. Liv and I spend our time dancing, swaying, singing at each other, throwing back to being in one of our bedrooms singing with hairbrushes together, completely caught up in the nostalgia of it all.

My cheeks start to ache from how much I’ve been smiling.

After what feels like the hundredth perfect song, Gracie takes a minute to sip some water and Liv glances around, her expression shifting. “There are way more guys here than I thought there’d be, you know.”

I scan the crowd too and realize she’s right. There are groups of guys even, some with girls too, but I love that Gracie has so many guy fans.

Then I notice a super tall guy, who’s towering over most of the people around him. He’s a few feet to my left and he’s really hot.

He’s leaning against the railing, thick arms restrained in a T-shirt, what looks like sun-kissed skin peeking out at the seams, but that could just be the stage glow. His posture is relaxed, but he’s completely focused on the stage. And it looks like he’s here alone, or at least he’s not talking to anyone around him. He doesn’t seem like someone who’d end up at a Gracie Abrams concert. He looks more like he belongs in a sports bar, not here. And yet, there he is, looking perfectly at home. I kind of love that.

Gracie starts another song, and Liv sways beside me. It’s an earlier song that’s not as popular as her new album, and still… this guy knows every single word. I’m mesmerized by the flex of his jaw as he sings along.

As if he senses me watching him, he glances up. Our eyes meet, and there’s something about him that’s pulling me in. The instant heat in his eyes sends a shiver through me. He holds my gaze just long enough to make my cheeks warm before smirking and running a hand through his hair, making it messier. God, he’s beautiful.

“What are you staring at?” Liv asks, nudging me with her elbow.

“Nothing,” I say quickly and tear my gaze away.

“Oh my god.” Her whisper-shout drips with amusement. “You’re staring at a guy. Which one?” She cranes her neck, scanning the crowd.

“Liv, stop it,” I hiss, but it’s too late. Her eyes land on him, only because he’s staring at me again, and a slow grin spreads across her face.

“Him? Oooh, he’s cute,” she says. “Go talk to him.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Why not? He’s totally giving you the look.”

“What look?” My eyebrows pinch as she wiggles hers.

“The ‘I’d like to know your name and get in your pants’ look.” Liv leans in closer, trying to whisper over the noise. “Give him the signal to come here. You have nothing to lose. You’re single and that boy looks like he’d respectfully take your V-card and ruin you for all future men.”

Eyes widening, I flush, all the heat zoning in on my cheeks. “Olivia! Say it louder why don’t you.”

She laughs. “Oh, please, no one is listening. Besides, you don’t care about being a,” she pauses, looking around and ducking her head closer to me, “virgin anyway, you said so last week. Your exact words were ‘I just want someone to be respectful and give me a night to remember.’ Plus, it’s all about the future and your future has dick in it, angel.”

“ Really ?” I whisper-shout, while a few people around us snicker into their hands. No one listening, my ass. Liv’s never been one to sugar coat anything; it’s partly why I love her and only sometimes why I dislike her. Like right now, for example.

But the virgin part? She’s not wrong. I’m not holding on to it for any sentimental reason; I just haven’t found the right person yet. Previous boyfriends have all wanted to be with me to get to my dad, thinking he could make their athletic careers take off after high school. It’s been an endless reel of frustrating relationships, especially since all my friends were doing it in high school and the most I got was, ‘Hey, isn’t your dad a coach at Cedar Lakes? Think you could get me in with him?’ as foreplay talk. And that was always a sure-fire way to stay out of my pants.

I’ve done…stuff, and I’m a pro at using my vibrator. For me, it’s not about waiting for ‘the one.’ I don’t buy into that social construct. I just want it to feel right, to trust someone enough that I wouldn’t regret it. Even if that person happens to be a stranger. Sometimes strangers can become the most important people. Especially if they don’t know who my dad is.

When I look over to my mystery hottie again, he’s still singing along to the song, but his eyes are on me. I can’t tell the color from here, but I can’t doubt the intensity in them, and it’s making me sweat.

“Girl, please, you’re both making goo-goo eyes at each other. I’m practically melting just being in the vicinity of those looks he’s giving you.” Liv shoves me again, and I stumble slightly.

