Chapter 20
20
Valerie
Tonight’s premiere is a welcome break from nonstop rehearsals, but it’s also my biggest test out in the world with Caleb—can we show off our relationship for the cameras while we’re still figuring out how to be together?
Last time, I hurt Caleb by hiding us from the world. Now, I’m worried I’ll hurt him by using him for press. But the media stuff is just a convenient way to keep the attention on the Glitter Bats and try to save my show. Sure, it’s a little strange going from faking it to something real, but we’ve never had the luxury of figuring things out away from the spotlight. We have a second chance at honesty. So what if we sensationalize it a little? Caleb knows how I feel about him.
He has to.
At least our friends are supportive. We’ve been discreet, but when we slip out of Caleb’s room together on the way to our morning prep and run into the others in the hallway, no one says a word about it. While we get manicures at the hotel spa, Keeley even mentions that tonight will be a good photo opportunity for CalErie—which means she’s come a long way from warning me to keep my distance.
I glance at Caleb across the salon, and he winks from where he awaits his sheet mask. It all feels so easy, falling back into feelings I tried so long to suppress. It’s been all loaded glances in rehearsal, stolen kisses in hallways, a brush of fingers in a crowded room—it’s so sweet rediscovering these moments with him. My heart beats faster with every look, my skin heats with every touch, and it’s as if my entire being missed the familiar tempo. Like he’s my metronome, and I’m finally finding my rhythm after years of drifting offbeat.
Being together doesn’t make things easier, but it does make them less daunting.
We booked the salon out for the day, so after our skin is glowing and our nails are perfect, the hair and makeup experts arrive to finish our looks. As we glam up, we take plenty of selfies, posting them to social media and tagging one another like we’re one big, happy, glittering family.
I almost believe it myself. Now that Caleb and I are back to…something, it really is feeling like old times. Long days on set for Epic Theme Song always left me exhausted, but something about spending hours with the Glitter Bats brings me back to life. We’ve been so in sync during rehearsals that we’re practically one unit. Every song we return to is tight, and the rest of the band quickly caught on to “Daydreams Like This.”
In the bustle of red-carpet prep, I even forgot my morning social media check. With the fate of Epic Theme Song still unknown, I should be full of panic, but there’s a sense of calm hanging around my shoulders. If I didn’t know better, I could almost believe there was a future for the Glitter Bats after the concert.
I have to keep reminding myself that’s not what I want.
We manage a careful, mess-free meal, then head back to our rooms to change. With deft fingers, Caleb helps me fasten the plunging backless gown that Keeley insisted will go viral. The color options were limited with my pink hair, but I think we picked the right piece for the event—a sparkly midnight-blue number with straps that cross in the back, a sweetheart neckline, and a slit up the front that almost goes to my hip.
It’s sexy enough to make me feel like a million bucks but classy enough that it shouldn’t hinder my reputation. I look like an old-Hollywood movie star. Still, my mouth goes dry as Caleb helps me ensure everything is in place, his calloused fingers brushing against the skin of my lower back.
“You look amazing,” he murmurs. “Can I kiss you, or will that mess with your look?”
I laugh. “Haven’t put the lipstick on yet, so we’re good.”
He draws me into a slow, sweet kiss, and I grasp onto his elbows to steady myself in the four-inch heels that make me a bit taller than him. Even through the thick sleeves of his suit, I can feel the curve of his biceps under my fingertips. Part of me wants to say fuck the event and fall into those strong arms.
But we need to support Jane, and we need to be seen.
He draws back, resting his forehead against mine—softly, so as to not smudge any makeup. “You ready for this?”
“Yeah, are you?”
He grins. “I have a gorgeous woman on my arm. How could it not be a good night?”
I will never get tired of this man calling me gorgeous, and warmth blooms across my cheeks in a way that makes me think we could have gone lighter on the blush. If he keeps saying nice things about me all night, I’ll be glowing red for the cameras.
“Let’s go,” I say. Jane is arriving separately with the rest of the Dragon Realm creative team, so it’s just the four of us for now. This is her night, not ours.
We get the text that our limo has arrived, and the four remaining Glitter Bats head into the night using a back elevator. No photographers have shown up at the hotel—fortunately, tonight isn’t about the band, so they weren’t prepared—but we can’t miss the cell phone cameras hovering in the hands of a few of the hotel patrons as we cross through a lounge to the side door. Hopefully no one will reveal that we’re staying here, because that might complicate our lives for a couple more weeks.
But it’s nice that people notice us. I wonder if I took it for granted, the constant attention—it’s not like I enjoy having zero privacy, but there was something nice about being beloved instead of notorious. I like making headlines for my music, not who I’m kissing.
Maybe sensationalizing whatever this is with Caleb was a bad idea, but it’s too late to back out now.
We’re slated for an earlier red-carpet arrival, but there’s still plenty of activity when we arrive. Keeley decided on a creamy white jumpsuit, and Riker looks flawless in a burgundy tuxedo with his long hair tied back in a low knot. They go ahead of us, each taking their turn alone, smiling and smirking for the cameras before they hit the interviewers. But Caleb and I enter together like a couple, and even though it makes my palms sweat, I’m so glad I don’t have to walk in alone. I’ve done that too many times over the past few years.
But the journalists don’t miss the implications.
“CalErie, over here!” one shouts, and I bite down on my smile to keep from rolling my eyes.
“I hate that name,” I whisper to Caleb through gritted teeth, quiet enough to not be overheard through the clicking of the cameras. After just a few minutes walking in these teetering heels, I won’t let go of his arm for the rest of the night. I lean on him, just a little, just enough to feel like I won’t float away in the chaos.
