5. Emerson
My brain was going a million miles a second as I watched Stone glance at me before he dropped his gaze to the ground. I still couldn’t believe that he was here. What were the chances that he’d decide to come to the same bar I was playing at.
And then he made a scene while I was singing. It didn’t seem like something he would do. But then again, I never imagined that he would steal Cayden’s scholarship and leave town, never to look back.
I guess people always have a way of surprising you. Mom always said Stone was just showing who he really was, and I tried to believe her.
Not wanting to stand in silence, I steeled my nerves and nodded in his direction. “Stone,” was all I could manage.
His gaze snapped up to mine. His blue eyes were dark and stormy as he studied me. “Emerson,” he said.
Shivers rushed across my skin at the sound of my name on his lips. It wasn’t like before. His voice was deeper now. He looked similar to what I remembered, just older. Hotter.
My skin prickled at that thought, and I forced my mind to focus on what I was going to say, not how Stone made me feel. “It’s good to see you,” I said.
He frowned like my words had caught him off guard. “Really?” he asked before he cleared his throat and said, “You too.” He shoved his hands into his front pockets and nodded toward my guitar. I’d forgotten I was still holding it. “So, you made it.”
I glanced down as I chewed on my response. What was I supposed to say to that? I didn’t want him to know that I was struggling to get gigs, but I also didn’t want to lie. I just shrugged. “I’m getting by.”
His half smile that I had seared into my memory flashed in front of me. He nodded as he looked approvingly at me. “I’m glad. From what I heard out there, you must be doing amazing for yourself.”
My skin flushed from his compliment. I didn’t want to tell him that I’d lost my apartment and that I still hadn’t landed a recording contract, so I just smiled. “Thanks.” I waved toward him. “You, too. You got everything you wanted.”
Just as the words left my lips, I realized what I’d said. I pinched my lips together, and silence fell around us. Stone glanced to the side and then slowly brought his gaze up to meet mine.
“Yeah,” he mumbled.
I wanted to backtrack. I wanted him to forget that I’d said anything. But it was too late. The words were out in the ether. “Listen, I?—”
“I should go,” Stone said as he nodded toward the hallway behind me. “I’ve got practice in the morning.”
Suddenly feeling like I was trapping him here, I nodded and stepped to the side. “For sure.”
“You did amazing!” Tilly’s singsong voice grew louder as I heard her approach me from behind. She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed before her whole body stilled. I could only assume she had just noticed Stone standing in front of me.
“Who are you?” she asked as she came to stand next to me. She extended her hand. “Are you a scout? You know, I’m her manager. You can’t negotiate without me present.”
Stone parted his lips, but Tilly wasn’t taking a breath, so he just shook her hand. “Stone.”
It took a moment for his name to register in Tilly’s mind. Her jaw dropped open as she turned to face me. “Stone? As in the Stone?”
My face felt like it was on fire now. I leaned over to shush her before turning to see Stone studying me with a curious expression on his face. He’d heard her, and the meaning wasn’t lost on him.
The last thing I needed was for him to think that I was just randomly talking about him to my friend. Sure, I thought about him on a regular basis, but I didn’t need him to know that. I forced a laugh as I waved my hand as if to wave away her comment.
“It’s funny because I just rented the place across from you. It’s why we were talking about you.” There. That seemed plausible enough.
Stone’s smile faded as he stared at me.
Tilly looked shocked before she squealed as she gripped onto my arm. “That’s right. My sister knows Poppy, so we were scoping out the place this afternoon, and Emerson saw you through the peephole.”
If I could will a sink hole to open up and swallow Tilly whole, I would. I wanted to shush her. But Stone would notice, and I didn’t want him to think that I was in any way uncomfortable with him standing in front of me.
“You’re moving into Poppy’s apartment?” he asked.
I nodded. “Just for the time she’s gone. My lease was up on my apartment, so I needed something fast and close to the bars around here.” I glanced over at Tilly, who was beaming over at me. “It is the perfect place.”
“Perfect,” she said as she smiled at me.
“Wow.” Stone looked shocked as he glanced around. “Well, I’m happy for you, neighbor.”