Tearing my gaze away, I look at my best friend. “I’m not leaving you. We’ve been looking forward to this for the last year. There’s no way.”

Liv smiles widely as her eyes flick over my shoulder. “Looks like you don’t have to move. Hottie McBigArms is on his way over here.”

My heart leaps into my throat, and I can’t help but sneak a glance over my shoulder. Sure enough, he’s weaving through the crowd, his broad shoulders bolstering past people. The golden stage lights catch on his hair, and I wonder what color it is. Well, he’s walking this way, so I guess I’m about to find out.

“Oh my god,” I mutter, whipping my head back toward Liv. “What do I do?”

“Talk to him,” she says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Her grin is absolutely wicked. “Or, you know, just stand there and let him sweep you off your feet. Either way, you’ve got, like, two seconds to decide.”

Shaking out my hands, I try to steady my racing pulse with a deep breath.

You can do this, Daph, you can talk to insanely hot guys.

Setting my shoulders back, I brace my body to turn, when I smell something fresh, and I already know he’s behind me. H-o-l-y shit does he smell good. Masculine and spicy, and I might melt from his scent alone, right here in the middle of the concert.

“Hi,” he says, leaning down close to my ear, his breath dusting against my skin in the most intoxicating way. The heat of his body envelops me as I look to Liv, my eyes wide, but she’s just grinning.

Turning to face him, I don’t account for how close he is. My chest brushes against his as I crane my neck to look up at him. “Hi,” I manage, a little breathless.

His grin, genuine and disarming, almost knocks me flat. Damn, he’s even prettier up close. That jawline, those eyes that I can now see are hazel... the sheer size of him.

Snapping myself out of it, I take a step back and hold out my hand. “I’m Daphne.”

He takes my hand, almost eclipsing it with his, and pulls me closer, sending my pulse into a frenzy. “Sorry, I can’t hear you. What’s your name?”

“Daphne.” I raise onto my tiptoes to reach his ear.

“Daphne,” he repeats, pulling back slightly, hand still in mine. Hearing him say my name sets a whole charm of hummingbirds off in my chest. Don’t even get me started on that sexy rasp in his voice. Is that always there, or is it because he’s been singing every single song tonight? I don’t know, but I want to find out. “I’m Hudson.”

If I’m dreaming, don’t wake me up. This guy is all kinds of beautiful and charming. He pulls my hand up to his lips and presses a soft kiss right on the tip of my knuckles, and my knees damn near buckle at the contact.

His grin softens, and the sincerity in his expression makes my stomach flip. “First Gracie concert?”

I nod, unable to keep the smile off my face. “Yeah, for both me and Liv,” I say, pointing to her as she dances, pretending not to pay attention to us. “You?”

“Me too,” Hudson says. His mouth opens to say more, but then another song plays. “I Love You, I’m Sorry,” and his focus snaps to the stage.

Taking him in again as he turns his head to the music, I let myself stare now that he’s closer. The way he looms, effortlessly commanding the space around him, its magnetic. He must have almost a foot on me. I’d bet he’s around 6’5”, at least, and every inch feels significant. His broad shoulders fill the space, his presence large and yet gentle too. I feel small next to him, not in a way that makes me shrink, but in a way that makes me aware of every breath, every heartbeat, as if my body is responding to some primal force I didn’t know existed.

My throat tightens, and I force myself to look away, pretending to find something, anything, interesting about the floor.

God, has it suddenly gotten insanely hot in here?

Before I can spiral, I feel him shift behind me. It’s subtle, just the faintest movement, but it heightens my awareness. Then his fingers brush my shoulder as he moves my hair aside, and suddenly, I can’t breathe. My whole body lights up, every nerve ending firing at once.

He leans in, his voice low and warm right next to my ear. “This is my favorite song.”

A shiver shoots through me, and I swear the room tilts. I turn my head just enough to catch his eyes, and they’re locked on mine, steady, intent, way too close. My heart is racing, and I don’t even know if it’s from the music anymore.

I’m willing to bet he knows exactly the effect he’s having on me, and he’s enjoying every second of it.