“She’s not a divayet,” Leah joked, waggling her brows at me. “Give her time. Soon, when she’s not the newest star on the scene but the biggest one, you’re going to start getting some drama from her.”
“Nope.” I put my hand to my chest, schooling my features into a solemn expression. “I’m going to stay exactly the way I am.”
She laughed. “Is that your solemn vow?”
“Yep, but on a more serious note, thank you all for being here. I promise not to create any drama for you guys. Ever. All I want to do is sing and pay my bills.”
Heidi held the garment bag out to me. “That’s too bad. I love me a little drama. Speaking of which, I hear one of the champs out there is the man who inspired the song. Is that true?”
Leah nodded enthusiastically. “You should hear their story. It’s beautiful. They were each other’s first loves. Then they traveled the world together years after breaking up, and this is his first tournament since his dad’s death. Oh, and he doesn’t know Serenity is here, so you might get some drama after all.”
I flushed. “You left out the part where he dumped me a few weeks ago. In Hawaii. Before I could even tell him how I felt about him.”
“That’s what you’re here for.” She shrugged. “Besides, he didn’t dump you. He just gotweird.”
“Yeah, but he got so weird that he suddenly and without any explanation decided to cut our trip short, then barely spoke to me on our way back. Oh, and he hasn’t spoken to me since.”
“That’s not entirely true,” she said. “He texted her when she announced she’d booked her first show. It was deep. He said congratulations.”
“That is deep,” Heidi agreed. “Congratulations, huh? What did you say?”
“Nothing,” I admitted. “I must’ve started typing a dozen messages, but I couldn’t bring myself to send any of them. I guess I’ll just say what I have to say out there when I get onstage.”
She waved a hand in front of her face. “That’s perfect. I can’t wait to see what happens, but they’re going to call you soon, so unless you want to say it in your street clothes or naked, we’d better get you dressed.”
After shooing everyone else out of the room, she unzipped the garment bag and revealed a funky, patterned skirt, bright red, sky-high heels, and an edgy top with the name of the game Bart would be playing tonight on it. I grinned as I took it all in. “That’s so cool. I would’ve loved a princess ball gown, but somehow, this is even better.”
She winked. “We’ll save the ball gown for next time. Now, let’s get it on you. They’re going to be calling you any minute now.”
It turned out that she was right. I was only dressed for a few seconds before I heard my name being called over the loudspeaker. Taking another deep breath, I walked out of my dressing room and accepted the microphone Valerie handed over to me. Then I hugged Leah and stepped out on stage, a massive, raised platform right in the middle of the big tournament Bart had been preparing for. I’d thought that my time to tell him the truth had come in Hawaii, but it hadn’t.
This, however, was it. It was the moment I’d been waiting for in so many ways, and as I took my place centerstage, I knew I was ready. Win or lose, I was ready.I just hope Bart is, too.
CHAPTER47
BART
My head wasn’t in the game at all, and it was making me nervous as fuck. I was at the tournament, and we were set to begin soon, but all I could think about was Serenity. Her big first show was tonight and I’d have given anything to have been there with her instead of being here.
As a result, I’d never been further from the top of my game. In fact, I was very close to pulling out at the last second. I’d never done it before, but with the way I was feeling right now, I was honestly wondering if forfeiting wouldn’t be for the best.
Shawn had texted to tell me he’d be here as soon as he could, but I knew he was going to see her performance first. I’d almost asked him for details about it, but I’d eventually decided against it. It didn’t matter where the show was going to be because I still couldn’t be there and she still didn’t want me there since she hadn’t invited me.
Despite my determination to start getting over her after tonight, I wasn’t anywhere near ready to begin trying. Not while I was still wondering if there could’ve been a chance for us if I’d just told her how I felt.
I really wished I’d said something to her that night in Hawaii instead of spending all night brooding in my room. Now I was wondering if I’d been wrong about it being too late. It would only really be too late if she started seeing someone else, and as far as I knew, that hadn’t happened yet.
Turning it over and over in my head, as I’d been doing all day, I decided that all this overthinking was total bullshit. All I had to do was check her social media after the tournament, find out where she was, and go tell her.
Definitely after the tournament, though.I couldn’t forfeit. As tempted as I was to do it, it just wasn’t me. I was going to take a beating since I couldn’t focus for shit, but that was fine. My ego wasn’t so fragile that one bad night was going to break me.
Energy surged through me as I stood in the crowd, waiting for the announcement that we were ready to get started. I bounced on the balls of my feet and flexed my fingers, trying and failing to force Serenity out of my mind.
I wonder if her show has started yet. I wonder if she’s as nervous right now as I am. I wonder—
“Ladies and gentlemen,” a voice said over the PA system. “Before we get to the competition, we have a special guest tonight to kick things off! The one, the only, Serenity Ramirez!”
The crowd went wild, but I just blinked stupidly, thinking that I must’ve been hearing things just because I’d been thinking about her.