I smile and nod, this time feeling better. He kisses me quickly, then pulls away. “Good. Now eat. I have big plans for us this evening.”
My stomach tightens with all the dirty fun he promises and I quickly get to eating.
When I get to the store in the morning, I feel tired. Extremely tired. I’ve been putting in so many hours between gigs, practices, lessons, holding down a full-time job, recording our album, and having a life, that sleep has been put on the back burner. I decide to take off early, leaving at noon. I want to go back to my place and catch a few hours of sleep before practice, but I’m also in desperate need of fun. It’s been nothing but work since we got signed, and I need to blow off some steam. I drive over to Daniel’s office and find him talking to the woman at the front desk. He smiles when he sees me.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” he asks.
“I blew off work. My lesson rescheduled for tomorrow, so I’m free. Want to go have fun?”
He looks at his assistant. “Do I have any appointments today?”
She clicks around on the computer. “No, you’re all clear.”
He looks at me with a smile. “Then let’s get out of the city for the day.”
I want to jump up and down, clapping and cheering, but I hold myself together. “Sounds perfect. Where are we going?”
He smirks. “I have an idea.” He places his hand on the small of my back, leading me toward the exit. We swing by his place so he can change out of his suit, then we’re back in the car.
“So . . . where are we going?”
He looks over at me with a grin. “It’s a surprise.”
I frown at him. “As long as it’s fun. I’ve been working so much lately, I’m burned out. I need some fun and excitement.”
He returns his eyes to the road. “Oh, I think I’ve got you covered, sweetheart.” We stop at a nearby gas station and fill up the tank. We also grab drinks, chips, and candy to munch on while we drive. Daniel says no road trip is fun unless you have good music and junk food. I agree completely.
I sip on my Big Gulp and snack on my pretzels and Twizzlers while he drives us wherever it is we’re going. We sing along with bands like Sublime, The White Stripes, and The Rolling Stones as they blare throughout the cab of the car. We laugh, joke, talk, then go back to singing. Then he shows me how to play the air guitar.
“I know you know how to play a real guitar, but air guitar is quite different,” he insists.
I laugh. “Is that right? Show me how it’s done then, tough guy.” I crank the music up louder, and since there are no other cars on the road, he steers with his knee while his hands get busy slashing across the air guitar. His eyes squint and his tongue comes out the corner of his mouth while he focuses on hitting all the right notes. His expression only makes me laugh harder.
He tosses the air guitar down and reaches forward to turn down the music with one hand while the other takes the wheel. He shrugs. “That’s how you do it.”
I roll my eyes. “I didn’t realize it was such an art form.”
“Well, now you know,” he says in mock-seriousness.
It’s not much longer before we’re pulling into the parking lot at Six Flags Great America. My eyes grow in size and I bounce up and down in my seat. “Oh my God! I can’t believe we’re here! I haven’t been here since I was a kid.” No one could wipe this smile off my face, and seeing my expression makes his grin grow wider. “How’d you know I wanted to come here?”
He shrugs as he pulls the car forward. “I just figured you needed to have some fun, and what’s more fun than riding roller coasters all day?”
I squeal with happiness as he parks the car. I’m as bad as a kid at these kinds of places. Once I’m here, I never want to leave. I want to spend the entire day standing in line, waiting for the spike in my heart rate.
As we’re walking toward the main entrance, I grab his arm. “Please tell me you’re not scared of heights or wild rides.”
He laughs. “I’m not a big fan of heights, but that’s never stopped me from riding roller coasters. I like the speed.”
I jump up and down.
Daniel and I get in line for Batman the Ride and my stomach has already tightened in excitement. I love going fast and flipping around. I love climbing high only to feel the thrill of free falling. Daniel and I hold hands as we wait in line. He pulls me against his chest and hugs me close, helping to keep me warm. Even though it’s later in the year, there’s still a chill in the air. I have a feeling my face will be numb by the time we get off this ride.
We finally take our seats on the ride, pulling the restraints down over our heads. Adrenaline is already pumping through my body and I feel like I’m riding the highest high. The ride starts up and we fly out into the open air—twisting, turning, flipping, and diving. I laugh and cheer the whole time, and I can hear Daniel cheering right along with me. It seems like the ride is over in a flash, and we both pry ourselves out of our seats. Hand in hand, we go to find our next fun adventure.
Hours later, the park is closing and we’re heading back to the car in complete darkness. I take my seat and grab my phone, which I’d left in the car. I see that I have four missed calls and many more missed texts from the guys. That’s when it hits me: I forgot about practice.
Fuck.
“Shit,” I breathe out.
“What’s wrong?” Daniel asks as he pulls on his seatbelt and starts up the car.
“I forgot practice. The guys are going to be pissed.” I let the phone fall from my hands into my lap.
“What’s the big deal? I mean, you guys have been practicing almost every night you don’t have a show. Everyone needs a break.” He shifts into drive and we start on our way back home.
As we drive, thoughts of missing band practice slip away as I start to reflect back on the day we’ve had. Daniel and I have always had a good time together, but most of that time has been spent in the bedroom. We have amazing sexual chemistry. It’s nice to know that we can have fun doing other things too. We had a great day full of laughs, talks, and just enjoying each other’s company. The more time I spend with him, the more I see myself spending the rest of my life with him.
The only problem is, my life isn’t going to be normal. There won’t be any nine-to-five jobs for me. We won’t go our separate ways in the morning and meet back up at home for dinner and quality time. I’ll be off traveling the world. Recording albums. Performing. If he chooses to be with me and stay with me, how will that affect his life? Will he be missing out on having an ordinary life? Is an ordinary life something he even wants? Does he want marriage and kids and all of that? There’s really only one way to find out, but I’m scared to ask. We’ve only just agreed to stay together for now. Once the tour kicks off, we’re both going our separate ways, and who knows where that will lead?
He reaches over and takes my hand in his. “What’s wrong?” he asks, probably sensing the sudden sadness in me.
I shrug. “I’m just tired.”
He lifts my hand up to his lips and presses a kiss to the top. “Understandable. You’ve been going too hard for too long. You need to get some rest before things in your life get even crazier. Want me to take you home, or you want to crash at my place again tonight?”