“Yeah, I hear he’s been working on some new material,” Josh said. “It should be a good set. All the usual groupies have already lined up along the front.”
“Oh yeah. Those girls are always here when he plays.” Reid laughed as he surveyed the group of fans.
Sure enough, a collection of carefully coiffed college girls decked out in short shorts and skimpy dresses crowded in front of the stage. Who was the band’s lead singer? Blair wondered. He must either be way hot or have a way with words. Speaking of hot, she couldn’t help but be a bit miffed that Justyn had chosen to work tonight instead of spend it with her. If Reid could take the night off to go out with Maggie, surely he could break for a few hours. She took out her phone, planning to shoot him a quick text to see if he was missing her.
“What are you doing, Blair?” Reid appeared in front of her. “If you drop that phone, you’ll never find it in this crowd. Come on. Let’s go find a spot closer to the stage.”
She shrugged her shoulders and stashed her phone inside her pocket. Maybe it was best to have Justyn miss her a little longer. She had plans for him when she got back to the island. If she could just make it through this concert.
She trailed behind the two couples snaking their way closer to the main action. There were no drums or other musical equipment on the stage—only a couple amps and a microphone in the center—and crisscross lights were strung over the platform.
A hush seemed to settle over the crowd, but it was disturbed when one of the groupies up front began to squeal. “Here he comes!”
A tall form ambled across the dark stage to the center and turned his back to the concertgoers. Blair could make out the outline of a guitar strapped on the singer’s back, but nothing more.
He turned around as the stage lights came up and began to strum the opening notes of a familiar Tim McGraw party anthem. A deep, ultra-sexy voice belted out the lyrics, and it was a moment before Blair processed the crooner standing about five feet in front of her. She felt Maggie pull on her arm, but all she could focus on was those bedroom eyes and that voice. Justyn.
He now reached the chorus, and the crowd joined in a sing-along, hoisting their drinks in the air. He smiled and sauntered across the stage, winking at his front-row fan club along the way.
“Did you know he could play like this?” Maggie yelled over the noise.
Blair shook her head and followed him as he made his way back to the center, closing in on the song’s finale. She hadn’t imagined this drop-dead gorgeous islander could be one bit hotter. Not for the first time this summer, he proved her wrong again. Her pulse raced when she saw him search the crowd, glance past the shrieking girls, and lock eyes with her.
“Thank you,” he said over the applause and wolf whistles. “Thank you for coming out tonight.”
The cheers erupted.
He adjusted his guitar and continued. “It’s great to be around so many old friends at the Dock House. I hope you won’t mind if I test out some new material.”
The crowd roared again. Blair looked around at the happy audience smiling and shouting for more from the boy who had rocked her world more than once along the coastal shores the last few weeks.
“Enjoying the show?” Reid called over Maggie’s head. He winked and cracked a smile.
“You did this on purpose, didn’t you?” Blair yelled.
Reid shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the stage where Justyn was strumming the opening chords of a slower melody.
“I’d like to dedicate this one to a special summer friend,” he muttered into the mic.
Blair stood behind the row of screaming girls, trying to absorb everything that was happening. As soon as Justyn’s words launched into the bar, everything else around her faded to black. The only two people in the room were Justyn and her.
Baby, they say summer love comes and goes
Comes and goes
Like birds flying south
Tourists leaving town
We’ve been dancing nights so close under the sky
I see it when I look in your eyes
I’m not sure I can let go of this swing we’ve found
Can we chase it and never come down?
But it doesn’t matter what I’m sayin’