Abby and the Cute One (Backstage Pass) (15 page)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Abby

A
bby sang “You Learn” by Alanis Morissette for her encore that night. Maybe Nathan would figure out—too little too late—that all her encore songs had reflected what he’d made her feel throughout the tour.

She’d just finished watching Nathan’s interview on
Ellen
for the tenth time in a row back on her tour bus after the show. Stupid internet and how quickly all the information got out there. Her heart broke a second time when she watched Nathan say how happy he was spending time with Marissa. As if Abby never existed. As if
they
never existed.

Her phone rang next to her—about time Reeta called her back. She’d left like five messages.

“What’s so urgent?” A keyboard clicked in the background.

Abby took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “I want to quit Seconds to Juliet’s tour.”

Silence. It was possible Reeta had a stroke. Finally, she laughed. “Oh, I get it. This is you making a joke. Ha. Ha. Good one, Abby.”

Abby rolled her eyes. “I’m serious. I want off this tour.”

“Why? People love you. Your YouTube views are up one hundred percent. The label is taking notice. They’ve got song writers calling them saying they want to write for you. For
you
, Abby.”

She didn’t bother reminding Reeta she wanted to write her own stuff. That was an argument for another time. “If I’m that good, they’ll still want me after I quit the tour.”

“Please stop saying that word. You’re giving me a heart attack.” She paused again, then spoke, her voice much softer and quieter. “Please don’t do this for a boy.”

“He’s not just any boy.”

The phone buzzed for a moment and Reeta lowered her voice. “Fine. He’s not just any boy, but this isn’t just any tour. When I first spoke to you on the phone about trying out for Seconds to Juliet’s tour, you were ecstatic. Was that about Nathan Strong?”

Abby clenched her teeth. “No.”

“I don’t want to sound harsh, but take him out of the equation. If nothing had ever happened with him, what would you be doing right now?”

Tears sprang to Abby’s eyes. “Rehearsing. Thinking about my set. Thinking about how lucky I am.”

“You’re not lucky, Abby. You’re unbelievably talented. You deserve every second of this, so when I say ‘don’t throw it away for a boy,’ I’m not trying to diminish what you’re feeling, I’m just trying to get you to see the other side. You got here on your own. You can finish it on your own.”

Abby sniffled and wiped at her watery eyes. Reeta made sense. She could handle this. See Nathan talking about Marissa, actually see him with Marissa. She’d been able to handle it so far, and it hadn’t broke her.

“You should write about it,” Reeta said. “The writers contacting me say you’ve got good stuff. They want to write
with
you, Abby, not for you.”

She swallowed, forcing the lump barreling its way through her throat down. “Really?”

“Absolutely.”

After hanging up, Abby sat down and grabbed a piece of paper. Her mind raced as emotion swirled in her chest and she put pen to paper.

Dear Nathan,

Confession time. I’ve always thought about writing you a fan letter. Now seems like an odd time to finally do it because I’m not just a fan of Nathan Strong from Seconds to Juliet, I’m your fan. The real you.

I know it’s like our dreams are at odds with our relationship and I’m not going to pretend I know why, but I do know that it’s only that way for now.

You’re Nathan Strong—not just Seconds to Juliet’s Nathan Strong and not just the boy I’m falling in love with—you’re both. You shouldn’t ever have to be two different people for anyone. Even me.

But if you just want to be Seconds to Juliet’s Nathan Strong right now and there isn’t room for me there, then I’ll let you go.

I guess that’s the greatest gift I can give you.

Just remember you can be whoever you want to be, Nathan. You taught me that.

Love,

Abby

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Nathan

N
athan strode down a back hallway of some stadium he couldn’t remember in some state he was unfamiliar with when two hands jutted out from an open doorway and yanked him into a dark room. Nathan yelped—the door shut behind him, lights flickered on, and Miles, Trevin, Will, and Ryder stood in front of him.

Nathan adjusted the collar of his leather jacket, his heart still racing. “What the hell, guys?”

Trevin motioned toward an empty seat. “Sit.”

“What—?”

Ryder kicked the chair toward him. “Just do it.”

Nathan sat, his leg bouncing. What were they doing? This almost felt like one of those intervention shows.

“What’s going on with you, mate?” Miles crossed his arms over his chest. “You’ve been a bloody menace to everybody. No one can say two words to you without you biting their head off. You’re late for writing sessions, you’re barely on time for sound check. The only time you are actually nice is when you’re in front of a camera.”

