He tightens against me and I chug my beer hoping he isn’t going to fl
ip out. Instead, he starts laughing. He turns me to face him and kisses my forehead. “Just so you all know, you were hustled. Ella was right. Once I saw her, no one even had a chance.”
We finish another beer before the guys have to get ready for the show. Our group leaves the room and finds a comfortable booth on the side of the stage that’s reserved for us. The waitress comes over to get our drink order and I notice Mark is five feet away. He’s leaning against the wall and watching us with a grin on his face. I wonder if he’s guarding me because after two sets and one bathroom break, he is always close.
I don’t have to wonder long. When a guy runs in to me on the dance floor, Mark immediately steps in and moves me to the center of my friends. Abbi rolls her eyes, but the others think it’s hilarious.
You can tell the band’s energy is fueled by the crowd. At one point, Nate breaks off into a solo on the drums and the girls up front go crazy. I see Declan looking down at me and he smiles widely. He’s drenched in sweat and he keeps running his hands through his hair to keep it out of his eyes. I don’t think he’s ever been sexier to me than in this moment. Nate finishes up and they all jump back in. I know it’s the end of the set so I go back to the table because my feet are killing me and I’m exhausted from dancing.
The stage goes dark and people start to thin out. There’s movement on the stage and I see Cooper setting a stool in the middle in front of the microphone. People stop moving away and turn back towards the stage. I look at Ella and Abbi to see if they know what’s going on, but they shrug at me. I look back and see Declan sitting down with his guitar. Behind him, Blake adjusts the strap of his guitar and strums a few cords. The entire room is silent except for a few whispers from behind me.
Declan leans in and hums to make sure the microphone is working.
“Hey, guys, we decided to add a little something different tonight. I’ve only been working on this for a few days, but I hope you like it. There’s someone special here tonight that has changed my life. This is for her.”
I can’t move and my eyes are glued to the stage. Declan starts to whistle as he begins strumming the guitar, leading into the song. Tears form in my eyes as I recognize the song immediately. He’s looking straight at me as he serenades me with an acoustic version of Gun N’ Rose’s “Patience”.
I feel my hands being squeezed, but I don’t take my eyes off of him. His voice is like silk and his eyes are piercing into me. He keeps right on singing to me like I’m the only person in the room. The tears stream down my cheeks and I see a flash of sadness cross his face, but he keeps on singing. Blake starts in with a riff in the background. The crowd in front of the stage is swaying to the rhythm and the whole scene is beautiful. A few people have figured out he’s singing to our table so Mark moves in closer. I hear sniffles all around me.
When he starts in on the last verse, Blake takes over the music all together and Declan grabs the microphone with both hands. He stands up and turns his whole body to me. He sings the last verse about needing me and my heart explodes in my chest. I’ve never felt this happy in my life.
The stage goes dark and the crowd goes wild; girls are screaming at him. I look around and all of us have tears in our eyes– even Kendall.
“Holy shit, Raven, that was fucking unbelievable.”
I use my beverage napkin to wipe my cheeks, “Did that really just happen?”
“Yep,” in unison.
Mark walks over and motions for us to follow him. We all gather our stuff and head to the back. When we walk in, the room is alive with energy. Cooper and Nate are on the sofas with four girls I’ve never seen before. Judging by their attire, they’re Band Bunnies. I don’t see Declan or Blake yet. There’s a few people hanging around the bar drinking and shouting how awesome the show was. Apparently, they had met fire code capacity and had to turn people away.
My friends make small talk knowing I’m not paying attention. I can’t concentrate because I realize I just fell deeper in love with Declan Collins.
Blake walks through the stage door without Declan. I excuse myself to find him and hear catcalls behind me. It starts with Charlie (no filter), but our group joins in. One of the Bunnies ask, “Who is she?” I don’t respond because I know Charlie or Kendall will take care of it.
I find Declan packing up his guitar behind the stage. He sees me and freezes. He has a shy expression and hesitantly walks the rest of the way to me.
I put my hands on my hips to imitate an irritated stance, “Declan, when I come over tomorrow, I’m not packing a bag.”
His whole body sinks.
“I’m packing a whole fucking suitcase.”
It takes a second for him to comprehend, but he reaches for me. I see his smile before he crushes my mouth with his. I feel myself lifting up in his arms and see a flash of light as others come back stage from the room, but I don’t let him go.
He pulls away from my mouth, but he tightens his grip and keeps me close. “Thank you,” he says with a smile.
After the guys get their stuff from the stage, we go to the bar and continue to party until last call.
Declan didn’t leave my side the rest of the night. He was always finding some way to touch or hold me. Tons of his fans came up to him to compliment his serenade and I guess they quickly figured out it was directed at me. I got several nasty looks from girls that he turned his back on. When it was time to go, he walked me to the car and kissed me gently. I promised to call him Sunday afternoon to confirm our plans.
When the girls and I got home, I was so exhausted that I put on my pajamas and fell into bed. I know my friends want to talk about what had happened earlier, but it will have to wait until tomorrow.
Kendall rolls in next to me and squeezes my arm.
“That boy is in love with you, RJ.”
“I hope so because I’m pretty in love with him too.”