I felt the sting of tears as I blinked up at Wyatt. I had no words to express how much hearing him say that affected me, so I did what I always did. I closed the space between us and kissed him with everything I had.
When I finally pulled away, we were both breathless.
“Wow,” he said, smiling so wide his dimple made a rare appearance.
I returned his grin. “I second that wow.”
He laughed and ran his hands down my back, pulling me closer. “Kinda makes me wish we got in a fight a long time ago.”
“Why?”
“So we could’ve been making up this whole time.”
I laughed. “Only you would think of that.”
He gave me a knee-weakening grin. “Hey, I can’t help it. When you kiss me like that all I can think about is how to get more.”
I shook my head, looping my arms around his neck. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I don’t know, but you’re stuck with me now.”
“I think I could get used to that.”
I was just leaning in to kiss him again when my phone rang. It was a video call from Lola, so I answered it even though Wyatt was still close enough to kiss. She took one look at my face and groaned. “Ew! Is this what I have to look forward to when I come back to school?”
“What?”
“You and McDreamy all lovey-dovey and kissy-faced.”
“Good to see you too, Lola,” Wyatt said, planting a kiss on my cheek before giving me some space to chat with my best friend.
“Quit!” Lola whined. “No PDAs allowed!”
I rolled my eyes. Lola was the last person to be dishing out that advice. She was practically the kissing queen of Northwood. “Isn’t that what got you mono in the first place?” I teased.
“Ha-ha, you’re hilarious.”
“I know. I think my boyfriend’s great sense of humor is rubbing off on me.”
“Well, I hope you’re still laughing when I tell you my news.”
That sobered me up. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, but I won’t be able to come to the competition. My mom called my doctor and they advised against it since technically I could still be contagious.”
I sighed. I’d always known this was a possibility, but Lola had been feeling a lot better this week and I was hopeful she might be allowed to come cheer me on—from a safe distance, of course.
I swallowed my disappointment. “That’s okay, Lo. I just want you to get better.”
“Me too, but I really wanted to be there to see you kick some diva butt!”
I laughed at my best friend’s competitive streak. I knew it was killing her not to be able to face off against her musical nemesis. “Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll be sure to make faces at Jenna while she sings.”
“That’s my girl,” Lola said, brightening again. “But for real. I’m sorry I won’t be there. I’ll be rooting for you though.”
“Thanks. That means a lot.”
“Knock ‘em dead, Layne.” Lola said. “Oh, and go give that hunk of yours a kiss when I hang up.”
“What happened to no PDA?”
“It’s perfectly fine when I’m not around. Geez, I’m not a monster. Even I wouldn’t be able to resist that dreamboat for long,” she teased.
“Still here, Lola,” Wyatt called, smirking from a few feet away.
“You better treat my girl right,” she called.
Wyatt walked back over and wrapped his arms around me so he could fit in the camera. “Don’t worry, I have no plans of screwing up the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
He placed a sloppy kiss on my cheek and Lola gagged. “Okay, on that note. Talk to you later. Good luck tomorrow.”
“Layne doesn’t need luck,” Wyatt replied.
And I grinned, because for the first time, I actually felt like that was true. I had everything I needed right here. Wyatt had helped me find it within myself.
We hung up and I let Wyatt help me into his car. He hopped in and drove us out of the parking lot. “So, big day tomorrow,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows as we headed for my house. “Are you excited to prove you’re the fairest diva of them all?”
“You know, actually, I am.”
“That’s what I like to hear. You’ve got this, Penny Layne.”
“We’ve got this,” I reminded him.
Wyatt grinned, picking up my hand and giving it a quick kiss.
I settled back in my seat, reveling in this moment. My life might change in a day, but for now, I was pretty happy with where I was.
Chapter Sixty-Two
Layne
I stood backstage chewing my nails. I couldn’t believe competition day was finally here. Saying I was prepared and actually being prepared for how momentous this moment was, were two completely different things.
I felt like I was going to throw up as I looked around at all the confident competitors. There was so much talent in this room it was making my head spin. I spotted a few of the girls from the Diva Squad. I’d been talking to them online lately, but it’d been months since I’d actually seen them.
For the millionth time I wished Lola was here with me. I’d always let her be the voice of our little duo and I felt weird going up to talk to the other competitors without her, even just to wish them luck. I guess that was the trouble with being a sidekick for so long, it made flying solo feel weird.
Though I knew I could do this alone, I was really glad I didn’t have to. Wyatt was here with me. Well, currently he was in the green room getting me a cup of tea to soothe my tense vocal cords.
We’d driven in together this morning and already run through our songs once. We were as ready as we’d ever be.
I did my best to calm my nerves as I glanced around backstage. I was standing about as far away from the curtain as possible. I’d already made the mistake of peeking out to take a look at the crowd. I hadn’t expected the performing arts center to be so crowded. But my quick glance through the curtains showed the seats were starting to fill up.
The only thing I had going for me was that the singer/songwriter category was one of the first groups to compete. We’d already gotten a rundown of the schedule with the day’s event coordinator so now all that was left to do was wait.
Thankfully, I was third in the songwriter lineup. I felt like that was a pretty good spot. Not first, not last. Just enough time to chew my nails down to nubs.
I pulled in a steadying breath as people rushed around me finishing up last minute things like testing lights and putting X’s of tape on the floor so each of us knew where to stand when we took the stage for the results.
I looked at the clock on the wall. In a few more minutes I’d be walking onto that stage and taking a stab at my future. Winning this scholarship could open a lot of doors for me. First of all, it would help me afford college, and not just any college, but one where I could major in music.
I tried not to let the overwhelming pressure get to me. But just as I was repeating my calming mantra, Jenna appeared. I sighed, wondering if she was part shark. I swore the girl could sense weakness.
“Hey, Layne,” Jenna said. “So, Lola really didn’t show, huh? I knew she didn’t have what it takes. What a coward.”