Unfamiliar (25 page)

“It was a while ago,” she said waving her hand dismissively. A while ago or not, I couldn’t believe that anyone would choose Deuce over Chase. This Heather chick was obviously an idiot. “And—get this—Deuce's real name is Donald Worthington the fourth! What kind of a name is that!”

“Yeah, I mean, I figured Deuce wasn't his real name but I definit
ely didn't see that one coming.”

“Plus the band broke up, so obviousl
y Chase is stressed about that-”

“What?” I interrupted her. “Why would the whole band break up over Deuce? I mean, it's not like he was consistent anyway.”

“It's not just him. Zach left too.”

“What?”

“Yeah. He's marrying some British author.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep. So, anyway, that’s why the band broke up.”

“Is Chase okay?” I knew how serious Chase was about his music. He must be devastated to have his band split up right before a potential break into the industry.

“Yeah, I mean he is now. He replaced Zach and Deuce the Douchebag. But that promoter guy is supposed to come watch the show tonight and I think he’s really nervous. I know that today was awful for you, but if you could find the strength to come out tonight, I think he’d really like to see you.”

“Do you think so? I kinda th
ink I blew it. I took too long-”

“You didn't blow it. Jonathan said that Chase has been focusing all his energy on getting the band ready for tonight but he knows that he’s still hung up on you.”

“Really?”

“I
believe Jonathan actually used the word 'mopey'.”

I couldn't really picture that.

“I don't know.”

“Trust me, Hailey. He's crazy about you. Everything just sorta got messed up.”

I bit my lip and looked away from her. Was she right? That's when I saw my planner laying unopened on my desk and a flicker of an idea started forming in the back of my mind.

“Okay, I'll go.”

Tessa smiled. “Good, now let's start getting ready.”

The closer we got to
Duke’s
the more nervous I felt.

This was a really stupid idea. This must be why in the movies the guy always makes the grand gesture because this hardly qualified as one. However, it was the only thing I could think of and I just hoped that he would realize what I was trying to say.

I wrapped the “gift” up and took one last long look in Tessa’s visor mirror.

“You can do this,” I told myself as we got out of the car and headed into the bar. I had decided that I should wear the red dress again—the one that I was wearing the first time I noticed him checking out my ass. I figured I needed all the help I could get to make up for my lackluster attempt at a grand gesture.

“I'll go get us a table.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Good luck!” Tessa gave me a quick hug.

Duke's
was just as crowded as ever tonight—I took that as a good sign. Hopefully the promoter would be impressed when he saw how much the crowd loved
Set the Flames
.

And, just like always, it was like he could sense the moment I walked through the door. Chase’s eyes found mine. I smiled, expecting the usual head nod, but he gave me nothing. He just held my stare for a moment and then looked away as he and the other guys walked backstage.

I wasn't going to give up that easily. I needed to talk to him. I had something to tell him.

I weaved my way through the crowd and made my way backstage. He was talking to one of the new guys, giving him a pep talk. I tapped his shoulder.

He turned around and seemed surprised to see me.

“Hey.”

“What are you doing back here?” he asked in a harsher tone than I was expecting.

“I—uh—”
My confidence wavered. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

“Hailey, whatever it is, just spit it out. I've got a show starting soon.”

“Yeah, of course you do, sorry.” This was much harder than I was anticipating. “I just wanted to tell you,” I took a deep breath, “that I ended things with Braxton.”

“So?”

Well, that wasn’t exactly the reaction I was hoping for.

“So? That's it? That's all you have to say?”

“What do you want me to say, Hailey?

“I don't know. Something. I guess after what you said the other day— I thought you'd be happy, but I guess I was wrong.”

“I guess you were,” he responded coldly.

I hadn’t known what to expect when I came here tonight, but I definitely wasn’t expecting to have my heart crushed at the fingertips of the tattoo-covered guy who changed my life in the most unexpected ways.

“Okay, well, um, I guess you probably don't want this but I, uh— ” I pulled the gift out of my bag. “I— uh—I sorta got you something,” I stammered, feeling even more stupid than I thought possible.

His expression softened ever so slightly.

“You got me something?”

“It's nothing fancy. You'll probably think it's stupid, but could you do me a favor?”

“Sure.”

“Make sure you open it. Okay? Can you at least do that?”

If he thought it was a weird request he didn't say anything, he just nodded his head.

“Okay then.” I tried to smile. “Good luck tonight. I know you won't need it, but still.”

“Thanks.”

“Bye.”

I blew out a gush of air as I turned and walked away. That didn't go exactly as planned. I was feeling disappointed, thinking I had already missed my chance with him— until I looked back over my shoulder and caught him staring at my ass.

Okay, so maybe there was hope after all.

