Meant to Marry Me

The butterflies in her stomach were the kind Bree relished, the kind that gave her fuel. The roadies were done switching out their equipment, and now, all she had to do was wait for her band to be introduced, and she'd finally be taking the stage again.

"Are you ready?" Shawna whispered in her ear, a huge smile on her face.

"So ready," Bree replied, smiling and squeezing her keyboardist's hand. She'd gotten lucky earlier. As the bands crossed paths, Sam had said hello and nothing more to her, so she hadn't had to attempt to chat with him. The rest of the two groups had exchanged compliments and words of encouragement when Back Roads had come off from their set. There'd been a round of congratulatory statements, like, "nice set," and, "well done." Jim and the others had said, "Good luck," that sort of thing, and then the opening band had headed to the green room. Now, Bree could concentrate on going on stage and playing the best set of her life.

She'd gotten a text from Christy earlier that she'd arrived, which was also exciting, even though she hadn't made it backstage before the show. After the concert was over, Christy would meet her backstage. She was excited to catch up with her friend. She hadn't seen her for so long. All of her excitement mingled together in Bree's belly, making it difficult to stand still. Thank goodness she wouldn't have to for much longer.

The owner of the club himself, Merv Stonewall, took the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present to you a real treat tonight. We are so lucky that this young gal has decided to make her return to music after a few months of medical hiatus on this here very stage. Please put your hands together and help me welcome Bree Matthews and her band!"

The crowd went wild with applause, sending a rush of adrenaline through Bree's veins. Normally, she would be the last member of the band to come on stage, but she couldn't wait any longer. She half-ran, half-skipped herself onto stage, waving as she made her way to the microphone. Tonight's show was going to be the best ever, and she couldn't wait to get the music started.

"How are y'all tonight, Nashville!" she shouted as she pulled the microphone from its stand, pumping her free arm into the air and then waving. The crowd was so large, she couldn't even see them all. The bright lights illuminated the first few rows of cheering fans, but beyond that, it was a black haze. Everyone was on their feet, though, the tables interspersed along the sides of the club holding drinks but their chairs useless at the moment. "Are y'all ready to hear some more music?"

Each of her questions were answered with a resounding cheer, which got Bree's heart beating even harder. "All right then! Let's do this!" She turned to make sure all of her bandmates were ready. Seeing that everyone was in place, she raised the microphone again, and banging on her leg for emphasis, she shouted, "One, two, one, two, three, four!" and the band launched into the first song on the playlist.

It was one of her more popular songs, one they'd released a few weeks ago in preparation for the tour, though not the most popular. That was still "Meant to Marry Me." This one, "Last Forever," was another song she'd written for Trent right after he'd asked her to marry him. As soon as the familiar melody hit the ears of the people in the crowd, another cheer went home. Bree couldn't contain her smile. She wasn't surprised at all that thousands of voices lifted along with hers as she began to sing.

Bree closed her eyes, raising the microphone to her lips, and losing herself in the lyrics. When she reached the refrain, even more people joined in.

"They might say never say never, but our love will last forever.

No one, nothing, no how will tear us apart.

Now that we're finally together, I know our love will last forever.

No one else will ever have my heart.

Nothing can ever sever our love.

We're meant to be together, my love.

You and I will last forever."

By the time she reached the end of the song, Bree was completely immersed in the music. The song changed, and she opened her eyes, moving right along with the rest of the band into the next song. The crowd cheered loudly as they recognized the new tune, and Bree encouraged them to clap their hands to the fast-paced beat.

The show went so well, Bree couldn't remember ever having been nervous, she was so caught up in the emotions of the crowd, the music, the beat, everything that reminded her of why she loved this life so much. By the time they reached the end of the playlist, with only "Meant to Marry Me" left as an encore, she wasn't ready to go. She was looking forward to visiting with Christy, but if she could stay on the stage and sing for another two hours, she would happily do so. At the end of the song, Bree thanked everyone for coming, waved, and made her way off stage, listening to the cheers, clapping, and shouts of "Encore!" Everyone in the band was so happy, they congratulated each other, giving high-fives and hugs as they huddled off stage, waiting a few moments to go back on. Sometimes in the past, they had done two encores, but the crowd would know there'd only be one encore song tonight as soon as they started playing their most famous song.

"That was awesome!" Zach said, pulling Bree close. "I think that was the best set we ever played!"

"I agree!" Bree said, hugging him back. She turned to the rest of the band. "You guys are so amazing! I couldn't have a better band!"

"That was the most fun I've ever had in my life!" Shawna exclaimed. This was only the second live show she'd ever done, since she'd just joined the band right before Bree's incident.

"Think they've waited long enough?" Dominic asked.

"I know I have!" Bree was ready to get back out there. She could tell by the rest of the musicians' faces that they were ready as well. This time, she let the rest of them go back out first and get set before she took a deep breath and followed them out. She wasn't nervous--she was sad. After she sang this song, she'd be done for the night, and she wasn't ready to end the show just yet. But... she did want to visit with Christy. And she wanted to get home and see how Trent's night had gone.

