Encore (Stereo Hearts Book 2) (31 page)

Marissa shrugged, her smile still playful, as if she were more than ready to sit there all day until she received an answer to her question.

Yoshi pushed himself into a straight sitting position, leaning his elbow on one arm of the couch. “Aria is… someone who means an awful lot to me. Someone I was foolish enough to let slip through my fingers, and someone I’d do anything…” He met Marissa’s eyes. “
Anything
to get back.”

“Including saying her name at the Super Bowl.”

“Including that.”

“And still, she doesn’t call? She doesn’t write?”

“She doesn’t call and she doesn’t write.” Yoshi laughed. “But it’s only been a day, you know. I’m happy to give her time. Space. I, uh, I don’t deserve her….”

Yoshi blushed when a string of ‘aww’ melted in from the crowd.

“I don’t.” He shrugged. “But I hope…” He tried to find the right words. “Somehow…” He sighed. “One day….”

Marissa watched him from the corner of her mischievous eyes. “Why not today?”

Yoshi’s heart shuddered to a stop, even as the crowd erupted with cheers. That time, it was him side-eyeing Marissa.

“Excuse me?” he said, his voice having gone so low that the audience didn’t even hear the broken words.

Marissa clasped her hands and repeated herself, leaning on the arm of her couch. “What if I told you that Aria was here? Today?”

The cheers grew higher, and when Yoshi felt that familiar sting in his eyes, he leaned forward and covered them with one hand.

“Aria, why don’t you come on up here!” Marissa beamed.

“Holy shit,” Yoshi whispered, looking towards stage left, and when he didn’t see anything there, stage right. When he still didn’t see her, he looked straight ahead, just in time to see Aria standing from her seat at the very back of the studio, straightening out her jeans and T-shirt while smiling down at him.

“Oh my God…” Yoshi left his seat, unable to control the heat he felt building on his cheeks, or the sweet sickly feeling in his stomach.

Aria hadn’t even taken one step down the staircase before he found himself leaving the stage and bounding up it. He made it to the top of the studio, blazing past all the smiling, cheering audience members before Aria had even taken one step down.

He wrapped his arms around her neck and buried his hot face in her shoulder, jamming his eyes shut when he felt her embracing him in return, her arms slinging around his waist. She squeezed him just as tightly as he squeezed her, and as they drank in each other’s scents, their laughs hoarse with their emotion and wet tears, the audience’s celebration became deafening.

But it all moved away, first ebbing into a dull thud in his ears, and then into nothingness.

He fell into her cottony hair, tickling and warming his face. The curve of her body against his, the body he’d dreamed of taking with wild fervor for longer than he could remember. Her scent, which already had his eyes fluttering with the good night’s sleep he hadn’t had in ages. Everything disappeared but her.

She spoke into his shoulder, laughing when her voice drove him to pull her in tighter.

“You said my name,” she whispered. “On every news channel. In every interview. At the Super Bowl. You’ve already been turned into a meme on the Internet.”

Yoshi pulled back and cupped her cheeks, searching her eyes.

He pressed his forehead to hers and whispered, “I’m keeping you.”

She pressed her lips tight. “I’m keeping you—”

He leaned down and covered her lips with his before she could finish, letting his arms snake around her waist. Again, he didn’t hear it as the crowd went berserk, his ears too filled with the blood from his thundering heart.

He kissed his Bo until Marissa came to the top of the studio and pulled them apart.

But even as his lips left hers, he kept their fingers entwined, and he was okay.

He was home.

Epilogue

“Yoshi, please, to the left!”

“Yoshi, to the right!”

“Aria, straight ahead!”

Yoshi tightened his hold on Aria’s waist and they shared a quick smile before returning their eyes to the cameras flashing before them.  The photographers on the press line fell all over each other, threatening to send the flimsy barrier falling onto the red carpet before them in their desperation to get the perfect shot.

Yoshi snuck a peak at Aria as her name was shouted even more than his.  He squeezed her side, again, reminding her to stay cool.  Remain calm.  He remembered his first time on the press line, and like many of the other firsts in his career, it had taken everything he had not to empty his stomach.

