Chapter 9

Paige stroked the final key on the piano, her body spent from such an intense set tonight. This crowd had been the loudest by far, the noise from them as she came onto the stage quite overwhelming. She loved doing this, her voice was her one true talent, but it meant nothing if Juliet wasn't sharing these moments with her. After all, it was Juliet who had shown her what she was capable of. It was Juliet who had encouraged Paige to follow this path. But something felt missing without her here.

As she rose to her feet and waved to the crowd, Paige felt eyes on her. Of course the crowd was cheering and chanting her name, thousands of eyes were on her, but it was a feeling she was all too familiar with. She scanned the first few rows of the sea of people before her, her breath catching when Juliet stared back with adoration. The grin Paige wore was standard now, but it was the tears welling on her eyelids that only proved what it meant to see Juliet here. She came…

Paige blew Juliet a kiss and mouthed ‘I love you' before leaving the stage to the left. Could she climb her way through the throngs of people just so she could kiss her girlfriend? No, she wanted her backstage with her. She rushed off to her dressing room and grabbed her phone from the locker.

Come to the side of the stage. I'll ask security to let you through x

Paige rushed back out of the dressing room and towards the floor. She saw Juliet weaving her way through the crowd, leaning in and speaking to security when she reached them.

"It's okay. She's with us." Paige placed a hand on the security guy's shoulder, breathing a sigh of relief when he helped Juliet over the barrier. "Thanks."

Paige took her hand and dragged her away from the noise and strobe lighting, pushing Juliet to the wall as soon as they were out of view. Their lips met, an urgency Paige hadn't expected to feel, her hands roaming around Juliet's hips.

She drew back, their foreheads touching. "God, you don't know how much I needed to see you tonight."

"You were amazing, Paige." A tear slipped down Juliet's cheek as she tried to blink more away. " Truly amazing."

"Come with me." Paige pulled Juliet away from the wall and rushed along the hallway to her dressing room. The door slammed shut as they made their way inside, but it was Paige who found herself pressed against it. "Babe…"

"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are? How amazing you look? Or that voice…God, that voice, Paige." Juliet held Paige's face, leaning in and kissing her. "I love you. You're incredible."

Paige blushed. "You've heard me sing hundreds of times now. Fucking hell, I've played piano for you naked before today."

"It's not the same," Juliet whispered, stroking Paige's cheek. "It could never be the same as what I've just experienced out there."

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Enjoy it? Oh, I cried my way through the first two songs."

Paige held onto Juliet's waist, gazing into those eyes she'd missed. "Thank you for always supporting me."

"I should have been here before tonight. I'm so sorry. I promise to make more time for you, for your talent. And when the world tour happens, you have to agree to it. You're too good to stand behind that bar, baby."

World tour?

Agreeing to it?

Paige was entirely lost with where Juliet had heard that from. What world tour? She didn't know anything about a fucking world tour. "Excuse me?"

"The selfie on social media last night. Soraya asking fans if they wanted to see the two of you travelling the world…"

Paige frowned, suddenly startled by a knock on her dressing room door. Juliet stepped away, allowing Paige to take care of whatever was waiting on the other side. She opened the door, and Soraya grinned.

" That was amazing, gorgeous. Best night yet."

Paige just stared, not understanding what the hell was going on. "T-thanks."

Soraya squeezed past Paige, stopping dead in the middle of the room when she saw Juliet perched on the arm of the couch. "Oh, uh…you have company."

Juliet got to her feet and offered a dazzling smile. "I'm not company. I'm Paige's partner."

"Oh! Juliet! Lovely to meet you." Soraya leaned in and hugged Juliet, but Paige saw how she tensed. Juliet wasn't in the habit of hugging random people. She preferred the handshake approach. "I didn't know you were coming tonight. Paige kept that quiet."

"She didn't know. I thought I'd surprise her." Juliet stepped around Soraya, not star-struck in the slightest, and took Paige's hand. "Isn't she amazing?"

Soraya nodded enthusiastically. "I didn't ask her to come on this tour for the hell of it. Your partner is a very talented woman. Which is just what I needed in a support act."

