Misadventures of a College Girl (Misadventures #9)(48)

Chapter Twenty-Nine





“When are you going to tell me where you’re taking me?” I ask excitedly.

“Patience, eager beaver. You’ll see when we get there.”

Tyler and I are having this conversation in Hanalei’s car on a Wednesday evening. Tyler’s driving. I’m giddy. And he’s looking like a million bucks in a blue, tailored suit.

I fidget with the hem of my little red dress. “Aw, come on, dude. Have mercy on me. I’m dying here.”

“Sucks to be you, I guess.”

“Damn.”

This is torture. The only thing Tyler said about tonight’s surprise was that I should wear the sexiest dress in my closet. So, of course, since I don’t own a single sexy dress, I raided Clarissa’s closet. The dress I picked out resembles the one I wore the night Tyler and I met a month ago, actually. But tonight, with my hair wild and my makeup barely there, I don’t feel like I’m disappearing into a costume the way I did that fateful night. To the contrary, tonight, I feel like I’m revealing my most authentic self.

I look out the car window, trying in vain to discern from the passing scenery where Tyler’s taking me. But it’s a pointless endeavor. I don’t know Los Angeles at all. “Just gimme a little hint,” I say in my most persuasive voice.

“Okay, okay. Here’s a little hint.”

I hold my breath.

“You’re going to like it.”

I roll my eyes. “Lame. I’ll like anything, as long as I’m with you. Tell me more than that.”

Tyler laughs. “Nope.”

The song on the radio ends and, by total coincidence, “Crash into Me” begins.

Tyler turns up the radio. “Ah, now that’s the soundtrack of a great memory.”

I open my mouth to agree when my eyes spy a neon-lit theater up the street…with a marquee that boasts, in large black lettering, WICKED!

I shriek at the top of my lungs. “Tyler! Oh, my God, Tyler!” I point up the street toward the theater. “Please tell me that’s where you’re taking me!”

Tyler laughs. “Of course it is, baby. I figured I should see what inspired my eager little beaver on her path to greatness.”

An hour and a half later…

I squeeze Tyler’s hand. We’ve finally reached the moment I’ve been waiting for—the moment toward the end of the first act when Elphaba begins singing “Defying Gravity.” As the first notes of the song begin, I glance at Tyler for the hundredth time since the show began, dying to see his reaction, and the look on his face doesn’t disappoint. He looks precisely the way I feel. Electrified.

Midway through the song, Elphaba’s body begins physically rising off the stage. She’s literally defying gravity up there! Up, up, up Elphaba goes, her voice soaring and rising along with her body. I squeeze Tyler’s hand again, feeling like I’m going to faint from pure joy. Sharing this with Tyler is the most exciting moment of my life.

The actress onstage hits the highest note of the song from her perch in the air, and goose bumps erupt across my skin. I look at Tyler again. His eyes are glistening and wide. His mouth is shaped into a cartoon-like “O.” He looks absolutely bowled over.

A tidal wave of emotion rises up inside me. Joy. Gratitude. Love. I squeeze Tyler’s hand for the millionth time, and he turns his head and beams at me. His eyes are sparkling. His face is flushed. He kisses the top of my hand. And, suddenly, I can’t stuff down my emotions any longer. I let my tears flow.





Chapter Thirty





Tyler parks Hanalei’s car on a remote overlook in the Hollywood Hills where we can take in the glittering lights of the City of Angels yawning before us. By chance, the song on the car radio is “Alive” by P.O.D.

“The perfect song for this perfect moment,” Tyler says softly.

And that’s all the conversation we’re going to have, apparently. In a flash, we mutually attack each other like animals. Two minutes later, we’re in the back seat, making love furiously.

“You sing that song way better than her,” Tyler whispers into my ear as his body thrusts in and out of mine.

It’s the same comment he made the second after Elphaba had finished singing “Defying Gravity” tonight. And the same thing he said again after the lights came up in the theater. And the same thing he said a third time when we’d first settled into Hanalei’s car in the theater parking lot.

And every single time, it’s been a ridiculous thing to say. Elphaba was flawless perfection on that stage tonight. Every bit as good as the one I saw on Broadway as a child. But I don’t contradict Tyler this time the way I’ve done earlier tonight. His words are turning me on too much to do anything but sigh and revel in the enthralling sound of his voice. Indeed, each sexy word of praise and adulation he whispers into my ear in this moment is drawing me closer and closer to a delicious climax. And, God knows, I wouldn’t dream of doing anything to derail that.

“Tyler,” I whisper, on the bitter edge of release. “Tonight was amazing.”

“You’re destined for greatness, baby,” he whispers, his voice strained, his body moving magically on top of me. “The sky’s the limit for you, sweetheart.”