Page 49 of Barefoot Chaos
As time went on, the crowd began to disperse. I made my way back to Hessa as Brinley and two men I'd never seen before approached her. The guy in a suit introduced himself as a Sony Music executive.
"I enjoyed your songs, Ms. Woodland. If you have more, I'd like to hear those too. Give me a call." He talked fast and handed her a business card with a number handwritten on the back.
Hessa stared down at the card and then back at Mr. Suit. "Th-thank you!" She quickly shook his hand and watched him walk away, jaw hanging open.
Before anyone could say anything, the Beach Squad girls rushed Hessa, grabbing her and jumping up and down. Squeals of excitement filled the air as I backed away. That huddle was no place for a man. The other guy that was with Brinley backed away just as quickly and came up to me to shake my hand.
"DJ Lush. That your girl?" His curly blond hair was in some sort of mohawk formation, probably quite flammable from all the product in it. I may not see the appeal for that type of hair, but he pulled the look off.
"Yep. Looks like things just broke for her." I couldn't seem to wipe the smile off my face. I watched her jumping and laughing with her girlfriends, the jubilation of facing her fears and coming out of it a massive success lighting her up from within.
"Make sure you tell her to get her music to that guy ASAP. He doesn't give out his number very often, so he must've really liked what he heard." With those parting words he moved to walk away.
I stopped him momentarily with a heartfelt thanks and fist bump. I knew he'd been the one to get him here tonight.
"Thank Brinley. She's one of a kind. Figured if she liked Hessa, she must be pretty special too."
I looked back at the huddle of girls, seeing them with new eyes. I always thought girl squads were just a gaggle of girls that laughed a lot and took ridiculous selfies. I should have known that Hessa wouldn't be involved in that sort of thing. The friends she surrounded herself with were the real deal. They supported each other and loved each other unconditionally. We'd all be so lucky to have friends like that.
And then Bailey screamed "Selfie time!" and they all crammed together while she extended her arm and snapped a picture on her phone.
Hessa
After the concert, I'd meant to celebrate with Kai back home, but I basically collapsed into bed in a sleep coma. All the nerves from the week leading up to the fundraiser, along with actually performing in front of a crowd, had sapped my energy.
When I woke up Sunday morning, Kai wasn't in bed next to me. I pouted, wanting to snuggle and enjoy a weekend where we didn't have to rush off to work. A noise outside my bedroom had me sitting up. In walked Kai with a tray of food and a single lily in a vase. A love-sick, goofy grin split my face.
"Good morning. Ready for breakfast, my superstar?" Kai sat the tray on my lap and climbed carefully into bed with me. He picked up one of the cups of coffee on the tray and sipped, watching me intently.
"Morning. Thank you for breakfast in bed. Why such special treatment?" I surveyed the eggs and toast, cut up fruit, and coffee laid out before me.
"Figured we'd celebrate today, starting with breakfast. Plus, I gotta make sure you don't forget about little ol' ukulele-playing me when you meet some hot celebrity guitar player when you sell your first song." Kai winked at me and I knew he was kidding, but I hoped he didn't have any doubts about us.
I took a big bite of eggs and slurped my coffee. "I'd totally reassure you right now, but I've barely eaten all week and I'm starving!" I said with a mouthful of deliciousness.
Kai laughed and settled against the headboard with his coffee. I loved how easy it was to be around each other. I could be sleep disheveled, shoveling food in my mouth, and he still thought I was adorable. That made him a keeper.
I was still chewing my last bite when Kai hopped up and took the tray off my lap.
"Chop, chop. Time to get dressed." He reached down and pulled me out of bed despite my whining and feet dragging.
"What is with you, Kai? Where are we going in such a hurry?" I was normally a much nicer morning person, but after last night's craziness, I was hoping to have some downtime today.
"Just get dressed and I'll tell you on the way." He cupped my face in his hands. "Trust me, you'll like the surprise." Then he kissed me and I tried to deepen the kiss by running my tongue along the seam of his closed lips. He groaned but pulled away.
"Don't distract me, woman," he growled. Then he slapped me on the ass before leaving the bedroom.
Kai pulled the car up to the curb and I glanced around, not recognizing where we were in Costa Mesa.
"Are you going to tell me now?" I'd asked him repeatedly in the car, and each time he'd smirked and kept silent. The boy knew I liked to have things nice and orderly. I think he enjoyed stringing me along with no clue what was going on.
"Payback's a bitch, just so you know," I told him before grabbing my purse and exiting my own car.
The fucker just laughed. I rolled my eyes and pretended to be disinterested when he came around and wrapped me in his arms.
"Don't be mad, Ono," he whispered in my ear. "It's time to put your name on my body."
My head popped up, almost whacking him in the chin. "Tattoo?"
