by Ashley Blake
“I missed you too.” I couldn’t stop smiling at him.
All of a sudden we heard someone clear their throat and we remembered that we weren’t alone in the room.
“Oh sorry guys, I'll have to catch up with you later, my beautiful girlfriend is back and I need to be with her. I know you guys understand.”
They chuckled and shook their heads at us as they walked out of the room and closed the door behind them.
“It’s good to see you.” Jonathan still had his arms wrapped around me and there was nowhere else in the world I wanted to be. “Thank you for the book, I can’t believe you remembered that I wanted to read that.”
I’d bought him a book on rare cars that he said he wanted and I was happy that he liked the gift.
"Jonathan," I touched the necklace around my neck, "thank you so much for the beautiful and thoughtful gift. It means so much to me.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie, it looks so beautiful on you.”
Even though we had talked and Skyped every day, we sat in his room for a while chatting about our vacations and how nice it was to spend so much time with our families.
“Maybe next year you can come home with me for Christmas. We usually go to Aspen every year so I would love to take you there.”
"Next year? Aren’t you thinking a little far into the future?" I was half teasing but I also was curious to hear what he was thinking about us being together long term, especially since he was graduating in May.
“Of course I am Skylar, don’t you think we will still be together next year at this time?”
“I was just teasing honey, of course I do! You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
“I have no desire to get rid of you, I told you before, I’m completely smitten.” The butterflies ravaged my belly as his intense eyes searched mine.
“So am I.” I smiled at him as I held his gaze.
He smiled at me. “Good! Now that we have that out of the way, do you want to go grab something to eat?”
“Sure. Should I go check to see if Katie is back yet and ask her if she wants to come with us?”
“Maybe next time, today I just want to be with you.”
What could I say to that? I just wanted to be with him too.
“Okay.”
We grabbed our coats and headed out to find something to eat.
Chapter Eleven
The days passed quickly and I didn’t see Jonathan quite as much because he was practicing every day for his performance at the Shadow Room. I also, thankfully, hardly ever saw Barbi. I think that after she saw that Jonathan and I were really serious she just left us alone, and it was really nice not to see her and not to have to deal with her.
Jonathan was a nervous wreck because he knew that his parents were going to that performance and he wanted everything to be perfect. I tried to reassure him that everything would be okay, and it seemed to help a little bit, but he was still on edge.
He asked me to go to his last rehearsal before the performance to make sure that they sounded okay and that they all looked okay on stage. It was the first time that he asked me to go to one of his rehearsals and I was really flattered because he was super private about practicing with the band. It was even more amazing to see them in rehearsal because I was able to see how they were all in sync with each other, and they knew when to correct each other in the tiniest places that no one else would notice. I really felt like I was watching a professional band and I just knew that they could have a huge future ahead of them.
The day of the performance I was a nervous wreck for Jonathan because I knew how much this meant to him, and I really hoped that his parents enjoyed the show. Katie, Mike, Jen and a few other people went with me to the show and we got there about a half hour before they were supposed to go on. I looked around and I didn’t see Mr. and Mrs. Hunter yet and tried not to get nervous. They have to show up, they just have to. Jonathan will be devastated if they don’t.
The Shadow Room was an 18 and over club so it kept out the high school crowd. We got a table near the stage and ordered some nachos and sodas. I decided to save two seats at our table for Jonathan’s parents because the band was so popular and the show would probably be standing room only. Fifteen minutes before the start of the show there was still no sign of Mr. and Mrs. Hunter and I really started to worry. Ten minutes before the show, I glanced around the room, which was quickly filling up, and I saw a tall, imposing figure standing in the back of the room surveying the area. Relief flooded over me and I walked over to Mr. and Mrs. Hunter to let them know that I had saved seats for them. I introduced them to everyone at the table and they ordered a couple of drinks.
Katie leaned over and whispered to me so that I would be the only one to hear her. "Are you kidding me? Jonathan is the spitting image of his father, they are both so gorgeous!”
I looked at her and mouthed ‘I know, right?’, so that no one would hear what we were saying.
Mrs. Hunter seemed to be amazed at the crowd as she looked around at what was now standing room only.
“Wow, are all of these people here to see Jonathan’s band?”
I smiled at her so excited that they were there and that they were seeing the huge crowd.
“They are. The band is really popular and all of their shows sell out. Everyplace they’ve played has had to turn away people because they don’t have enough room for everyone who wants to see them.”
"That's impressive." Mr. Hunter was a man of few words but I could tell that he actually was impressed. The hard exterior I normally saw whenever Jonathan brought up his band around his father was now gone and was replaced by a softer expression.
