Tell Me You Love Me // Demi Lovato // 1

22. San Diego (Part 1)

Demi and I were at our hotel in San Diego, for the first stop of her tour with DJ Khaled. We were getting ready to go to sound check, and Demi was in a fluffy white robe, drying her hair. Meanwhile, I was spinning my ring around my finger, sitting on the couch, wearing a black jumpsuit with a patterned gold belt that Demi picked out, with red and black Louboutins. Also picked out by Demi.

She was going to be dressed in an off-the-shoulder velvet top with transparent sleeves with roses on them and black pants. And Louboutins that were just like mine.

Okay, yes, we got matching shoes. Bite me.

Once Demi was dressed, she slipped her ring on and I helped her with her bracelet, and when we had our phones and bags, we headed out to the car waiting for us. Demi reached over, gently taking my hand.

"I'm, like, really excited about tonight," she started, "but also really nervous."

"You'll be amazing. As always."

She dipped her head, probably to hide her blushing cheeks. "You always know what to say."

"Why are you nervous?" I asked, lightly squeezing her hand.

She sighed before answering. "Just being the first night, I guess." She smiled, mouth closed, and I knew something was bothering her. She wasn't her usual energetic self, and she hadn't been since we arrived in San Diego. I'd figured she'd just been tired, so we went to sleep, but she was still acting... like something was wrong.

"Spill it. What's wrong?"

Her eyes went wide, and she blinked a few times. "Why would you think something's wrong?"

"I can tell something is bothering you, so what is it?"

She smiled, a real Demi Lovato smile, and squeezed my hand. "It's-There's nothing wrong, okay? I just... I have something planned. But it's a surprise, so I can't tell you about it. You trust me don't you?"

I nodded, satisfied enough with her answer. "Of course."

She nodded once. "Okay."

Just then, I realized she'd pulled her hair up into a high ponytail. I suddenly felt very plain, because I had just brushed my hair and left it down. In the last few months, I'd let it grow out, only getting it trimmed once, so it now fell in waves several inches below my shoulders. I usually liked to keep it right below my shoulders, so when I told Demi I was getting it cut, she said she liked me better with long hair. So I just got the split ends cut, making it softer, but not losing much length. After wearing that wig to Emo Nite, I was liking longer hair anyway.

It was still my beachy blonde, but lighter, since I got highlights before we left Los Angeles, so it wasn't as dull as it used to be, but it wasn't special.

Everyone was talking about "Demi's new girlfriend" but Demi didn't talk much about it in interviews. She just said that she was in a relationship and she was happy. And that was basically it. I wasn't even sure how many people knew I was her makeup artist for the tour. But, I guessed everyone would know soon enough.

We headed inside the stadium, where I sat in front of the stage, in the middle, watching everything get set up. Demi sat next to me, while she waited.

"What do you think?" she asked, referring to the building.

"It's so big." I chuckled, looking around for a moment. "Does this seem normal to you? Like, at all?"

"Sometimes it seems a bit unreal," she admitted, "but in a good way." She laced our fingers together, then brought my hand to her mouth, kissing the back of it. I did the same thing, kissing her lion tattoo.

She eventually got called to go. She sang to me the entire time, which made me wonder, what would it be like when the seats were filled?

~//~//~//~//~//~//~

That moment. I have to talk about it. When Maia asked if it was normal, and Demi replied the way she did, she wasn't just talking about the stadium, and performing for her fans, but also being with Maia, and I just think it's so sweet.