When she walked back over to the microphone, the crowd started cheering again, and when she took the microphone out of its stand and said, "This song's called, 'Meant to Marry Me," the place went wild. The band started playing, and Bree poured her heart into every word, concentrating on the man she loved so much and everything the song meant to her. When it was over, she thanked the crowd again. "Be safe driving home, folks!" she shouted, waving at everyone and then slowly walked off of the stage, still wishing she didn't have to go.

A sense of sadness and longing washed over her as she followed the others backstage. But then she saw Christy's familiar face off in the distance, over by the side entrance to the backstage area. And Christy wasn't alone. Bree could hardly believe her eyes! Not only was her dear friend from high school there--she'd brought another friend from all those years ago. "Christy!" Bree shouted, breaking through the crowd and running toward her. "Hank!"

"Surprise!" her burly friend said, catching her in his arms. "Hope you don't mind me tagging along."

Bree wasn't sure what to say. She was so happy to see Hank--but Trent might not have been. Of course, Trent wasn't there. She hugged Hank tight. "Of course. It's great to see you." As soon as he let her go, she hugged Christy. "Both of you." Hank looked relieved to see that she wasn't upset at him. The funny thing was, she never had been. Perhaps she should've been angry that he'd been sleeping with Trent's fiancée. Really, what kind of a best friend did that sort of thing? Maybe it was because Hank had told her he was in love with Monica before she even knew that Trent was dating her. Or maybe it was the fact that Hank had done her a favor in sleeping with Monica since that had ultimately been what had caused Trent and Monica to break up. Either way, she wasn't angry with him at all and was so glad to see him. She had a feeling Trent wouldn't feel the same way, though.

As if reading her mind, he asked, "Is Trent not here? We didn't see him."

"No, he had an award ceremony tonight," she said quickly, not wanting to think about how badly she wished he had been able to come. "Do you guys want to chat in the green room, or would you rather go somewhere else?" "The bar's still open," Christy said, always looking for another drink. "Although, I guess you might get swamped by fans if you try to go out there."

Bree turned and looked through a slit in the curtain that showed how many people were still hanging out in the bar. There were a lot of them. "Yeah, probably not the best idea." She turned back to look at her friends. "But we could go to a different bar, maybe not a country bar."

"Sounds good to me. I've had enough country music for one night." Christy blew out a hot breath and then realized what she'd said. "I mean... your show was great. It was just... everything else."

Bree bit back a laugh. She knew how Christy felt about her genre of choice. "Let me get my handbag and call an Uber."

"I got it," Christy said, her phone already in her hand. "I am the queen of rideshare."

Knowing that to be true, Bree headed back to the greenroom to get her bag and tell the rest of the band she'd be finding a different way home. She walked inside and almost ran into Sam as he was coming back out into the hallway. The sound that came out of her mouth was a cross between a sheep's bleat and a scream of terror.

"Sorry," Sam said as they danced around each other. "I... uh...." He didn't sound like a frightened lamb, but he seemed just as surprised to see her as she was to see him. "The show was great," he managed as she stepped around him. "Thanks," Bree said, glad that Christy and Hank were standing right outside the open door. "So was yours."

"Yeah. Uh... thanks." Sam ran a hand through his hair. He had that look on his face that told her he wanted to say more but not with other people around. Zach and Shawna were further inside of the green room, chatting with a few people from Sam's band, so they wouldn't have been alone even if Christy and Hank weren't standing there, but Sam looked caught between what he thought he was supposed to do and what he wanted to do.

Deciding there was no point in staring at him as he fought for words, Bree crossed to the place where she'd stashed her things earlier and pulled her bag out. "I'm going out with some friends," she called to Zach, whose eyebrows immediately raised. She realized he might've somehow got the impression she meant Sam since he couldn't see Christy and Hank from where he was standing. "Christy and Hank are waiting for me."

She saw the muscles in Zach's face relax. "Okay. Have fun. Be careful. Don't miss your curfew," Zach joked.

Bree laughed, looping her bag over her shoulder. "See y'all later." She waved in a general direction, including the people from the other band in the gesture, and headed back to the door to see Sam still standing in her way.

It was her turn to arch an eyebrow. "See you, Sam," she said, not meeting his eyes.

"Yep. Yeah," he said, awkwardly. She walked past him, noting Christy and Hank both looked confused.

"Bree?" Sam called behind her, still in the room, though the door was open.

Silently wishing it would've slammed shut behind her, Bree turned. "Yes?"

"Uh... it was nice to see you."

"Yep," Bree said with a quick nod, not meaning it at all. Not even a little bit. She spun around on her heel and gave Christy a look that her friend would know anywhere. It was time to go.

"Car's waiting," Christy said, flashing a smile at Bree and then giving Sam a look over Bree's head that would've made anyone think twice about following. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Bree muttered. She slid her arm through Hank's and headed toward the exit, wondering how such a good night could get so weird so quickly.