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“The Whistler?”
“Yep!” Simon beamed, and I began to dance in my seat in excitement.
They were right. It was time to get out of the house and do something. There was a media van on the side of the road, but they were temporarily distracted by a few bikers. I giggled when I saw Bubba talking to the reporter, hitting her with his swagger, so she didn’t notice our car driving by.
We pulled up to the old bar a few minutes later, and I could already feel the music playing from inside. The bar was dark as we entered, but our eyes adjusted quickly, and we followed Slade as he made his way to an open table. He barrelled his way through the crowd, no one daring to stand in his way. Zane shook his head, but we all followed, his method effective.
Sitting down, I looked around to see who was all here. It was a local joint, and it was well known for two things: chicken wings and Karaoke. And on Saturday, it was their 2-for-1 special on wings Karaoke night. It was the closest thing to an open mic this town had, bringing in all the local crooners. I waved at a few people I saw and realized that with Slade present, they were keeping their distance.
“Tatzilla, I think you’re going to become my new accessory.”
He looked at me, a question on his face as he raised his eyebrow at me. “Why’s that, Peach? Not that I mind if I get to stick to you.”
Fanning my flushed face, I grinned and pointed at all the people around us. “Because you’re like nosey people repellent.” He rolled his eyes but didn’t deny the fact.
An hour later, we’d filled ourselves with wings, beer, and other fried appetizers that had me moaning in ecstasy. “Good gravy, their food is so good.”
“I have to say, those were amazing wings,” Zane agreed, wiping sauce off his face. I went to tease him that he hadn’t tried anything yet, when my name was called from the stage, surprising me.
“Lennox James? Get your cute butt up here, darlin’.”
Jumping up, I didn’t even wait to see what the guys thought and raced up to the stage, the beer and adrenaline erasing my stage fright. Wrapping my arms around the bearded ginger, I smiled up at him. “Hey Bubba, thanks for the assistance earlier. Do I get to sing?”
“Of course, sugga.” He kissed my temple before turning back to the front. The Whistler had a long waitlist to sing, usually requiring weeks to a month to get on it. So to get the chance tonight was a dream come true.
“What do y’all think, folks? We wanna hear our country darlin’ sing?”
There were a few disgruntled people in the front, and I didn’t know if it was because three hot guys paid them no attention, or because I got to sing, but I didn’t care. Most of the crowd cheered, their uproarious noise bolstering me as I took the microphone. Despite the packed bar, my eyes only noticed the three who’d captured my heart—my bossnemy, my first love, and the one who’d gotten away.
I smiled and felt as if hearts had to be coming out of my eyes as I stared at them. Once I thought my love life was cursed, and I’d never have a happy ending. But I realized now, in order to get there, I had to embrace the middle and all it had to offer.
There would be trials and tears along the way, that was part of life, but it didn’t have to keep me from living. I wasn’t cursed, just human. There would still be times I was scared or feared facing the future, but at least now I had people to face them with.
Our love story had begun with letters, innocent confessions shared between lost souls, forging a connection of friendship until something more mature developed. It had gotten a little messy along the way, but I had faith the next chapter would be better than we’d ever dreamed. With a soft smile on a stage surrounded by strangers, I made a promise to always tell them how I felt. No more lies, and definitely no more misperceptions.
Turning to Bubba, I whispered my song choice, and he nodded. The music started a moment later, the upbeat guitar picking sounding out, and I raised the microphone, singing with everything from my heart. As the words “Glad you exist” by Dan + Shay fell from my lips, I swayed to the music and sang my love to Slade, Simon, and Thane, my Zane. The three smudged lines on my heart had now transformed into a permanent mark, tattooing themselves on my heart forever.
I didn’t need to be scared anymore, not when my love story was just beginning.
DECEMBER 31ST
The music playedover the speakers, and I swayed to the beat, goosebumps breaking out over my skin. It was nearly impossible not to love this song, and when Lennox sang it, I was a goner. Her hope and beauty were pure in each word as she belted, “Don’t give up on me” by Andy Grammar. It was one of those songs where you wanted to throw your hands up and sing along, dancing in circles as you belted it out.
Which was what I found myself doing.
Thane laughed next to me, but he wasn’t fairing much better, shaking his hips back and forth. Over the past few months, we’d all grown closer, and Thane had become a brother to me and a dear friend. The relationship between him and Slade had improved tremendously. Life had been good post-Adam, and I knew it would be even more each year we were all together.
My parents had taken a little time to get used to the idea, but they were on board now, having fallen in love with the twins as much as Lennox had. Robin and Eddy had been on board from day one, reminding me how amazing of parents they were despite what the pearl-clutchers said.
The media circus that had developed after everything that had taken place with Adam took a toll on Lennox and Robin. Her mother had a small episode right before Christmas, the stress getting to her routine. In all honesty, it had been a good thing because it made Lennox focus on things closer to home instead of trying to handle everything else. She was too kind, sometimes taking on too many things she didn’t need to. We’d need to do better at making sure she didn’t in the future.
“You think she’ll like the new tattoo studio?” Thane asked.
Nodding, I smiled. “Yeah. She’s going to love it.”
Equinox and Emblazed had undergone extensive renovations and were set to open in the new year as Tattooed Hearts. It felt fitting to rebrand everything and give both places a fresh slate clear of Adam. Slade had caved and designed Lennox her own studio, though I think his play acting was only so she didn’t know how he’d already had it planned, the big romantic. He hadn’t let her see it yet, though. To christen it and the new location, the first tattoo would be the one Slade had promised Lennox all those months back before Adam had blown everything up. Literally.
Lennox jumped off the stage into Slade’s arms, and he spun her, carrying her back to our table where we stood in the banquet hall. If they weren’t so cute, the grumpy-tatted guy and the quirky sunshine girl, I’d probably be jealous. But all I saw when I looked at them were the two pieces of my heart. Them being happy made me happy, and I finally understood that statement Lenn had made. Love didn’t take, it gave. Loving them was easy, and it had doubled the love I had.
