“Pretty impressive set-up, isn’t it?” Lacey turned as Gabe approached her.

She stood center stage in awe at the vastness of the arena, imagining the crowd there tomorrow night.

“Yes, it certainly is. How are you handling all of this? If it’s overwhelming for me, I would think it’s a lot more for you to digest. How are you holding up?”

Gabe shoved his hands into his front pockets, contemplating her question.

“I never thought I’d be on this end of the business, honestly. I love creating music. It lives inside me. Getting it down on paper and hearing it become a living, breathing song is magical for me, but this?” his arm swung out encompassing the stadium. “This is still unbelievable to me. I thought I would hate it, but I don’t. It allows me to share my music up front and personal with fans. It’s exhilarating to see them singing along. I can’t even explain it, Lacey.”

Lacey hugged Gabe, giggling with happiness for him. “Gabe, I’m so glad. That’s wonderful, and I do understand. I’ve watched that same reaction with PL. It’s pretty amazing when dreams come true.”

Gabe tilted his head and looked at Lacey.

“What about for you? This is Dalton, Beau and Jesse’s dream. Not yours. What is it Lacey wants?” His question shocked her.

“Wow! Talk about putting a girl on the spot.” She had two little cheek dimples when she smiled. “I have been asking myself that a lot lately. I don’t have a definitive answer yet.”

“How about we start with dinner tonight, and we can dig into what makes Lacey Swanson tick. No strings. I promise. Just a friendly dinner.” Gabe asked. “I hear there is a place in town where they serve the biggest and best bread pudding ever. We have to find out if that’s true or not.”

“That’s sound wonderful, although I’m afraid my story would bore you to tears, but I would love to…not bore you to tears, but have dinner.” They both laughed. “Let me just check schedules and make sure PL is set. I’ll follow-up after your sound check.”

“Sounds like a plan. Talk to you later.” He placed a friendly kiss to her cheek and walked off.

Suddenly Dalton was behind her. He was steaming mad, his cheeks flushed and eyes narrowed.

“That didn’t take you long, did it?” he growled. His fists were clenched at his side as he stood looming over her.

She whirled around in surprise. “Jeez, Dalton. You startled me. No, the crew got everything in and up pretty quickly, didn’t they?”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” His tone caught her attention.

“What’s going on with you? What are you talking about then?”

“You didn’t get laid by me, so you look to hook up with the next available guy? Is that it?” he grated out.

She stepped back as if he had struck her. Her back straightened as she stepped in closer to him.  Her cheeks were now flushed and her emerald eyes shown with anger. Her finger poked him in the chest emphasizing each word.

“First, what I do and who I do it with is none of your damned business. Secondly, I’m not one of your little groupies looking for a quick fuck, so don’t you ever talk to me as if I am. Do I make myself clear? Third, don’t be dick. Nobody likes a dickhead.”

She turned and didn’t look back. Inside a storm was raging, threating to break the tight dam of her tear threshold. Damn him! He’d already made her cry once today. She wasn’t going to allow him to do it again. She sucked in large gulps of air as she made her way through the backstage corridors.

Pulling out her cell phone, she pulled up Uber. She wasn’t waiting to ride with the group. Needing some air and a break, she scheduled a car pick-up at the back entrance in thirty minutes.

While she waited, she sent a text to Jesse letting her know she was going ahead of the group to make sure things were ready at the hotel. She let her know the car would be waiting outside for them when they were done sound-checking.

She then texted Gabe to let him know what room she was in and what time she’d be ready for dinner.

“In need of some fun. Can you make that happen, please?”

Her phone beeped, alerting her to his response.

“My pleasure. See you then.” He replied.

Another text beeped in. She looked at her phone. It was from Jesse.

“Okay. Dinner after?”

For once, Lacey was glad she had other plans.

“Sorry. I have a dinner date. See you later. I’m off the clock. ;)”

Her car arrived and she rode to the hotel with satisfaction that she wasn’t going to allow Dalton to break her heart. She was just going to have to ride this out until Nashville. More and more she realized that she had become stagnant…a wallflower in her own life. She wanted more, and she intended to go after it.

She checked herself and the band in. She sent each of them their digital room keys and room information. Looking at the nightstand clock, she realized she had plenty of time for a bubble bath before Gabe picked her up. That was exactly what she planned to do.

******

 

 

“Dude, you missed the bridge opening again. What’s up with you tonight?” Beau’s brows were furrowed as he stared at his friend.

Dalton flung his earpiece to the ground. “I can’t hear with this thing. There’s an echo. The frigging stage lights are burning into my brain. I can’t see shit either. Can somebody turn the angle on the damn things please?”

Jesse and Beau exchanged glances.

“D, it’s alright. We will get the bugs worked out. That’s why we do a sound check. No need to get worked up about it. It’s been a long day, and I’m hungry. How about you guys? Ready to call it a day?” Jesse affectionately patted Dalton’s back.

