“He didn’t follow me,” I said to Avery, who had snuck out behind The Imperial with me. “I thought he’d fight for me after that.”

“Did you see the commotion you caused? Maybe he couldn’t.”

“If he wanted to find me, he would have. It's not like I went very far.” I lifted my hands at our surroundings.

"I'm sure there's a good reason."

I sighed at her words. “I just expected things to go differently. You know, Rainier would storm the crowd, lift me in his arms and kiss me senseless or something.”

“You’ve been reading too much romance if you thought that was going to happen.”

“You know I don’t read that crap.”

Avery snorted. “Don't forget I’ve been in your room. I saw the stack of books on your dresser. They might not be bodice rippers, but those books are romance." I opened my mouth to argue, but she kept going. "I think you’re waiting for your prince charming to come and sweep you off your feet, just like the rest of us.”

“Too bad prince charming is moving back to Coeur d’Alene soon.”

“Maybe he’ll change his mind.”

I shrugged but remained silent.

It would be awesome if Avery were right. I wanted Rainier to want me. To choose me. But this wasn't a fairy tale. There would be no grand gesture or happily ever after. It was silly to even hope for it.

The sound of music came from inside. Avery started bouncing and looked toward the door before turning her puppy-dog eyes on me.

“Think you'd want to come inside and listen to the guys with me?”

I shook my head. “I’m going to stay out here and enjoy the fresh air."

“Just don't disappear on me. I'm listening to Carter, but I'm not ditching you."

“I'll do my best."

As soon as Avery walked inside, I sat down in one of the cheap plastic chairs. There was an ashtray on the ground that was overflowing with butts. It meant the people who worked here either chain-smoked like nobody’s business or were way too lazy for their own good, considering the dumpster was less than five feet away from their smoking section.

I considered emptying it myself when the door opened again. A bartender took that opportunity to walk out and light up a cigarette proving it would be futile to do any housekeeping in the break area.

“Shouldn’t you be inside?” I asked, taking my frustrations out on the blonde girl who looked to be about my age.

“Shouldn’t you?” she snapped back.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Just between your performance in there and your shirt, I assumed you were some hardcore groupie trying to get their attention."

I looked down at my top and back at her, but didn't say anything.

"That was the point of all that, right?"

“No, the point was to… you know what? I don’t have to tell you why I did that. It’s none of your business.”

The girl laughed, and I wanted to claw her eyes out. Is this what it felt like to be on the other end of such biting remarks? I was far from crying, but I didn't like her commenting on my life. She didn't know a thing about me. She had no right.

“I’m Mila, by the way.”

“I don’t care.”

“You're feisty. Any chance you're the infamous Michelle.”

"What did you say?"

"I heard one of the guys from the band mention that name. The cute one with the glasses. I just wondered if you might be the girl he was talking about out here." She threw her still burning cigarette on the massive pile and went inside after giving me a smirk I couldn't decipher.

I was convinced she'd been drinking tonight. One shot for the customer, one shot for the bartender. Regardless, I couldn't get what she said out of my mind. What if Rainier really was talking about me? I needed to know what he said and what it meant.

I raced inside shortly after Mila had left me alone outside with her words.

When I opened the back door to see what was going on, I was met with the loud sound of applause and whistling.

As I got further inside, I could see Avery and Carter on stage together. They were kissing, Avery's left hand firmly planted on Carter’s cheek. The spotlight causing something on it to shine. An engagement ring.

Carter had freaking proposed to my best friend, and I had missed it.

I blamed Rainier for this. If I weren't feeling so upside down from things between the two of us, I would have been inside instead of sulking out back.

Rainier was laughing from beside the happy couple. His eyes scanned the crowd. They stopped and lingered for a long time on the bar, and I knew why. He was looking for me. For some reason, the idea of him finding me was terrifying.

I ran back outside before he found me.