Beside You

40 - and then i saw her

It was almost showtime, and Mitch got someone to help sneak me out into the front row. Yep. That was my big plan. For him to see me looking up at him. I couldn't think of a better way to do it.

The lights dimmed, the crowd roared and the introduction music started playing as I shuffled my way through the crowd. "Excuse me..sorry.." I kept repeating. People kept saying hi to me as I shuffled through them all.

"Good evening Nashville!!" I heard Trent's voice call out as I was nearing my seat. "How are we all feeling tonight!?"

As the cheering of the crowd quietened, I accidentally stepped on a girls foot, making her cuss lowly. "Shit sorry. My bad." I awkwardly chuckle as I finally get to my seat.

When I looked up on stage, I saw his shocked side eyes fixed on me. He wasn't saying anything. Just staring at me like he'd seen a ghost.

So what did I do? I gave him an awkward wave. Yep. An awkward wave. Not seen the man in two months and that's all I can do? God I'm such a dork.

Trent cleared his throat, beginning the show. The entire night, his eyes kept flickering back to me. As the show came to an end, before walking off stage, he quickly ran to the front of the stage.

He stopped right in front of me, holding out his hands to me, pulling me on stage. The crowd roared as they watched. But he gave them one final wave before running off stage, his hand gripping mine as we get backstage.

"What are..what are you doing here?" He asked shocked. "I came to watch Mitch play the drums." I say sarcastically. "I came to see you, dork." I roll my eyes.

I couldn't read his face. Was he happy I was here? Was he annoyed? I had no idea.

But my thoughts were quickly answered when his hands gripped my face, smashing his lips down against mine. It took my breath away at first, but I didn't hesitate to kiss him back. Fuelled with desperation to be close to one another.

His hands gripped tightly on my hips, tugging me impossibly closer to him as our tongues danced perfectly together. He pulled away briefly, giving me s second to catch my breath as he pushed his forehead against mine.

"You have no idea how badly I needed that.." he growled, his grip not once loosening on my hips. My arms wrapped around his neck as we just stood like this for a moment. Taking it all in. Being this close again after such a long time.

"Chris told me what happened with your label. You should've told me. I would've understood.." I speak quietly, not wanting everyone to hear us as he sighed. "I know. I just...I can't lose this. But I felt like I was losing you by fighting for this. Which I don't want. I'd take you over this life any day."

"Nope." I say back bluntly. "You're not losing either. You absolutely killed it out there. And I'm stood here with you. We're always going to be cheering you on, no matter what state you're in." I reassure him as he smiles at me.

"Fuck..I love you so much." He says, hugging me tightly as I smile to myself. "I love you too."

"Giovanna.." Andrew says, shocked as Trent and I turn to face him. "I didn't know we'd be seeing you tonight."

"Yeah it was a last minute thing. No one knew until I was here." I smile at him. But he didn't return the same warmth he normally does. "Trent..We need to-"

"Nope. Not tonight. I've been working my ass off this past month. I haven't asked for a single night off. But now I'm telling you. Tonight is not about work. It's about catching up with my girl. It can wait till tomorrow." He says bluntly, gripping my hand as we both walk out the stadium.

"Well isn't he cheerful." I say sarcastically, making Trent laugh. "He's got people on his ass too. We're all feeling the pressure. But this isn't why I started music. I don't want to feel like music is becoming s chore. I do it because I love it. If they can't see that, then maybe I should get a new label once the tour is over." He says so nonchalantly. He's clearly been thinking about that for a while now.

"But enough work talk..tonight is about me and you." He smiles at me, opening his car door for me before we speed away from the stadium.

We pull up outside a hotel. Presumably the one they're all staying at for the few days they're here. The second we step out of the car, there are a few younger girls waiting. They politely ask if he could take a picture with them.

Obviously he says yes. His fans are a big priority for him. "Here, I'll take that for you." I smile at the girls, grabbing her phone and taking a picture so they could all be in it.

"Thank you so much!" She beams at me as Trent grabs my hand. We take a few minutes to talk to the girls, who are all insanely sweet.

"My first dance song at my wedding was to Roam." One of the girls tells us, Trent squeezing my hand as he smiles down at me. "That was written about this one here." He confessed to them as they all smile. "That's so cute! So y'all have known each other forever?" One of them asks as we laugh.

"Loved her since I was 14." He tells them, kissing the top of my head. "Please feel free to call me nosey and to mind my own business..And I would never share tonight's conversations with people. That's just rude and disrespectful. But..." one of the girls starts. "But your daughter?" She trails off, trying to have my reaction as I flash her a sweet smile.

"She isn't his by blood. But she calls him her dad. I was a single mom for a while. Trent just gets along perfectly with her. Treats her as his own." I confess.

Watching how Trent took his time to interact with the people who supported him melted my heart. He has such a kind soul. "I'm glad to see you happy." One of them say as we all start to say our goodbyes. "I was at your show a few stops back. And you could just tell in your eyes that you were troubled by something. But you didn't have that tonight. And I'm guessing that's because of you." She smiles at me.

"Hold onto that. Not everyone gets a love like yours. It's rare." She says as they bid their farewells, walking away.

"They are so sweet.." I smile up at Trent as we walk into the hotel. "She was right though." He says. "About us. I'm my best self with you. We have something that not many people will have. So all of this business with the label isn't going to come in between us again." He adds as we get in the elevator.

"That's why I do this. For those kinds of people like the girls we met. They all have different stories when it comes to how my music impacts their lives. And they want to see me at my best. If that means changing label, then I'm changing label. I get offers all the time anyway. I only stayed there so long out of loyalty. They were the label that gave me my breakthrough. But they are working for the money now. Now for me."

I listen to him intensely as we ride the elevator to the top floor. I was worried he'd only be swapping labels for me. But now I see it's much bigger than me. It's for those girls outside. And for every other person like that. He wants to be his best self for them. For us all.

And if it makes him happy, then I'll be by his side as he signs the transfer papers.