Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Juliet checked her phone as surreptitiously as possible, for the twentieth time that night.
Final song in the setlist tonight was Three-Part Harmony. REALLY good performance
She also sent along some pictures and a link to the performance right under her information.
The thing was, after Darcy had left yesterday for Georgia to kick the We, The Romantics tour off, Juliet had found herself checking flights.
Which… was kind of ridiculous. Right?
Because she’d just spent five days, nonstop, with Darcy. She should have gotten her fill. They’d created a song together, they’d had a lot of sex, they’d cooked together, they’d read.
That should hold her over for a while. Should, apparently, being the keyword.
They both had lives. Like, actually busy lives.
Juliet’s own tour might be over, and her obligations following her last album were complete. But she felt a fire under her to start on her fifth album. The goal line was clear, now. One more album, and the contract with Harrison and Copper Canyon would be fulfilled. One more.
Talking to Darcy about her situation reminded Juliet of just how close she was, now. For years, it had felt so useless to set her sights on the fifth album.
It took time. Every single album was months and months of writing lyrics, writing music, refining those songs with other writers and producers. Recording, re-recording, mastering. The promotion, the tours, the awards.
Could she have rushed through them faster than she’d been working the last few years? Possibly. Probably, if she hadn’t cared about quality.
But… Juliet couldn’t bring herself to put out an album she hated just for the sake of releasing an album, either.
No matter what the politics were behind the scenes, it was always her name and reputation on the line.
Even if Backyard Stars and Echoes hadn’t been acclaimed, Juliet had worked hard on them.
She’d gotten very little encouragement, a lot of pushback for trying to pivot from where she’d been pigeonholed, and so things hadn’t worked out perfectly.
Darcy had loved Echoes, though. Which really did make Juliet feel prouder about it. Darcy was right; she’d been trying to do something, and she’d nailed certain elements, but she hadn’t been able to get herself there.
Maybe she could, though, in the future. Maybe if she was able to work with different people, not constrained by this Copper Canyon contract. Maybe if… she had Darcy willing to work with her.
The thought thrilled her. It made her excited for the future after this contract was over.
She was going to spend the time Darcy was on her tour jumping into her fifth album.
… and still, she likely would have gone to the first We, The Romantics show tonight, had she not agreed weeks ago to attend a launch party with Robbie.
He was one of the brand ambassadors for Roman Montrose’s men’s line, and he was everywhere tonight.
It would have been incredibly odd for her not to be here, too.
Typically, brand parties were some of her favorite events to attend. The free merchandise? Top notch.
She was, actually, excited about tonight in particular, because one of the merch pieces they’d been given was a pair of sunglasses from the new line, and she knew Darcy was going to love them. Darcy wore the hell out of a good pair of sunglasses.
Still, though, it was Darcy’s first night on tour. It was a big thing.
The one-off performances and shows We, The Romantics had done throughout the last year were nothing to sniff at, but their own full-length show was different.
Juliet wanted to be there. And since she couldn’t be there, she wanted to see the play-by-plays, live.
She couldn’t spend the night with her nose buried in her phone; that was a terrible look. She had to chat, had to rub elbows, had to be proud and excited for Robbie. Which meant she wouldn’t have the time to scour social media for updates on Darcy’s show.
So, Laura was doing that for her.
Within a minute of all of We, The Romantics big songs, Laura would send high-resolution photos and videos through to her, having found the best accounts that were sharing all of the media live.
Juliet just had to find the best times to duck away and quickly check her phone.
She squeezed Robbie’s arm, the one tucked through hers. “Excuse me; I have to use the restroom,” she murmured, shooting him and the couple they were speaking to an apologetic smile.
Anticipation laced through her veins as she did not rush to the bathroom but walked at a very controlled pace.
Then she quickly snapped the lock into place, clicking the video. Finally, she could listen with real volume.
Juliet – 10:35P.M.
Incredible final performance. I didn’t expect Three-Part Harmony to be the final song, but it makes a lot of thematic sense
She hadn’t counted on Darcy seeing her message any time soon; she’d just finished her show.
But Darcy did see it, immediately.
And Juliet’s phone buzzed in her hand with the incoming video call. She flicked her gaze to the locked door just to make sure, before she answered.
