Page 41 of Chronicles of a Rockin' Mess

“Hey, how’s the tour?” she asks.

“Good, we go on in about two hours, and then we have one more solo concert and the festival before we head back home,” I say.

“Cool. How’s Lark?”

I sigh and run a hand through my hair as I lean against the wall. Fuck it, maybe Celia will have insight for me on my drunken mishap. “I kissed her,” I mutter.

“I’m sorry, what?” she asks.

“I kissed her,” I whisper-yell into the phone.

“Shit,” she says.

“Yeah, and we were both a little tipsy,” I add.

“And…,” she prods.

“And she ran off like a deer in the headlights.”

“OK, slow down, partner. Tell me exactly what happened,” she demands. I look around and find a small bathroom off the hallway. I go inside and lock the door. I grip the sink with one hand and stare at myself in the mirror.

“Lincoln?”

“Yeah,” I reply before I launch into the story, detail by detail. When I finish, she’s quiet, which does nothing for my nerves.

“She likes you,” Celia states as though this is some obvious fact.

“I don’t think that’s the case,” I say to her.

“Well, I do.”

“Whatever,” I grumble.

“You were working on figuring out what she liked, right?” she asks. “You know, getting to know her, really know her?”

“Yes,” I say adamantly because I have been.

“Well, finish the tour, and then you need to have the ‘wow’ moment,” she says as though this “wow moment” should be perfectly clear to me.

“A ‘wow’ moment?”

“Yeah. Jesus, do I need to spell it out in little neon letters for you?” she asks.

“Apparently so,” I mutter. I internally question my manliness because, right now, I do not feel manly at all.

“Seriously, Lincoln?” she says on a sigh. “Fine, you need to pull out all the cards. Show her how much you care. Make it over-the-top. Make her feel special. Make her admit her feelings for you. And you better fucking admit your feelings for her. Do not under any circumstances let this one get away. Lark is the real deal. And if you fuck this up, I promise that you will regret this for the rest of your life.”

“Well, no pressure then,” I mumble to myself.

“OK, what do you got?”

“Got?” I ask.

“Yeah, you were supposed to be working on a brilliant plan, remember?”

“Right…,” I answer.

“OK…so, let’s work on that brilliant plan some more.” It’s not that I didn’t have a brilliant plan. Kade and I had spoken. Celia had given me ideas. Hell, even Harry chimed in once Kade spilled the beans. Amelia and Savannah even knew. I know my time is up because if I don’t tell Lark soon, someone else will spill the beans. And I don’t want that.

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