Nathan shrugged. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing is wrong with me.”

Will shook his head. “Nice try. A source tells us you’ve been having private meetings with Bossman. Why? What do we need to know?”

A “source”—yeah, right. Dammit, Beau. So much for privacy. “Just about the band, that’s all.”

“Listen,” Ryder said. “Enough with the bullshitting. We all have eyes. We know you and Abby were hooking up, and now she doesn’t come out of her bus unless she has to.” Ryder looked at him meaningfully—he still hadn’t spilled what he saw, but he didn’t need to.

“Yeah,” Will said. “She won’t even talk to me, and everyone likes me.”

Nathan sighed. “Maybe she’s having girl problems. I don’t know.”

He thought the excuse might work. Girl problems always made guys squirm, but his bandmates trudged on.

“I saw her leave the room you went into the other day,” Miles said. “I know what that looked like—I’ve been there. So, you had something and now it’s off. What can we do?”

Nathan sighed. There was no point in denying it. Ryder would come clean about what he saw anyway, and since Miles had seen Abby crying, there was no secret left to hold onto. “There’s nothing any of you can do.”

“You did something that bad, then?” Trevin asked.

“Let’s just say I’m asshole number one on her list.”

Will grimaced and Ryder stood. “I helped Miles get Aimee back. I’m sure I can swing something.”

Ryder reached for his phone, but Nathan grabbed his arm. “I can’t get her back. It’s not an option.”

They all stared at him.

“Besides the fact that you guys are forgetting we’re not allowed to date other talent, thanks to you, Miles, I’m also not allowed to date anyone. Those meetings were about saving the band. If Abby and I are together, I can’t do that, and they’ll fire her for two reasons.”

Trevin arched an eyebrow. “Save the band? Fire Abby? What are you talking about?”

“Social media interest is down.”

“And let me guess—the suits say it’s because we all have girlfriends?” Ryder asked.

Nathan nodded.

“That’s bullshit,” Ryder said. “And you’re naïve enough to fall for it just like that stupid rule of LJ’s. He can’t tell any one of us who to date.”

Miles and Trevin nodded. “Since when do we let people tell us what to do, mates? They worried about Aimee at first, too, but everyone fell in love with her. We sure as hell aren’t living our lives for the band. We have to have some sort of say in what goes on.”

Trevin tapped his finger against his chin. “We’ll just put our feet down. If Nathan can’t have Abby, we quit.”

Nathan’s eyes widened. “Whoa. Wait, wait, wait. So we quit and don’t have jobs and Abby gets fired? Where do any of us win in that situation?”

Ryder shrugged, “We fired Cherry together, didn’t we? That was a long time coming, too. We can do this.”

Nathan’s future flashed in front of his eyes, and it looked bleak. No band. No best friends. Just him and his sister and their worn out mother. And worst of all, Abby fired. Her career destroyed before it had a chance. Sure, he might have Abby for himself, but wouldn’t she resent him for ruining their shared dream?

“Wait,” he said. “I’m not letting you guys do this. It’s my problem. I’m handling it.”

“It’s not just your problem. It’s all of ours if they think they can mess with our personal lives. What’s next? We’re not allowed to drink?”

“You’re not supposed to be drinking anyway,” Will reminded Ryder. He made a face back at him.

“I agree,” Trevin said. “We can’t let this go.”

They all nodded in unison, but Nathan couldn’t hold it in any longer. He jumped to his feet, knocking over the chair.

“Don’t you guys get it? This will destroy everything. My career. The whole band’s career. And Abby’s.”

Ryder frowned. “You can’t be serious, little brother.”

He shook his head. They must’ve all been thinking it; he was just being realistic.

Miles ran his hand through his hair. “Besides the fact that the label will never let us break up because at this point they need us more than we need them, you’d be fine if something happened. You have the best voice out of all of us.”

“Let’s not get too crazy,” Ryder said.

“Oh, shut up,” Miles said. “It’s true. The way you can hit and hold notes? I wish I could do that.”

“And you’re a damn good writer, too,” Trevin said. “You can pinpoint an emotion better than any of us.”

Ryder groaned. “Jesus. Are we all going to have confidence booster sessions, or is this the only one I have to choke through?”

“You’re such a dick,” Nathan said, staring down Ryder.

Everyone burst out laughing, including Ryder. “I know.” He sat back on the couch and crossed his legs.

“So we’re fine,” Nathan said. “But what about Abby?”

