Girl With Guitar (19 page)

T
he
Rum Room was packed when the girls arrived. They’d walked from Kylie’s apartment and her “killer heels,” as Lulu called them, were in fact killing her already. But once she stepped into the warm open bar with its pulsing blare of drums and bass and thick smell of cologne and liquor, budding excitement electrified her insides. Maybe this would be a really fun night after all.

“Ahh! The birthday girl is here!” Kylie heard a familiar voice shout over the music.

“Tonya! What are you doing working tonight? I thought you told Clive no more weekends?”

“I did and I normally just work Tuesday through Thursday now, and no more late nights, thank you very much. But I couldn’t miss a chance to see you and get paid to do it! And Clive knew your party would draw a crowd so he’s paying me double to work overtime.”

“Think he’ll let you have a drink with us? Coke for me. I’m still underage you know,” Kylie whispered conspiratorially as her friends pulled her deeper into the thick crowd.

“Yeah, probably,” Tonya answered with a laugh. “And I might even be able to slip some rum into that Coke,” she teased. A few minutes after Tonya had disappeared into the crowd, Clive himself made his way over to Kylie’s table.

She introduced him to her friends and Trace’s sisters, who she had decided were going into her friend category whether he liked it or not.

“You know, if I wasn’t so damn proud of you, I’d be pissed that you left without giving notice,” he said as he gave her a big sweaty hug.

“Don’t worry, Clive. My music career will probably be over soon and I’ll be back here waiting tables in no time.”

“I seriously doubt that, young lady, but you are welcome anytime. Speaking of which, I was kind of hoping you might sing a few songs for us tonight if you don’t mind.”

“Mind? I’d be honored. And seriously, I’m sorry about ditching you, Clive. All I can say is I had nothing, and this was my dream, to work here, play music here, and now my dreams are running away with me.”

“Listen, that’s life. We make our own luck and you put all you had into something and it’s paying off. I couldn’t be more proud if you were my own daughter.”

Clive’s kind words had her old friend, the throat lump of tears to come, threatening to surface, but she shook it off.

“Thank you. That means more than you know.”

“You just enjoy your night and if you get the urge to sing, I’ll kick those yahoos off and the stage is all yours. Your bill is on the house tonight. Happy birthday, young lady,” he said just before ambling off to speak with some men who’d just walked in.

“Let’s go, girl! Time to party!” Lulu shouted and Rae whistled in agreement. Claire Ann sat in a booth near the dance floor and watched them all acting silly. Kylie knew the twenty-eight year old had mainly just come to escort Rae but she couldn’t help but wish she’d loosen up a little. After a few minutes Kylie dragged her onto the floor.

And Claire Ann had some moves
. It’s always the quiet ones
, Kylie thought to herself.

After dancing themselves sweaty, the girls headed to the booth where Clive had hung a picture of Kylie and Trace singing that first night and a framed napkin Kylie recognized as the one she’d signed for Tonya.

The photo made her stomach clench in anticipation, so Kylie told them she’d get some waters from the bar.

Just as she managed to arrange five bottled waters in her hands, Kylie turned towards her booth. But her path was blocked. By a crowd of people gathering to gawk at some guy and his date.
Geez people. Get a grip.
As she stepped around the crowd, she got a look at who was causing all the fuss.

Trace Corbin had just finished signing autographs and pulling out a seat for his date. A tall brunette with olive skin lowered her perfect red silk covered frame into the chair Trace held out for her. Kylie recognized the woman. Mia Montgomery.

“Here,” Kylie said setting the waters on Tonya’s tray as she started to walk past. “I can’t,” was all she could get out.

“No prob, I’ll take them to—” Tonya broke off as she took in Kylie’s blank expression. “Kylie, what’s the matter?” The waitress followed her friend’s line of sight. “Oh.”

“I’ll take that rum and Coke now. Please,” Kylie whispered.

“Kylie—”

“Please, Tonya,” she begged, not taking her eyes off the couple that seemed to be oblivious to all the attention they were getting.

A few seconds or an hour might’ve passed, she wasn’t sure. But her friend finally returned to where she stood, hidden behind the growing cluster of patrons at the bar.

“Here. It’s a double so—” Tonya didn’t finish her warning because Kylie had already downed the contents of the glass.

The burn jolted her back to life.
Get the hell out of here before anyone sees you freaking out.

Kylie mumbled a thanks to her friend and darted stealthily back to her table.

“Hey, um, so that happened,” she told the group as she gestured to Trace and Mia sitting in the middle of the room.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Rae and Lulu blurted almost in unison.

“We have to get out of here now,” Kylie said, barely resisting the urge to run out with or without them. “I wish I was some badass that could go over there and act all cool about this but I’m not and I can’t.”

“Okay, let’s go,” Lulu said, sliding out of the booth quickly as she recognized Kylie’s
I’m about to lose my shit and cry all over the place
face.

