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Chapter Thirty-Two
The new song came to Drew so fast--between being on the beach with Ashley and the end of his interviews--that he had to record it immediately. Some songs he worked on for weeks or months. But this one, he didn't need to mess around with. He didn't need to rewrite it a million times.
All he had to do was let his feelings out in melody and lyric.
The song was called "Inside." And every word, every note, was a love song for Ashley.
You're inside of me.
Every second of every day.
Every look.
Every touch.
Every kiss.
I was lost until you found me.
I was hurt until you healed me.
Until you took me all the way
Inside.
Drew had hoped Ashley would be there to hear the song while he recorded it. But when he looked up from the sound booth and saw that she wasn't with James, he'd decided it would actually be better if he could play it when they were alone on the bus. Just for her, so that he could watch her face as he sang about how much he loved her--and how she'd changed his life in the best possible ways.
Six hours later, they'd finished recording and mastering the song. He'd overlaid all of the parts on his guitar, the studio's piano, and a bass guitar he'd borrowed from his bassist. He didn't usually play all of the parts himself, but he'd wanted every note to be from him to Ashley, with no one else in between.
"She's going to love it, Drew." James didn't normally comment on his songwriting, but he clearly couldn't help himself this time. "The whole world is going to love it, but I know Ashley is the one you care about most."
Max had brought the bus around to the back of the studio, but when Drew stepped inside, Ashley wasn't there. "Did she say where she was going?"
"To run some errands." James frowned as he looked at his watch. "But she said it was only going to be for a couple of hours."
Fear immediately pricked up Drew's spine. A part of him knew he was overreacting, but after the situation on the beach that morning, he couldn't help but worry that something had happened to her. He'd not only promised her father he'd keep her safe, he'd also promised her that he'd never let anything happen to her.
He texted Ashley.
Just got out of the studio. Are you close by or still running errands?
He stared at his phone, waiting for her response. But when nothing came back, instead of texting again, he pressed the call button. By the time his call went to voice mail, he started to lose it.
"James, she's not texting back or picking up her phone."
Max knocked, then came through the door a beat later. "Traffic is way backed up. We've got to head to the venue."
Drew's gut was twisting. "We need to wait here for Ashley to come back."
"I know you're worried about her," James said in a measured voice, "but she's an intelligent, capable woman who knows where you're playing tonight. I promise you that I will do everything I can to find her as soon as possible. But if you don't show up to play tonight, there's a good chance that twenty thousand people will riot."
Drew's curse echoed off the walls of the bus.
"She looked a little overwhelmed earlier today," his bodyguard and friend added, knowing him well enough not to pull any punches. "Maybe she just needed some time to herself to clear her head. You're a great guy, Drew, but you've got to see that it's a pretty big deal to date someone like you."
If he had been able to think straight, he would have seen this for himself. After all, hadn't he said he loved her last night--and then immediately insisted they tell her father about their relationship? He was just so crazy happy about being with her that he didn't want to admit he was pushing her way too hard and too fast into a relationship. Hell, she'd been a virgin, but he hadn't even stopped to think about how hard just that life transition must be for her. Instead, he'd been too focused on taking her again and again and again.
"You're right. I've been such an idiot. I'm just so in love with her that all I'm doing is pushing her away."
Was her father right? Was he not a safe guy for her? Everything in Drew fought against believing that...but just because he didn't want it to be true didn't mean it wasn't.
"Like James said," Max chimed in, "Ashley's as smart as they come. And tough enough not to let anyone push her around. Not even you, Drew. We all see the way she looks at you. And the way you've always looked at her. Needing a little breathing room is normal. At least," he added with a grin, "that's what my wife always tells me."
Drew appreciated the way his friends were trying to help him see things more clearly. But at the same time, he hated the decision he had to make. In the end, however, it was the knowledge that James and Max were both right about how smart and capable Ashley was--and how upset she'd be if she found out he'd canceled his show over her--that had him saying, "Let's head out for the venue. But if she needs me..."
"If she ever needs you, I'll pull you off stage in a heartbeat," James promised as Max left to take the wheel. "Riots or not."
*
The traffic on Interstate 95 was the worst Ashley had ever seen. Her taxi had literally been sitting in the same spot for the past fifteen minutes. To make matters even worse, her phone was dead and the driver said he didn't have a cell phone that she could borrow.
She'd told James that she would be back at the studio before they left for the venue, but there was no way she was going to make that now. Heck, at this point, she wasn't even sure she'd make it by the time the show ended. And after what Drew had said to her in the slushie shack on the beach--I can't stand the thought of anything happening to you--she could easily guess that he'd
be worried.
She felt like she'd been heaping lies on top of lies, and she hated it. All she wanted was to be back in Drew's arms so that she could tell him how much she loved him. She still needed a game plan in place to approach her father with the news so that he wouldn't totally freak out, but at least Drew would know exactly how she felt.
The minutes ticked by so slowly in the boiling-hot taxi that she grew more agitated by the second, and stickier, too. By the time it finally pulled up at the venue--right when Drew usually took the stage--she paid the driver, then got out and begged the nearest stranger to let her use her phone to make a call.
She could tell by the way the girl raised her eyebrows that she must look like a crazy person. Her wavy hair had poofed way out in the humidity, her skin was flushed from the heat, her clothes were horribly wrinkled, and her eyes were probably still red from crying in her mother's arms. Thankfully, the girl agreed to let her make the call anyway.
Drew picked up on the first ring, and the sound of his voice was so sweet that all of her nerves that had been turned up to eleven that morning immediately settled down.
"It's Ashley."
"Where are you?"
"Outside the venue."
The call went dead, and when she called him back, he didn't pick up. Then she heard it...the gasps and screams that Drew's fans always made when they spotted him. But when she looked up and saw him coming toward her, it didn't look as though he noticed any of his fans freaking out as they clamored for him.
He only had eyes for her.
She'd been apart from him for only one afternoon, but it felt like a lifetime. She leapt into his arms, and when his mouth covered hers, it was like coming home. A sweeter, more exciting--and way sexier--home than she'd ever dreamed of having.
"Ash." He put his hands on her cheeks. "Thank God you're okay."
"I got stuck in traffic on the way back, and my phone died." But that wasn't the full truth, and she wouldn't let herself be afraid to tell Drew the truth again. "I didn't go to run errands. I went to see my mom. I should have told you, but..."
"I get it. I'm pushing you too hard, too fast."
"No. You're not. You're great. You're amazing." Somewhere in the back of her mind, she registered the dozens of cell phones capturing their conversation, but she didn't care. She couldn't wait another second for Drew to know exactly how she felt. "I love you."
