For the first time in maybe her whole life—since Kansas, anyway—her dad was actually speechless. Lupe and Tetra dissolved into a fit of giggles.
“I’ve brought a chair for Tetra. Hey, kid.” Donny waved at her. “I figured there was no point in taking two vehicles all the way out there, so why don’t you all just ride with me?” Donny stuck his hand out to Dad, who still stood in the doorway like a statue with his hand to his heart. “I’m Donny, by the way. Nice to meet you.”
“Malcolm Scott,” Dad said in a daze.
“Will we all fit in your car?” asked Tetra.
Donny shrugged. “See for yourself.”
Lupe pushed the desk chair up to the threshold. On the street outside the house was a sleek, black stretch limo. The back window rolled down and Justin’s gorgeous aunt said, “Let’s go! We don’t want to be late!”
Donny rolled his eyes. “Women.” He looked at Tetra and Lupe. “No offense intended, of course.”
“None taken,” said Lupe.
“So, are you girls ready?”
“Yes, we are!” Lupe helped Tetra maneuver her way out of the desk chair and into the wheelchair Donny had brought her.
“Hey, Tetra,” Donny leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I think we broke your dad.”
“Dad!” Tetra yelled. “Phone, wallet, keys!”
Those three things were the list that Tetra and her father made sure to check that they had every time they left the house. The reminder did the job of snapping Dad out of his stupor. “Yes, yes.” He patted his pockets. “Phone, wallet, keys. Got it. You girls have everything?”
Tetra and Lupe nodded.
“Excellent.” Dad locked the door and turned back to his childhood rock idol. “Nice to meet you…Donny, was it?”
Donny’s laugh flew out of him like a bark and he put an arm around Dad. “Malcolm, you and I are going to get along just fine.”
By the time they reached the venue, Dad and Donny were cracking jokes like they were old friends. Ona, like the cover of a magazine come to life in her breezy pastel silk gown, teased Donny for exaggerating all his old stories to make them sound more interesting.
Lupe continued to fuss over Tetra’s hair. She’d braided the sides but let the rest fall free, and there were little purple flowers clipped all through it. Lupe had worn her flowers on her sundress—giant birds of paradise on a royal blue background that probably would have looked like a muumuu on anyone else, but it hugged Lupe’s curves like a pinup girl.
Tetra had opted for a top with long, black lace sleeves and a short, black skirt. Lupe had convinced her to wear one of her high-heeled boots. If she’d worn those boots to a concert normally, she’d have come home with blisters. Lupe pointed out that not being able to walk afforded Tetra the chance to show off her fabulous, less-functional shoes. Tetra figured that the massive walking cast would stand out anyway, so what was one cute shoe more or less?
“You three go on without us,” Donny said as the car came to a stop. “Ona and I have a tendency to cause a scene, and we’d like the spotlight to stay on the band for as long as possible. Jimmy will make sure you get in.”
Dad shook Donny’s hand. “In case I don’t see you again, thank you for everything you’ve done for my little girl.”
“It’s nothing I wouldn’t have done for my own little girl,” said Donny. “Besides, you’re family.”
Jimmy the driver helped Tetra into the wheelchair and pushed her up to the front door. “She’s on the list,” he said to the guy on the stool there.
“And I’m her dad,” said Dad.
“And I’m her best friend,” said Lupe.
“They’re on the list too,” said Jimmy. “Last name Scott.”
The guy ran his finger down the clipboard and stopped about halfway through. “Got it,” he said, and then looked at Tetra. “Oh, right! You’re the girl!”
Tetra had no idea what he was talking about. “I am indeed the girl.”
He opened the door and yelled into the bar. “Sally! The girl’s here!”
“Coming!” A petite blonde woman in blonde pigtails came hopping around the corner. “I’m so excited to meet you,” she said. “We have a special spot for you guys. Right this way.”
A section to the left of the stage had been roped off, not far from the backstage access door…right in front of where Justin would stand during the set. Tetra couldn’t have imagined a better spot.
Sally gave Tetra’s father a wristband and then stamped the back of both Tetra’s and Lupe’s hands. “Your dad and your friend are welcome to dance if they wish, but the section is reserved for only you three.”
“Thank you,” said Tetra.
“I’ll get us some drinks,” said Dad.
“This is so exciting!” said Lupe. “I never get to be this close to the stage.”
“I wish I could dance with you,” Tetra said wistfully.
“Nonsense,” said Lupe. “There will be time enough for that when you’re healed. Right now, just enjoy all the pampering!”
And she did. When the band finally walked on stage, each of them stopped to give her a hug first. Justin was last—he looked pointedly at Tetra’s dad before planting an incredibly chaste kiss on her cheek. “Enjoy the show,” he said to them all with a twinkle in his eye.
