Dear April (Sunshine & Shadow Book 2) (4 page)

Lex rolled his eyes so
only April could see and spoke over his shoulder to Cash. “Alright, I’ll change
and be ready in ten.”

Cash leaned around Lex
and said, “Hi, April. I had a feeling it was you I saw.”

April tried to turn her
head to look at him but Lex stopped her.

Cash turned on his heel
and disappeared behind Lex’s RV. “Change out of that hillbilly getup!” he said
as he left.

“For the record,” April
said once Cash was gone, “I like this getup.”

“Then I guess I’m going
hillbilly for the interview.” Lex kissed the tip of her nose.

“Don’t get in trouble
because of me.”

“I won’t. Cash thinks the
fans would like me better as the guy who looks city but sings country. But your
opinion is the only one that matters to me.”

“You don’t have to say
that.”

“It’s the truth.” Lex
kissed April again and smiled.

“If you keep kissing me I
won’t be able to leave.”

“Maybe that’s my plan.”
He kissed her again. She pulled away halfheartedly and laughed at his attempt
to kiss every inch of her face. 

April stepped back. “Find
me later?”

Lex nodded. “Try and stop
me. In fact, I have a little surprise for you.”

“Surprise? What is it?”

Lex frowned. “Do you know
what a surprise is? I’m obviously not going to tell you now.”

April turned her back on
him, earning her a half-hearted smack on the behind, followed by a gentle
caress. Desire sparked inside her and her stomach tightened deliciously. Her
heart fluttered.

“Well, I can’t wait,” she
said, backing away from him and half hoping he would follow her. But she knew
he couldn’t.

She made her way back to
the saloon, and met Meagan at the door. Meagan looked frantic, and almost
collapsed when she saw April.

“Oh my God! Where have
you been?”

April wracked her brains
for a good excuse. “I, um, went to find the bathroom and saw someone I knew.”

“Who?” Meagan narrowed
her eyes, obviously not believing April’s pathetic excuse of a lie.

“Just a friend ...” April
said.

“A
boy
friend?”

April shrugged. “If you
mean a boy who’s also a friend, then maybe.”

“Oh my God!” Meagan
grabbed April’s hand and dragged her over to where everyone else was sitting on
bar stools. “Tell us everything. April’s got a boyfriend,” she said to the
others.

“What?”

“Oh my God, April!”

“Who is it?”

The questions were
endless and April held up her hands in defeat. “Alright, I met this guy a few
months back and we hit it off. I definitely wasn’t expecting him to be here.”

The information wasn’t
enough for the other girls and they hounded April with questions.

“What’s he like?”

“I don’t know; he’s
sweet, and caring.”

“Is he cute?”

“
I
think so.”

“What’s his name?”

“Um ...” April looked at
their expectant faces. “His name is ... um ... Alexander. Alex.”

“Alex,” Charlotte
murmured, almost tasting the way the name felt on her tongue. “Sounds ...
sexy.”

The girls laughed and
thankfully the conversation moved away from April’s boyfriend. She couldn’t
help but feel a bit sad. How great would it be to be able to tell her friends.
She couldn’t even imagine their surprise if they found out the truth.

The rest of the afternoon
passed without incident. April’s mind couldn’t focus on the acts on the stage.
She just danced and laughed whenever her friends did, her mind on Lex. Dinner
was a blur. The girls asked more than once if there was something bugging her.
Apparently she looked nervous. Nervous?
No.
She was only anticipating a
surprise from the man who she was in love with but who seemed destined to be
kept away from her.

By the time the announcer
thanked Eric Church and called the next performer on stage, April’s stomach was
in knots. She knew her hands were clammy, which probably meant her face was
beet red.

Lex strolled onto the
stage and the crowd went wild. He got the loudest cheer of the day, and April
felt a strange twinge of pride.

“Oh my God I love him!”
Meagan screamed in her ear.

“Me too…” April watched
him smile at the wall of fans.

As Lex begun his first
song, she could see his eyes searching the crowd until they met hers. Feeling
her face mellow into a smile, she waved subtly. She could just make out his
wink. The crowd jumped and swayed in time to the song blaring from the
speakers. Lex’s voice flowed over the mass of bodies. It was like he was born
to be on stage, surrounded by screaming fans, singing the words he couldn’t
say.

The set didn’t last as
long as April hoped and before she knew it, the music stopped and Lex’s clear
voice was booming from all around her, announcing his last song for the night.  

“This song is very close
to my heart,” he said to the crowd. “I’m gonna tell you a little story before I
start.”

April held her breath.

“You know those moments
when the world just seems to stop spinning?” More screaming. “Well it happened
to me a few months ago. Someone came into my life and made everything else go
out of focus.” Lex looked across the crowd, like he was reliving the memory. “I
met a girl this summer. And at first, she was just another girl. But one day,
there was a problem with a horse and I knew I was in love.”

