30. shut up & kiss me
THIRTY
SHUT UP & KISS ME
Cade
I’ve never felt more excited driving back to The Pitch. Unsure if I’m more excited to celebrate with all my friends or to sleep in my own bed tonight. Or a secret third option that I know is probably where all my excitement is coming from—Halle. Tour is officially over, which also marks the end of the “just friends” limits she set.
Halle and I rolled our windows down for the drive back to The Pitch, wanting the familiar thrill of a music up, windows down drive to celebrate. We just got off the highway and I’ve never felt more alive than I do right now. I know I say that after every show, but it’s true. With each new performance I feel better than the last. Everything about tonight was perfect—the stage lights burning on my skin, the energy of the crowd radiating back to me, and the sight of my favorite girl on the side of the stage.
Seeing her without a care in the world singing and dancing along to our music tonight was my favorite part. I never get to see her like that, since she’s usually working hard behind the merch table.
I elected to drive us back tonight, knowing Halle doesn’t really like to drive at night but will when there’s no other option. We’re a few minutes out from The Pitch—from all of our friends and the party that’s happening to celebrate our first real tour run—when I see the turnoff and without thinking, I take it and pull into the small lot.
“Cade, what are we doing? Most everyone’s probably there by now.” She turns her head to look at me, the moonlight streaming in through her open window.
“Field trip.” I unbuckle and climb down, and leave her confused and pondering in her seat. I make my way around to her side and offer her my hand.
“Okay, well, if you brought me here to kill me, at least make it quick.” She takes my hand and jumps down.
I reconfigure our fingers so that they’re interlaced. “I told you the first time I brought you here that I, Cade Walsh, am not a murderer. I even vowed to never be.”
“Hmm, still sounds like something a murderer might say…” Halle trails off then lightly chuckles. She starts gently swinging our hands as we walk and find our way to the gazebo.
I feel a drop of rain land on my face. And then another. And another. And another. We take the last steps to the gazebo at a run to avoid the rain as much as we can, but it picks up and by the time we’re under cover, I can already feel the wetness seeping through my clothes and dampening my skin.
Of course. We miss the nicest summer Seattle’s had in years, and the night we come back, there’s an outright downpour out of nowhere. Classic Seattle. I tip my head back in laughter and stray drops pelt my skin.
Halle laughs with me.
“So, Mr. I’m-Not-A-Murderer, what’s the plan now?”
“Uh, still trying to figure that one out.”
The sound of the rain hitting the roof of the gazebo has become white noise and now I barely notice it. I can’t manage to find words during this quiet moment with Halle, so instead, I take her in. She’s got streaks of blue mascara running down her face from the rain, her damp hair is tucked into the popped-up collar of my jacket she’s wearing.
For the show, I had worn my custom denim jacket Halle made for me over one of our basic logo tees but tossed it off to the side of the stage after the first two songs of our set. The next time I looked over to where I knew she was standing right off the stage, I noticed she had slipped it on. Obviously, I see her wear Tryhard merch all the time, but there was something different about seeing her in my jacket tonight. Honestly, I think it looks more right on her than it does on me.
I wanted to put on a great performance for the sold-out Seattle crowd, but from that point on, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Every time our eyes met, it was electric. The feeling that would course through my veins from it was addictive, so I kept looking. Even when she was taking turns watching the other guys, I was watching her. I was taking note of her always changing facial expressions throughout the set, getting a read of how much she was feeling each song we played. Halle loves everything we do though, so I probably should’ve been trying to keep tabs on the people in the front of the crowd instead. But, that’s easier said than done.
“Tour was a lot of fun, but I can’t say that I’m not excited to be back home.” She stares out at the drenched walking path that’s almost out of view from the gazebo. No one besides us is out here tonight—it’s late, and it’s raining.
“I get what you mean. It was a nice taste for what’s to come.” My feet start to move and next thing I know I’m standing right in front of her, reaching to grasp her hands in my own again. “But, there was something about this summer that was hard for me to get on board with.”
