Meant to Marry Me

Having gotten a text from Trent that he was at the hotel, Bree rushed back from the outing with the rest of her band, catching a ride from the grounds of the Gateway Arch, which she hadn't wanted to see without Trent anyway. She practically ran through the hotel doors to the elevator, wishing the little lights would drop faster and the lift would arrive so she could make it up to her room and see him at last.

It hadn't even been that long since she'd left home, but with everything that had gone on with Zach--and Cat--she wanted to throw herself into Trent's arms and kiss him. Her lips felt odd having not touched his more recently than someone else's.

She'd left him a key card at the front desk so that he could go straight into the room. By the time she got to the door, she was out of breath. Rather than digging her own key card out of her pocket, she knocked.

He opened it immediately, and she flung herself into his chest. After a moment of surprise, Trent wrapped his arms around her. "Hello, gorgeous."

"Hi, baby," Bree said before she found his lips. The door swung closed behind her, and she began backing him to the bed, not able to control herself. It seemed like it had been months since she'd seen him, not hours, and she wanted to make sure he fully understood how much she loved him and how much he meant to her.

Trent didn't hesitate at all to reciprocate as they began to peel each other's clothing off and fall into the bed together. Bree lost all track of time as she made love to the man who'd stolen her heart. Being with him was just as special now as it had been the first time, maybe more so since their relationship had grown, and she needed the reassurance that nothing--and no one-- was ever going to come between them.

Later, lying on his chest, running her fingers through the soft hair there she relished the feel of his arm around her. "I'm so glad you're here," she said in a drowsy voice.

"I could tell," Trent replied, kissing the top of her head. "How was your trip to the zoo?"

"It was good. We saw a lot of cool animals. We had lunch, and then we headed over to the arch, even though I didn't want to go. I wanted to wait to see that with you." "That's okay. We can go back if you want, or go somewhere else."

"I left before we went up inside," she said, looking up at him. "I'd like to go do that with you tomorrow, if you want."

"Sure." He brushed the hair away from her eyes. "So... Zach called me today."

Surprised, Bree leaned up, staring at him for a moment before she settled onto her propped palm. "He did? How did he even get your number?"

"I don't know," Trent said with a shrug. "I was wondering if maybe you knew."

She tried to think. "We did fill out an emergency contact form to give to the bus driver. Maybe he got it from him."

"Maybe. Anyway, I was pretty surprised to get his call."

"What did he want?" She felt goosebumps erupting on her arms as she contemplated what he might say. She hoped it had been a friendly call and nothing hostile.

Trent cleared his throat. "He called to apologize," he told her. "Zach said he was sorry about what happened and wanted to reach out to me before I got here to confront him about it." Bree was stunned. It took a big man to do something like that. She knew Zach was a good guy--most of the time, anyway--but she hadn't expected that. "Well, what did you say?"

"I said I wanted to punch him in the face," Trent admitted. "But I appreciated the phone call."

"Are you going to punch him?" she asked.

Trent shook his head. "Probably not this time. If he ever does it again, I will."

"I don't think you have to worry about that. He didn't come with us today. I have a feeling this weekend will be it for Zach in our band. He said he was too sick to come to the zoo, but I think he just wants to distance himself from us." "I'm so sorry, Bree," Trent said, brushing her hair back. She could tell he meant it. "I know how much you like playing music with him."

"I really do. It's too bad things didn't go differently. I wish he would've met some other girl and fallen in love with her so that he could stay in the band and not have to worry about me."

"What about Cat?" Trent asked.

Bree scoffed. "Cat has done nothing but stir up trouble. Chase and I were talking about the possibility of replacing her. She tried to convince me it was okay to have a 'side piece.""

"Say what now?" That got his attention. Trent's eyes widened. "She said that to you?"

"Yes, yes she did. More than once."

He shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. "Well, I'm not a fan of hers anymore. Not that I necessarily was to begin with."

"Yeah. So... I don't know. I guess my perfect band is crumbling before my eyes."

Pulling her close, Trent kissed her forehead, and Bree sucked in a deep breath, hoping eventually, she'd get back to that feeling she'd had on the first night they'd played together, which wasn't too long ago but seemed like a hundred years in the past. She'd have to figure something out soon or else all of this hard work would be for nothing and their touring plans would fall apart before they even got off of the ground.