Page 38 of Tight End (Red Zone #4)
brIXTON - ONE YEAR LATER
“ Y ou look so nervous,” Mandee Hartley says with a conspiratorial smile lifting her lips. She gives my arm a squeeze. “There are a lot of people out there waiting for you to walk on that stage for your opening night.”
I grin back at her. “Eh, crowds don’t intimidate me. Only one person out there matters.”
It’s been a year since Sam and I collided into each other’s lives for the second time. I still can’t believe everything that’s happened since that night in the bar. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to remember that I’m actually a co-habitant in this blissful bubble we’ve created.
I moved into his apartment in Oakland after the shooting. He wanted to keep me close while I healed, and then he wouldn’t let me leave.
Not that I tried.
We’ve been inseparable ever since then.
I went to every one of his games once he was cleared to play and cheered the loudest. And he was with me for every recording session with the guys. We took road trips up and down the California coast to record new tracks from our album and made pit stops along the way at different hospitals to cheer up the kids with some music and fun. Between Chase and the label, we made connections with a bunch of hospitals in the state and arranged for lots of surprise drop-ins.
I can’t get enough of the feeling it brings me to put smiles on these kids’ faces. It’s incredible to be able to give them even just a little bit of happiness and a memory they’ll cherish for as long as they can.
I run my fingers through my hair and mess it up. My signature just-fucked look.
Mandee paces the floor behind me, and I chuckle.
“You sure you’re not going up there?”
She laughs nervously, wringing her hands together when the door opens. Sam, Chase, and Bill walk into the dressing room, all smiles.
After my brush with death, we had a whole come to Jesus moment. I told them I loved their son and that even though I may have been a train wreck before him, there was no way I was gonna make the same mistakes again. And it took time for them to trust, which I get.
And now, they practically run my fan club. It’s nice to feel like part of their family. It does suck that I feel more comfortable with people I’ve only known for a short time than with my own father, but we all make choices. Maybe someday, my father and I will reconcile. We’ve seen each other over the past year, every few months at Allie’s for some occasion or other. It’s not comfortable, but it’s not horrible either. Each time gets easier and Sam tries too. Deep down, I know he wants me to rekindle something with my dad because his own relationship with his father is so special to him. He wants that for me, too.
Maybe someday.
My breath hitches when I catch Sam’s eye in the mirror. He’s dressed in all black, and with his dark hair, bronze skin, and heated gaze, he makes me want to strip down and bend over the arm of the couch.
We exchange a secret smile and I know he’s thinking the exact same thing.
“You ready?” he asks.
“Yep.”
There’s a knock at the door and Tyler pokes his head inside. “It’s time.” Then he winks at me. “Let’s roll.”
I give him a little nod and fix the sides of my black shirt.
“Are there enough holes in your jeans?” Sam asks me, staring at my legs.
“Easy access for later,” I murmur so only he can hear me.
Sam’s dad shakes my hand and brings me in for a quick hug when I walk out. Mandee’s eyes are wet with tears. I lace my fingers with Sam’s and walk with him backstage. There’s a chair set up right behind the curtain. Mandee and Bill wave, and Ben is waiting to escort them to their seats in the front row. They don’t usually stay close to the stage, but tonight is a special night.
Lane swoops down on us. “Every fucking song, bro. I can’t believe it!”
Tonight is the opening show for the Unbreakable tour, and four songs off our new album are sitting at the top of the charts. It’s unheard of for the label, to have a band with that many hits at one time.
But each one we’ve released has gone viral almost immediately.
It’s like each one was sprinkled with some magical music fairy dust.
Okay, maybe that fairy dust shit is the influence of my three-year-old niece, but you get the picture.
Aiden and Dak jog over to us. “Full house. Let’s rock this thing.”
I guide Sam toward the chair. “Hang here, okay?”
“Why?” He waggles his eyebrows. “I love your ass, but I’d rather see you from the front when you perform.”