Her face drops into that of concern. “Wait, what happened? I thought everything was great.”
“Well, this girl that I may or may not like as more than a friend said she wanted to keep us ‘just friends’ for the summer,” I start before she interrupts.
“Oh my gosh.” Halle rolls her eyes at me.
I hold her hands a little tighter and pull her in closer. “But you know what kept me going this whole summer? Why tonight was the best show of tour? She was backstage tonight and I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off her. I was doing everything I could to impress her, show off a little.”
“Oh, is that so?” Halle smirks up at me.
“Absolutely. Something I couldn’t quite keep off my mind all night, though, was how she said ‘just friends’ for the duration of tour. Now that tour’s over, I’m hoping she’s had a change of heart on the matter.”
“Maybe she has.”
I raise my eyebrows at her and open my mouth to respond, but before I can, she’s talking again.
“Hey, looks like the rain’s letting up. Maybe we should take this opportunity to head back to the car?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
I lead her out of our safe haven and down the steps of the gazebo back onto our made path to the small parking lot. The few drops coming from the sky feel refreshing on my blazing hot skin. Maybe we can continue this conversation in the car before we get back to The Pitch with everyone else.
We step over the threshold from wooded path to parking lot and, in classic Pacific Northwest fashion, there’s another onslaught of rain. I hear Halle laughing behind me, hand still intertwined with my own, and I get an idea.
I let go of her hand and take some quick steps ahead. I get to the middle of the otherwise empty parking lot and turn around and face her.
“May I have this dance?” I reach my hand back out to her.
She tips her head back in more laughter. “Of course, you may.” She takes my hand.
I don’t actually know how to dance—at all. But there’s no one else I’d rather dance like a maniac in the pouring rain with than my Halle girl.
After about a minute of some spins, stepping on each other’s feet, and grinning only the way she makes me, she breaks our wordless exchange. “Why’re you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, just.” She pauses to think. “Just like… No, I don’t know. But that smile looks good on you.” She’s all of a sudden sheepish and tucks her chin in and looks down to our still moving feet.
I bring my hand up to cup her face, to bask in her beauty in the rain. Halle in the moonlight might be my favorite view.
“I’m still thinking about how it’s after tour and we’re still ‘just friends’.”
“I don’t know how much I like being ‘just friends’ with you, Cade,” she says and pulls her hands up around my neck.
I’m worried I’m making this all up, but the drops of rain bring me back and remind me that this is reality.
“Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do about it, Valentine?” I challenge her. I’m pretty sure she knows exactly where my feelings for her lie by now, so as much as it is a challenge, I’m also giving her all the power. I want her to be in control of what happens next.
She starts to lean in. “I think, maybe?—”
I don’t know what I did to deserve a phone call every time something might be transpiring between me and Halle, but it must’ve been something really bad. For some ungodly reason, my ringer’s all the way up and interrupts the moment.
“You’re kidding.” I drop my head dejectedly
She laughs. “Who is it?”
I take my phone out of my pocket and look at the number. I don’t recognize it but I’m feeling brave.
I look at her and sigh before answering.
“Hello?”
“Hi, is this Cade Walsh?”
“Uh, yes. Who’s this?”
“Hi, Cade. This is Justin Hughes from Eager Eyes’ record label. I know it’s late, but I couldn’t wait to talk to you, so I’ll make this quick. We want to set up a meeting with you. With Tryhard.”
Am I dreaming? I’m trying to keep my head calm, but it’s spinning. I find my voice enough to respond through my racing thoughts. “Y-yeah. Of course. Um, what? Sorry, what?”
I hear Justin chuckle on the other end. “We’ve been watching you guys ever since Eager Eyes pitched you to us to be their summer openers. We’re really impressed not only with your music and style, but with your growth over the summer as well. So, with that being said, would you all be free to meet on Monday morning to talk about some things?”
“Absolutely, we’ll be there.” I can’t tell if the thunder I’m hearing is outside or if it’s my heart still hammering in my chest.
