EPILOGUE
REESE
Three years later.
NATALIE
We can’t keep doing this, Reese
You’re basically asking to get caught
Jette’s been all but glued to my side since this morning.
I’ll call when I can, promise
Reese ran a hand through her hair anxiously.
It had been risky to text Natalie when she knew that Jette and the rest of the band would be in the middle of their full fledged pre-show routine.
Even after years of working together, show days were always a little more stressful for the team as a whole.
Reese was no stranger to it anymore. After all this time, she considered herself somewhat of a professional when it came to being the girlfriend of a touring musician.
She wheeled her bag down the aisle and quickly shuffled off the plane. The flight felt longer than she last remembered. But maybe it was just her nerves. Or the fact that it had been over three years since the last time she’d made the trip to Las Vegas. Or some combination of the two.
The airport was exactly as she remembered.
Although last time she was here, she was riddled with anxiety about her feelings for Jette and what it meant for her future—ideally, their futures.
Strangely, today was no different. She just wished that she had Lida here with her like she had back then.
But between Lida’s new job as a traveling massage therapist and Reese’s busy work schedule, a weekend getaway between the two of them was almost impossible nowadays.
She breezed through the airport in a flash.
It was easy since she’d brought almost no luggage with her.
No cumbersome derby gear bag was slung over her shoulder this time.
Just a small shiny black metal rolling suitcase filled with enough clothes for the quick two-day jaunt.
As soon as the door to her Uber shut and they pulled out of the airport traffic, Reese’s phone rang. She muttered an apology to the driver and quickly pressed the phone to her ear, relieved to hear the familiar voice on the other end.
“Hey Nat—”
“I don’t have a lot of time,” she cut Reese off in a huff.
“Nice to hear from you, too.” Reese snarked back with a chuckle. “I’m sorry about earlier, I just—”
“Hun, what part of ‘I don’t have a lot of time’ do you not understand?
” Natalie’s voice was sharp in a way that only she could get away with.
Reese rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically for effect.
“We’re wrapping up some technical stuff before the show, so I only have five minutes.
Are you on your way to the hotel?” Reese could hear the flurry of activity in the background on Nat’s end of the call.
“Yes.” Reese kept her answer short in fear of adding to the frustration mounting in Nat’s voice.
“Good,” she answered. “I already talked to the front desk, you just need to show your ID and they’ll give you the keys.
If anyone gives you any issues, let me know and I’ll talk to them directly.
” Reese shuddered to imagine being on the receiving end of a phone call like that from Natalie.
She was hoping everything at the hotel would go smoothly, not just for her sake, but also for the sake of the person working the front desk.
“But don’t text me any details. We should have a codeword or something.
” Natalie prattled on, not bothering to stop and catch her breath.
“How about you text me ‘Good luck!’ if something goes wrong and you can’t get checked in? ”
Reese laughed through her nose. “Awe, but Natalie, what should I text if I actually just want to wish you good luck?”
“Reese,” Natalie warned. But Reese could hear her amusement in the single syllable.
“Sorry. Got it.”
“I already double checked all the details. Your name isn’t actually on the reservation, but that’s just so no one suspects a thing.
I promise I planned for every possible outcome.
” Natalie rushed through breathlessly before taking a pause.
“Are you nervous?” Her voice was unexpectedly gentler than moments before.
“Yes and no,” Reese admitted. She traced the winding floral tattoos that wrapped around her forearms, a nervous habit she hadn’t been able to break in years. “Thank you for all your help, Nat. I owe you big time, I promise.”
“Damn right, you do,” Nat agreed with a giggle. “Let’s do dinner to celebrate. I’ll cook.”
“Deal.” Reese grinned as they passed by the glowing Vegas sign and her stomach felt like it leapt into her throat. “I was actually wondering, what if—” Her voice trailed off as the phone began to ring in her hand all over again. Lida must’ve finally gotten out of her late appointment.
“Hello?” Nat’s voice brought her attention back as she ignored the call.