“Seriously, Kylie? You’re going to let him run you out of your own party? Nashville isn’t that big. Y’all are bound to run into each other from time to time,” Carmen criticized matter-of-factly.

“She’s kind of right you know,” Rae added softly. “I know he ran you out of my party, and if you keep running eventually you’re going to let him run you right out of your career.”

Kylie glanced at her friends, Lulu standing next to her and the other three sitting and waiting for her to suck it up. Then she glanced at the door. Exhaling most of the tension from her chest, she plopped down into the booth. “I thought I could keep them separate,” she announced quietly to no one in particular. “My feelings for Trace and my feelings for music.” She shook her head at her own stupidity as the girls around her leaned in to listen. Lulu scooted closer than necessary. “I can’t. They’re the same thing,” she finished quietly.

For a moment no one said anything. Then Carmen, of all people, spoke. “Kylie, if it makes you feel any better, it’s very obvious that they’re here to be seen. They’re like posing for pictures with fake-ass smiles all over the place.” She nodded at the couple and Kylie saw them doing exactly as she said. It did help a little.

“Okay, well let’s just chill over here until he leaves.” Hopefully that would be sooner rather than later. “I do want to stay, but honestly, I’d rather him not see me,” she admitted.

“Sounds good to me. My feet are killing me,” Claire Ann grumbled. The girls were all still nodding in agreement when the music stopped and Clive’s voice came through the sound system.

“Where’s that Kylie Ryans at tonight? Come on up here, girl. We have a surprise for you,” he boomed.

I’m right here
, Kylie thought.
Trying my damnedest to disa-freaking-pear.

K
ylie
couldn’t help but smile at the cat calls and whistles that followed her to the stage, though she’d have felt much more comfortable in her boots instead of these damn stilettos. And if she looked to her left, her heart would break wide open for everyone to see.

She stood in the glare of the spotlight, shaking her head as the entire bar broke into an off key drunken version of
Happy Birthday
. Tonya and a new waitress Kylie didn’t know wheeled out a cart with a gorgeous and entirely too huge bright pink birthday cake in the shape of a guitar. She couldn’t help but grin as she blew out the candles, but the wish that flew uninvited into her mind almost made her frown.

When they’d finished, Clive clamped a big hand onto her shoulder. “Since we sang to you, we’re kinda hopin’ you’re gonna sing a few for us,” he told her with a wink at the audience.

Kylie stared at Clive because she knew there was only one person she’d see if she looked into the crowd. Well, two people.

“Clive Hodges, ladies and gentlemen. He will even make you work on your birthday, even if you don’t actually work here anymore,” she said into the mic.

Laughter filled the bar. And then she did find his face because he was the only one not smiling. He looked like he might be in pain. Well, good. That made two of them.

Kylie spoke quietly to the band and then turned back to the audience as she strapped on a guitar Andy from the house band handed her.

“Typically I do covers since I’m still unsigned and don’t have an album of my own out yet, but this place is special to me. I’m going to sing a song I wrote on coffee and no sleep so if it doesn’t make sense, well then you can all Tweet that I’ve lost my mind.” More laughter. “Just baring my soul here people. Laugh it up,” she said with a wink. “This is called
Heartbreak Town
. I hope you like it.”

Kylie strummed a few chords and Andy followed. God. She had lost her mind. She was about to sing the song she’d written about Trace. And it was going to be obvious as hell. Thank goodness she’d made it a fast one at least. But the slow parts at the beginning and end were going to feel like daggers scraping her raw.

My friends keep sayin’ I need to let you go. Don’t know how I’m ‘sposed to do that though when it seems like, you’re everywhere, in this heartbreak town. Even though I know it’s wrong, you turned my life into a country song and I keep playin’ it, on repeat.

When the drums kicked in and the tempo tripled, Kylie let herself go, unleashing the chorus at the top of her lungs.
Wish I could pack up and move away, but this emptiness is here to stay. There’s no gettin’ out, gettin’ out, of this heartbreak town. Promises were made and broken so fast, I don’t know how, but the pain still lasts and I’m stuck here, walkin’ round this heartbreak town.

Her subconscious warned her not to look at him. But her eyes weren’t listening.

One day I know there’ll be no more tears to cry and I’ll have to get on with my life, when all that’s left are memories of, ashes from a night that burned. But for now I carry them around, walkin’ alone in this heartbreak town.

She made it through the next few lyrics because she was so into the song she nearly forgot where she was. And where he was. Until the background music faded as she sang one more chorus. Then the last few lines she sang slowly, a capella.
My friends keep sayin’ I need to let you go. Don’t know how I’m ‘sposed to do that though when it seems like you’re everywhere in this heartbreak town…

Silence and blood rushing in her ears filled the seconds after she’d finished. Trace held her captive, locked in his stare and she couldn’t break free. Even when the audience went crazy, whooping and hollering like riled up animals and a slow smile spread across her face, she was still trapped in the fiery gaze that burned into her from below a mess of dark hair.

