Page 30 of Love Song, Take Two

Fletcher was standing there, frown marring his forehead and hands clenched at his sides, until he saw her. Then all of him relaxed. Her heart threatened to explode, tears pricking the back of her eyes.

“I was starting to get worried. Are you okay?” he asked, meeting her halfway. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, but she also knew that a conversation was way more important.

“You know, having a chat with myself.”

“I’m sorry,” Fletcher said to her, eyes dropping to his feet. “I should have told you that in one night not only did you inspire a song, you also changed my life.”

“Fletch…” she whispered, unsure if she wanted him to stop or keep going.

“I still haven’t met a woman that could render me speechless and full of words at the same time. You ruined me and I am so fucking grateful for it.”

Tears slipped down her cheeks and she pressed her lips together as she closed her eyes, processing everything he’d admitted. Her heart hadn’t expected to feel so much all at once and she wanted to scream to rid herself of all these emotions.

“Fuck, Micah, I’m sorry.” His voice was closer than before and she shook her head as she wiped at her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to…shit.”

Opening her eyes, she found herself staring into his distraught face. Lifting a hand, she cupped his cheek, feeling the roughness of his beard against her palm. His eyes flickered to hers and she saw distress in the brown pools.

“You ruined me too,” she whispered and he blew out a breath, leaning forward to rest his forehead against hers.

Fletcher

Sexy rockstar vortex.

It had been years since Fletcher had been recognized in such a public setting, years since he was asked to join a band on stage to perform a song. Years since he’d stared into Micah’s eyes and sang anything at all. He was honored to be singing “Mermaid” while the inspiration behind the song stared up at him. What he didn’t expect was for it to also be slightly unsettling. Especially when he saw the expression on her face change from adoration to shock. He hadn’t lied as much as he’d omitted telling her all of the truth. When they talked about their respective mermaid tattoos, he should have said something. Instead, he climbed onto stage, confessed to her in front of everyone, and sang the damn song.

The band stole his attention when they came in on the chorus, their voices harmonizing with his perfectly, and he lost track of Micah. When he looked out at the crowd again, she was gone. In her place stood a young couple singing the song to each other. As the performance came to an end, the crowd cheered so loud it rattled in Fletcher’s chest. Forcing a smile, he let his eyes do another sweep of the audience before mumbling a thanks into the microphone. He then turned to the band and thanked them for bringing him on. Handing the guitar over, he hopped off stage and peered around hoping that Micah was somewhere close by.

Then she appeared, head down and eyes still a little watery.

“Come on,” he whispered, running a hand down her arm to link their fingers as he pulled back to look at her. Her eyes were fixed on their hands, but as he moved, she followed. She finally released his hand and walked towards a section of the mural they hadn’t explored earlier. The artist had drawn two people facing each other, hair and clothes fluttering in the wind. The only contact between the two people were their hands, the tips of their fingers touching the other. Musical notes and brightly colored flowers were wrapped around them. If there was a piece of art that could describe him and Micah, it was probably that one.

When he came up behind her, Micah let out a shuddering breath and said, “I heard that song everywhere I went for years and never once connected it to me. I was jealous, you know? When I first heard it. That someone else made you feel deeply enough to write a song about them.”

Only Micah would think that she wasn’t worthy of a song, that she wasn’t worthy of the best words the universe had to offer. His hands itched to touch her, to comfort her.

“You left your underwear in my hotel room when you snuck out in the morning.”

“I didn’t sneak out, I had to go home.”

He smiled at her obstinate tone. “I woke up alone in my hotel bed. There was no note, only three things that you left behind,” he told her, waiting until she looked at him. “Your mermaid underwear, a hair-tie and a couple of bracelets.”

Micah’s eyes widened and Fletcher nodded, then watched as her gaze slid down to his arms. “Where are they?”

“Developed an allergy six months in.” He laughed at the memory of how much his wrists itched when he wore the beaded leather bracelets. “The hair-tie ripped pretty much after the third or fourth use.”

“And my underwear?”

“With all my prized possessions.” She made a face and looked up at him. “They were washed and then framed in a glass case.”

“What?”

Fletcher snorted and shook his head. “I did wash them, but didn’t frame them. You can have them back if you want.”

She shook her head and for a long moment, didn’t say anything. Her eyes were fixed on the ground and Fletcher sighed as he watched her. It was a lot. They’d just come back into each other’s lives and now he was laying this on her. It was probably more than she ever imagined she would be subjected to.

“It sucked to leave you alone in that bed when I left,” she admitted softly. “I had an amazing night, you know this. But you were famous and I was a twenty-two year-old college senior who was still trying to figure out where she fit into the world. I couldn’t figure out if I was in love with you or harboring this ginormous crush, so I split.

“I thought about joining your tour the next year, but life got in the way.” Micah sighed heavily, her head tilting to the side. “For a few years, I avoided everything to do with your music. Once I was divorced and Emery was old enough, I raised her on The Rescuers. Told her about the greatest drummer in the world. And now here you are, singing a song you wrote for me in front of strangers after filling me with so much wine and joy.”

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