Page 104 of Nightmare

Travis grins through our kiss, then pulls away to put his bright blue eyes on mine, “I love you, and I’ll be proud of you no matter what happens in there, baby. Remember that.”

My stomach does that flippy thing that he always manages to create inside of me, and I press my lips to his one more time before breathing my words against his lips, “I love you, Travis.”

His nose rubs along mine, his hands tightening on my waist, “I’ll be out here when you’re done, my queen.”

I am so fucking blessed.

That’s the thought that races through my mind as I pull away from him then pull open the front doors to the theater. My heels make thatclick-clacknoise that calms my blood as I walk through the lobby, heading for double doors on the other side. A big, handwritten sign is taped to the doors, readingAUDITIONSmaking my breath catch in my throat as I trace the letters with my fingers.

I’m really doing this.

Chapter Fifty

Olivia

The summer airhits me as soon as I pull the front doors open, stepping back outside onto the street. I take a breath, savoring the heat, letting the bliss flood my mind.

I just auditioned for a Broadway show.

Travis is caught up in conversation with a hot dog vendor, so he doesn’t see me walking towards him until I’m about five feet away. He turns away from the conversation, not bothering to say any sort of goodbye, and races towards me – hot dog in hand.

His hands cup my face, his food dropping to the sidewalk. He presses his lips to mine, and I let myself get lost in his kiss, pulling his bottom lip into my mouth to suck on it.

He pulls back before I can really get into it, “Well?!” He asks.

“Well,” I say, smirking at him, “You taste like hot dogs.”

He rolls his eyes, his nostrils flaring, “Pretty girl, don’t make me spank that ass on this sidewalk, what happened in the audition?!”

I laugh, trailing my hands up his arms, “It was good!”

He blinks his eyes a few times, then his hands grip onto my shoulders where he shakes me lightly, making me laugh. “Olivia! Tell me about it!”

“Travis, you have got to work on volume control.” I laugh, noticing a few people stopping to look at us, probably thinking I’m being assaulted. “It was good, they seemed to really like me, said they would call.”

He grins, “That’s my girl.”

I giggle, pulling his hands from my shoulders, sliding my fingers between his then turning around to pull him behind me. “C’mon.”

He follows, littered hot dog forgotten, “Where are we going?”

I turn my head to look at him, “I have a surprise for you.”

I wink in his direction then turn back around to watch where I’m walking.

I drag him through the city, dodging the midday Monday traffic and people rushing around. After about twenty minutes of walking, he’s groaning about the heat and‘all these fucking people.’

By the time we reach Central Park, I pull his body closer to mine, wrapping an arm around his middle to smile up at him. He looks at me with confused eyes but continues to silently let me pull him through the park.

There are people everywhere, reading, playing music, soaking up the sun, or engaging in various sports. I finally find the spot I’m looking for, right at the edge of the bridge that goes over the lake.

A bench.

“Okay,” I start, stopping on the sidewalk to look into his crystal eyes, “Don’t get mad.”

He squints his eyes a little, studying me, “Don’t give me a reason to get mad, then.”

I sigh, “Listen, Travis. I love you.” I cut myself off, stopping my sentence because I’m not sure how to find the words I’m looking for. Nerves are swimming in my belly, I’m just really hoping he doesn’t react badly.

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