“Thank y’all,” she said softly into the microphone. Her hands tingled and her legs were going numb. The combination of the rush of performing and Trace staring at her with an expression she couldn’t decipher made her lightheaded.

“One more song! One more song!” some fool in the back began chanting. Within seconds it caught on and the audience, save for two people sitting in the middle of the bar, was on its feet demanding an encore.

One particular song was playing steadily in the back of her mind and had been since she’d seen Trace with Mia, but it would be pretty obvious that she was jealous if she sang it. So she wasn’t going to. But then Mia Montgomery leaned over, snaked an arm around Trace’s shoulders and whispered something into his ear. And he smiled, a grin fit for the devil. And now she had to sing it. Because it was either that, or punch the most recent American Idol in her perfect face.

“Alright, alright,” she laughed into the mic. “One more, cause I love y’all so much. But after this one, I’ve got to get back to my friends.” After the cheering and whistling died down, she spoke again. “Some guy once told me that I wasn’t a nice girl, so I just want to let y’all know up front…he was right.”

After leaning over to tell Andy the song, he smiled and shook his head but began playing. Just as she sank her teeth into Carrie Underwood’s
Good Girl
she saw surprise and maybe hurt ripple across Trace’s face. No way was she staying up on this stage.

Kylie pulled the mic free and sang the lyrics aimed at Mia Montgomery while sauntering all over the bar. She even hopped up on the actual mahogany bar and placed a chaste kiss on Derek the hot bartender’s cheek. Or maybe it was Devon. Whichever.

When she was finished, she was too busy being accosted by fans to get another look at Trace and his date. By the time she made it back to her table, they were gone.

“I am officially a fan,” Carmen said, grinning. “Damn, Kylie. I knew you could sing but I don’t think anyone in Pride knew you had that in you.”

“I did,” Lulu chirped.

“Thanks,” Kylie said quietly. Rae and Claire Ann were nowhere to be seen. Her stomach and heart flipped and turned in what felt like an attempt to switch places. “Think Trace’s sisters are mad at me?” she asked as she grabbed her bottle of water.

“Who cares,” Carmen answered.

“I doubt it,” Lulu told her. “Trace got up after you kissed the smokin’ hot bartender and they followed that chick he brought out after him. Said they wanted to say goodbye.”

“Ah.”

“You want to get out of here? Get something greasy to go and put another notch in that bucket of mint chocolate chip before we hit the airport?”

Damn Lulu for being able to read her like a book. “Yeah, I really do,” Kylie answered honestly. “Think he’ll ever stop having this effect on me?” she asked too low for Carmen to hear.

“I don’t know.” Her friend gave her a small smile. “But it looked like you had a pretty serious effect on him, too, if that helps any.”

Kylie shrugged. It didn’t.

After her to-go order of loaded cheese fries came up, she told Clive and Tonya goodnight and headed out of the bar with her two remaining friends. She sucked in a deep breath of outside air as she pushed through the doors.

And ran smack into Trace, his sisters, and Mia Montgomery.

“Oh!” Kylie’s mouth dropped open in a little
o
of surprise as she crashed into Trace, the hot bag of cheese fries smashing between them.

“Easy,” Trace said, placing his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

“Yeah, I guess I was,” she snapped, jerking out from under his grasp. Why was she so angry all of the sudden?

Dark hazel eyes widened, but he didn’t say anything in response.

“We’re heading back to Kylie’s now,” Lulu broke in. “Y’all comin’?” she asked in Rae and Claire Ann’s direction.

“Um, we’re gonna stay at Trace’s tonight,” Rae answered. “But thanks for letting us crash your party.”

“Any time,” Kylie told the girl, giving her a hug, cheese fries and all. “Thanks for coming,” she whispered before they broke apart. “You too, Claire Ann,” she told the older girl with a nod.

“It was fun, thanks,” Claire Ann told her.

“You ready?” Lulu asked just as Trace had pinned Kylie in another of his intense glares.

“Um, yeah,” she said, finally breaking free. If her stupid heart was going to pound like this every time he was around, she was going to have to seriously avoid him for totally legitimate health reasons. Carmen and Lulu flanked her on either side. Just as Claire Ann and Rae were doing to Trace.
The line’s been drawn
, she thought sadly.

“Happy birthday, Kylie Lou,” Trace said quietly, just as she was about to walk away. She saw Mia standing awkwardly behind him. Why did he have to bring her? He ruined everything. Kylie bit her lip to keep it from quivering and giving her pain away.

“Thanks,” she whispered. Before either of them could say anything else, Kylie’s phone rang. Her ringtone was Trace’s song,
Waitin’ for You to Call
. And she wanted to die right there on the sidewalk. It was Chaz calling.

“Um, I probably need to take this,” she said, looking up at everyone around her. Trace nodded at his sisters and Mia and then they were gone.