Triumph,
April thought. He’s loved me since the run in with Triumph?

“I got to see her bare
her soul in front of that animal. It was the most amazing thing I have ever
seen. And from that moment on, she was always on my mind. When I left, I didn’t
think I’d ever see her again, until I saw her today, here. This song wasn’t
part of the original set, and my poor guys here have only played it once, but I
wrote it for her. This is for you, angel.”

The song started and
April felt the first tear run down her face.

It was sweet and slow,
but filled with an emotion she had only ever known once; when she was with Lex.
Hearing his melodic voice sent shivers down her spine and made her heart fill
with an ache that could only be described as love.

“
I
knew I’d never be the same. Country roads and those mud stained jeans. Playing
your innocent little game, you didn’t even know we played,” Lex sung.

Meagan grabbed April’s
arm and pulled her out of her trance. “Oh my God, how lucky is that girl?” She
beamed and Charlotte nodded, agreeing.

“Pretty lucky,” April
murmured. She turned her attention back to the stage and the world seemed to
freeze.

This was one of the
moments Lex had described. The crowd disappeared. The song disappeared.
Everything but the man on stage was blurred. Nothing else mattered.

Their eyes locked. Lex
held out one hand and it was almost as if he held a rope. April felt like she
was being tugged forward. Her feet moved subconsciously and before she knew it
she was nearly all the way up to the stage.

A hand wove around her
waist and pulled her aside. The world slammed back into focus.

“Oh no, you don’t.” Cash
stared down at her, not letting go.

She was confused.

“April, there are cameras
everywhere,” Cash said.

April looked around and
spotted at least three television crews, each with their own video camera, not
to mention the mass of people waving cell phones in the air, trying their
hardest to snap a picture of their favorite country star.

She felt sick with
disappointment. She was so close to Lex, and yet she couldn’t go to him. Was
this what life with him would be like?

Cash slipped a card in
her hand. “Here, it’s a VIP pass. Come to the trailer tonight around 10. I’ll
make sure there aren’t any paparazzi.” Cash moved his grip to her arm and gave
it a sharp squeeze, forcing her to tear her eyes off the stage and look at him.
“For now, April, please, just go back to your friends.”

April nodded, dejected
and turned around. The song drifted to an end and the last line hit her heart.

“And now I wish it was
April every day.”

The VIP card got her into
the maze of trailers without any trouble from the security guards. However, it
was not a map and April couldn’t remember where she had run to when she had found
Lex’s trailer. She wandered in between RV’s and campers until she was close to
giving up. Then she heard Lex’s voice.

“Look, I don’t know why
you are here.”

A woman snarled back at
him. A voice April didn’t recognize. “How do you think it makes me look, Lex,
when one of
my friends
sends me a video of the song you sang to
another
girl
!? You think that makes me look good?”

“I really couldn’t care
less, Vi. You knew what this was when you signed the contract. Why are you
suddenly acting like I betrayed you or something?”

Contract? That must be
what Lex had written about in the email.
April listened harder, being careful not to make any noise.

“Because you did betray
me, Lex! You are making me look like an idiot! When the producers hear that the
song was about some other chick, they’ll have your skin.”

“And who’s going to tell
them? You?” Lex growled. April could almost swear she heard a threat in those
words.

“I’ll do whatever
necessary for my career, Lex. I believe I told you that once before.”

“Yeah, Vi, I remember.
The point is, I love this girl, and my biggest regret right now is signing that
damned contract.”

“I regret it too, Lex.”
Their voices were softer now, calmer.

“Why would you regret
it?”

“You always hear about
the lead actors in a movie falling in love and living happily ever after…”

“You told me you wanted
it to happen between us. But you have to understand; I’ve never felt this way
before.”

April’s heart soared and
a sound came out of her throat. She covered her mouth and listened.

“I thought you were over
her.”

“I was trying to be. I
thought that if I could distract myself enough, then I could get over her. But
it didn’t work.”

Violet sighed. “You
really love her, Lex?”

“I do.”

“And there’s nothing I
can do?”

“Nothing.”

“Then breach the
contract.”

“I can’t do that, Vi.”
Lex was angry again.

“Why not? If she means
that much to you.”

“She means the world to
me! But I’ve worked so hard for all that I have. If I breach the contract, if
they find out, I’ll lose everything.”

“So what do you want to
do?

Lex groaned; a pained
sound that made April want to rush to him.

“I want April, but I have
to finish this movie. I’m just afraid she won’t wait for me. It’s a lot to ask
of someone.”

“It is. But if she loves
you like you love her, she’ll wait.”

Lex didn’t answer.

“Look, Lex, I won’t tell
the producers. If she means that much to you, then I’ll back down graciously.
But so help me, if you make me look like a fool again I will bring your entire
world crashing down on you, do you hear me?”

