“Noted.” I shake her hand and let a smile sneak out. “Thank you.”

She smiles back. “No, thank you.”

“Time to celebrate!”

Paul leaps in front of us and we both jump. I smash my shoulder against the side of my bunk. “Don’t scare us like that!”

“Gotcha.” He winks.

Drew appears behind him with Dean. He grabs onto the bottom of Roxanne’s bunk and hangs there. “We were eavesdropping.”

My pulse races from the scare. “Are you bored?”

“A little.”

Dean points his phone at me. “Jen Elliott!  You’ve just been offered a new career!  What are you going to do next?”

“Is this where I say I’m going to Disney World?” I hold up my hand to block the camera. “Are you recording this?”

“Damn straight I am.”

“Stop!  I look like crap. There are enough bad pictures circulating of me as it is.”

“Hey. You might want to watch this one day,” Dean jokes.

Roxanne appears from the back of the bus. “I’ll get some drinks. What does everyone want?”

My eyes get wide. “You were listening, too?”

“It’s kinda hard to avoid in this space,” she says. “Besides, I finished the book I was reading. You want the regular?”

We nod and the guys follow her toward the front of the bus.

“So,” Ariel pushes on my knees, “I think you should call Gunnar and tell him. It will give you something to talk about.”

I shoot her a skeptical look. “Are you sure you didn’t do this to be nice?”

“No, but it’s a conversation starter, don’t you think?”

“I think you’re trying to play matchmaker.” I find my phone. I won’t text Latson, but I will send a message to Pete and Jules.

Dean reappears and hands Ariel a ginger ale. I get my Angry Orchard. My phone sounds with an alert and I look down. No way Little J. Congratulations!  It’s my brother.

Ariel’s eyebrows jump. “What did he say?”

“My brother says congrats.”

“You didn’t tell Gunnar?”

“No.”

She groans. “Why?”

“Because.” How can I explain this?  “Contacting him is all I have. If I call him now and he doesn’t respond, it will kill me.” I meet her eyes. “It will be confirmation, you know?  If I put it off, it seems …”  I shrug. “It seems like I still have something to hold on to. Like I haven’t burned my last bridge.”

Ariel’s expression falls. “I get it,” she says. “It’s your last card to play.”

I nod. This fight, this break up, whatever it is, it’s different. I’ve left guys before and they’ve left me. It wasn’t fun, but it didn’t hurt this much. I never felt like a part of me was missing. Losing Latson … I feel like there’s a huge hole in my chest. If I let myself think about him too much, it’s hard to breathe.

“If you could tell him anything what would it be?” Ariel looks genuinely interested. “I need to know for when I find the love of my life.”

The hole in my chest aches. If Latson is the love of my life I would hope we’d have a happier ending than a fight over a mistake and a misunderstanding. Since my apology didn’t work, the only thing left to share is how I feel.

“I would tell him I love him,” I say quietly. “It’s the only thing I never got to say.”

~~~~

“Come on, guys. I want a picture.”

Rox, Dean, Paul, and Drew all gather around as I try to fit us in the frame. I’ve never been good at selfies; I don’t think my arms are long enough.

“Let me do it,” Paul says. “I’m taller.” He takes my phone from me, and we all pose for a few fun shots. I’ve been taking a lot of pictures over the last week – my last week on tour. I’m going to miss these guys something fierce. I can’t believe it’s all ending tonight. After Ariel’s encore, everyone in this room will go their separate ways.

“Send me some of those,” Roxanne says. “I’ll put them on Dean’s website.”

“Will do.” I nod and start typing.

“So,” Dean approaches me, “you using the Fender tonight?”

I look up at him and frown. “No. Why?”

“I don’t know.” He leans against my vanity table. “We’re in your home state, your parents are here, and it’s your last show.”

I narrow my eyes. “Do you want me to use it?”

“Would you if I said yes?”

Why does he care?  He hasn’t over the past few weeks. “I guess so,” I answer. The whole Latson thing is still a sore spot for me. I was planning to send the guitar back to him when I got home and settled.

“Good.” Dean’s eyes light up. “I thought you’d agree, so it’s already backstage.”

“What’s going on?” Yes, I’m suspicious.

“You want to impress your family, right?  Plus, it’s the last show. I like the sound better.”

“Now you tell me?” I make a face.

He smiles as Roxanne gets our attention. “All right, lady and gentlemen. Let’s head to our final meet and greet.”

The five of us file out of the room and down the halls of the Palace of Auburn Hills. I’ve been to countless concerts in this arena throughout my life; it’s only thirty minutes away from my home. Never once did I think I’d be playing on stage here, though. The farther I walk, the more mixed my feelings become. Excitement, intimidation, a little bit of sadness … they’re all there.

When we enter the room to meet the fans, I spot my family right way. My parents faces light up when they see me; they wave and I wave back. My eyes find my brothers Adam, Josh, and Pete, then Jules ... then Carter, Felix, and Gwen. Holy shit. I wasn’t expecting them. Adrenaline surges through me and my heart dares to hope a certain someone else is here, too. My eyes search the room, but they don’t find him. I hide my disappointment. Did I really think he’d show up?

No. Not until I saw everyone else.

Roxanne and the Palace staff start to let people through to meet us like usual. Attendance has picked up during the tour like Rox had hoped; there have been at least a hundred fans, if not more, at the last several meet and greets. Mid-way through the signing, my parents make it to me.

“Baby girl.” My dad looks at me out of the corner of his eye before opening his arms for a hug. I gladly sink into them. It’s been months since I’ve been on the receiving end of a Dad Hug.

“Hey, Dad,” I say against his shoulder before he steps back and holds me at arm’s length. He looks me over, and I do the same to him. What the hell?  “Who dressed you?” I ask.

He chuckles. “Jules got ahold of me.” He looks down. “You don’t like my jeans?”

“They have holes in them.” They’re distressed and ripped, very hip for a fifty-five year old English instructor. He’s also wearing a vintage, little-too-tight Moody Blues tee.

“Let’s get one with my girl!”

My mom’s hand slides around my shoulders as she pulls me into a picture with her and Drew. She pops one knee and winks as Jules takes the picture, a total confident fan-girl pose. I look at my dad. “What did you feed her?”

“I’m just excited,” she gushes and leaves Drew to hug me. “I’m so proud of you!  This is so big time.”

I smile. “It kinda is, isn’t it?” She kisses my temple and leans away. It’s then I notice she’s dressed the same as my dad. “What’s with the Moody Blues?”

“It’s the first concert I went to with your father. We still had the t-shirts!”

“Let me get a picture of all three of you and then one with the boys.” Jules starts ordering us around. My parents stand on either side of me and wrap their arms behind my waist. Jules raises her camera and says, “Say pickles!”

“What?” My mouth falls open just as she takes the picture. “Ugh. Take another one.”

She takes a few shots, and then I pose with my brothers. “’Sup.” Josh jerks his chin, trying to look like a badass. It doesn’t work; he’s a much more boyish version of Pete.

“I’ll take that as a hello,” I say.

“Way to go, Little J!”  Adam tries to give me a noogie, but I jump out of the way.