The smile on her lips was wide and exuberant, but she didn’t bother trying to smother it.
Especially not when she saw the exhilaration on Darcy’s face. Even through the phone in the fluorescent backstage lighting at the venue, her eyes were bright, and her cheeks were pink, and she looked…
She looked like she’d just done something she’d always been meant to do.
“Were you watching?” Darcy asked without any preamble.
She shot Darcy a look. “You watched my shows. If you think I don’t remember your search history, you are sorely mistaken.”
Darcy reeled back. “You don’t know my search history.”
A smug smile tugged up at her lips. “Yeah, but I know your most recent history when you picked me up in December was all me.”
Yes, the reminder of that did still buzz with satisfaction.
“Not all you,” Darcy disagreed.
“Fine, you also had looked up the best-looking popcorn string patterns.” She rolled her eyes. “But I’m not counting that.”
“Anyway,” Darcy cleared her throat, pointedly. Returning to eyeing Juliet with her own ridiculously hot, smug smile. “Aren’t you at that brand launch party thing?”
She angled her chin up, deliberately angling the camera down at the new purse on her arm that clearly showed the Montrose logo. “Perhaps I am.”
“And… perhaps you found some time to watch my tour videos.” There was something unbearably sweet about Darcy’s smile, about the awed tone of her voice.
It made Juliet’s cheeks blush, as she wanted to deny it was a big deal. But she couldn’t say it, even teasingly dismissive.
Because it was a big deal.
Darcy seemed to be very pleased, but she didn’t even understand what a big deal it was. She and Robbie didn’t have any of their arrangement in writing – obviously, because what a terrible idea that would be for maintaining secrecy – but they did have an understood code of conduct.
As in, they were at these events as one another’s seriously significant other. They were supportive, they were active participants in conversations, they were never checked out and looking at their phones all night.
“Yes,” she agreed, her throat a little tight with the confession. “Perhaps I’ve made time.”
Emerson walked by behind Darcy, ducking slightly to be seen on Darcy’s camera as she waved. “Hey, Juliet.”
“Hey back. You were great tonight,” Juliet let her know, and it was very true.
Emerson’s comfort level when performing, with an instrument in her hands, was like night and day compared to whenever Juliet saw her at an award show or an interview.
She beamed back at Juliet. “Thank you.”
“Get a room,” Blythe’s teasing voice cut in as she, too, came up from behind Darcy, gently bumping into Emerson, her face flashing into view.
She looked just as exhilarated, flushed and tired and excited, as Darcy did.
Darcy swatted at her sister as she passed by. “You know, maybe I will.”
“Good,” Blythe shot back, now off camera. “Seriously. You should. Other people are coming this way.”
Darcy’s eyebrows furrowed as she looked off behind her, and then they were on the move. From Juliet’s vantage point from Darcy’s phone, they seemed to go down a different, darker hallway, before entering into a room.
She heard the door shut, before Darcy lifted the phone again.
“Sorry.” Darcy rubbed her fingers firmly against her forehead, as she settled into a chair. Her voice was laced with self-recrimination, “I shouldn’t have called you before I got to my dressing room.”
Most alarmingly, Juliet found that she didn’t really care.
Rolling her lips together, she managed not to say that – because…
she needed to care about that, still – but she also couldn’t bring herself to agree with Darcy’s reproach.
“I suppose you were just so excited to call me, you couldn’t contain yourself,” she baited, instead.
“I mean… basically, yeah,” Darcy freely admitted.
Like it was as simple and easy as that.
For Darcy, Juliet supposed, it was. She didn’t second-guess herself when making those statements about how she wanted Juliet, about being open about it. That wasn’t hard for her to fathom, knowing Darcy.
The wild part was how she made Juliet feel like it – this part – was easy, too.
Not logistically, obviously. But… emotionally.
Maybe that was insane. Maybe Juliet was actually crazy for even dabbling in having these thoughts. Thoughts that she and Darcy could have something not only passionate and hot, but real and true and good and warm.
But it was too late for her to go back and start questioning it. Look at her; she was sneaking off to the bathroom at the Montrose launch party to watch Darcy’s tour videos, to talk to her in the middle of the event.
“So, first night on tour is over. How does it feel?” She asked, quietly. Running her eyes as critically over Darcy’s face as she could through the camera.