“Perfect. We have your information from the tour paperwork, so I’ll be in touch with more details tomorrow. Thanks, Cade.”
“No, thank you, Mr. Hughes. See you on Monday.”
“See you then. You all are something great, make sure you tell the rest of the guys I said that.”
“Absolutely. I will. Thank you again.”
He hangs up and my jaw drops. Are we getting signed to a label?
“What happened? Who was that?” Halle asks and she brings me back to the real world.
“Valentine, I think we’re getting signed.”
“What!” She almost screams and wraps her arms back around my neck.
I pick her up and spin her around. In all the excitement, our mouths find each other and it’s better than I remember. Her lips taste like her signature vanilla lip gloss, a staple since her early high school years, and I’m reminded why it’s my favorite scent. She entwines her fingers through my curls and my hold on her tightens, somehow managing to pull her closer to me.
She pulls away, much too soon for my liking, and gently rests her forehead on mine.
“What do you say we go to the party and tell everyone the news?”
I wiggle my eyebrows at her. “As much as I’m sure everyone would love to know we finally kissed, I’m okay with staying here and maybe practicing it a little more.”
Halle grabs my face and pushes it away in jest as she chuckles at me. “Not that news, you weirdo. The meeting with the label! This is huge, we can’t keep them waiting. They have no idea that this summer just got better.”
“You make a good point.”
“And I’m getting tired of the rain,” she says.
Not gonna lie, I somehow blocked it all out these past minutes and only now have started feeling the pounding drops again. “Another good point, let’s go.”
I set her down and lead her around to the passenger side door and open it for her. Once she’s in, I run around to the driver side.
The drive isn’t long, but it is a little uncomfortable sitting in the puddles of water from our sopping wet clothes from our little outdoor rendezvous.
When we finally get back to The Pitch, Mel greets us at the door. “You’re late.”
Ruby walks up behind her, eyeing us up and down. “And soaked. Maybe go change and come back,” she teases.
“Here, come with me,” Halle says, grabbing onto both Ruby and Mel and pulling them out the door. She turns over her shoulder, looking back at me, then mouths be right back .
Halle winks at me, then Mel turns and winks at me. The only other time I’ve been on the receiving end of so many winks was when I’ve been on stage performing. I don’t know much about how girl brains work, but I do know that I’ve walked past a gaggle of girls before and overheard conversations about boys, so if previous experiences have taught me anything it’s that they might be talking about me. Or maybe it’s just a delusional hope that they’re talking about me.
I snap myself out of my thoughts and am brought back to the unfortunate reality that I’m drenched and dripping and probably stink of the wet outdoors. I surprisingly make my way to my room without anyone stopping and talking to me—but also, who wants to strike up a conversation with someone who looks like they got in the shower with all their clothes on? Honestly, a shower before going back out to the party sounds nice right now, without clothes of course.
I spent a little bit longer than I meant to in the shower, I couldn’t stop thinking through everything I want to say to Halle, and questioning if I should keep pushing tonight. Ever since our unexpected kiss, my mind has been set on one thing—kissing her again. But maybe not in front of everyone tonight, I don’t think she’d like that. So, I have to get her alone again.
I go back out to the party, expecting the girls to be back, but after a few minutes of walking around looking for them, Abbott catches me and says they’re still next door. Yup, definitely talking about me.
“Hey!” I call back to Abbott, bringing him back to our conversation just as he’s walking away from me.
I’m sure Halle would want to be part of the conversation when I tell the rest of the guys about the phone call, but I’m buzzing from excitement and can’t keep it to myself much longer. I gotta tell someone, or everyone, even.
“What’s up?”
“I have news. Big news. Have you seen any of the band? Also do you know where the karaoke machine went? We might need to make an announcement,” I blurt out, racing through my words.
“Whole band is out on the terrace, beware there are lots of girls. LOTS,” he emphasizes. “You go find your boys and I’ll get the machine, I think it’s over at the girls’ place.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I hit him with a quick fist bump. “Oh, and Abbott?”
“What else, Cade?”
“Bring my girl back too.”