"Yes, Killer. I'm so fucking proud of you. All of you. We are fine. We both knew there was a possibility of this happening. I'll be here when you get home."
Kill released a pent-up breath. My heart skipped when I realized how worried he’d been about the tour being extended.
Kill and I tried to talk every day. Their tour had not only been extended, but more venues were added in between, leaving the boys with less free time.
At work, DJ Smoke made an announcement over the microphone, pulling me out of my brooding state. "Little Miss Faith, I have a surprise for you. Can you please come up to the DJ booth?"
As I made my way over, I tried to figure out what Kill could’ve possibly done, knowing whatever was happening had something to do with him. My body jolted when Kill's voice echoed through the bar speakers. DJ Smoke winked at me as he held his phone up to the microphone.
“Hey, Slick. I didn’t want you to think I forgot about Valentine’s Day. I wanted to call you to make sure you know how much I love you.”
A collective, “Ahhhhhhh,” sounded in the background, confirming Kill was onstage.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Faith," the band screamed. I screamed back, telling them how much I loved them.
“Alright, everyone, I need a favor. When I count to three, I want you to scream, ‘Happy Valentine’s Day, Faith... One, two, three...”
The speakers exploded with the well-wishes from the crowd, and everyone at Ray’s broke into applause. I motioned with my hand at the light crowd to respond back with as much enthusiasm as they could.
My feet seemed to float off the floor the rest of the night. Right before I climbed into my car, a smile still plastered on my face, Catcher handed me a grocery-sized paper bag.
“What’s this?” I asked, inhaling the familiar scent of Chinese food.
“Kill asked me to do him a favor since he couldn’t. Don’t open it until you get home.”
I kissed Catcher on the cheek, making the big teddy bear blush. I texted Kill to let him know I got his present, and I loved it already, even though I hadn’t opened it yet.
I spotted Ryan and Jessie walking to their cars under the watchful eye of Catcher.
“Hey, what are you girls doing tonight?”
They both shrugged.
“Come over to have dinner and dessert with me. We can watch girly movies together.”
“I’ll come over, but I want something with eye candy-no chick flicks,” Ryan replied.
“Agreed,” Jessie said.
“Fine, fuddy duddies.”
We ended up watchingCrazy Stupid Love,man candy check. Ryan left after the movie, mad that we tricked her into watching a chick-flick. Jessie had a couple of glasses of wine, so she crashed in Van’s room, giving me a glimmer of hope for them.
When I was alone, I opened the other box I’d discovered at the bottom of the food bag. A picture of Kill holding a teddy bear, which bore a heart that said ‘Love,’ was the first thing I saw. Under the picture, I pulled that same teddy bear out. There was a box wedged under the heart the bear was holding.
I unlatched the necklace I hadn't removed since Kill had given it to me on Christmas and slid my new charm, a high heel encrusted with tiny rubies, into place before securing it back around my neck. Clutching my phone to my chest, I waited in bed for Kill to finish his obligations after the show. My phone rang just before I was fully asleep.
“Hey, Killer,” I answered, groggily. My desire to talk to him began to override Mr. Sandman.
“Hey, Slick,” he answered back. His voice was full of fatigue. With all the new venues added to the tour, the adrenaline from performing seemed to be wearing them all down.
“Did you like your presents?” he asked. His voice was hushed, but I heard the smile in it.
“I loved them. I can’t believe you called me while you were onstage. That was the best present you could have given me, though I love my teddy bear, my picture, and the charm. I feel bad I didn’t get you anything,” I replied, a thought beginning to form.
“You're all I need. But if you're feeling guilty, you can always make it up to me when I get home.”
I put him on speaker and slipped off my shirt. I took a selfie while holding one of my naked breasts and smiling into the camera, pressing send before I lost the courage. I heard his phone click alerting him of a new message. He didn’t stop talking to me to check it as I’d hoped he would do.