chapter 27

AS DEX KISSES ME, SOMEONE cheers in the crowd.

"Fucker," Dex whispers, breaking our kiss.

I lean around him to see who it is, and as I suspected, Sebastian is standing in the aisle, pumping his fist in the air. Michael, Lucas, Jordan, and Alisha stand around him, wearing smiles and shaking their heads. And slightly behind them, staring at me with tears in their eyes, are my parents.

"Oh my god," I whisper. Mom waves at me, and Dad slips an arm over her shoulders, giving me a thumbs-up. "What are they doing here?"

Dex's laughter is soft. "I wanted them to be here for your last show."

My gaze snaps to him, and I search his eyes. "You did this? You brought them here?"

He nods. "I hope that's okay. "

" Okay? " A laugh slips from my lips, and then my free hand is easing into his, and I squeeze his fingers softly. "Thank you."

Dex leans in to press a kiss to my forehead. "You'd better go grab your stuff. I've got another surprise waiting for you."

I pull away to arch an eyebrow at him, but he just smiles.

THE AFOREMENTIONED SURPRISE IS A celebration at Jordan and Michael's house. The band is there, plus my parents, and, of course, the Sanchezes' pack of rescue dogs, who run around our feet and wait for someone to spill a bowl of chips or bump a full plate from the edge of a table.

"Did you do all this?" I ask Dex, gesturing to the insane amount of food that's taken over the kitchen.

My mom is sipping a martini and laughing with Jordan and Alisha in the kitchen, and on the counter behind them is a tiny chocolate fountain surrounded by a platter of strawberries and bananas.

Meanwhile, Dad is in the living playing some sort of VR game with the guys, giggling like he had one too many Mike's Hard Lemonades.

I wasn't sure how they would do surrounded by literal rock stars, but my parents seem perfectly at ease, completely unfazed. Seems I'm the only uptight one in the family. Figures.

"No," Dex admits. "It was my idea, but Jordan helped me put it all together."

Jordan catches us looking at her. Her gaze shifts from me to Dex, and then she offers me a tiny smile and lifts her martini glass. The gesture gives me the feeling she's approving of him, of us, and I remind myself to ask her later about how all of this came to be.

Dex stays by my side most of the night, lingering in my vicinity. When he puts a hand on my low back or leans close enough that I can feel his chest against my shoulder, I want to melt into him.

Michael pulls Dex away for an impromptu acoustic session on the back patio, and my mom joins me outside to watch.

The air is warm and comforting, wrapping around my bare shoulders like a sweater. The sun has long set, but the twinkle lights hanging in the veranda light up the back patio with a sort of magical glow.

"Congratulations," Mom says into my hair, pulling me in for a big hug. Her body is soft and familiar, and it makes me feel safe, like I'm a child again and nothing in the world can ever hurt me so long as my parents are by my side. "I knew you'd get that role if you put yourself out there." She steps back, one hand patting my cheek lovingly. "What changed your mind?"

Without meaning to, I look across the patio to where Dex is seated on the edge of a whicker couch, an acoustic guitar perched on his knee. He stripped out of his suit jacket hours ago, and now he's just wearing a crisp white button-up, the sleeves rolled to his elbows, his dark tattoos curling over the edge of the pressed collar. His left hand moves up and down the neck of the guitar, fingers shifting over the frets, and when he catches me staring, he gives me one of those little smiles I love so much.

"I guess I realized that being afraid wasn't actually going to protect me," I say softly .

Mom's hand slips into mine, and she gives my fingers a reassuring squeeze. "Did he teach you that?" She nods toward Dex, and when I turn to meet her eyes, she's giving me a soft knowing expression.

"He helped. But when it came down to it, I had to make the decision. And I chose courage over fear." Squeezing her hand back, I look at Dex, and watching him play under the twinkle lights, with my mom and dad here, everything just feels... right. Like maybe this will actually work out. "Hey, Mom?"

She takes a sip of her half-full martini and glances over at me. "Hmm?"

"How'd he do this? Did he reach out to you and Dad?"

"Yeah, a couple weeks ago. He told us who he was and what he wanted to do. I wasn't sure it was a good idea at first." Her eyes soften. "But your dad and I discussed it, and he wanted to give him a chance."

"Why?" I ask. My dad knows how torn up I was after Dex pulled away from me. I wouldn't have expected him to want anything to do with the man who'd caused me so much pain.

Mom sighs thoughtfully, and it takes her a moment to respond. "Men are human, honey. They make mistakes and do stupid things and hurt us, sometimes without meaning to. Your dad certainly isn't perfect." She laughs quietly, as if remembering something I'm not privy to. "Maybe he saw a bit of himself in Dex." Her eyes find mine again. "Loving someone takes time. You have to learn how to do it right, for both of you." She raises her martini to her lips again. "I suppose it's kind of like pickleball... "

A laugh bursts out of me, and I snatch the martini glass away before she can take another sip. "Okay, I think you've had quite enough of that."

She arches a brow and glares, but she doesn't fight me on it.

Across the patio, Dex and Michael finish their duet, and everyone claps. When Dex meets my eyes, I raise the martini glass to him in a little toast. The vodka burns through my body as I take a sip, heating me from the inside out. And suddenly, watching the way Dex grips the guitar, the flash of his smile when he pushes a hand through his hair, all I can think about is getting him alone.