Dalton placed his microphone in the stand, his head bent.

“Yeah. I’m done.”

“Is something else going on, D? You okay?” Jesse asked her longtime friend.

Dalton looked over at her with confusion in his eyes. “Right now, the only thing I know for sure is that I’m hungry too. Let’s focus on that.”

Her smile said she understood. “Okay then. Lacey said the car should be waiting for us at the back entrance, so let’s close up shop and head out.”

The crew was finishing up last minute checks as the band left the stage. They thanked them for their hard work and said goodnight. As they walked toward the exit, Beau stopped.

“Hey, where is Lacey? We can’t leave without her.”

“She left earlier. Haven’t you looked at your phone. She checked us all in and sent out digital keys to our phones. We are all set. Dinner on our own. I figured we’d just go somewhere close by since we have an early morning of it if that’s okay with you guys.” Jesse was looking at her phone.

“Is Lacey meeting us there?” Beau asked.

“No. She…uh…isn’t.”

Her hesitation made Dalton pay attention. Had she said something to Jesse about what happened between them? Shit.

“Oh. She just eating at the hotel?” Beau asked as they entered the car.

“Umm, no. I don’t think so.” She kept her attention on her phone.

Dalton knew something was up.

“If she isn’t eating at the hotel, then what is she doing? Come on, Jess. What’s up? You’re acting strange, even for you.” Dalton chimed in.

Jesse playfully punched his forearm.

“I don’t know what she’s doing. She just said she had other plans, and that we were on our own for dinner.”

Dalton tensed. What did she mean by other plans? Then his mind played back the scene on stage between her and Gabe.

“What did she say exactly, Jess.” Dalton’s tone had lowered as he punctuated each word slowly.

Jesse’s eyebrows quirked upward as she folder her arms across the front of her chest.

“Lacey is an adult. She doesn’t have to explain her activities to us, Dalton.”

“Jesse.” It was only her name but it was said with complete impatience.

“Okay. I don’t really know. All she said was that she has a dinner date. That was it.”

Beau chimed in simultaneously with Dalton this time. “A dinner date? With who?” they quipped.

Jesse rolled her eyes heavenward.

“This is why I don’t tell you things. You are on a need to know basis and this is something you really don’t need to know. She isn’t a minor, guys. She’s an adult. It’s okay for her to go out. I, for one, am glad she is going out. She works too much and too hard.”

“Hey, no one is going to disagree with that, but we do care about her too, Jess. You must admit it’s unusual for her to go out. She’s never really done that before. Do we even know who with? I mean, what if it’s some freak…” Beau was interrupted.

“It’s Gabe.” Dalton said flatly. It was dark in the car, so his two cohabitants couldn’t see his fists flexing at his sides.

“Gabe? How do you know its Gabe?” Beau asked?

“I saw them talking this afternoon. He kissed her cheek.”

“Oh, well, how nice. Gabe’s a wonderful guy. Good for them.” Jess clapped her hands excitedly.

They arrived at the hotel and came in through the back entrance. As they rode the elevator up to their rooms, Jess asked if they wanted to meet back down in thirty minutes to go grab a bite to eat.

“I’m going to eat in my room. I’m tired.” Dalton grunted out.

As the trio walked down the hallway to their room, Dalton didn’t speak as he used his key to go in and slammed the door shut.

“He’s pretty wound up. You think this situation is going to present a problem.” Beau asked Jesse.

“It was bound to come to the forefront. She’s been in love with him forever. He’s just never taken the time to notice I guess. Something must have happened to wake the beast, but he’s fighting it awfully hard. I’ll see what I can find out. We’ll have to wait and see. I care about them both. I just don’t want either one of them to get hurt.”

“That’s why I don’t want to get involved with anyone. Not a good idea out on the road.”

“Hear. Hear.” Jesse agreed. “Guess we’ll just call it a night and eat in. See you in the morning.”

“Night, Jess.”

******

 

“This is the best steak I have ever had. Now how about desert. We must try the bread pudding. My mouth has been salivating over it since they served it to that table over there. You game?” Lacey’s child-like glee over desert caused Gabe to return the smile.

“Absolutely. I’m not wimping out on the famous bread pudding. Bring it on. Although I’m not sure my jeans will fit for tomorrow’s concert.” he teased.

The waiter came over and Lacey ordered one desert for them to share. When Gabe tilted his head questioningly, she laughed.

“Hey, we don’t have to go completely crazy.”

She was enjoying herself and very glad she had accepted Gabe’s invite to go out. She just hoped he didn’t get the wrong impression.

“Listen, Gabe, I really appreciate the invite tonight, I just don’t want you to think that it means anything more than two friends having dinner together. I’m not…well…” she paused not sure how to explain about her feelings for Dalton.

