Page 28 of Princess and Country

“No. Just need my best friend right now.”

Dressed in black sweatpants and a heather gray T-shirt, Carter slid under the covers on the left side of the bed. His hand found mine, and we intertwined our fingers. His head pressed against mine. My heart flipped in my chest as I fell asleep listening to his breathing.

* * *

I looked at the time on my phone for the tenth time in as many minutes. Where was he? He promised he’d be here. Did he have an accident? Did he forget? No. Impossible. We talked last night, and he told me he had already packed his stuff. I paced the parking lot, my fists on my hips, scanning my surroundings, in case he was here, and I just missed him pulling in. The sun was high and warm for mid-October. The leaves had started turning all shades of orange—Mama always said my hair reminded her of the fall foliage—but the morning air wasn’t too crisp yet. Carter and I arrived early because we wanted to immerse ourselves in the vibe of the festival. My parents drove us and left, wanting to spend the day in Green Mountain before coming back to watch us play later. It was one of Carter’s rituals before every show. He loved to imprint the crowd’s energy on himself. It rubbed off on me, and now I loved doing it too.

A powder-blue van parked next to me, and the back door slid open to reveal four people exiting from it. In rumpled, bed hair, and red-rimmed eyes, they looked like they hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in a while. Or even a shower. One guy with longish, disheveled blond hair smiled at me, a twinkle in his piercing-blue eyes. I ignored him, balancing on the balls of my feet and hiding my balled hands in my jacket pockets.

“Hey,” he said as he halted before me.

I offered him a tight-lipped smile, not willing to start a conversation with a stranger.

He inched closer. I sucked in a breath. Why wouldn’t he leave me alone? He studied me for a few seconds, his shoulders slouched forward, a guitar case in one hand. He needed a haircut. And a change of clothes. I looked away, hating how he stared at me.

“Are you here by yourself? Do you need help with something?”

I blew out a breath and rolled my eyes. I forced a curl on my lips and straightened my back. “No. I’m fine,” I said in a sharp tone.

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I’m waiting for someone. My boyfriend actually.”

It didn’t seem to faze him.

“You’re playing here today?”

Why didn’t he get the message I wanted nothing to do with him?

“Yep. Later tonight.”

“Tonight? Wow, you must be good if you scored a night performance.” I shrugged, averting my gaze.

A girl with dark skin and brown hair tied in cornrows called after him.

The guy offered me a lopsided grin. “Guess I need to go. Maybe we’ll see each other over there,” he said, pointing to one of the stages with his thumb.

“Who knows.”

“I’ll go now. Bye,” he said with a wave. He hung a pass matching mine around his neck and followed his friends toward the musicians’ entrance.

Weird.

I brought my attention back to the parking lot. In the last five minutes, it had filled up. Now, would I be able to spot Jeff’s truck amongst all the others? I doubted it. Pickup trucks all looked the same to me. I sighed. Carter would wonder where I was.

Two men, one with a cowboy hat and a black mustache and the other with a black leather jacket and chaps, parked their motorcycles a few feet from me. I cringed at the sound of their engines.

The younger one wolf-whistled as he gave me a slow and painful once-over. Pig. I folded my arms over my chest, ignoring their snarky comments as they walked past me. Shivers ran through me. Once they were out of sight, I watched a young couple holding hands. They must have been about my age. Sixteen or so. They looked to be in love and shared stupid grins, drinking each other in. I couldn’t wait for my own boyfriend to arrive.

One more glance at the time. Jeff was over twenty minutes late. Maybe I should call him. Would I sound desperate? I refused to become a clingy girlfriend. My insides clenched. I hadn’t seen Jeff in over a month. Would he—

“Princess—” I pivoted on my heels as soon as I heard my name, forgetting my train of silly thoughts. I could recognize his voice amongst a thousand others. My breath quivered, and I almost tripped on my own feet in my hurry to meet him. I ran into his arms, my heart about to explode. “I’ve missed you.” Jeff spun me around, his lips crashing on mine.

“I thought you wouldn’t make it.”

Jeff’s squeeze tightened around me.

“I’d never miss a show, Dah. You’re the most important person in my life.”