Page 77 of First Verse

My shoulder knocks into Lily’s as my knees turn rubbery.

Wilder’s smooth, rich voice floats across the backyard, quieting the crowd as effectively as a lullaby. “Hey, everyone. Believe it or not, for once I’m actually excited to be here with you fancy fucks.”

As boisterous laughter fills the air, Lily grabs my arm and whispers, “Oh my God, I think I love him, too.”

As the crowd’s laughter fades, Wilder continues, “As some of you are aware, I’ve known Eva my entire life. Our dads are in this little rock band called Breaking Giants.” He pauses for another burst of cheers and applause. “And while I’ve only known Lily Aoki a short time, I know she’s one in a million. How? Because Eva would settle for nothing less in a creative partnership andshe,ladies and gentlemen, is absolutely one of a kind. These incredible women have more talent in their pinkie fingers than any of us can hope to claim in our lifetimes, and mark my words, tonight we’ll be listening to the birth of a legend.

“Without further ado, allow me to welcome to the stage Eva Marie and Lily Aoki of Glow!”

I barely hear Lily’s squeal of excitement over the roar from the tent. Feeling like I’m floating, I follow her onto the stage and move toward the man with a grin on his face, love in his eyes, and my guitar in his hands. He lowers the strap over my head, gives me a quick kiss on the cheek, and jogs offstage.

As I face the mic and the ecstatic crowd, I still feel him. Watching me, loving me, believing in me. It hits me suddenly that even when we were apart, he was never far away. And he never will be.

No matter where I go in life, he’ll be there.

As constant as my shadow.

* * *

After the show,Mallory leads us back down the hallway toward our suite. Lily looks as blissed out as I feel, her eyes unfocused and a small, dreamy smile on her face. My entire body, toes to fingertips, buzzes like a live wire.

Mallory is talking, wisely directing her words to Rye. “Food will be waiting in the room. They’ll have forty-five minutes or so to freshen up and relax before Anita drags them back outside to mingle. Make sure they hydrate, eat some protein, and go easy on alcohol. And make sure Eva takes a vocal nap.” She hands him a sheet of paper as we near the suite. “Anita already went over this with them, but here’s a list of ways they can respond to questions they don’t want or know how to answer. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Cute, but if you call me ma’am again I’ll make you regret it.”

Rye blanches. “Sorry. Never again.”

“Good man.”

Mallory gives Lily and me quick, tight hugs. “Phenomenal show, ladies. I’ll see you soon.” She strides back down the hallway, her shimmery halter dress swishing around her legs.

Rye ushers us inside the suite. “You two back on planet Earth yet?”

Lily giggles. “Nope—oh, chocolate!” She hurries to the table laden with food and grabs a plate.

Rye follows. “Protein first!”

“Pfft,” she says, a brownie already passing her lips.

I laugh, which earns me a glare from Rye. “Vocal nap!”

I roll my eyes at his bossiness but mime zippering my lips, then kick off my Converse and head to the bar to switch on the electric teakettle. My throat feels okay but I know better than to push it, especially since the night is only half over and I have a lot of talking ahead of me. As the water heats, I grab a plate off the table and start loading it up.

“I feel drunk,” mumbles Lily, this time around a hunk of cantaloupe. “Drunk off how surreal that was. Did you see that one guy tearing it up our entire set? He had to be my grandfather’s age. And the woman who started crying during Eva’s violin solo? I saw her in a movie trailer a few days ago.”

Rye nods, chuckling. “My favorite part was when Eddie tried to start a mosh pit and security almost hauled him out.”

Lily chokes on her cantaloupe and spits it out so she can laugh freely. “How did I miss that?”

I shrug, my eyes watering with the effort of not laughing.

“And then there was—” Rye stops suddenly when the suite door flies open. He grins. “Hey, man! How great was their set?”

Wilder’s eyes find mine as the door swings closed. He stalks toward me. “It was great. I need to talk to Evangeline.”

The heat in his eyes and the gravel in his voice make me gulp. My hand shakes on my plate. I squeeze my thighs together, the throb between them a sudden, steady drumbeat.

---