Irreversible Damage (Irreparable 2)

“Oh, my God. He winked at me,” a girl that I assume is barely legal squeals next to me.

And so it begins. I’ll be sharing Brady with other women, and plenty of them, very soon. Jesse taps out a beat, and a song begins to play. I don’t recognize it. Not surprising, since I’ve avoided most of the rehearsals.

Brady’s voice pierces the microphone. It’s different. Passionate. “I’m Brady, and we’re Second Chances.”

“Oh, my God!” Barely Legal wails in my ear. “He’s so hot!”

I’d like to bare my claws and stab her eyes out. I smile at her as she starts jumping up and down. Her boobs practically smack her in the face.

“I love you!” a female voice shouts from the crowd.

Brady’s laugh escapes the speakers, followed by, “We love you, too.”

“This first song is one I wrote.” More screaming ensues. When it quiets down, Brady continues, “We weren’t going to play it tonight, but I decided to change it up a bit. I hope you like it. It’s called ‘Only You.’”

Brady’s eyes find me again, and the room narrows to a point where it feels as if only the two of us remain. And then he begins. Holy shit! He’s going to sing to me.

My life was dark and it was cold

On a road to nowhere moving fast

You stepped up, strong and bold

Despite the flaws of my past

Only you

I’m trembling, filled with his love as he continues belting out the lyrics, his eyes staying fixed on mine.

Only you were there for me

Now it’s only you I see

Only you

Only you believed in what we had

You lift me up when I am sad

Oh, my God! The crowd at the base of the stage is mostly women, and every single one of them is swooning.

I hear Mercedes’ voice in my ear. “Wow! That boy has it bad for you, girl.”

I turn and shrug, then give her a small smile before quickly looking back up at Brady, who is now working the crowd like he’s been performing forever. In a way he has. He’s spent his entire life pretending to be someone he wasn’t.

Watching him, I realize why he would never be happy running Gibson Capital or working in a law firm. He’s a performer and always has been. Only now, he’s performing on his terms and doing something he’s passionate about.

He’s in love.

His eyes have found me again as the song beings to wind down.

It’s only me for you

Your touch, my needed spark

It’s only you for me

A ray of sunshine to fill the dark