“Don’t worry. I promise your view will be perfect.” I give him a wink and Tyler gives me a thumbs up behind Sam’s back.
We usually run on stage and slam on our guitars to introduce the first song.
But tonight, I’m doing things a little bit backward.
We run onto the stage and the Sun Arena practically shakes from the screaming.
Best fucking sound I’ve ever heard.
I grab the microphone off the stand and hold it to my lips.
“What’s up, Oakland,” I bellow. “This is a really special night for us. You wanna know why?”
Deafening cheers make my ears ring.
“It’s because of you. The fans who made our music fucking rocket. And tonight we wanna sing you all a little song called Love-Hate.” I smile when the crowd goes absolutely fucking nuts. “My boyfriend Sam Hartley was the inspiration for this song. And you guys made it a number one hit!”
The music erupts around us, sucking us deep into the moment. And like always, the words make my heart dance and sing just as hard and just as loud as I do into the mic.
Couldn’t look you in the face or listen to your voice
Didn’t like the words you said, would have left given the choice
But something shifted, don’t know how or when
Now I am falling very hard for you my friend
From hate to want, loathe to desir e
You set my heart on fire
Never knew that love could be so real
From the anger to the passion I now feel
It knocked me over, I am upside down
Who knew something that started bad could turn around?
Everything you did would make me mad
Suddenly, missing you makes me sad
The sound of your laugh, the glint in your eye
Your heart has a beauty I can’t deny
Now you are all I want, a smile from a frown
you’ve turned my world upside down
They say there’s not much difference between love and hate
To go from one to the other is the magic of fate
No more change, the world seems right
Moved from the darkness to the light
From enemies to lovers, this can’t be wrong
We are writing our own love song
Together forever our hearts beat strong
With you is where I belong
I look around at the audience once I stop singing. “What would you say if I brought out the man who sparked those words?”
The audience jumps and claps.
“I thought you might like that.” Exchanging a secret smile with Mandee and Bill down below, I snap my fingers and a big spotlight hits Sam where he sits. Shock seeps into his expression. I walk over to him and hold out my hand .
He stands up slowly like he’s gonna be Punk’d or something.
“What the hell are you doing?” he hisses.
“Trust me. I know it takes a lot, but it’ll be worth it.”
His lips lift. “It has been so far.”
I give his hand a little squeeze and walk him to the center of the stage. I clench my hand tight around the mic. “Three years ago, on the hardest night of my life, I met the guy of my dreams. But my brother had just died and my head was a mess. I resisted playing here at the Sun Arena because of what happened on that night. The last time I played here, I found my guy again. And I knew he’d been sent to me.”
I pause for a second. “But I was stupid. Did a lot of dumb things. I thought I lost him. And then I almost died. I learned a really important lesson after that. Life is so fucking short, you can’t waste a second of it.”
I look at Sam. “I know I won’t ever again. And tonight, I want to create a new memory, a happy one, right here at the Sun Arena because I believe with my whole heart this guy was always meant to be here with me.”
Dropping to my knee, I stare up at Sam. “I fucking love you, Sam Hartley. I always did and I always will. Will you marry me?”
He falls to his knees in front of me. “Fuck, yes.” And then he grabs me by both sides of my face and crushes his lips to mine.
For a second, I forget that there are hundreds of thousands of people watching us, in person and online.
Not that I’ve never been opposed to voyeurism.
We reluctantly pull the slightest bit away from each other, our gazes still locked, the scorching heat of his eyes on me melts my bones.
“You set my heart on fire,” he whispers.
“And with you is where I belong,” I murmur against his lips. “Now and forever.”
I hope you loved reading the red Zone Series as much as I loved writing it! And now Jack Larson is back to get his HEA in PUCK LUST, which will be a spin-off hockey romance series filled with the steamy, spicy, and forbidden vibes we all crave. Age gap, hate to love, broken and brooding hockey player…YUM!!!
Check out chapter one ? —