The stage goes dark but the crowd carries on, screaming for Luna and the guys.
She places her arms on my shoulders. “We have to go back out for one more song. Will you wait here for me?”
“I’ll wait anywhere for you.” I press one more quick kiss to her lips just as the crowd starts chanting. “Encore! Encore! Encore! Encore!”
Lane’s fingers slide across his guitar, and one by one, the band goes back out on stage. Fire bursts up and the music is back full force. I watch from the sidelines as someone hands Luna her guitar and they start playing their big single to wrap up the show.
You couldn’t beat the smile off my face right now. Luna and I are together and will be for the rest of our lives, even if we have to part from time to time. Finally, we know we’re getting our happy ending.
When they finish up on stage, she comes running off, taking my hand and leading me back to her dressing room. When the door closes behind us, she spins me around, pressing my back to the door as her lips find mine.
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” she says between kisses. “I have a lot to make up for,” she says as her hands push beneath my jeans. Her hand wraps around me and it causes me to take a hissing breath.
“Fuck, Luna, this is going to be quick,” I tell her, spinning her around and bending her over the back of the couch as I flip up her skirt and lower her panties.
Seconds later, I’m pushing my way inside her, right where I belong. She lets out a sexy moan that has every hair on my body standing on end. Every muscle tightens as I thrust into her, giving her all I’ve got. It only takes minutes before we’re both shattering into a million pieces.
When I remove myself from her, she spins around and kisses me. “That was only a sample of what’s to come, right?”
I laugh and kiss her. “How much time do we have before you need to leave?”
“Well, I was kind of hoping you could join us for a while. Fly home from wherever we are in a week or so?”
I laugh as I lean in for another kiss. “I’ll see what I can do.”
While she packs her things to get back on the bus, I call Calvin and tell him the whole story. He promises that everything will be fine and he’ll drive into the city on Monday to get everything squared away for me. He knows how much this means to me and he’s bending over backwards like I’ve done for him in the past. It’s good to have a partner and friend who’s like family.
When Luna and the band load up on the bus, I’m right there with her, holding her hand as we make our way through the crowd then board the quiet bus. Everyone plops down in a seat and Luna crawls into my lap as we look out the windows at all the people lining the sides of the bus. There are people holding up signs declaring their love for the band. Some people are snapping pictures, and others are just screaming because they’re so excited.
“This is crazy,” I think out loud.
“I know. It blows my mind every night,” Luna says as the bus begins to roll forward.
We stay in the common area of the bus for the first hour, and I’m actually surprised by how chill everything is. When I envisioned rock bands on their tour buses, I always pictured massive parties, drinking, and loud music. But this is nothing like that. The guys are playing games on their phones, taking naps, and talking to their friends, girlfriends, or family members. Luna stands from my lap and takes my hand, leading me to the back of the bus.
“Hey, you guys better not get this bus bumping too much. We’re in motion, you know,” Van teases.
I look at him from over my shoulder but ignore him as Luna pulls me into her bedroom, locking us away from the rest of the band where I plan to be buried inside her all night long.
Nineteen
Luna
Having Daniel on tour with me is better than I’d ever imagined. It’s like I get to have my cake and eat it too, even though I know it can’t last forever. He has a life and a job he needs to go back to, but if I have to live for these short times together, then that’s what I’ll do. It’s better having him in my life like this than nothing at all.
The first night, we do nothing but make love over and over again and sleep. The next morning, waking up in his arms is better than anything in the world. He kisses my shoulder and I roll over to face him, placing my hand on his sharp jaw. “I love you,” I confess again, unable to stop saying it now that those words have escaped.
“I love you too,” he says, moving between my legs.
“When you get back home, you’re going to wait for me, right? We’ll talk every night and try to make this work?”
“It’s the only way. Living without you isn’t an option anymore.” He kisses me as he pushes his way into me, filling me completely.
The week passes by too quickly, and before I know it, it’s the last show Daniel will be attending before flying back to Chicago tomorrow morning. I’m cherishing every last minute I have with him. Now that we both know how the other person feels, we’re no longer holding back about what we want for our future. We’ve decided that we’ll end up married one day far in the future after things begin to calm down with the band. We both want kids, and he even mentioned getting a tour bus just for our family until the kids are old enough to start school, and we’ll buy a house in the city or maybe even closer to Riley and Piper so our kids can all grow up together. It’s a nice vision to think about, but only time will tell if any of it comes true.
I’m reluctant to leave him in my dressing room, but I know we need to start the show, and it feels good knowing he’ll be here when I’m done, so I tell myself to stop being silly.
The guys and I head out, and the crowd comes to life before our very eyes. We run through our usual setlist until we’re about halfway through the show. Then something unexpected happens. I count us down to the next song like I always do, but suddenly, my amp has lost power. I’m hitting the strings, but my guitar is barely making a sound. I step up to the mic to ask what’s going on with the power, but my voice doesn’t echo around the room either. I finally turn around to look at the guys. They’re all looking at me with a smile. Van nods toward the side of the stage, where Daniel’s emerging.
“What are you doing?” I ask with a wide smile on my face.
He drops down to one knee and pulls a small black box out of his pocket. The crowd gasps.
He has a mic in his hand and he raises it to his lips. “Luna, I know we’ve been planning our future with a bunch of “what ifs,” but I got to thinking, Why wait? Why wait to get married when we both want it so badly right now? So during your sound check, I snuck out and found a jewelry store. There’s no more talk of the future. There’s only right now. I love you with every fiber of my being. Will you waste your life with me?” He opens the box and shows me the ring.
Tears fill my eyes and fall over the rims. I look at the crowd and they’re all chanting “YES, YES, YES!”
I cover my mouth and nod my head. I take his mic and say, “YES! Yes, I’ll marry you!”
He slips the ring on my finger and stands up, pulling me against him and pressing his lips against mine. He kisses me like there aren’t thousands of people watching us. With this kiss, I can feel every ounce of love he has for me, and I know that no matter where life takes us, we’ll be together.