Page 141 of Debts and Desires
“People can talk to me, Carter.”
“No, they can’t.”
“Tyler does.”
“That’s ‘cause Ty ain’t a person. He’s a walkin’ dick,” he huffed.
“Says the walkin’ asshole,” Tyler said, setting water down beside me. I smiled and thanked him. “So, we’re on in ten. We’ll play for about an hour, take a thirty-minute break, then go back out. Rinse and repeat.”
“Sounds good to me,” I said, doing a once over of myself in the mirror. I sighed, fussing over a piece of hair that wanted to do its own thing.
“You look beautiful, Emmy, as always,” Tyler commented. Icould tell he was trying to get a rise out of Carter, and that made my grin widen.
“Why, thank you, Tyler. You’re looking pretty good yourself.” I winked, and Carter’s eyes narrowed.
“Ty, you’re gonna lose your balls,” Carter growled.
“Yeah, yeah. Any excuse for you to touch ‘em.” Just as Tyler took a drink of water, Carter playfully reached for him between the legs. Tyler moved just in time, nearly choking on his water.
“I don’t need an excuse,” Carter grinned. “I’ll touch ‘em whenever I want.”
“Get the fuck outta here,” Tyler laughed, swatting his best friend away. Both men started laughing then, like teenage boys. I shook my head, smiling at them. They were so ridiculous, but I loved seeing them together. The thought had me wishing Mia could be there. Had I known that the two sneaky men with me were going to set this all up, I would’ve invited her. My heart hurt. I pulled out my phone to send her a text, letting her know what Carter had set up when a man came in and made his way to us. I put my phone away before I could send the message.
“Hey, Ty, you guys ready?” The man asked.
“Sure are, Jason, thanks.”
“Awesome. You can head on out, Kevin’ll announce ya,” Jason said before leaving.
I felt the butterflies in my stomach again. Carter grabbed my hand and squeezed it, giving a reassuring smile. “Ready?” He asked me.
“Ready.”
And the three of us walked out.
The man, who I assumed was Kevin, greeted us with a nod from the sound booth in the back. He then pulled a microphone up to his lips and spoke.
“Ladies and gents, please welcome Emmy Rae and The Depraved.”
I laughed and looked back at Ty, who shook his head and inclined his chin to Carter. Carter, for once, wasn’t paying attention to me. Instead, he was slinging on his guitar.
When he did look up at me, he flashed a wide smile. It wasn’t the one he gave everyone, but the one he reserved just for me.
It made my heart melt. The asshole.
I smiled back, stepping up to the mic, trying to ignore the shakiness in my hands as I put my guitar strap on. I greeted the crowd, introducing myself and “The Depraved”. And then we were playing.
My fingers strummed along with the melody and the words as I sang. “Pourin’” as I had titled it, was a somber, but beautiful song, one that reminded me of the emotions I felt after leaving home the first time, the ache in my chest, and the hurt I felt as I walked away from the only life I knew. It was after I had been robbed and stranded. The one I’d been working on in my broken-down car when Carter came to my rescue.
It was as if Carter had constructed the set list to play like a story.Mystory.
So we played our set, my nerves calming with each song, my voice sounding stronger and stronger as I went along. At the end of the first set, we took a break.
“I’m proud of you, baby,” he whispered, kissing my temple. “You sounded amazin’ as always, but this was more.”
“It’s a big deal for me,” I admitted.
“Well, I’m glad to be here to see it.”
