Noel pulls the microphone off the stand. “Wow!” He steps back and laughs as he stares around. He looks unbelievably hot in his jeans and tight, black t-shirt. “I can’t tell you how great it feels to be back in my old stomping grounds. I grew up not far from here, so tonight—”

“I LOVE YOU NOEL!” shouts the lady behind me again, practically right in my ear.

Noel flicks his line of sight down and makes eye contact with me. Surprise registers on his face, and he pauses for a brief second, even though it feels like an eternity to me. “So tonight—” he says, still staring at me. “—is a very special night. It gives me a chance to revisit my past. See people I haven’t seen since high school. The good and the bad.” Noel’s gaze leaves me, and he glances back out toward the crowd. “Are you guys ready to rock?”

Noel’s band starts off with a fast song, and every person in the arena thrashes around. Pumping their fists and jumping around like crazy Mexican Jumping Beans.

“Oh my God, Lanie. He totally recognizes you!” Aubrey squeals in my ear while grabbing my arm.

“No he doesn’t.” I attempt to blow her words off. She has no clue how intense mine and Noel’s relationship was back then. She’s only heard stories.

“Hello? Are you kidding me? He even just said ‘high school’ when he looked at you. We have to put these passes to use and get back stage,” Aubrey shouts as she bounces in time with the beat—her long, auburn hair trailing down her back. Tonight for her, is all about fun and the possibility of meeting one of the hottest bands around, but for me…I’m not really sure what I expect from tonight. Noel’s always been the ‘what if’ for me. The one who got away.

Noel straps his guitar around his neck and then haphazardly slings it over his shoulder. He grabs the mic with both hands and brings it to his full lips. It reminds me of the way he used to kiss. He’d always put his entire soul into everything he did, which included the way he loved me.

“Look at me. I see you now. The way we used to be…” Noel sings in perfect rhythm.

The smoothness of his voice fills my ears, and it takes me back. I close my eyes and listen to his words and remember all the times we sat out on the old boat dock, overlooking the lake that separated our two childhood homes. That was our spot. The place we met in secret so many nights. The first place he sang to me. The first place we made love.

It was also the place where our love ended—where I told him to give up on his foolish dreams to become a rock star and do something sensible, like me, and go to college. I knew I broke his heart when I said I could never be with a dreamer because dreams don’t pay the bills.

Look at what I knew.

He totally made it, while I’m still struggling to land my perfect job in this tough economy with my ‘sensible’ degree. Life without him, these last four years, has been lonely.

A tear rolls down my cheek. How silly was I to listen to people, that Noel was a loser going nowhere just because he loved music. We could’ve been happy. We could’ve beaten the odds. But, I guess that’s something I’ll never know. Just another old chapter in my life I need to walk away from because it’s too late.

I open my eyes to take one last look at Noel. His eyes close as he belts out the chorus. Sweat beads illuminate his face under the spot light. He’s truly beautiful. But he’s a stranger now. Someone I used to know. It’s time to quit torturing myself and move on. I’ll just have to kiss the job at Center Stage goodbye.

“Aubrey, I need to get out of here. I can’t do this,” I shout to my friend.

Her pink lips twist. “Why? Because of him?” She points to Noel.

My eyes flit up to Noel’s face, and at that very second, he looks down at me while he strums his guitar. His eyes hold mine for a second before I glance back at Aubrey and nod. “I have to get out of here. This is like torture.”

Aubrey’s whole body slumps like a deflated balloon. “You know we can’t do that,” she sighs. “You have to suck it up and talk to him. You won’t get a job and I’ll lose mine. Diana doesn’t mess around.” She takes my hand and pulls me through the crowd. I glance back and watch a pile of girls shove their way into our spot.

The outdoor arena is so loud I can hardly hear my own thoughts. We make it to the back of the crowd just as the song ends. People are screaming Noel’s name while they’re waiting for the next song to begin. When it’s oddly silent, I think about taking one last look before I walk out on him again—one last look to remember him by.

“This next song goes out to the girl who shredded my heart without hesitation back in high school. It’s called Ball Busting Bitch, and Lanie, this one’s for you.”

My entire body freezes and I feel my mouth go dry. What a dick! The blood in my veins boil and my fingers shake as I resist the urge to storm the stage and punch him square in the face.

On second thought that sounds like a fantastic idea.

I lunge forward and Aubrey snags my arm. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m going to kick his ass,” I snarl.

Aubrey rolls her emerald eyes. “As much as I would love to see you do that, it’s impossible and you know it. The guy probably has ten hunky bodyguards to protect him from the likes of you. Besides we have to be civil to that cretin, remember?”

My shoulders slump in defeat. Oh, right. I have a job riding on getting Noel to like me. The last thing I want to do right now is talk to him, let alone be nice to him, but what choice do I have?