"And then I said to him..." Stephanie paused, dabbing the corner of her mouth with her napkin and looking over at her dinner companion, who had barely touched his meal or said two words to her tonight. "Hunter, are you okay?"
She stretched out her hand to touch the back of his, and he startled, as though waking up from a light sleep.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, Stephanie."
She smiled softly at him and rubbed the back of his hand. "I think you're lying to me, Hunter Hayes."
He sighed. Usually he liked Stephanie's intuitive nature, the way she seemed to understand what he was feeling before he said the words aloud. Tonight, however, he was afraid her perceptual mind word read the word "Bethany" written across his face, as nothing else had entered his thoughts all night.
"Actually, no," he admitted, twining his fingers with hers. "I think we need to chat for a while. Will you come with me somewhere more private?"
Stephanie looked a little frightened, but agreed. Hunter threw some cash down on the table, and the two of them rode back to the hotel room where Stephanie was staying. She had flown out to see Hunter, since this leg of his tour kept him in California for a few weeks, and the hotel at which she was staying for the night was lavish.
They reclined into the sofa and Stephanie placed one of her hands on the back of his neck, gently stroking it.
"What's up, Hunt? You look upset."
He nodded. "I think it's time that you know about...my ex fiancée." He looked at her warily, and her posture stiffened just slightly.
"Oh...kay," she answered, seeming to prepare herself for the worst.
"Her name is Bethany James."
Hunter told her as much of the story as he could. He told her about her being hired, their first kiss, the "Tattoo" video, about Amanda's machinations, and about the long road they took to get back to each other. He told Stephanie he had proposed, that she had accepted, but that she had ended up in a relationship with Trenton in New York, and they had broken it off.
He then proceeded to confess that she worked for him again, and that she was now dating his best friend, and that it bothered him, even though it shouldn't. He was aware even as he was telling the story that he came off looking like the good guy, even if he wasn't entirely in the right.
Stephanie hugged him tight when he finished, and he allowed himself a moment to breathe in her sweet perfume.
He pulled back and searched her eyes. "So, what are you thinking? Are you okay with all of this?"
Her eyes crunched together and she shrugged. "Everyone has a past, Hunter. I definitely understand that. I do have one question, though."
"What is it?"
She gazed at him intently, and he knew what she was about to ask.
"Do you still love her?"
He opened his mouth to answer, but couldn't. Instead, he kissed Stephanie passionately, putting to rest the whole conversation. And when the night ended and he held her sleeping form against his chest, he still didn't know what he would have said.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////
Stephanie didn't get to see Hunter again until almost a month later, when he had finally made his way back to a town within driving distance. She bought flowers, dressed up, spraying on some perfume and headed to his venue with a smile on her face.
When she pulled up to the concert hall, she parked in the back and walked in through the backdoor, where she merely had to greet the guards to gain access. They knew her well enough by now. She entered into a bustling backstage area, which was not something she had expected. Usually, when she came, there were only a few stage hands milling about, a few people talking about mike placement and sound levels, and very little frantic movement. Today, it seemed as if there had been a fire somewhere, and that all the people who worked for Hunter had scurried away like ants in a pile that had just been rained on.
She looked around for Hunter, but couldn't see him in the commotion. She tried to get the attention of a few passing people, but none seemed to have time to stop. Finally, she caught sight of a woman with a clipboard in her hand and a headset around her neck. Stephanie grabbed her arm, certain she would be able to point her to Hunter.
"Excuse me," Stephanie said politely. "Can you tell me where Hunter is?"
The woman stopped and smiled back. "Of course. I'll take you to him."
Stephanie thanked her, then commented, "Is it always this crazy around here?" The woman with the headset looked neither frazzled nor surprised at the madness going on around her, though, if the way she barked out orders as they passed was any indication, she was in charge.
The other woman laughed. "No, not always. But we arrived a bit late, which accounts for about 50 percent of the craziness. We'll get everything done in time; my boys are well trained by now. It's just going to mean we're all working twice as fast. Sorry you had to witness everyone in zoo animal mode."
Stephanie laughed, trying her best to keep up with the kind woman's brisk pace as they practically sprinted through a set of double doors that led outside.
"Hunter should be in his bus, but let me come with you to make sure. Sometimes he goes over to the band's bus to jam with the guys before the concert starts."
Stephanie nodded. She remembered Hunter telling her that when his ex had come back to live with them, he had asked his manager, Ned, to move him off the bus with the band and into a different bus. That way, he only had to deal with her at the concerts, and not 24/7. Stephanie had thought it was a good idea.
"God, it's hot," Stephanie remarked, glaring up at the sun like it had killed her favorite dog. "Why does it have to be so hot? Do you think my flowers will wilt?"
The woman laughed again, a lovely sound that Stephanie found rather endearing.
"I highly doubt it. Sweltering though it is, flowers were made to be in the sunlight."
Stephanie laughed, too, thinking how silly her comment was.
They finally reached the bus, and the other woman pulled the door open. She peeked her head inside and called out Hunter's name, to which Stephanie heard a dim reply. Her heartbeat sped up. He must be inside. It had been so long since she'd seen him.
"He's here," she said to Stephanie, turning back around and climbing down the stairs to stand on the gravel beside the bus. "You can go on up."
Stephanie smiled at her. "Thanks for showing me here. You're very kind. I'm Stephanie, by the way. And you are?"
The other girl cracked a smile, and shook Stephanie's hand. "Good to meet you, Stephanie. I'm Bethany. Just doing my job."
Stephanie stopped cold for a beat, the realization that this was Hunter's ex finally settling over her. Wow, she was beautiful. She was thin and pretty and so kind. If Stephanie hadn't been nervous about Hunter working with his ex fiancée before, she definitely was now.
Bethany backed away, seeing the look on Stephanie's face. It was obvious she knew who she was now, and Beth thought it was best to simply leave her be.
"I'll leave you to it," she said, and disappeared.
Stephanie pulled herself together and went in to greet Hunter, whose exuberant hello more than made up for the heat outside. He kissed her for a long moment before they fell onto the couch to talk and catch up.
"So, Steph, I see you met Beth." Hunter rubbed the back of his neck, feeling sheepish.
"Yeah, I met her. She seemed really nice."
Hunter waited for her to say more, but Stephanie just sat there with a tiny smile pasted on her face.
"And?"
"And what?" she asked.
"And, I can tell you feel some type of way about it. Do you want to talk about it?"
She sighed. "It's not that I'm jealous, Hunter, really, I'm not. Because I trust what you said before about how it's over between you two. It's just that I didn't realize how beautiful and successful she is. I mean...are you sure you're not going to fall in love with her again?"
It was a moment where Hunter could decide to go one of two ways, neither of which would be pleasant. He could be brutally honest with her, and she would likely be upset, or he could lie and possibly upset her later on.
He chose brutal honesty. He had never liked to lie, but especially not in a relationship.
"Look, I'm going to be totally truthful here, okay? I have no clue what's coming. I know that I'm committed to you, and that I really, really like you, but my situation with Bethany is complicated. We don't speak often, and I try to stay away from her as much as possible, because I don't want anything to happen. But I will admit that those kinds of feelings don't just go away. These things take time."
Stephanie's face fell, and Hunter placed his fingers on her chin to make her look at him.
"But I promise you: I will never blindside you. If I start to feel even the smallest bit of romantic feelings for Bethany coming back, you will absolutely be the first to know. And I can tell you that right now, here with you, I don't see that happening."
That got her to smile, and she gave him a small kiss on the lips.
"I really appreciate your honesty, Hunter."
alueJD