Chase

As mad and indifferent as I was trying to be with Hailey, I couldn’t help but admire her ass as she walked away.

What?
She was wearing that hot, red dress again that showed off her curvy body in ways that got me excited.

Besides, it was normal to want what you couldn’t have, but that wasn’t the only reason I wanted her. There were a hundred reasons why Hailey was the best damn thing that had walked into my life in a long time. And, yes, despite trying to get over her, I couldn’t help but have a reaction to seeing her.

I finally understood the kind of love Zach had been talking about—it was the kind of love that made you want to do anything for that other person.

I wasn’t sure what to make of Hailey getting me a present. As I fumbled with the wrapping on the package, I already knew what I would find inside. Call it intuition, but somehow I just knew.

As the paper fell away, the leather cover of the planner I’d bought for Hailey peeked through. Um, she hadn’t been lying when she’d said that it wasn’t much. I didn’t really know what she wanted me to do with the planner I’d given her.

Oh, shit. I knew that girls sometimes gave back things when they were trying to let go of their memories and move on. Maybe that was why she’d returned the planner to me. She didn’t want to have anything to remember me by.

Yet, she’d also mentioned that she wasn’t with Braxton anymore. She’d wanted me to know that for a reason. Was the reason that she wanted to make things work between us?

Her words came back to me. She’d told me to make sure I opened the planner. I started flipping through the pages and that’s when I noticed that one of them was folded on the top right hand
corner. I turned to the page and studied it in surprise as the words stared back at me.

My head snapped up and I searched for Hailey in the crowd but coul
dn’t see her anywhere. There were too many people around me and it would take me too long to find her before our set. I really didn’t want to wait until after we were done playing, but there was nothing else I could do.

I glanced back down at the planner.

Shit! What did this mean? I needed to know what was going on. Was this her way of telling me that she wanted to be with me? Why did girls have to be so confusing? Why couldn’t they just say be direct and say what they were really thinking?

All I had to go off of was a planner with hearts drawn in it.

“Chase? What are you doing? Are you ready?”

Turning around, I found Jonathan behind me with unasked questions in his eyes. I stuck the planner in the back pocket of my jeans and managed a nod. “Yeah, I’m good.” I started to follow him backstage. “Hailey showed up.”

Jonathan didn’t seem surprised by this. “Yeah, Tessa told me. We both thought it’d be a good idea if Hailey came along.”

I didn’t bother asking him why he thought it was a good idea. I was pretty sure he already knew Hailey meant a lot to me, and tonight was important. Of course I wanted her here, as long as it was on her terms.

As we took our positions, I finally caught sight of Hailey. She was with Tessa right at the front of the stage. She was so close that if I wanted, I could reach out and touch her.

We started out by playing a few of our older songs with the intention of getting the crowd primed, and it worked. They’d come here to have a good time and that’s what they were getting.

Brandon and Jeffrey were doing a great job. They were really getting into it and having fun. When we wound up the second to last song, I stepped closer to the microphone.

“I wrote this last song for a girl who broke my heart. She’s here tonight and I want her to know that it’s still not too late.”

The crowd cheered, and when I glanced at Hailey, she was frozen. Her expression was blank and I didn’t know what to make of that.

We started to play
Unfamiliar
, and my eyes never left Hailey’s as I sang. I wanted her to know that this was about her, even though that should’ve been pretty clear by now. I had no reason to hide my feelings; she needed to know exactly how I felt.

Don't waste your breath on this

Don’t waste your breath on this

You’re wasting so much time just living in your lies.

I haven't figured it all out but I know what you’re all about

You’re caught up with yourself and pushing me away

Why waste your breath when the pain outweighs the truth?

I’m losing grip and I’m not so sure if we'll survive

The way I feel for you I can't ignore

He's not the one for you

He’s not the one for you

It’s do or die don't hesitate, I see it in your eyes, see it in your eyes

Just listen when I’m screaming

This unfamiliar feeling is what I hold

We only have one night to make this right

I knew it was important to engage the audience during a performance, but I was so enthralled by Hailey that I couldn’t look anywhere else. And she wasn’t looking away either. Her eyes were planted firmly on me.

There's only so many ways I can say

You’re falling from the truth stop running in circles

‘
Cause you’re fighting with yourself

Just look at me and say what you believe

Just play it safe is what I was told

The way I feel for you I can't ignore

He's not the one for you

He’s not the one for you

It’s do or die don't hesitate, I see it in your eyes, see it in your eyes

Just listen when I’m screaming

This unfamiliar feeling is what I hold

We only have one night to make this right

Trust me there's lessons to learn, if you can tell them apart

I’ll let you in on a secret; we start with broken hearts.

We were getting to the end of the song now, and as I sang the last part, I meant every bit of it. I just hoped that Hailey got the message.