Page 157 of Introvert

Because it was him.

And because he wasn't just telling me he loved me.

He was showing me.

Again.

As the song came to a close, my cousins walked off the stage and smiled at me as they passed; HERS kept playing, and Felix stopped in front of me.

"So, what'd you think?" he said.

I shook my head as I stared at him, speechless.

"I knew you'd cry."

A laugh escaped as he pulled a pack of tissues out of his pocket and offered them to me.I tookthem gratefully.

"You were right." Ilooked up into his eyes. "But thejet was more than enough, Felix. I didn't need this too."

"I like to overperform."

"I loved it," I said.

"Good," hesaid. "BecauseI love you."

"Can you repeat that?"

Felix swallowed, and his voice dropped to something tender. "I love you, princess.You knew that already though."

"I did," I said and smiled through mytears. "So, what now?"

"I guess we live out our happily-ever-after."

"And how do we do that exactly?"

"I guess we'll see."

As he leaned down, I lifted up onmy toes to reach him.Our lips met in a heart-stopping kiss, and I felt all the good things at once.Love, joy, passion, elation.Standing backstage, wrapped in his arms, kissing him, it felt like everything had come full circle.There was nothing fake about my feelings for Felix, and he'd shown me, over and over, that he loved me too.

I wasn't sure what the future held for us.

But if Felix was there, I couldn’t wait.

Happily-ever-after had never felt more real.

Epilogue

First day of senior year.

Last first day of high school.

Despite my worries,the first day had gone well. It was just as awesomeas I'd always hoped it would be.Awesome because I got the electives I'd wanted—including an hour of private study which I'd use to practice my violin—as well as a letter attached to my schedule informing me that I'd been accepted into AP WorldLit.Every other year the class took a trip overseas. This year wasIreland, and I'd always wanted to go. With the money I'd earned on tour and if Iwas careful with my spending, I knew I'd haveenough. I couldn't wait.

The HERS tourended several weeks ago. I slipped easily back into my pre-tour life. Mybrush with fame had been brief. But I wasn't mad about it. I missed the people but not the spotlight.

Still, Mom and Dad loved hearing about my adventures with the band.I told them almost everything—minus the part about sleeping with Felix. Theywere happy I'd spread my wings, even happier to have me back home, but I didn't think they were ready to hear about me sharing a bed with a boy they hadn't even properly met yet.

Mom kept talking about having Felix over for family dinner.

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