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When the last note dies, the applause sounds louder than the lukewarm reception most of the other performers received, mostly coming from the back tables.
I smile and execute a small curtsy, then hurry to hand the microphone back to the woman and weave through the crowd.
A few patrons smile at me, clearly recognizing me from the stage.
“That wasamazing!” Ella shouts when I reach the back of the bar, throwing her arms around me. “Tequila shots to celebrate. We’ll make a country girl out of you yet.”
“I’m responsible for the boots,” Julia says.
I let them pull me toward the bar.
Don’t look back, I tell myself.
Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back.
But I do.
And in the middle of a crowded bar? He’s totally focused on me.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
KYLE
I’m kicking myself for mentioning coming here to Hudson.
He might have bitched about not going out on my birthday together, but he would have understood if I’d told him I’d rather celebrate another night. Most years, I’ve been long gone by the time this date rolled around. It’s not like we have an established tradition.
But we all came together, and I’ve been stuck ever since. Stuck acting like my focus isn’t entirely on Piper because I’m not sure I want my friends to know about us and I’m guessing she doesn’t either.
And it’s excruciating.
I want to touch her, talk to her, and everyone else keeps calling for my attention. I signed a couple dozen autographs shortly after we arrived, then slunk to the corner so any fans would have to push through my friends to get to me.
I hate acting ungrateful. I wouldn’t have a career without all the strangers who have supported me. One three-minute interaction might be an inconvenience to me, but a core memory for them.
But my patience whittles away to absolutely nothing when Ella and Julia pull Piper toward the bar after her performance.
She sang for me.
And seeing her up on that stage affected me more than I had expected. She’s the person I seek out in any room now, but I was totally transfixed, watching her perform.
I pull my phone out of my pocket and type a quick text. Mutter something about the restroom to Danny, who’s closest to me. He nods, more focused on the beer he’s holding and Natasha.
I push through the crowd as quickly as I can, hoping it’ll mean no one stops me. Rush past the restrooms, relieved the women’s doesn’t have a line out the door. Then prop open the delivery door just past it and step out into the back alley. This is how we used to sneak in here when we were all underage.
I lean back against the brick wall, propping my foot up on a discarded box and staring up at the stars. All the commotion inside is muffled, and the sudden quiet is soothing and jarring after being inside the crowded bar. We’re on the outskirts of Mayville, but the distant hum of traffic is audible. It’s not the complete silence of the ranch, and I kind of miss it. I spent years in the midst of huge cities, surrounded by people, and felt completely alone. It’s illogical that this is the place where I feel the opposite.
The door opens again, and Piper steps out.
I don’t think it through; I just kiss her. It’s a reflex, as natural as breathing.
See her, kiss her.
The satisfaction when she immediately kisses me back is heady and addictive.
I devour her mouth, finally releasing some of the pent-up emotion that’s been suffocating me all night.
“You sang,” I say as soon as our lips separate.