Juliet appraised Soraya, standing heavier on one leg. Soraya could be intimidating to the average person, but Juliet had dealt with every last personality in the past. "Best of luck for tonight." She smiled, snaking an arm around Paige's waist.

"Y-yeah, thanks. I guess I'll see you both out there."

Paige cleared her throat. "Actually, I was planning to head back to the hotel early tonight. Even before Juliet surprised me, I was never staying until the end of the gig. Last night destroyed me, and I need to get a decent night's sleep."

Soraya eyed the clock above the mirror. "It's only just gone eight."

Paige shrugged. "Trust me, I need the sleep. I'll see you in the morning, okay? Just throw me a quick text and let me know what time you guys are leaving."

"Perfect." Soraya strode out of the dressing room, closing the door as she went.

"Sorry, babe. Did you want to stay and watch the show?" Paige frowned. "Wait! How did you get a ticket? It was a sellout."

"I'll…tell you later." Juliet kissed Paige's cheek, letting go of her waist. "And as for the show, I just want to be with you, so I don't mind what plans we have."

"Can we go back to the hotel? Order in room service and just…relax?"

"That sounds like the perfect night to me."

Juliet shrugged her leather jacket off, throwing it over the back of a chair in Paige's hotel room. Her suitcase sat unzipped on the floor under the window with clothes spilling out of it, but the bed was made as perfectly as it always was. "Nice room." Juliet scanned the area, smiling at the stack of tea bags and the bottle of honey close to the kettle. "What time did you eventually wake up this morning?"

Paige turned, yawning. "It must have been midday."

"Lesson learned?" Juliet lifted a brow when Paige stared back at her.

"Definitely. Soraya says I need to get out more, but I get out plenty. I just don't enjoy that drunk feeling or the effects the following day."

Juliet nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I know."

"But I think that's kind of the lifestyle they have. Which is fine. I just don't need to be a part of it. They're all going out again to a club when the show finishes tonight. I really don't know how they do it."

"I'm glad you're not into too much partying. I prefer my sober and hangover-free mornings with you most weekends."

Paige sunk down into the mattress beside Juliet, taking her hand. "Me too. And I'm so happy you're here. I wasn't expecting it at all."

"I wondered if I should tell you I was coming, I didn't want to cramp your style, but I'll leave in the morning so you can get back into the routine you already have with the band and stuff." Juliet lowered her eyes to their hands, grazing Paige's knuckles with her thumb. "I'm not sure Soraya was very happy to see me in your dressing room earlier. But I won't get in the way, you know that."

"I want you to get in my way." Paige drew Juliet into a kiss, lingering as she inhaled deeply. "I've missed you."

"Paige…"

Paige pulled back, smiling. "Yeah?"

"Are…you familiar with the fans on social media? The things they say?" God, Juliet didn't want to be that woman, but everything she'd read this morning had played on repeat in her mind. "Or the footage they upload?"

"I don't really bother with the social media side of it. I'm sure there's a lot of good things that fans say, but I also know they can troll and be pretty cruel, too."

Juliet smiled weakly as she nodded. "I see."

"Why? Has someone said something really bad about me?" Paige's brows drew together as she turned to face Juliet better. "If they have, let it go. Not everyone will like my voice or my style, and I'm okay with that."

"No, that's not what this is about. I haven't seen anyone say a bad word about you. You're too amazing for trolls to even consider attacking you."

"O…kay."

Juliet took a deep breath and prepared herself for the potential backlash of this conversation. She wasn't accusing Paige, she would never do such a thing, but she wanted her to be aware of the things people said. "Fans still seem to think that you and Soraya are an item."

Paige rolled her eyes. "Of course they do. Some of them will latch onto anything they can."

"It was quite intense this morning when I had a look online. And then I saw the footage, and I don't know…I think I let it get the better of me."

"What footage?" Paige was genuinely oblivious to anything that had been posted. While that probably worked in her favour—it couldn't interfere with her mental health—it could also be dangerous. "Juliet?"

"You and Soraya at the club last night. Dancing. She seemed…to be enjoying herself a lot. W-with you."

Juliet watched in slow motion as Paige's features changed. Her hand slid away, and then Paige shifted back a little. "I don't know what footage you're talking about, or the dancing, but…that's why you're here, isn't it? Y-you're here because you think something is going on between me and her!"