“Me too,” Caleb admits, smoldering at the nearest camera. “But we’re stuck with it now.”
It’s not such a bad thing, being stuck with Caleb.
After we pose for photos, we have a few minutes to answer questions, which is my least favorite part of the evening—they could throw anything at us, and most of them are recording footage live for their various outlets.
Fortunately, the first question isn’t terrible.
“Caleb, what’s it like returning to the stage with the Glitter Bats?” a more seasoned reporter asks.
Caleb smiles and turns to them, leaning toward their purple microphone, but he pulls me a little closer. Maybe he needs to be steadied too. “Well, tonight is all about Into the Dragon Realm , and I haven’t returned to the stage yet.” He laughs good-naturedly. “In all seriousness, it’s great. The band is so talented, and I think everyone has just gotten better with time. It’s sure to be an incredible concert.”
I lean in, speaking into the microphone. “What Caleb is not saying is that he’s the best he’s ever been. The first thing we sang together was ‘Midnight Road Trip’ and he sounded so good, it brought me to tears.”
A half-truth—I cried for a lot of reasons that night—but I mean what I say about Caleb’s voice. It’s aged like fine wine.
Caleb smiles, but he’s looking at me. “Fans are not prepared for how great Valerie sounds either.”
“It sounds like there’s a lot of mutual…admiration here,” the reporter says.
“Absolutely,” we say in unison.
The reporter then switches topics, throwing out a question about Theo and Fantastical Mysts . Before I can even blink, Caleb apologizes and gracefully moves us along to the next reporter.
“We might be here for Into the Dragon Realm , but I don’t think anyone missed that the two of you walked in as a couple. Rumors of CalErie have been all over the internet since the concert was announced, and you’ve been spotted in public together a number of times—most recently, allegedly sharing a kiss on the beach. Are you two officially back together?”
My mind spins as I try to figure out how to play this. We had a plan, but it’s completely escaped my mind in the onslaught of flashbulbs and rapid-fire questions. I don’t know how to play it coy when I’ve completely forgotten how to speak.
There is so much riding on this moment.
To his credit, Caleb smirks at the camera as if on cue. It’s unfair how good he is at this. “Remind me—were we ever officially together in the first place?”
The reporter’s eyes widen, like they’ve just gotten the sound bite of the night. “Weren’t you?”
And…then I have an idea. We share a glance, and I look down at Caleb’s lips, then back up at his soulful eyes. He shrugs, almost imperceptibly, and I gently tug his tie to bring his lips to mine.
Live on the goddamn internet.
It’s chaste enough, and intended for the thousand GIFs I know it will generate, but it still makes my heart race. Caleb holds me closer, dipping me a little, and in these heels I have to hang on to him for dear life, but his arms aren’t bad to cling to. I get totally lost in the moment, kissing him. Even in a crowd, he makes me feel like we’re the only two people who matter.
Caleb rights me on my feet and turns back to the camera but doesn’t lose his grip on my waist.
“Does that answer your question?” I ask brightly, wiping the soft smear of lipstick from Caleb’s mouth with my thumb.
The reporter nods. “It definitely clarifies a few things.” But they don’t back down. “I was going to ask Valerie about Theo Blake next, but I don’t want to ruin your night.”
Caleb’s grip tightens as if to move us along again, but I lean into him, reassuring.
I can handle this.
“Theo and I broke up amicably several months ago and have not spoken since. Regardless of our history, or anything that has circulated on the internet, I wish him nothing but future success. Fantastical Mysts is an incredible opportunity, and I’m sure everyone will love it when it drops. But tonight is about celebrating my friend Jane’s wonderful contributions to Into the Dragon Realm , not my love life.”
The next group is waiting, so the reporter has to let us go without the zinger they were hoping for. However, I think that lip-lock will make up for it.
“Not that I didn’t enjoy that kiss, Ms. Quinn,” Caleb murmurs into my ear as we walk away, “but what’s the plan here?”
My stomach flutters with nerves. Here I am, making Jane’s big night about us. The video will be all over the internet in the next fifteen minutes, and everyone should be talking about the show instead. I just really wanted to take advantage of the night.
“I’m sorry, I just thought…yeah, that was probably bad timing.” So much for being a supportive friend. Maybe Keeley was right, and it was inevitable that this summer would become the Valerie show.
Anxiously, I glance at Caleb.
He grins, but there’s something tight in his gaze. “I’m sure it’s fine. Besides, I like kissing you. If it finally puts those rumors to rest, well…two birds, one stone.”
I hope he’s right.
Fifteen minutes was being charitable. Within five, Keeley and Riker are heading over to us, quickly flashing Keeley’s phone in our faces. We share a look, then laugh—nervously, on my part at least.
There are cameras everywhere, so Keeley slips between the two of us and grins at the closest one. Riker puts an arm around my other side, and we smile wide for the chorus of “Glitter Bats, over here!”
But that doesn’t stop Keeley from hissing through her teeth. “I know you’re trying to drum up press, but this is Jane’s night. Don’t fly too close to the sun.”
I brace myself for her withering glare, but when I glance at her, she’s smiling for the photographers. Still, I know this isn’t the end of this conversation. I might have fucked up…again. And not just with the band—I can feel the buzz of my phone blowing up in my clutch, but I choose to ignore it.
As we move into the building, I nearly stumble into a server holding a tray of champagne. I apologize, taking two flutes and handing one to Caleb, then downing mine.
It’s too late to take back that viral-bait kiss. Let the internet talk.