“Sorry. That was Lida. I’ll have to call her back later.” Reese blurted out distractedly.
“Oh.” Her usually strong voice was uncharacteristically breathy. “How is Lida?” Reese’s eyebrows came together suspiciously.
“She’s…good,” Reese answered.
“Good, good. That’s good to hear.” Nat sounded almost robotic in her response. “Is she still traveling a lot? Or…?”
Now Reese was definitely confused. “I thought you didn’t have a lot of time to talk?” Nat tutted defensively almost immediately.
“I—you know what—I don’t. You’re right.” Her voice was back to its signature steely quality. “I have to get going. But I want every single detail later!”
“Every detail?” Reese shot back wittily, a sly grin breaking across her face.
“I’m hanging up now,” Natalie teased. “Good luck, babe. Love you.” The call ended before Reese could get another word in, so she just chuckled to herself in the backseat.
. . . .
The man at the front desk barely glanced at her ID before handing over the keys with a nervous flush. Poor guy, Reese thought apologetically. Natalie took her job very seriously.
The room looked exactly as she remembered.
She opened the curtains to reveal floor-length windows overlooking the Las Vegas strip.
The sun had completely set, leaving the sky the most gorgeous dark purple color against the bright blinking casino lights.
Reese took her time making sure that everything in the room was perfect.
Her suitcase had been neatly tucked away, the champagne bottle was chilling in the mini-fridge, and a bouquet of flowers was artfully arranged behind two glasses on the counter. Exactly how she imagined.
Her phone buzzed in her back pocket, pulling her attention from the clock where she’d been counting down the minutes until the show was over. Reese’s jaw dropped slightly as she scrambled to answer the phone.
“I’m so sorry,” she blurted the words out. “I meant to call you back.”
“Bitch,” Lida drew out the single syllable and laughed. “Today’s an important day. I think I can cut you a little slack.” Her voice was warm and light and it immediately helped to erase the nerves that had been simmering in Reese’s stomach all evening. “How are you?”
“Excited. And nervous. And happy. God, I’m happy.” Reese rambled with a smile pulling on her lips.
“You two are so fucking cute. It’s disgusting!” Another voice cheerfully yelled in the background. The sound was distorted through the phone, but Reese would recognize that voice anywhere.
“Is that Emery?” Reese nearly howled with joy. “What, are you guys having another movie night without me?” Her voice was bright and teasing. It meant the world to her that Lida and Emery had hit it off immediately. The two of them had been nearly inseparable for the past few years.
Reese felt like her chest was going to burst as she listened to the two of them cackling over speakerphone. Lida’s voice came through loud and clear. “Duh, obviously. But back to you. When are you doing it? Can we get pictures? Oh! Oh! Can we facetime you for the big moment?”
She glanced at the clock and realized Jette was likely packing up her belongings after the show by now.
A jolt of electricity went straight to her chest. It made her heart feel like it was about to beat right through her ribs.
“Tonight. I promise we’ll send you a million pictures, but there’s no chance in hell that I’m keeping you both on facetime for this.
You’ll be the first people we call, I promise.
” Reese carried the phone to the bathroom vanity and ran her hands through her hair in an attempt to tousle her chin-length waves.
“But I really gotta get going, babes. I love you.” She stared at herself in the mirror and tried to settle the heaving of her chest. There was nothing to be scared of.
She’d imagined this day—this moment—for months.
Jette called less than ten minutes later, much to Reese’s relief. She took a deep breath and fidgeted with the velvet box in her hand before she answered the phone after one ring.
“Hi beautiful,” Jette’s voice was like silk and immediately, Reese felt herself relax. It was something that she would never get used to. The way that her heart would feel like it had finally found the right place in her body the moment that she heard Jette’s voice.
“Hi gorgeous,” she replied with a smile the same way she always did when Jette was away on tour.
“How was the show? Are you all finished? Where are you?” She cringed inwardly at herself.
So much for staying calm, cool, and collected.
It had taken all of ten seconds for the list of questions to fall out of her mouth all at once.