“Smart boy,” Dad said under his breath.
“Sexy boy,” Lupe whispered to Tetra.
They started the set off with Stranger Times and Scarlet Fever, two of Tetra’s favorites. After the third song, Lupe hopped up and danced around while Tetra bopped along in her chair. Even Dad seemed to be enjoying himself.
The only problem was, the closer they got to the end of the show, the more apprehensive Tetra was about how it would end. It was one thing to watch Justin pull feats of wonder out of his hat via livestream…it was quite another to witness Xander’s maliciousness firsthand.
Inevitably, that moment finally came.
“We’re going to wrap this up for you here,” Xander said to the audience. The statement was met with both sad groans and cheers. Phones were pulled out of pockets all over the dance floor as people began to record whatever was about to happen next. “So I’m going to hand it over to our fantastic bass player. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s hear it for Justin Zatarain!”
Tetra and Lupe clapped and cheered. Dad whistled. Various voices in the crowd began to yell, “The Girl in the Song!”
“Thanks, everyone,” Justin said into the microphone. “There’s a song I’d like to play for an amazing girl who happens to be here tonight.” He pointed to where Tetra was sitting in her wheelchair. Blushing, Tetra waved obligingly to the crowd that was now cheering for her.
Please let the microphone not give out, she silently prayed. Please let everything go right tonight. Please.
“She’s become incredibly special to me in a very short amount of time,” Justin went on. “We’ve been battered and bruised, and we’ve both come out the other side, better than ever. She’s helped me through some dark places. And as a thank you, I wrote her this song.” The cheers became deafening as the crowd realized just how special Tetra was. “Tetra, my girl in the song, this one’s for you.”
The stage lights went dark.
Tetra thought her heart might explode into a million pieces, right there on the dance floor.
Dad put a hand on her shoulder—she covered it with her own and squeezed. “He’s got my approval so far,” Dad whispered in her ear.
Tetra kept praying. Please let everything go right. Please.
And then the keyboard started. A spotlight illuminated Kara, who started the piece with a sweeping intro that sounded like the soundtrack from a movie. A bass line kicked into gear, but when the spotlight fell it landed not on Justin, but Xander.
Tetra didn’t even know Xander could play bass.
A third spotlight showed Liam as he joined the song. The last light fell on Justin, playing Xander’s guitar.
“She’s just a shadow in t
he park,” Justin sang.
“I’ve run here,” sang Xander.
“She’s secrets whispered in the dark,” Justin sang.
“I’ve drunk deep,” sang Xander.
“She’s with you wherever you roam,” Justin sang.
“I’m worn thin,” sang Xander.
“And she reminds you there’s a home,” Justin sang.
“So run here,” sang Xander.
The mashup of the two songs was heartbreakingly beautiful. But what made Tetra’s eyes water was the undeniable proof that the rift between Justin and Xander was now healed.
Dad handed her his handkerchief, and she let herself cry. This was the song that would be posted online by hundreds of people for the world to see. This amazing, glorious moment…and she was a part of it.
When the song came to a close, the roar of the crowd was deafening. Justin hopped off the stage and pulled Tetra up into his arms for a kiss, the most wonderful kiss she’d ever had in her life. After setting her back down gently in her chair, Justin turned to her father.
“I’m Justin,” he yelled over the crowd.
“I got that,” Dad yelled back, shaking his hand. “Nice performance up there.”
“Thanks,” said Justin. “We’re going to have to do an encore—Donny’s going to join us for that. But stick around, will you? We have a lot to talk about after the show.”
“Like how you and Xander finally made up?” asked Tetra.
“That, and how I’ll be going back to college this fall. In Naples. Donny said he would make it happen. Move Mum out to Mimosa Key and everything.”
Tetra leapt out of her chair and Justin caught her up in an enormous hug. “You’re like my dream come true,” she whispered in his ear.
“I think you were mine first,” he whispered back. And with one last kiss, he hopped back up on the stage to announce his uncle and the encore, the last song of this tour.
After that, he’d be coming home.
Thank you for reading Fish Out of Water: a Barefoot Bay Kindle Worlds Romance! Did you enjoy this story? Please leave a review! Want to adventure further into the Wonderful World of Princess Alethea? Click here: https://www.patreon.com/princessalethea or get the newsletter: http://eepurl.com/YSmS1
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to all my Facebook friends for brainstorming alternative rock band names with me…who knew there would be so many that were actually real bands? Extra bonus hugs to Kelly Fann, the fabulous woman responsible for 10mm Conspiracy.