The lights started to dim, the crowd started to whistle and clap and I glanced over at Mr. and Mrs. Hunter to watch their reaction to all of this, and they seemed totally intrigued. The strobe light circled the room as the curtain began to rise, and a male voice flooded the speakers as the slow drum beat began to play. “Shadow Room, give it up for Sonic Blaze!” The crowd went crazy with screaming, whistling and clapping as Jonathan’s liquid smooth voice caressed our ears.
He looked so hot on stage and I had to compose myself since his parents were sitting right next to me. I watched him look around the room as he was singing and his eyes fell on me, and then his gaze slid directly to his parents. I could see the relief and gratitude on his face but I doubt that anyone else was able to notice it. The band was playing a full set that night because there were record executives in the crowd and it was the best performance I had seen from them yet. I’m sure the fact that Jonathan’s parents were in the crowd had a lot to do with that, and not so much that the record executives were there.
He looked so gorgeous up there as his hands covered the mic and he belted out the chorus of the next song. The band was on fire that night and I felt like I was watching a professional group perform. They took a 15 minute intermission and it gave me a chance to see what his parents thought. I turned to them, dying to know what they were thinking.
“So how do you like the band?”
Jonathan’s mom looked totally impressed and amazed and it was exactly what I was hoping would happen. "They are so incredible and so talented, I had no idea. The energy in this room is just so amazing. To think that all of these people are here to see my son just blows my mind, but after seeing him perform I can understand why this place is standing room only, he has real talent.” She turned to her husband. “Honey, what do you think?”
My heart was thumping against my chest waiting to hear what he would say. While it was super fantastic that his mom like the band, the real hurdle was with his dad.
“I think they are very talented, I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised.”
I wished that Jonathan could have been there at that very minute to hear his dad say that. With his rigid exterior, it was probably the biggest compliment you could get from Mr. Hunter.
I had a huge smile on my face and I couldn’t make it go away if I tried. “I�
��m glad that you are both enjoying the show.”
“Skylar, I know that you said their shows sell out, but is it always this crowded when they perform?” I was so happy that Mr. Hunter asked me that question because it meant that he was starting to really digest what a big deal his son’s band was.
“Every time I have seen them there are always more people than before, the crowd seems to be growing.”
Just then the lights started to dim and the screaming and clapping filled the room in anticipation of the band’s return. The crowd was singing along to many of the words in their songs and the energy level of the crowd was super high. They played until around 11:00 and when they were done the crowd went crazy. We all screamed and clapped demanding an encore, and luckily we got our wish. The band played one last song, the crowd loved it and we were all clapping long after they finished the song. After the curtain came down, the lights came on and the energy of the crowd was really positive. It was a complete rush to see them play and I was so happy that Jonathan’s parents were able to be there.
His mom had a huge smile on her face as she looked from me to Mr. Hunter. “I feel like I’ve been to a real rock concert! They were so incredible and we had no idea! Honey, what did you think?”
Mr. Hunter had a pensive look on his face but I could see that he enjoyed what he had just experienced. I think a person would have to have ice in their veins to not feel something great when watching the band play and I knew that under that tough exterior Mr. Hunter had a big heart. I could see it when he looked at his wife and children.
“To be honest I am blown away and I didn’t think I would be. I really didn’t.”
My heart jumped because I thought we really might have convinced Mr. Hunter to let Jonathan follow his dream.
He looked at Mrs. Hunter and held her gaze. “But this does not mean that he can just abandon his family obligation.” His voice was firm and I instantly felt bummed. Hopefully she can change his mind.
I told Katie and the rest of the group that I would see them later and I waited with Jonathan’s parents for him to come out. He was all sweaty and flushed when he came over to us and I wanted to jump his bones right then and there. I don’t think he had ever looked more sexy than in that moment. Damn it he is good-looking.
He kissed me on the cheek and hugged his parents. “I’m so glad you guys made it.” He looked a little bit nervous and I knew he wanted to ask them what they thought but he decided to wait until they said something first.
“Jonny, you were fantastic, we had no idea how talented you are! I told your father that I felt like I was at a real rock concert! The crowd was so into your music honey, it was just wonderful.” His mom was positively beaming.
He smiled at her. “Thanks, Mom.”
He looked like a little boy as he looked at his dad with desperate eyes waiting to hear what he had to say.
Mr. Hunter looked at Jonathan and smiled at him. “You are extremely talented, there is no denying that, and the crowd loves you. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and we really enjoyed watching you on stage. But I still want you to keep in mind that you have a huge family responsibility that is going to begin in less than six months. This is fine for a side hobby but I expect you to be by my side, learning everything I do.”