"Baby, no. You know I trust you." Juliet looked pointedly at Paige. "You know I trust you with my life. Please, don't think for one minute that I don't."

Paige slowly rose to her feet, turning her back on Juliet. She rested against the window frame, shaking her head. "This all makes sense now. I've been asking you to join me on the tour since the European leg began three months ago. God, I begged you at one point when I was getting ready to leave for Spain. But work commitments—as you claimed—meant you couldn't."

And here it was. The backlash Juliet was worried about.

Paige turned to face Juliet. The tears in her eyes hadn't been what Juliet expected. Paige's bottom lip trembled, her arms wrapped around herself. "Look me in the eye and tell me you haven't come here to catch me fucking her."

That sentence had Juliet almost baulking. How could Paige ever think that?

"Go on. Look me in the eye and tell me you trust me."

Juliet got to her feet and closed the distance. She didn't want to fight with Paige, not when they'd been away from one another…and not because of another woman. Juliet opened her mouth to speak, but Paige held up a hand.

"Every night, I lie here wishing I was at home with you. Every morning, I wake up wondering if you might show up at my hotel. That happened tonight, you showed up for me, but you didn't really…did you? You didn't come here to be here with me or to support me. You came here to see if I was cheating on you."

"Are you going to allow me the chance to speak?"

Paige scoffed. "I'm really not sure I want to know what you have to say. You've alluded to your reasons for being here already."

Juliet cast her gaze on the carpet, knowing she had to get this right. "I'm here because I love you, and I want to be with you. I'm here because I realised this morning that I haven't made enough time for you and this tour. And yes, maybe there is the slightest part of me that is wary, but I'm not wary of you. I'm wary of her ."

"I just find it hard to believe that you show up after reading whatever you have on social media."

"Am I jealous of the things they say online? How you have sexual tension and chemistry…the way you supposedly look at one another…fucking right I am." Juliet pinched the bridge of her nose, aware that one wrong word and Paige would probably ask her to leave this room. "But perhaps if I'd shown up for you more, then people would know that you're already involved. People would know that this is nothing more than your job…but that we have a life together outside of this. You know when I search your name online, there's not a single image of you and me together? Nothing . I don't exist in this world you have now."

Paige sniffled. "I'd never do anything to hurt you, Juliet."

"I know you wouldn't. I know exactly the person you are, Paige. And I only love you more and more each day. You've changed my life. You've given me life. Please don't think I'm here to keep an eye on you. I'm here because I can't stand the thought of not seeing you for another two weeks."

Paige guided Juliet back to the bed, kicking off her shoes before she crawled onto it. Juliet followed, lying beside Paige, their hands entwined.

"I don't post pictures of us because I want to protect you."

Juliet frowned. Protect her from what?

"Not only do you already have someone out there who has threatened you, but I don't want to see awful things being said about us on the internet. I'm quite happy not reading anything about me, but I know what you're like. You can't help yourself."

Juliet offered the smallest laugh. Paige knew her better than she knew herself.

"I'm not wrong; you know I'm not."

"No, you're not. But I am a big girl, Paige. I can look after myself."

Paige reached out and trailed her fingertip along Juliet's eyebrow. "I know. But you protected me when I needed it, and it's my turn to do the same for you."

"I don't need to be a huge part of this. If you'd rather keep me a secret, I understand. Just…remember what we have, okay?"

"You're not a secret, babe." Paige moved closer, wrapping her arm around Juliet's waist. This was all she'd wanted since they got back to the hotel room. To feel Paige against her. Where it was safe. "I'm so proud to be with you. I hope you know that."

"I know." Juliet kissed Paige's hair, pulling her closer again. Paige's stomach growled; it was time for food. "Should we feed the monster, or did you want to stay like this for a while longer?"

Paige sighed, the tiredness evident in her voice. "I want to stay like this forever." And then she suddenly lifted her head. "Hey, you didn't tell me how you got a ticket."

"Ah. I…got one from a resale site." Juliet winced, knowing they both hated those places. But it had been the only way to surprise Paige. "Sorry, but I had no other choice."

"I'm not even going to ask what that cost."

Juliet laughed, soothing a palm up and down Paige's back. "Probably best if you don't."