“It’s not like we’ll see each other a lot. You have practice during the days, and I have work and gigs at night.” I laughed, hating that I sounded so discombobulated. “I’ll barely be there.”
When I glanced over at Stone, he was studying me. He nodded when he met my gaze. “Okay.”
I forced a smile. “Okay.” Then I turned to Tilly. “Should we go?”
She frowned. “Should we?”
I nodded. “We’re going to go. You were on your way out. We won’t hold you here any longer.” I turned, taking Tilly with me, as we walked back down the hallway that Tilly had just come through. We took another left, and when I was certain we were out of Stone’s earshot, I blew out my breath and collapsed against the wall.
Tilly was peeking around the corner to see if Stone had followed us. Thankfully, he hadn’t, and as the seconds ticked by, I could feel my anxiety lessen.
“So that was Stone,” Tilly said as she moved to lean against the wall across from me.
I was pitched forward with my hands on my knees, taking deep breaths. “What the heck, Tilly?” I finally managed out.
She frowned. “What?”
“The Stone?”
Her cheeks flushed as she grinned. “What? It’s not like he even noticed.”
I shot her a yeah, right look. “I’m pretty sure he picked up on that.”
“What does it matter? You said your families used to be friends. It was only normal that we would have talked about him. I am your best friend.”
I straightened and raked my fingers through my hair. “It matters.”
She waved away my words with her hands. “The family feud. I know, I know.”
If Tilly really understood, she wouldn’t be this flippant about it. My family would disown me if they found out that I’d entertained a conversation with Stone. They’d practically made a blood pact that the Kings would hate Stone Walker forever.
Tilly’s expression morphed into a smile as she studied me. “So, we’re moving in?” she asked.
My stomach churned as the memory of what I’d said slammed into my mind. Now that I’d confessed I was staying across from him, how would it look if I suddenly backed out?
“Oh, no.” Tilly’s words drew my attention.
“What?” I asked.
“I know that expression,” she said as she motioned to my face. “You want to back out.”
I feigned shock. “What? I do not.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Mm-hmm.”
“I want to live there.”
“Wanting and actually doing are two different things.” She sighed as she pulled out her phone. “I guess I’ll keep looking for a place that’s the exact opposite of Poppy’s apartment.” She scrolled on her phone, her focus completely consumed by her screen.
The tug-of-war inside of me became too much. I was torn between my family and this fabulous place to live. I reached out and grabbed Tilly’s phone from her. “Stop,” I said as I clicked on the side button and the screen went black. “No more looking.”
She stared at me, her expression unreadable.
I sighed as I handed her phone back to her. “I’ll stay in Poppy’s apartment.”
“Are you sure?”
I nodded.
A huge smile broke out on her lips as she lunged toward me, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me close. “Yay!” she yelled before a guy appeared from the stage and shushed her.
She let go of me and stepped back, nodding an apology before she turned back to me and let out a silent scream.
“Just for the six months,” I said.
“We won’t even need the six months. You’ll have a contract before then.” She reached out and grabbed my guitar. “Let’s go celebrate,” she sang as she turned and headed toward the back door.
I followed after her as my decision rolled around in my mind. There was a part of me that wanted me to change my mind. Living next to Stone was a huge mistake. But the other part of me was louder, the part that knew that downtown—where I could have experiences like this every night—was where I needed to be.
I knew that living with my family’s anger in the forefront of my mind put me on the fast track to stagnation. If I wanted to have a future, I needed to put myself first. That meant living where I had the most opportunities.
Besides, I could survive living next to Stone. From our earlier conversation, it was clear I was the last thing on his mind. He was focused on football, and I was focused on music. I doubted we would ever see each other, and if we did, well, our interaction tonight told me that we could be cordial to each other. And that was all I needed to know.
He’d live his life, and I’d live mine.
We didn’t need to talk to each other. It wasn’t like living at Poppy’s required me to hang out with him. We were just neighbors, that was all.
And Tilly was right. Once I was discovered and signed a contract, then I would move. I doubted Stone would even notice or care when that happened. The tabloids had stories about him with different women on his arm every other week. I was fairly certain the geeky little sister to his ex-best friend wasn’t even on the map.
Living in Poppy’s apartment was what I needed to do for my future. And I was ready to start living.
I was ready to start living for me.