One stroke was never enough, and as he ran his hand up and down her slim waist, over her emerald green, empire-waisted corset gown, he was completely ready for this shit to be over so he could get her back to the bedroom.

Allowing his thoughts to drive him, he pulled Aria away from the photography line before anyone was ready, and he smiled at the scattered objections that flew at him from every angle.  

As if Yoshi had been reading his mind, Gus took his arm while motioning to a reporter waiting on the press line.

“Michelle Kitt,” Gus said, giving Yoshi a soft push.

Yoshi approached Michelle Kitt from E! News, still his favorite correspondent on any red carpet. 

Looking breathtaking in a glittery red dress, Michelle embraced both Yoshi and Aria.  Yoshi noticed the smile on Michelle’s face had never been this wide when Carmen was on his arm.

Michelle shook her head at Aria.  They shared a secret look.

“Oh my god, it’s a conundrum.  I’m in a serious conundrum here!” Michelle beamed into her microphone, her long hair flying with the breeze, brown skin as flawless as ever.  She nudged Aria and Yoshi closer to the E! News camera while placing the microphone between them.

“Why are you in a conundrum?” Yoshi dragged, pretending to admonish her.

Michelle let her eyes flutter closed dramatically, but when Aria laughed, she was unable to uphold her false air of irritation.  “I’m in a conundrum, because not only do I not know which one of you I’m more excited to see, but I’m at a complete loss over which one of you I should congratulate first.”

Yoshi tugged at the lapels of his jacket, laughing haughtily as he shot Aria a look out of the corner of his eye.  “As if it’s even a question…”

Aria rolled her eyes.  She and Michelle shared another look.

“It’s nice of you to try to spare Aria’s feelings, but she knows what’s up,” Yoshi said, drinking in Michelle’s laughing face.  He motioned back and forth between them.  “She understands that you and I… we have a connection.”

Michelle’s laughter picked up, making her face curl with delight as she nodded.  “We do, we do.”

“We’ve already talked about it,” Aria said, stroking Yoshi’s tie.  “You’ve been at the top of his list since before
Kings and Queens
was released.”

“There’s a
list
?”  Michelle looked at the camera, astonished.

“Of course there’s a list.”  Yoshi looked at the camera, too.  “To all my fellas out there, if you and your girl don’t have a list… it’s not gonna work, my man.”

Michelle burst into laughter again.

“Be real with yourself, all right?  Your relationship will be better for it. Just a little tip from one pimp to another. You’re welcome.”

Michelle took hold of Yoshi’s shoulder.  “You are so crazy.”  Her eyes moved to Aria.  “How do you put up with him?”  

“Copious amounts of alcohol,” Aria said.

Michelle bent over at the hip, the microphone in her hand nearly falling to the red carpet as she tried to compose herself.  “No, seriously… seriously.  I think you two are the first Hollywood couple to ever be nominated for a Grammy, in the same category, on the same night.  My God, how does it feel?  I mean, this night is already special as it is, but this must make it extra special!”

Yoshi and Aria shared a look.  They both went to answer, but nothing came.

“Or is it not a celebration at all...?”  Michelle dragged.

“Dun, dun, dun…” Yoshi leaned into the mic.

Michelle gave the camera a playful look.  “Is there a little friendly competition going on?  A bit of a lovers quarrel?”

Yoshi squeezed Aria’s side.  “Nah, man.  Not at all.  Whatever goes down tonight, we’re good.  We’re happy.”

“What if neither of you wins?” Michelle asked.  “Still happy?”

Yoshi lifted an eyebrow.  “That’s a whole different conversation.”

Michelle threw her head back and roared.   “Well, regardless of the outcome, you’ve both had one hell of a year,” she said, composing herself, her eyes full of joy as they bounced back and forth between them.  “Yoshi, you started your own label, Aria Records.”

“I did.”

“And, less than a year after you signed Aria to that label, of the same name, she’s nominated for a Grammy.  She’s moving even faster than you did when you first started out.  I mean, do you guys sleep, or…?  Do you eat?  How are you doing this?”

“Here’s the thing, Michelle. We’re from Brooklyn,” Yoshi said.

Michelle collapsed into laughter again, seeing where he was going.

