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Leilani Morales felt joy course through her body as she glanced around the venue at all the familiar faces there to celebrate her success. It was such a monumental occasion to celebrate considering it took years of writing and searching for inspiration to truly compose the album that played over the high definition speakers at the moment. Finally, after dedicating her heart and soul to her passion, she found herself basking in the success that came with blood, sweat, and a shitload of tears. Every emotion Leilani ever felt and poured into her tattered journal had come to life.
It was beautiful--the whole venue. Her manager, Chase Friar, had really gone all out to make this the best album release party possible. He was a caring man in his late twenties who, after his failed first marriage, devoted all his time to bettering Leilani's career. He wanted to see her thrive in the business after all the obstacles she faced following her rocky relationship. And Leilani was thriving, quite literally, as she took in the beautiful purple and blue decorations themed off her album's cover. There was food galore, an open bar, and even a stage which Leilani would be performing on toward the end of the night as well as expressing her gratitude to the guests. There were dozens upon dozens of celebrities scattered around the room chatting amongst each other, all wearing smiles on their faces. Leilani had originally made it her mission to greet everyone but began to fall behind as the venue filled up more, so she decided to plant her feet near the bar and wait for people to come to her.
One of the bartenders slid a flute of champagne her way, and Leilani sipped it while scanning the crowd. Her eyes landed on a familiar individual squeezing their way through a throng of people, trying not to accidentally bump or elbow someone. She took a step forward and waved, immediately catching their attention. "Cal, hey!"
A grin found its way to Calum's face the moment he saw her, dark eyes twinkling under the dim lighting. "Hey, congratulations!" He exclaimed, pulling the petite brunette into a hug. Leilani clung to him, having missed his scent despite seeing him only three days ago when they stayed up for hours talking.
"Thank you so much! I'm glad you're here! I was worried you wouldn't make it," Leilani confessed, stepping back from their embrace though they remained in close proximity to each other.
Calum reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing. "Of course. All the boys are here somewhere. We split up to find you. Our interview didn't take as long as we thought it would." His voice lowered. "I missed you," he admitted bashfully, cheeks taking on a crimson hue. "Is that weird?"
"No, I missed you too. I actually was wondering if you wanted to come back to my place after this? I have some things I wanted to talk to you about," she told him, worry coursing through her veins at the inevitable conversation she needed to have with him. After talking with Luke, Leilani realized she had stayed in her comfort zone for too long when it came to dating. She didn't want to lose Calum when she'd just got him, so she decided to take the risk and tell him how she felt about their situation. If he didn't feel the same way about furthering their relationship then she would accept that and move on—or at least that was what she told herself.
