Love Is a Luxury

Holy shit.

2 minutes. 2 minutes left before we go on stage and to say I was nervous is a major understatement. I mean sure, we've played in front of people before and the venue was a little small, but she wasn't there. There was just something about her that made me want to make sure I did my best. Something about her that made me want to please her.

"Ritual?" I asked. The boys agreed and we all did our pre-show ritual. Tim walked in and told us it was time so we made our way to the stage. I tried to mask my emotions and ran to my position. I looked to my right and saw her there, watching intently. It would've been a million times better if she weren't here.

"What's up, Vegas?!" I screamed. "We're a band called The Maine, and this one's called Mr. Winter."

When you left she was a wreck
'Cause she said you left a mess
But you said that you'd be back home
Didn't want to see her all alone

I started singing and the crowd sang along. It was beautiful. I never actually thought we'd go this far, and surprisingly, this was just the beginning.

-

"Hey guys!" Kennedy said after a few songs. "So we have a special guest today." The crowd screamed for no apparent reason. "Her name's Lacey and she's going to be on tour with us," Kennedy continued.

"Is she your girlfriend?!" someone from the audience asked. "No, she's not," Kennedy laughed. "She's my cousin. So I want to hear everybody say, 'HEY LACEY!'"

"HEY LACEY!" The crowd screamed. I looked at her and she was smiling. "Tell them I said hi," she mouthed. So I did.

"Kennedy's mine!" another fan screamed.

"He's mine, actually," Garrett laughed.

"What about Pat?!"

"I'm sorry, baby." And it went on for a few minutes.

-

"That was amazing!" Jared exclaimed as we made our way to the dressing room. "How'd you like it, Lace?" Kennedy asked the girl following suit.

"You guys suck. I think I'm going to need to stop by the hospital to have my ears checked. You literally made my ears bleed," she said.

My face instantly fell and I watched as she laughed. "I'm kidding. You guys were amazing." The guys cheered as Garrett said, "This calls for a drink!" We all agreed and packed up as fast as our tired bodies could manage then got back in the bus.

Tim drove us back to the hotel to unpack and all and we all went straight to our rooms. Once Lacey and I got back she didn’t get ready or anything and simply plopped down on her bed. “Aren’t you supposed to freshen up or something?” I asked.

“I’m not going.”

“Why not?”

“I just don’t want to,” she shrugged.

“So you’re staying here?” I questioned.

“Mhmm.”

“In Vegas.” She nodded her head.

“Alone.”

“Yup,” she said, making herself comfortable on the bed.

“Then I’m staying with you,” I stated.

“And why is that?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Kennedy trusts me and I’m obliged to protect you,” I said.

“I can take care of myself, John.”

“I won’t leave you here alone,” I said. I wasn’t willing to lose this argument and besides, as cheesy as it sounds, I liked being with her. I climbed up the bed making my decision clear.

“What about the others?” she sighed, finally giving in.

“I’ll call Gare,” I said as I reached for the phone in my back pocket.

“What the fuck is taking you so long?” Garrett exclaimed as he picked up the phone on the 2nd ring.

“I’m staying here,” I said.

“Whoa whoa, wait. John Oh passing up the opportunity to drink? Who the fuck is this? I’m calling the cops!”

“I’m not in the mood, Gare. And so is Lacey. We’ll be staying here for the night.”

“Alright, fine just—“

“Don’t get my cousin pregnant!” Kennedy cut him off.

“I’ll try,” I laughed and hung up. “So what are we up to tonight?” I turned to Lacey.

“You choose, Animal Planet or some shitty sports show?”

“20 questions?”

“Don’t you ever get tired of that game?” she made a face.

“Not when I’m playing it with you.”

-

Luckily, I had movies in my laptop and we didn’t need to watch those crappy hotel shows. We couldn’t watch it on separate beds so I decided to set it up on her bed. She crawled under her sheets and I stayed on top to give her some space. We were halfway through The Notebook when I asked, “Would you rather be in love or dead?”

“I’d rather be in love than dead. I mean, you’d eventually get hurt both ways so I’d rather get hurt with or by someone I’m in love with. Not that I’d want to see him get hurt or anything, but when you’re in love, you know someone’s there for you. Or at least was. I don’t know, it’s really hard to explain, you know?” I know.

I nodded and said, “Your turn.”

“Do you like mac n cheese?” she asked.

“Yes. I love it. More than anything. I could eat it 24/7.”

“Yes! Finally!” she said and raised her hand, offering a high five. Our palms hit and we both laughed and talked about the cheesy goodness of mac n cheese, no longer paying attention to the movie.

-

“What’s your favorite quote?” I asked with a yawn once the movie ended.

“Live,” she said with a certain tone of sadness in her voice as she yawned as well.

“There’s a lot I don’t know about you, Lacey Anne Miller.”

“There’s a lot I want to know about you, John Cornelius O’Callaghan,” she said with a soft smile as she shuddered.

“Are you cold?” I asked, which I knew was pretty dumb since she just quivered.

“No.” She tried to deny it but I moved closer and put my arms around her as we shared body heat.

“Thanks, John.” And with that she fell asleep in my arms.

“Good night, Lacey,” I said as I kissed her temple and let myself slip into unconsciousness.