CHAPTER 23 #2
After the final encore, Reese finally tore her eyes away from the stage and reached for the phone in her pocket.
She snapped a picture of the band standing at the front edge of the stage, their arms wrapped around each other familially.
The grin on her lips only grew as she watched Jette’s eyes scanning the crowd.
She looked beyond elated as she stared out at the sea of screaming fans.
The bass and guitar player kept their arms wrapped tightly around Jette’s small shoulders, able to comfortably exchange glances over her short frame.
When the lights overhead faded back to life and the band shuffled off stage, Reese stared at the picture on her screen.
Fans jostled around her as she stayed put, keeping her back anchored to the wall as she committed the photo to memory.
No texts had come through since this afternoon and Reese felt that familiar ache of worry sinking in her chest. Jette hadn’t responded.
She opened their text thread again and doubled-down.
She was out of time to waste. Drafting another message, she attached the photo and paused to read what she’d written before taking another chance.
But when she finally pressed send, a tiny exclamation point popped up in the bottom corner of the screen.
The words ‘Unable to Send’ appeared underneath the unsent messages.
She ran a hand through her hair, anxiety steadily rising in the back of her throat.
The crowd had mostly cleared out by now, just a few groups of stragglers waiting against the barricades desperately waiting to catch another glimpse of the band.
Reese mused that technically, she was hoping for the exact same thing.
Only for her, there was only one member of the band that she wanted—rather, needed—to see.
She pressed the 'Resend' option on her phone so many times that it almost felt comical, but each time to no avail.
The red italicized words seemed to taunt her.
Unable to Send. Unable to Send. Unable to Send.
Letting out a huff, Reese turned on her heel towards the back of the venue.
She had come too far to leave any possible stone unturned.
Heading to the merch table, a pretty blonde-haired woman caught her eye and tossed her a smile.
Reese was momentarily speechless as the woman’s electric blue eyes seemed to stare through her.
A queue of people were waiting around the edge of the counter, at least thirty twenty-somethings huddled in groups clutching their merchandise.
The blonde watched Reese carefully as she joined the end of the line, nervously shifting around to get a better view of the hallway that she presumed led backstage.
Those piercing eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced back at Reese, her attention drifting away from the woman at the register in front of her.
Her gaze swept over Reese, carefully looking down to her feet before slowly trailing up her body and Reese felt an amused smile curling on her lips.
Reese jutted her chin up slightly, attempting to give a noncommittal nod of acknowledgement.
She was hoping—no, praying—that a little charm could help her out.
The walkie-talkie clipped to the blonde’s belt loop caught Reese’s eye as she slowly pressed against the counter’s edge.
“Are you looking for someone?” The blonde woman’s voice was surprisingly sharp.
Reese gave a slightly sheepish nod, but she cut her off before Reese could open her mouth to answer.
“You gotta speak up if you’re looking for someone, hun.
I’ve got, like, a million things to do.” Her curt tone made Reese flinch. So much for flirting.
“I was hoping to talk to Jette,” Reese blurted out, suddenly feeling wildly naive by her plan—or lackthereof. The blonde woman let out a single laugh that was somehow devoid of all humor.
“Nice try, babe,” she said dismissively, turning her attention back to the boxes overflowing with tee shirts.
“Wait!” Reese exclaimed, reaching over the counter.
She had meant to grab the woman’s arm but the lethal flash in her eyes made Reese pause.
“Sorry, but I need to talk to her. I…” her voice trailed off as she frantically tried to organize her thoughts.
Any semblance of a plan had officially gone out the window hours ago.
“I’m not a total stranger, I promise. We’re friends,” she pleaded.
“Friends?” The word fell from the blonde’s lips dripping with doubt.
Reese shoved the cellphone in her hand in the woman’s face who flinched as though Reese had taken a swing at her. “We’re friends, here look,” she tilted the screen and scrolled through the hundreds of messages that they’d exchanged. “She doesn’t know I’m here. I wanted to surprise her.”
The blonde woman’s eyes shrewdly regarded the phone in Reese’s hand.
Her razor sharp gaze didn’t soften exactly, but it looked significantly less menacing than it had just seconds ago.
Her hand twitched near the walkie-talkie and Reese gave a hopeful smile.
She could feel every fiber of her being hoping that this would work.
The blonde muttered something into the walkie-talkie, never taking her eyes off Reese.
Reese held her breath in anticipation. “Who should I say is waiting?” she asked skeptically.
“I, uh, Reese,” she stammered in a single breath.
“Tell her it’s ‘I, uh, Reese’,” she barked into the device.
The blonde gave a shrug as if to say it was out of her hands now.
Reese let out a nervous chuckle and nodded before stepping out of the nearly non-existent line to wait.
She quickly smoothed her jacket over her jeans and squared her shoulders.
Taking a deep breath, it felt as though her heart was thundering in her throat as she stared down the unending hallway.