AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Try not to ruin my first dance, yeah? I won’t be able to live it down in the dressing room. I’ve bragged about you a little too hard leading up to today,” he says.
My muscles loosen as I laugh, nodding. “You got it.”
“Save me some time tonight to grab a drink, okay? I wanna catch up before you head back to CP.”
“You got it.”
“I’ll see you out there, then, buddy.”
Once I’m alone in the room, I pull my phone out and instinctively open my text conversation with Banana. The last text was from over a week ago. It’s safe to say that the cat is out of the bag for the both of us.
I’ve been contemplating how I’m going to bring it up to Anna for too long. This performance was the last thing I was waiting for before doing so.
I didn’t piece together that she would be here tonight until a few nights ago when I found myself scrolling through our earlier messages and reread her first text. The mention of the Morales wedding wouldn’t have necessarily meant much had it not also been for knowing her sister was married to Maddox Hutton. There is only one Morales wedding starring an Ottawa Beavertail player tonight.
It was hard to keep this knowledge from her, but I needed to be sure about what I was going to do before opening my mouth too soon. Tonight, I’m going to tell her the truth and make her mine. The wordtemporarywhispers in the back of my mind like a sick joke, but I ignore it the same way I have been since I decided I wanted her.
You don’t meet a woman like Annalise Heights and not make her yours. Especially not when you share the same natural chemistry that we do. The same unadulterated want for one another.
Whether or not she wants to risk it with me is still up in the air. I’m positive that my nerves won’t settle until I know her answer. This is my most important performance to date, and the star of my show is completely unaware of her importance.
My ribs constrict as I scroll through our past messages, some old and some recent. Some so fucking funny and laid-back that it makes me completely in awe of my inability to realize it sooner. I met my dream womantwiceand still took this fucking long to make a move.
What’s even harder to believe is that I never knew what I truly looked for in a woman until I met Anna. I didn’t know that I wanted a funny city girl with a snarky attitude when annoyed and a fierce passion for helping others. Not only is she fierce, butshe’s also incredibly easy to talk to. There isn’t anything that she wouldn’t listen to me talk about, even if I didn’t need her to say anything back. But if I did, she would give me the best advice.
One kiss, one taste of her was all it took. Fuck, I’d let her string me along forever if it meant I’d get another one of those.
Someone clears their throat in the doorway, and I lock my phone, slipping it back into my pocket before acknowledging them. Rita keeps her face blank despite the impatience in her eyes. The crow’s feet beside them try to tell me that at one time, she smiled often. I haven’t gotten the honour of witnessing more than a small handful of those.
“You ready?” she asks, staring down at her cell phone.
For the millionth time since I got back home, I’m contemplating why I keep her as my manager. She’s hard-shelled and, more often than not, harsh and cold. Swift Edge Records encouraged the partnership shortly after I signed with the label, and I was too naive to know better.
“I’m ready,” I answer her.
“It’s good you’re doing this, Brody. Videos will hit the internet by tonight, and the world will know that you’re ready to come back better than ever.”
I scratch at my jaw, noting the thicker facial hair that I’ve begun to grow. It reminds me of a younger version of myself. I always wanted a beard, but Garrison wasn’t a fan, so it disappeared.
“I’m not ready to come back yet. I need a few more weeks.”
Finally, her attention lifts from her phone and settles on me. “What do you mean you’re not ready?”
“Exactly what it sounds like, Rita. I want more time at home.”
“Want or need? Because they are two very different things. Especially in this business,” she snarks, her condescending tone scratching along my nerves.
I swipe my tongue along my lips, agitated enough to begin fidgeting. “Both. Reggie told me I had a full three months if I needed it. That time’s not up yet.”
“Reggie is not your boss.”
“He’s as much my boss as his son is. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, Rita, but you work for me. It would serve you best to remember that.”
“That sounds a lot like a threat.”
I stiffen further at her attitude. “I didn’t mean it as a threat, but don’t think that can’t or won’t change.”
Three more weeks isn’t enough with Anna, but it’s a start. I need that time with her. To really be with her. To show her that maybe, just maybe, this thing between us wouldn’t have to come to an end once I leave. It’s a hopeful thought but the one I’ve been contemplating most as of late. There are so many variables in play when it comes to a potential relationship with me outside of Cherry Peak, which is why tonight is so important.
