Epilogue
Brooklyn
My cheeks lifted as Reid’s warm lips trailed over my neck and down to my collarbone. “Reid, stop it! You’re not making me any less nervous.”
I sighed annoyingly, but he knew I was lying. Reid’s lips on any part of my body made me forget about the rest of the world—just like it had always been with him. “I’m sorry, I just missed you.”
I threw my head back along the wall and laughed. Reid’s large hands cupped my butt as he lifted me up and wrapped my legs around his torso. My body simmered, but if I didn’t put a stop to this right now, we’d never make it onstage.
“Reid King,” I said sternly, smacking his chest. “Put me down right now, because Rod is probably seconds from coming into this room to get us to go onstage. And plus,”—I took my hand and angled his large chin up to meet my face—“it’s only been an hour.”
Reid pulled his chin out of my grasp and nestled into the crook of my neck. He mumbled, “It’s been an hour since I’ve seen you, yes. But it has been several since I’ve had you.”
My face flushed as his dirty words hit my ears. Reid King talking dirty to me had to have been my favorite pastime ever.
A knock sounded on the door, and my heart jumped to my throat. Reid yelled, “Yeah?” and then I heard Jackson. “Quit fucking your girlfriend and come out here to do your guys’ song that makes me want to fall in love, too.”
I giggled in Reid’s arms, and a huge, cheesy smile slid onto his face. The last year had been absolutely insane—so many changes, so many ups and downs. But the one thing that had never wavered was the way Reid King’s smile lit up my entire world.
There had been many long nights that I’d spent witho
ut Reid, which you wouldn’t think would have been such a big deal since I went almost twenty-five years without him, but it mattered. Only hearing his voice through the phone or watching him through a screen was tormenting. I missed him so much that sometimes I felt homesick. Being away from Reid was like I was away from home. The entire school year, we were long distance. After we reconciled—because let’s get real, how could we not after he wrote an entire album for me?—we lived through short, private visits and long phone calls. Once he explained everything to me about Angelina, we decided to take things slow and keep our relationship private, which was extremely difficult, considering he was one of the hottest musicians of today’s time. Basically, everyone knew that I was the Brooklyn from his album but things calmed after a while. We still hadn’t released a ton of information to the press. I wanted us to stay under wraps for a little while, until we decided our next step, which was apparently throwing us onstage together to play our song.
Our song meaning the song we’d literally written together through long video chats and midnight talks after shows and events that he had attended over the past year.
Nothing like diving headfirst into the media, right? Everything about my life was going to be exposed—even my family.
“I don’t know about this, Reid,” I said as he slowly slid me down his body. I adjusted my little black dress that had been laid out for me and cringed with nerves.
Reid reached his large hand up and cupped my face. “You are talented, Brooklyn. It’s time you show your light to the rest of the world.”
I must have looked panicked, because he quickly said, “Remember, it’s a small venue. This is strictly for charity.”
I ground my teeth. He knew that the last part would get me to submit. How could I say no to charity?
“I’m just not sure I want to be in the limelight like this. It’s one thing being Reid King’s girlfriend, but pairing that with a songwriter who has no business singing? Yikes.” I covered my eyes with my hands and let out a shaky breath.
Reid gingerly took my hands and lowered them down, still keeping a hold of them as he asked, “Would I willingly put you onstage if I thought you were going to make a fool of yourself? I’m not mean like that.”
I raised an eyebrow as a grin started to creep onto my face. Reid rolled his eyes. “Okay, maybe the old Reid would have done that—the one from over a year ago that acted as if he hated you. But the new Reid? Would I do that to you? Boyfriend or not?”
I held a laugh when I said, “Reid King would never willingly make himself look bad, so no.”
Reid narrowed his eyes playfully at me, and I finally let my laugh escape.
“Let’s just do this before I throw up.”
A sexy grin formed on his face. “Ready to be in the spotlight, then?”
“As Reid King’s girlfriend or as a songwriter?”
Reid pulled me in close, pressing his firm body onto mine. “Both.”
I nodded and stepped up on my tiptoes to place a chaste kiss on his lips. I pulled back quickly, knowing very well that if I let that kiss linger, we’d have people breaking down the door to drag us onto the stage. Reid pouted as I pulled him by the hand. Before I opened the door, I peered back at his pouty stare and said, “After I go make a fool out of myself, then I’m all yours.”
Reid smiled at me, and just like that, I was back to forgetting my own name again.
The End