There was something in Violet’s
voice that April found unsettling.

“I hear you.” Lex sounded
dejected and completely deflated.

“Good. I’ll see you in a
few days. Don’t forget we have Jerry Sprinter Wednesday. And good job tonight.
From what I heard, you sounded great.”

April held her breath as Violet
passed by the trailer she was hiding behind. As the sound of her footsteps
subsided, she went to find Lex. He was sitting on the table that was set up
underneath the awning of the oversized RV. He didn’t look happy at all.

“Lex?” she said.

Lex looked up, his eyes
full of pain.

“April.” He closed the
gap between them in two strides. Enveloping her in his arms, he buried his face
in her hair and inhaled. She could feel his body shaking, sending vibrations
through hers.

“I was listening.”

He froze. “I’m so sorry.”

“Did you mean what you
said about me?”      

“Every word. You are
everything to me. These past few months have been hell.”

April nodded and laid her
cheek against his chest. She believed him. “For me, too.”

Lex led April inside. The
interior of the colossal rig was just as impressive as the outside. Large
leather sofas lined one wall, mirrored by an oversized dining table made of
dark wood. It looked more like an apartment than an RV. They sat opposite each
other at the table and Lex gestured towards a bowl of pretzels.

“Eat,” he said, firmly.
“You’ve lost weight since I last saw you.”

April grimaced. She
didn’t like that he noticed.

“Tell me about the
movie,” April said.

Lex shrugged. “It’s
everything they said it would be.”

“You don’t sound very
excited.”

He groaned. “It’s
everything they promised, but it’s not everything I expected, I guess.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know when you plan
something for a long time, how it sort of builds up in your mind to this unbelievable,
amazing thing?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought doing the
movie would make me happy, and maybe at one time it would have. But now it
feels like there’s something missing. It’s felt that way for a while.”

“Since when?”

“Since I left the ranch.
There’s been something missing since then, and it’s making me miserable, even
when I’m doing something that used to make me so happy, like performing, or
acting.”

“It’s my fault? I’m the
reason you’re miserable?”

“No, not at all! Please
don’t think that!” Lex gripped April’s hand and stared into her eyes. “It’s not
your fault. You’re the only thing that kept my head above water. Thinking of
you was the only thing that made me smile. I don’t know what’s missing.”

April rubbed her thumb in
circles on the back of his hand.

“Ever since I left the
ranch, I can’t pretend my life is perfect, because it isn’t.”

“You said that in your
email.”

“You read them?” Lex
looked at her with wonder on his face.

April nodded. “I tried
not to. Thinking about you made me sad.”

“I don’t think I can make
you realize what it did to me to have to leave without saying goodbye. It was
stupid. I should have told you about Violet the first second I felt something
for you, but I was scared.”

“Scared of what? Me?”

He shook his head. “I was
scared you wouldn’t forgive me. That you wouldn’t understand and…that you’d
hate me.”

“I could never hate you.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“I know you are. And I
can’t pretend to be okay with it, because you’re right; I don’t understand. But
I’ll try, for you. I’ll try for us, because I don’t want to lose you again.”
April went to sit beside Lex and laid her head on his shoulder. He kissed her
forehead.

“Can I ask you
something?” she said.

“Of course you can.”

“Do you believe Violet,
when she said she would back down?”

He nodded. “I do.”    

April didn’t answer.

“You don’t?”

“I…I don’t even know
her.”

“Do you think she’s
telling the truth?”

She looked down. “…I
think she likes you.”

“She does. We’re
friends.”

“You know what I mean.”

“She’s my friend, April.
Maybe at one time, she wanted to be more but she’s not gonna push it. I’m not
gonna let her do anything to mess up what we have, either.”

“But, I still think…”

“Enough, April. She
doesn’t have feelings for me, okay? Please just drop it.”

“Okay, okay.” April held
up her hands.

“Can we just have a good
night, just us? No Violet talk, yeah?”

She kissed him on the
cheek. “Deal.”

The evening seemed to
pass in a second and before April knew it, it was midnight. She had promised
her friends to catch up with them at the hotel after having drinks with her
friend. Luckily they hadn’t caught on to her lie. She was actually surprised
none of them had asked her about Lex’s song. She just hoped she wouldn’t have
to divulge too many details about her evening. She was a terrible liar.

April and Lex kissed
goodbye inside the RV, not willing to risk being caught. The entire ride back
to the hotel in the cab, April replayed the kiss over and over in her mind. His
lips were softer than anything she had ever felt before. She never thought she
could need someone as much as she needed Lex. He was
her
missing piece,
the element that gave her the spark that everyone searches for. She couldn’t
lose him again. Especially to Violet and her manipulative words. She didn’t know
what she would do. But she had to do something.