He looked straight at the camera.  “It’s Brooklyn in the house tonight, ladies and gentleman, and we hustle.  If you’re not rolling with the pack, you’re getting left behind.  We keep it pushing.”

Still laughing, Michelle began reading off the cue card in her hand.  “Yoshi, Producer of the Year, Best Pop Song, Best Male Artist, Best Album.  Aria, Best New Artist, Best Album… I mean… did you guys leave anything for anyone else?” Michelle angled the microphone to Aria.

Aria shrugged.  “I’m just really happy.”

Michelle sobered, her shoulders falling and her lips poking out.  She tilted her head at Aria with a syrupy smile, looking on the verge of tears.

Yoshi’s eyes had gone serious, too, as he searched Aria’s, pulling her in tight.  “I’m happy too, baby.”

“Oh my god, I just can’t.  You two are so cute it makes me
sick. 
I can’t.  I
won’t
.”  Michelle gave Aria her shining eyes.  “Aria, you’ve got your first ever performance on the Grammy stage tonight.  How are you feeling?”

“Scared,” Aria answered.  “But blessed.  Honestly, I just feel so blessed.”

“Absolutely.” Michelle moved the microphone to Yoshi.  “And Yoshi, you’re closing the show with a, highly anticipated, reunion performance with The White Keys.”

“Yeah, I haven’t been on stage with my boys in a while--not since the Super Bowl, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

“I’m still not over you surprising us with The White Keys during your Super Bowl performance.  Just epic…”

“I couldn’t take the big stage without the guys that helped me get there,” Yoshi said.   “They had to be up there with me.  No question about it.”

“Rumors have been going around that the Super Bowl might ask you back this year.  How do you feel about that?  Think you’d be up for it?”

“Well, they haven’t asked me back,” Yoshi said.  “So I’ll put that rumor to rest right here, but if they wanted me to… of course.  It’s the Super Bowl, man.”

“A lot of people believe the Super Bowl is where your love story with Aria began.  Is that true?”

Yoshi met Aria’s eyes.  “Oh, it started way before that.”  They shared a laugh.  “You have no idea.”

Gus appeared, as always, out of nowhere, tapping his watch at Michelle.

And Michelle jolted, reaching for Aria with a clawed hand.  “They’re telling me to wrap it up, but I can’t let you guys go before we hit this rock.”  She took Aria’s left hand and angled it towards the camera, allowing the diamond ring on her finger to gleam at it.  “Hit the rock, Jose, hit the rock!”  Michelle beamed to her cameraman, who stepped forward and zoomed in on the ring.

“Eighteen carats, baby, what you know about that?” Yoshi beamed, as they all fell into laughter.

“Really, you two,” Michelle sighed.  “Congratulations.  Congratulations on everything.  It couldn’t have happened to two better people.  Good luck tonight, both of you!”

Michelle kissed both their cheeks goodbye.  She and Aria held on to each other’s arms until they couldn’t reach anymore. 

Aria came back under the warmth of Yoshi’s arm, kissing his cheek gently as Gus led them to the next correspondent on the press line. 

Just as they were saying hello to Entertainment Tonight, they heard it.

“Flava Flav!”

In fact, everyone on the red carpet heard it, and for a moment, everything stopped. All eyes flew toward that sound, anxiously anticipating the train wreck that awaited.

When Aria and Yoshi’s eyes landed on Flava Flav, dressed in a bright yellow tuxedo, a yellow top hat, with his signature yellow clock hanging from around his neck, strutting down the red carpet while flashing his gold plated teeth, they burst into laughter.  Not because Flava Flav was channeling Big Bird on the red carpet…

But because Carmen Rodriguez hung from his arm, appearing to be trapped in a place between disgust and complete misery, trying to smile at the cameras even as her lips quivered in contempt.

Yoshi pressed his smiling lips to Aria’s ear, eyes shining as he whispered, “Don’t you just love seeing karma in action, Bo?”

Aria turned and met his eyes, accepting the gentle kiss he placed on her lips.  “No.”

Yoshi raised his eyebrows.

“What I love… is you.”

A slow smile spread on his lips, and his voice broke with emotion as he answered back, softly, “I love you more.”