Miles laughed. “You think he’ll have a chance in firing Abby if we push back? It’s his ass on the line if he wants to fire her. Not ours.” He smiled. “We’re the ones holding all the cards, Nathan. It’s just taken us a long time to realize it.”

Nathan stood there, stunned. They’d all been living under LJ’s iron will for so long that, yeah, they hadn’t realized they didn’t have to answer to him anymore. If he wanted to fire Abby, he’d have to go through them.

Ryder said, “Bottom line is, Miles is right. Lester Lou needs us more than we need him. If he pushes us, we fire his ass. What’s the label going to do to back him up? We’ll just get a different manager. It wouldn’t mean we’d have to break up and go our separate ways.”

Nathan frowned. “I thought you hated the band and would want out.”

Ryder shrugged. “If you think I’m going to go all snuggly bunny on you guys, you can suck it. It’s never happening. But there’s no way I’m quitting the band.”

Trevin picked up a tissue box off the table and threw it at Ryder. “So, we’re all agreed, then? If Nathan can’t have Abby, LJ doesn’t get us. Since he won’t have us, he won’t have the power to fire Abby anyway.”

This was ridiculously stupid, but at least Nathan was part of the team again. They had his back and maybe, just maybe, with the five of them in it together, they could make a change.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Abby

A
bby woke up, went to sound check, did interviews when she had one, then sang her opening bit and went back to the bus.

She didn’t stay to watch Seconds to Juliet perform anymore. It was one thing when she and Nathan were secretly together. But now? Watching him wink at girls in the audience turned her stomach.

But today she wouldn’t be able to ignore Nathan. They were all about to be on
Good Morning America
’s Summer Concert Series, and his face was everywhere on all the little TV screens. Abby’s song wouldn’t be televised, but it was still her job to amp up the crowd for S2J. She’d sing while they did the interview, and then she’d be in the back while they rocked Central Park.

Backstage, the murmur of the crowd grew with anticipation. Abby bounced on her toes and glanced at the TV monitor attached to the cameraman’s camera. The stage manager, standing beside the cameraman, watched S2J sit on high stools on-screen, green foliage surrounding them. The stage manager would give her the cue to go out when it was time.

On-screen, Nathan at least appeared normal again—no more chest-revealing shirts and ultra-tight pants. Thank goodness his way premature midlife crisis was over. Not that she cared.

She drew closer to the monitor as the female news anchor asked Nathan if he had a special someone. Abby’s stomach sank. God, would they ever stop asking him that? How many times did she have to get her heart trampled?

The camera zoomed in closer and he gazed straight into the lens. “As a matter of fact, there is. I was hoping maybe everyone would like to help me out.” He peered down and the camera followed the angle to his hands and then panned back up. “You see, I’ve been a tremendous jerk.” The feed cut to a different camera where a bunch of girls stood with S2J signs. They all went “aww.”

Nathan’s small smile lit up the entire screen. “I know, I know. No one’s perfect. But I want to tell this girl how sorry I am and how I feel about her. Do you guys think that’d be okay?”

Abby’s breath caught in her throat. What did that mean? Could she be the girl? Was Nathan really apologizing, or was this another publicity stunt?

The news anchor salivated, probably calculating the amount of hits this clip would get.

Trevin clapped Nathan on the back. “But he’s not doing it right now. We’ve got a special surprise when we’re up onstage, so stay tuned everyone. You won’t want to miss it.”

What surprise did they have onstage? What was going on? Abby’s heart thrummed as Nathan’s words swirled in her mind.
I want to tell this girl how sorry I am and how I feel about her…

The cameraman turned around and pointed at Abby, and the stage manager pushed her toward the stage. “Go.”

Oh, right. She was on.

Abby ran out on stage. The crowd cheered over the opening chords to the new single the label had approved just this morning. “How ya doin’, New York? Come on, clap your hands like this.”

The crowd clapped along with her. Energy crackled in the air and when Abby sang, the crowd sang with her. It had happened a few times on the tour but never like this. Reeta had said they’d started playing the single on the radio, but Abby hadn’t heard it yet, so she almost didn’t believe it.

One of the station’s cameras popped up in Abby’s face, and she sang into it. She even wiggled her hips some, which was a new move for her. A little girl held up a sign mid-song—
We luv u Abby.

Oh my god. Her own sign. She wanted to jump off the stage and hug this girl. Sing first, she reminded herself, then tackle-hug the little girl.