Thanks to Adam, Corinna, Josh, Turtle, Francis, and Alex of the Adam Ezra Group for…well…everything. Love, friendship, encouragement, mutual respect, the sprained ankle, the rescue, years of inspiration, a phone full of crazy pictures, and the realization that I knew far more about the indie rock world than I thought I did.
Thanks and congratulations again to Charlie and Liz Slone, for getting married exactly when I needed them to. A princess could not have wished for better guardian angels.
Of course, I must bestow a million hugs and kisses on Roxanne St. Claire, for welcoming me into her universe—both in real life, and in fiction.
Thanks, as always, to my crack team: Casey Cothran and Kat Tipton, cover designer Rachel Marks, and proofreader Marcy Kontis…because not every author is lucky enough to have a mom that’s a proofreader and a superstar.
Last but certainly not least, thanks to Tori Amos, for inspiring me as a teen, a woman, and a writer.
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Alethea Kontis is a princess, a fairy godmother, and a geek. She’s known for screwing up the alphabet, scolding vampire hunters, and ranting about fairy tales on YouTube.
Alethea’s published works include: The Wonderland Alphabet (with Janet K. Lee), Diary of a Mad Scientist Garden Gnome (with Janet K. Lee), the AlphaOops series (with Bob Kolar), the Books of Arilland fairy tale series, and The Dark-Hunter Companion (with Sherrilyn Kenyon). Her short fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared in a myriad of anthologies and magazines.
Alethea’s YA fairy tale novel, Enchanted, won both the Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Award and Garden State Teen Book Award. Enchanted was nominated for the Audie Award in 2013 and was selected for World Book Night in 2014. Both Enchanted and its sequel, Hero, were nominated for the Andre Norton Award. Tales of Arilland, a short story collection set in the same fairy tale world, won a second Gelett Burgess Award in 2015. The second book in The Trix Adventures, Trix and the Faerie Queen, was a finalist for the Dragon Award in 2016.
Princess Alethea was given the honor of speaking about fairy tales at the Library of Congress in 2013. In 2015, she gave a keynote address at the Lewis Carroll Society’s Alice150 Conference in New York City, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. She also enjoys speaking at schools and festivals all over the US. (If forced to choose between all these things, she says middle schools are her favorite!)
Born in Burlington, Vermont, Alethea currently lives and writes on the Space Coast of Florida. She makes the best baklava you’ve ever tasted and sleeps with a teddy bear named Charlie. Find out more about Princess Alethea and the magic, wonderful world in which she lives here: https://www.patreon.com/princessalethea
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Connect with Princess Alethea Online!
@aletheakontis
Alethea Kontis
www.aletheakontis.com
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Also by Alethea Kontis
The Books of Arilland: Imagine that all the fairy tales we know and love originated with one family, once upon a time…
Enchanted
Sunday Woodcutter, youngest of ten, befriends a frog in the Wood…who turns out to be the prince her family hates. Can Rumbold make Sunday fall in love with him as a man despite the pit between their families?
Hero
Tall, adventurous Saturday Woodcutter has a destiny bigger than she could have ever imagined. Mistaken for her infamous brother Jack and kidnapped to a cave high in the White Mountains, Saturday must choose to save the world or save herself. A decision made more complicated by the fact that she’s falling for the son of an Earl who also happens to be the blind witch’s prisoner…
Trixter
Compelled by a vision of his dead birthmother, Trix Woodcutter bespells his family and runs straight into his own adventure filled with legendary beasts, Animal Kings, a precocious girl dipped in gold, and the ghost of her feline godfather.
Dearest
Friday Woodcutter, with her loving heart as big as the moon, is the perfect person to assemble the refugee children left in Arilland in the wake of the ocean that split the world. At which point she stumbles upon a cursed serving girl and her seven swan brothers, who realize that Friday is the perfect person to help them break the spell…
Tales of Arilland
In the fairy tale realm of Arilland, stories are told at children’s bedsides—and not the stories you think you know. (2015 Gelett Burgess Award)
Trix and the Faerie Queen
With the help of his gilded companion and her ghost-cat godfather, Trix Woodcutter must befriend a mischievous leprechaun, best a wolf, and journey into the depths of Faerie to restore order and free the fey magic before the imbalance destroys the world.
Haven, Kansas
Beauty & Dynamite
Wild & Wishful, Dark & Dreaming
Diary of a Mad Scientist Garden Gnome
The Dark-Hunter Companion (w/Sherrilyn Kenyon)
AlphaOops: The Day Z Went First
AlphaOops: H is for Halloween
The Wonderland Alphabet
Elemental (editor)
Want to know when Alethea has a new book out? Sign up for the newsletter! http://eepurl.com/YSmS1
Barefoot Bay: Fish Out of Water (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 10