Jonathan's face fell and he quickly recovered not wanting to show his parents how upset he was. He had warned me that this would happen and I felt just awful that he was right. I really thought if his parents saw him perform live they would see that this was what he really wanted to do. But apparently, in his family, you’re expected to do certain things and that’s it, end of discussion.
Jonathan didn’t say anything to that he just went along with the rest of the conversation. Mr. and Mrs. Hunter were staying in a nearby hotel and they said that they had to get going because their car was waiting for them outside. They asked if we needed a ride back to the dorm but Jonathan told them that he had already ordered a car to take us back. He hugged his parents goodbye and thanked them again for coming and told them that he would talk to them soon. They both hugged me goodbye and told me how nice it was to see me and said that they hoped to see me soon.
After they left I could see how down Jonathan was and I tried to cheer him up.
"Jonathan, you guys were amazing and your parents really enjoyed the show, I was watching them and I could tell that they were blown away!”
"Maybe, but you heard my dad, I really don't think there is any way that he would let me do this full-time and, working for him, there’s just no way that I would be able to do this part-time, it’s just not fair to the other guys in the band. I think that I just have to accept that after these next few months, that will be it for me and the band.”
“Well, I saw your mom’s reaction so let’s just wait and see if she can convince your dad, if that is something that you want.”
"I appreciate what you're trying to do Sky, I really do, but I think I'm just going to drop it. So, what do you say we get out of here?”
His mood instantly changed as he was able to push his feelings about what had just happened down deep and it seemed like he had no problem moving on. I didn’t want to beat a dead horse with this so I decided to just drop it and wait and see what would happen next.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Chapter Twelve
The next four months passed quickly and graduation was fast approaching. Jonathan and I were inseparable and we spent almost every single day together. I basically moved into his room but I always made time to hang out with my friends so that they didn’t think I was ditching them because I had a boyfriend. I hated when girls did that.
Over spring break Jonathan worked with his dad at the company so that he would be prepared to start the Monday after graduation. His dad wanted him to just dive in without any kind of break. He was super rigid and I kind of felt bad for Jonathan but he seemed fine with it, after all this was the way his dad had been all of his life. Since his dad’s company was in New York, I wasn’t as bummed about him graduating because I was going to be able to see him all the time. He told me that he would fly me to New York to see him every weekend or he would come see me if I wanted, and if I was busy he would make the plane available to me whenever I had the time to come see him.
Jonathan’s band played at the Shadow Room one more time about three weeks before graduation, it was totally packed and it was their last show. He found out that several record execs were there again that night because the buzz about the band was really growing. It was close to finals and a bunch of us wanted to give ourselves a break so we went to see them and we all had a great time. It was back to the books for me the next day so I buried myself in the library and I was there until 1:00 a.m. most nights.
A week later, I decided to study in my room since Katie was at the library and I heard a frantic knock at my door at around 3:30p.m. My last final was coming up in a couple of days and I had one more paper due after that, and I couldn’t wait for it all to be over. I had no idea who would be knocking at my door at that time and I knew it couldn’t be Jonathan because he was supposed to be in class. I opened the door to see him standing there with an extremely excited look on his face.
“Hey, what’s going on? I thought that you were supposed to be in class.”
“I am, but I got a text from Matt and he told me to step out of class because it was urgent. We were just offered a record deal with Capitol Town Records!”
“Oh my gosh Jonathan, that is huge!” Capitol Town Records was part of the Big Seven record labels.
“I know! We’ve gotten offers from smaller labels before but never anything like this! They want to give us a one-year record deal where we put out an album and we tour and promote the record, and then they're adding an option for two more years, two more albums and more touring if the first year goes well. This is so incredible we are all so excited! How am I going to tell my parents about this? I’ll have to figure something out because this is an offer that is too
good to pass up, this is what we’ve all wanted!”
I was so excited for him but then I was instantly punched in the gut with the reality of what this really meant. I would probably not see him very much for the first year and I just knew that the band was going to take off so that would mean they’d be picked up for the two-year option after the first year. I probably would barely see him for three years. While I was happy for him and I knew that this would be the beginning of something really great for him, I was really sad because I felt like this would be the beginning of the end for us.
I didn’t want to ruin his moment so I put on a happy face and told myself that we could talk about details about us later, after he cleared this with his parents. There was no need to stir the pot if his father was going to put his foot down about this. I would just have to wait to see what was going to happen.
