Dalton breaks away from Raleigh, ready to storm through the crowd to get to her, but I reach out a hand to stop him. “I’ll go,” I say, sliding past him into the belly of my worst nightmare.
Thankfully, some of the attention is taken off of us as Chris starts playing his next song. I take a deep breath and elbow my way into the thickest part of the crowd. A few people, not realizing who I am and what I’m doing, elbow me back or grouch at me. There’s no time to tell them that I’m not trying to cut in front of them or steal their hard-fought floor space.
In front of me, people grab at Mae as she walks through, parting the crowd like the Red Sea. She stops along the way to take pictures with a few fans, all the while continuing to battle her way toward me. Her face lights up when she sees me coming toward her.
“I couldn’t find you!” Mae calls, unbothered by all the interested eyes. “I thought you left.” She lets out a relieved breath, and my heart breaks at how anyone could ever just leave her.
I shake my head fervently when she takes my hands. “Linda commandeered me for a dance,” I yell over the music pumping from the stage. Her shoulders bounce with a laugh, but I can’t hear its beauty over the music.
Putting my arm around her shoulders, I start to lead her back to our group as a few cowboys, who clearly have had a bit to drink, stop her. I tense immediately, even though they’ve only motioned for a picture. She obliges them. Stepping in between the four men, she hunkers down so they all fit in the frame. I don’t miss how the tallest one, with the dumbest hat, puts his hand lightly on her back.
After a few selfies, and what feels like an eternity, I slide in between her and the offending cowboy to her right and lead her away. She didn’t seem too bothered by the men, but I was keeping an eye on that wandering hand and how it slid lower with each picture. Latching onto her hand, we work our way back to our group and notice the number of cameras on us as we navigate the dance floor. Suddenly, I want to duck for cover.
When we reach Dalton and Raleigh, they’re not too happy. “Mae, I thought we agreed you wouldn’t jump off a stage again.” Dalton grunts, looking her over.
“Ah, let my girl be,” Linda says, coming forward for another hug. “I’m surprised you still knew the words to those, being a city girl now and all that.”
Mae playfully shoves Linda backwards. “I’m still the little girl you found on the side of the road humming ‘Ring of Fire,’ don’t worry.”
I stiffen at her anecdote but try to hide it quickly. Is she speaking about something that’s common knowledge, or have I just been let in on a secret the world doesn’t know? No matter the truth, my heart breaks at the thought of young Mae being left on the side of the road. I know her parents weren’t necessarily in the picture growing up, but how deep does that story go?
I don’t get a chance to stew on my questions any longer because Mae has turned to me in all her glorious light to ask me if I want to get a drink. I find myself nodding, and then she’s leading me up to the second level to the nearest bar. Raleigh and Linda seem deep in conversation, so we leave them behind. At the bar, Mae and I find two empty seats next to each other while Dalton leans against a wall nearby, content with standing and observing.
The bartender seems to know Mae on a personal level because she smiles and puts down a drink without taking an order. After taking a sip and smacking her lips in enjoyment, she turns to me. “Are you having a good time? I promise I’m yours for the rest of the night.”
As soon as the promise leaves her mouth, a brave group of girls approaches us. Decked out in pink cowgirl hats and boots, it’s clear that they’re here for a bachelorette party. The bride-to-be emerges from the group with a phone and asks for a photo.
“I’ll just get out of your way,” I mumble, moving to get up.
“Oh, heck no!” the bride blurts. “We need a photo with both of you; Brent will be so jealous.”
Reluctantly, I sit back down in my seat. To make room for the entire group, Mae moves from her stool and slides onto my lap. Steadying her, I rest a hand on her thigh and lean forward over her shoulder. She shows no signs of nerves, so I do my best to do the same as the women take a flurry of selfies with us.
When the bridal party finally leaves, I expect Mae to hop down; instead, she spins us back toward the bar and reaches for her drink. It’s a tight squeeze, but having her against me like this is a welcome feeling. Wrapping two arms around her, I let her lean fully back into me. The little sigh she lets slip tells me she’s enjoying this just as much as I am.
Chapter 14
Mae
DUE TO THE TRAUMA caused by Linda earlier, it takes me nearly the rest of the concert to get Wyatt out onto the dance floor but when I do, I find him to be a natural. Sure, he can’t get the complicated steps right away, but he’s strong and can fling me around with the others. It’s fun to have a man like that holding me close, not letting me go. I feel protected and, in another word I can rarely use,normal. A word I’ve yearned to use to describe a relationship for years, maybe even a lifetime.
Glancing over Wyatt’s shoulder during a lull, I spy Dalton and Raleigh looking at me. She lifts a drink to us, and even in the dim lighting, I can see genuine happiness sparkling in her eyes. I raise two fingers off of Wyatt’s back in response before turning my attention back to the man holding me tightly. I dip my face to nuzzle closer to his neck, and I let my lips graze his skin ever so softly. We haven’t shared a kiss yet, but after I hopped into his lap earlier and I felt his hands dig into my hips, I think we'reboth hinting towards our relationship going that way. Toying with the idea, I let my head fall back to his chest and relax. There’s no need to force anything, especially with music this good.
Chris plays his second-to-last song of the night, a slow song he wrote for Linda when they were going through a breakup. It’s safe to say the song did its job because they’re still married all these years later. Sighing as Chris tips his hat toward backstage, I can’t help but be transported to the day on the side of the road that led me to them.
I was six years old, and my mom had locked me out of the house again. I was wearing nothing but an oversized Metallica t-shirt and underwear. When it was clear that my mother was not going to let me back inside, I started walking. Songs had always been a comfort to me in the worst of times, and I suppose they still are. That day, I’d been singing Johnny Cash on a walk to nowhere in particular when they stumbled upon me in their van. They were headed into Baton Rouge for a show and had gotten sidetracked.
I’m pretty sure I made them late for that concert, but they never said a word about it. They fed me burgers and took me to the police department. While we waited, Chris taught me a few chords on guitar and Linda harmonized with me. My life changed forever that day.
“Are you okay?” Wyatt asks in a whisper that causes a chill to run through me.
Taking a breath, I let visions of the past shatter. “I’m just really happy to be here with you.” Braving a look into his eye for a moment, I see deep-rooted concern there. Butterflies take flight as I try to think about the last time someone looked at me like that. Before I can comment, he pulls me back to him and plants a lingering kiss on the top of my head. It’s not a sign of aheady need or pressure for more; it’s simply an act of care and comfort.
I’ve been in a few messed-up relationships in my life. I try my damnedest every day not to think about them, but right now I can’t help but think back to a time where I let Trenton Travers take up every moment of my day. Did it ever feel this way with him? Did he ever even hold me like this?
Shaking thoughts of him away, I crane my neck to look up at the man in the here and now. Our relationship has naturally come so far, and he’s been so understanding about every aspect of my crazy world. He pushes some hair from my face and lowers his lips toward mine. I close my eyes and wait.
The final song of the night startles both of us away from each other. Chris has broken out his electric guitar, causing everyone to pick up their dancing, bumping into us as they go. With the tender moment gone, we shrug and do our best to recover. We pull away from each other and start to move to the beat. Realizing our perfect night is almost up, we try to enjoy the last bit of the show alongside the screaming droves of Chris Mayfield fans.
