Distance

chapter eight

Pictured: Carter's outfit (wearing Selena's jacket) with those trainers instead of the boots, and Selena's dress!

COUTURE Fashion Venue
8:30 pm
Selena's POV

So far, everything was going smoothly at the show. I'd already rounded up the models and gotten them to hair and makeup, their dressing areas were set up with all of their clothing in order of appearance.

I was wearing the gold dress that Beth picked from my collection, a pair of (fake) diamond earrings and the same heels I wore to Carter's concert. And Beth insisted I wear black lacy lingerie underneath, just in case "I meet a cute guy or Carter finally realizes he's madly in love with me." I doubted either of the two would happen, but she guaranteed me they were equally possible scenarios.

Some of the smaller artists that we had booked for the pre-show had already performed. The crowd liked them but they were antsy to see not only the fashion show, but the bigger names we had performing—which included Carter. He was up next.

I sat at the end of the runway with Scarlet, watching the show. I had a headset on in case of any problems backstage, but my boss was allowing me to watch the performers until I had to go back and get everything running.

I heard the intro to one of Carter's most popular songs, one of the singles that was released to promote his upcoming album. I smiled to myself as he came out on stage, the crowd erupting in cheers. Women screamed and the men cheered, clapping for him as he began singing.

He was wearing my jacket, with a white hoodie underneath and a pair of ripped black jeans. He wore white and black trainers and his black hair was growing out, some of it covering his forehead in waves.

Carter had his fair share of sappy romantic songs, but he also had a few R&B songs that were kind of sexy. The best I could describe his genre was a mix of Justin Bieber, Khalid and The Weeknd. Girls loved his music and guys did too.

This was one of his sexy songs, and he kept singing at girls in the audience and winking at them, which made me laugh to myself. It was weird seeing Carter perform; it was like a beautiful sex god took over his body.

As Carter continued to perform, he'd steal glances at me and smile, especially during his slower, more romantic songs. I blushed every time we made eye contact, and I don't think my smile ever left my face.

Towards the end of his set, one of the stage managers brought out Carter's guitar. In the past few years he hadn't played on stage, and instead had a band. But as his band began packing up, Carter sat on a stool and started speaking to the crowd.

"How's everybody doing tonight?" He asked with a huge smile, looking around as people whooped and hollered.

"I've got something new for all of you, but really it's for one person in particular," he said to the crowd, laughing as he heard a few "ooohs," the crowd automatically assuming it was for a romantic partner.

"When I left my hometown, I left a lot of people behind with it. I lost touch with one of the people who meant the world to me," he said as his voice got serious, his eyes finding mine. "I can tell you it was definitely all my fault, but I can't tell you how much I regret it, because I don't think any words could represent that feeling."

The crowd was silent, some listening to his words while others were whispering to each other. I smiled slightly at Carter, urging him to go on.

"This girl was my best friend, my partner in everything," he explained, tuning his guitar in the process. "And so, a few months back when I was scheduling my tour dates, I called up this girl's mom. And I asked her where her daughter was and how could I possibly get her to see me."