The song wound down and Abby bowed. “Thank you very much. Keep those hands going, because Seconds to Juliet is coming right up.”

Abby ran across the stage and down the steps to find the cute little girl. Her eyes widened and her big sister jumped up and down next to her. “Oh my god, we love your new song.”

“Thank you.” Abby hugged them both.

The little girl held out a marker. “Will you sign my sign?”

Abby’s lip trembled, and she beamed. “Of course I will.”

The heat behind her eyes was about to turn into a full on waterfall. She signed the poster, gave them each a quick hug, and then bolted out of there. Backstage, she found a wall to lean on and calmed her beating heart.

That was so amazing. She’d never felt anything like it. They knew her song. They were singing it back to her. If she were alone, she’d be bouncing up and down right now.

Seconds to Juliet’s intro music blared from the speakers, which brought her back to reality. She peeked around the curtain. The guys spoke with the same anchor lady until she introduced them and then left them standing on the stage.

The band played opening notes, but Abby didn’t recognize them, and she prided herself on knowing every single one of S2J’s songs and lyrics. Then, Will walked toward her and waved her out. She stepped back, but he grabbed her hand and gently pulled her with him.

The guys were standing around an empty stool. Will led her to it, and she sat.

The crowd roared. She told herself not to look at Nathan, but who was she kidding? Who else was she going to look at?

He leaned over. “I’m sorry. I’m the biggest ass I know. I’ve just explained to the whole world how I’ve let business people run my life, Marissa was never my girlfriend, and we’ve fired LJ, but none of that matters right now. If you let me, I’ll make it all up to you.”

He pulled away just in time to launch into some lyrics. She could hardly think over the noise. He told the world about his fake relationship? They fired LJ?

Holy crap.

The guys backed Nathan up as he walked back and forth around Abby, then he grabbed her hand. It was all so surreal. The lyrics were an apology. Nathan Strong was serenading her, onstage, in Central Park. Her.

During the guitar break, Nathan went to the front of the stage. “Are you all going to help me win this girl over, or what?”

They cheered.

He ran to the left side of the stage and yelled, “I want this side to say, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’” He sang it for them once, his hand waving from side to side, and they mimed it back to him. He ran over to the right side of the stage and said, “I want this side to say, ‘I’ll never be a fool again.’ Like this, sing it.” He sang it on cue with the music and the crowd repeated it back.

For the next few minutes, Nathan ran back and forth across the stage and had the entire audience apologizing to Abby. Tears stung her eyes. She hoped to God she didn’t start bawling onstage—talk about embarrassing.

A hand squeezed her shoulder and Trevin smiled down at her. “We stayed up all night writing this song. If you don’t at least appreciate it, I’m siccing Daisy on you.”

Abby nodded, her vision blurring with tears. All the guys stayed up to write this song with him? That meant they were behind them. They didn’t care if he dated her—better yet, they
wanted
him to date her.

Nathan ran back to Abby, scooped up her hand, and launched into the chorus again. A long, lingering note jumped, dived, and danced all the way to Abby’s heart. It was the best note she’d ever heard.

At the end, Nathan took her hand and led her off stage while the rest of the guys sang “The One.”

His eyes twinkled as sweat dotted his brow. “Do you still hate me?”

She shook her head. She doubted she ever could hate him.

“So you still like me?”

Abby shook her head again and he frowned. She quickly smiled, and the grin reappeared on his face. “Well, speak then. I’m not a mind reader.”

She wiped her eyes. “I more than like you.”

His smile grew. “I more than like you, too. I’m sorry—”

“Yeah, I got that part,” she said.

He fidgeted next to her. “I shouldn’t have let LJ run my life. He can’t do that anymore, and no one else will, either. Trust me.”

Stupid tears trickled down her cheeks. “You chose me.”

“I chose you. And I’ll continue to choose you if you let me.”

She threw her arms around him and crushed her lips to his. He kissed her back then pulled away quickly, his eyes wide.

Panicked, he looked back at the stage. “Will’s trying to sing my solo.”

Abby peeked around him. The guys were shooting Nathan daggers.

He waved and kissed Abby on the cheek. “I’m supposed to go back out there after I got you to forgive me.”

“I guess you better go, then.”

He winked and held her hand until the last possible second.

Abby laid her hand over her chest. Her heart might pop right out of her skin at any moment. She’d never imagined it would be like this to date an S2J member, not even in her wildest dreams.

It was so much more.