“He doesn’t realize you’re in love with him, does he?” Gabe was full of surprises.

They were interrupted by the waiter bringing out the largest desert she had ever seen. Staring in shock at the three-tier, three-serving-size desert, they both erupted into laughter.

“Oh, my God! I guess everything is bigger in Texas. Thank goodness we ordered one to share.”

“I’m sorry if I overstepped a minute ago. I didn’t mean too.” Gabe apologized.

Lacey wiped ice cream from the side of her mouth before speaking.

“You have nothing to apologize for, Gabe. I just didn’t realize I had been so transparent. Apparently, I’ve been making a fool of myself and didn’t even know it.”

“No, you haven’t. If anyone is the fool, it’s Dalton for not seeing what is right in front of him. Give him time. Guys can be slow on the uptake when it comes to matters of the heart. I speak from experience. I’m a guy.” he teased.

“I had noticed that particular detail.” It felt good to laugh.

“Look, all I’m saying is I understand. I’ve been there. Where do you think all these great love songs come from? Yep. Love and loss up close and personal. I’m a good listener if you ever need to just talk.”

“It’s getting harder and harder to watch him being fawned all over and see him with a different girl in every city. I feel pieces of my heart breaking apart. I thought I was handling it, but lately, I don’t know. I just think it might be time for a change.”

“Really? You mean like leave the band?” he was shocked.

Her shoulders lifted with indecision. “I don’t know. It’s just a feeling I’ve been having. Then I got an offer this week that really have made me step back and look at my life. I have a decision to make over the next couple of weeks that would change everything. I’m just not sure what I want to do yet.”

“Wow. Sounds serious and difficult. You’ll know what to do when the time comes.”

“I hope so. Oh! I haven’t said anything to the band yet. Please don’t say anything. I’m still trying to sort things out in my mind before I talk to them.”

“Of course. Like I said. I’m a good listener, Lacey. You can trust me.” He picked up his spoon. “Come on. Eat up. Our ice cream is melting.”

After dinner, they walked the boardwalk around the bay and enjoyed watching the rides at the nearby amusement park. The fresh air lightened her mood and refreshed her mind. It was after 11:00 p.m. when they got back to the hotel. Gabe walked her to her room.

“Thanks again for a wonderful evening. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun.”

“Anytime. We’ll have to do it again soon. With maybe a little less dessert.”

She hugged him and kissed his cheek.

“Goodnight. See you at the radio station.”

Lacey had just changed into her night shirt and washed her face when she heard a knock on her door. Startled, she wondered if Gabe had forgotten something. She was shocked to find Dalton standing on the other side of her door when she looked through the peep hole. What was he doing? Only one way to find out. She opened the door.

“Dalton, what are you doing here this late? Is something wrong?”

His face was grave as he stared her down. “Yes, damn it. Something is very wrong.” He brushed passed her into her room like a man on a mission. His hair was mussed as if he had been running his fingers through it. His scowl continued to stare her down.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked him again.

“How was your date?” His words dripped with sarcasm as he stretched out the syllables on the word date.

“My night was very enjoyable. We had a wonderful time. Best food ever. Oh, the dessert. You wouldn’t believe it. Texas stands by its motto. I probably gained five pounds, but it was soooo worth it.” Her words held genuine glee, which caused Dalton’s frown to deepen.

“But that’s not why you’re here, is it, Dalton? It’s late, so why don’t you tell me exactly what it is that you need, so we can both get some rest. We have a busy day tomorrow as you well know. So, I’ll ask you again, what do you need?”

She was standing at the foot of her king size bed. Dalton stood a few feet away. As he began to talk, he slowly closed the distance between them.

‘What I need…” He was directly in front of her now. “is you, and it’s driving me absolutely insane, because it’s the last thing I should want, but I can’t get the thought of you in my arms out of my head. And the thought of you out with some other man tonight made me go completely bonkers. What I need is to bury myself deep inside you and make love to you until neither one of us can move a muscle. That’s what I need, Lacey. What are you going to do about that?”

She stared at him as several seconds ticked by. Various emotions crossed her expressive face. A slow intimate smile started in her eyes and moved to her lips. She took the last step toward Dalton, closing the gap between them.

“I’d say, what took you so long? I’d say it’s late, so we better get started. I’d say one of us is overly dressed. I’d say…”

“You always did talk too much.” Dalton halted her flow of words with his own lips as they tumbled to her bed. She reached to lift his t-shirt over his head. He shivered at her touch as her nails skimmed across his chest.

“Jesus, Lace, I’m dying here.” He pleaded with her as she lifted off the bed to pull his frame to hers.

“Don’t worry. I’m certified in CPR.”

They were skin-to-skin as he paused pulling the covers up over them.

“I have a feeling I might just need that.”