A Summer to Remember(67)
We continued to chat about the group and other little snippets of gossip before both our tattoos were finished, bandaged and covered. I laid on Talia’s sofa after Nil and Loire had left, nursing a hefty glass of Jack Daniels, sans ice, and told my best friend all about my run in with the Palmetto bug.
She laughed so hard, I thought she was going to piss her pants. “I could totally see you screaming like a little girl when it landed on your shoulder too.”
“It isn’t funny, Tal. You should have seen the size of that thing and first it hit me in the face. I didn’t know what the hell it was at first. I’m still traumatized…it made me forget all about my little fight with Paul.”
“Speaking of that situation, what are you going to do? You know how I feel. Don’t let that gossipy bitch in the Miami Times ruin your vacation. She doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about. What went on between Kendall and Paul is no one’s business and I’m here to tell you he would be lost without you.”
Before I could reply, there was a knock at the suite door and Talia got up and walked over to answer it. From her hushed tones, I knew she was either talking to Seth or Paul but I had a feeling I knew who it was. I downed the rest of my JD and felt a slow burn as it settled into my still-empty stomach. I’d never been a whiskey girl before but I could understand why so many people liked it.
My mind failed to process what we’d been through earlier and I was ready and waiting to literally wrap my arms around him and let him know how much I loved him. I wanted him to know I acted immature earlier and in the end, we would be all right. We had to be if I wanted to save my relationship.
Talia walked into the sitting room, trailed by Paul. He had a bouquet of red, white and pink roses in a gorgeous crystal vase and my eyes started to tear up from the sight of it.
I got up and embraced him, careful not to knock the vase over. “They’re beautiful and I am so sorry I hurt you so badly today. I know it’s easy to say the words but you mean everything to me. Can we just enjoy this awesome pre-concert gig and then get lost tonight in one another’s arms?”
He pulled away and looked at me with those gorgeous crystal blue eyes of his. “It would be my pleasure.”
When his lips met mine and we sealed our deal with a kiss, my insides melted and I knew this man had the ability to shatter me if he wanted to but he’d already made me feel unbroken. The pain was gone and there was only him and I. I wouldn’t leave him because it was the equivalent of cutting off one half of my body.
We were in this for the long haul and I could finally admit I would be willing to be there for Paul through thick and thin.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Although I considered myself a lover of all kinds of music, rock and roll wasn’t necessarily my favorite, especially hard rock. There were only a few groups I’d fallen in love with and they happened to be Deftones, Scarlet Fever and yes, Winter’s Regret. They had a great sound and with Talia on keyboards and singing back up, she added depth to their music that had not existed before.
Paul and I had great seats along with Jude, Savannah, Autumn and Brandon. They truly did bring the house down with their rock anthems and distinctively beautiful love songs. I loved the group even more because Seth wasn’t a “screamer” like Chester Bennington. He usually built up with his low baritone voice that made all the groupies swoon and when he did bellow out a lyric at full capacity, it was hauntingly beautiful.
I could truly understand why Talia was in love with him and why she was loathe to let him go though she and Kris, the guitarist, had great on stage chemistry too. I truly hoped their friendship wouldn’t cause problems but from some of the troubling looks he tossed Talia’s way when he was midway into a slow song of any kind, the worst was in front of them, not behind them.
Before I had the chance to contemplate my best friend’s complicated love life, Scarlet Fever came on stage after a hasty exit from Winter’s Regret and when that slow, passionate growl emulated from Kasper “Kaz” Gillian’s vocal chords, I was immediately in heaven.
They opened their set with a new song from their recently released fifth album, Love & Hate, titled “Love to Hate You” and it was one of my favorites. The lyrics were so hauntingly beautiful and between Jaden’s electric guitar work, Grant’s bass playing and Will on the drums, I was in concert heaven. There was nothing better than seeing a band who not only released great albums but were awesome in concert as well.