Page 26 of Princess and Country

Three days later

Carter strummed his guitar, singing the last verse of his new song. Shivers ran through me. “I love it,” I said. “You wrote this in one night? You know you’re amazing, right?” Carter’s smile widened. Pride radiated from him.

He shrugged. “Inspiration has been pouring out these last few weeks. I just can’t stop writing. The other night I woke up five times to take notes because I was afraid I’d forget my ideas by the morning.”

“I’m glad we’re having a forty-five-minute time slot to play at Green Mountain Country Fest this year. Thirty minutes would’ve never been enough. We have too many good songs to choose from.” I sat beside my best friend and squeezed his hand. “One more thing I want to run by you.” Carter angled his upper body until he faced me. “I want to change our band’s name.”

His eyes flared. His lips pursed.

“Wait. Listen to me. We need something that sounds serious. And grown-up. No more Ellis and Hills Band. We’re not little kids anymore.”

I stood and grabbed a box I’d hid behind the ugly brown couch in Carter’s garage.

“What is it?”

“It’s a surprise. You’ve poured your heart and soul into writing new music all summer, and I’ve barely seen you. It’s my way to thank you.”

Something passed in the depths of my best friend’s eyes. He blinked and chased it away.

“Here,” I said as I threw him a black T-shirt.

Carter unfolded it, his eyes never leaving mine. “Carter Hills Band,” he said with a tipped eyebrow.

“Yeah, that’s our new band name. It’s perfect.”

“I loved Ellis and Hills Band. Are you sure?”

I nodded, knowing he’d say that. “You are the essence of Ellis and Hills, so it’s right we switch to Carter Hills Band. We wouldn’t be a band if it weren’t for you.” I fished a few items from the box. “I got T-shirts, caps, and hoodies. All kinds of merch with our new band name and logo. There you go,” I said, handing him the samples.

“Dah, it’s too much. It must have cost you a fortune.”

I grinned. “No. Daddy got me a deal from a friend of his, and Maurice pitched in as our new sponsor. He loved the idea. He says our logo will look nice in the window display of the restaurant.”

Carter stared at me with a slack jaw. I slapped him square in the chest. “Shut your mouth, Cart. You’ll catch flies.” I winked, and he unfroze.

“It’s big, Dah. You sure about this?”

“Oh yes. Never been so sure in my life.”

* * *

Later, in my room, I was painting my nails a sparkling shade of pink when Addison stopped by, her long sleek ponytail bouncing down her back.

We hadn’t seen each other in months.

“Hey, girl,” she said as she perched herself on the edge of my bed, “how was your summer?” It was the last vacation day before being sophomores.

“I didn’t know you were coming over. When did you get back?” I put the nail polish away.

My girlfriend dug her phone from her back pocket to look at the time. “About an hour ago.”

I rose to my knees, my attention fully on her.

“I can’t believe you’re here. How was Paris? I wanna know everything.” Addi spent the summer in France in some sort of exchange program to learn French.

“C’était merveilleux. J’ai eu beaucoup de plaisir, mademoiselle.”She giggled, and I joined in.

“I can tell your French is good because I have no idea what you just said.”