Page 67 of Carte

I threw my head back and laughed.

“Thank you so much for being such a great audience, you guys.” I said into the mic. “This was the best show we had in a while.”

I turned and glanced at my band, “Isn’t that right guys?”

A chorus of Yes, and Hell yeah, boomed from the speakers as each member said the words.

The deafening wall of the crowd’s roar hit me, making my blood vibrate and my soul smile.

“I can’t tell you how much I missed this. This month of being away from you, drained me. Thank you for giving me my strength back, and filling my whole being with love,” I put the mic back on its stand and picked up the guitar.

It was the one Carter gave me that first day we were in the cabin.

Before we left, I asked if I could borrow it. I couldn’t leave it behind. Not after the music I wrote on it.

And this way, I had a part of him with me.

His eyes had gone gentle, and he kissed me softly, “You can keep it. I like knowing that something of mine helps you find your joy.”

I decided then and there that that guitar would always be by my side.

I leaned closer to the mic, and murmured, “I know we usually close the show with a cover. But tonight, I thought I would sing you a song I wrote for someone special to me.”

The roar of the crowd was ear piercing but it quieted down the moment I played the first few notes.

I let the feeling of missing Carter fill me, swallow me whole as I sang the song I wrote that first week we were together, holed up in that hotel.

A song that said he wasn’t seeing me.

How stupid I was.

As the ballad flowed from my heart and mouth and into the universe, I flicked my gaze to the wings of the stage, half expecting him to stand there with his arms crossed over his chest, and a scowl on his face.

But he wasn’t there.

He was away chasing a lead.

I sang the last few words with my eyes closed, remembering Carter as he was lying in bed with me, holding me, whispering nonsense in my ear.

But, the song was over and it was time to go to an empty hotel room.

“Thank you,” my words echoed as the venue went black.

An arm gripped my elbow, “Let’s go.”

I looked up to see the new security guy holding onto me, and pulling me from the stage, flashlight gripped in his hand to light our way, and out of the venue.

“I’m coming,” I snapped.

The moment I was behind the closed doors of a car my phone rang.

A smile split my face as I pulled it out of the bag next to me on the seat and saw Carter’s name flashing on the screen, his scowling face illuminated with the ringing.

“Hey,” I rasped into the phone.

“Hey, Dynamo,” his voice sent shivers down my spine, even over the phone. “You sound tired.”

I chuckled, “It’s just wear and tear on my vocal cords after a two hour show.”