As I get bumped by the people dancing next to me, I glance toward Ashe’s table, where he and Cora engage in a heated discussion, rendering them too busy to notice. Or they’re trying hard not to. It doesn’t matter. I meant what I said to Grady—they no longer have power over me. I feel free to be me. Free to love Grady. Free to be loved by him, too.

As the song trails to its gentle end, Grady switches seamlessly into the mellow bounce of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity.” Grady laughs sheepishly as the audience recognizes it.

“It was high school,” he shrugs.

Luke takes over the vocals, and the audience chimes in for the chorus. I like the way you work it. No diggity. I giggle like a middle schooler at a Taylor Swift concert, especially when Grady’s eyes find mine when he sings, “She’s a perfect ten.”

Everyone laughs while I blush. The crowd coos and cheers as they dance.

As that song ends, Grady switches to Tupac’s “Changes.” Luke is surprisingly deft at rapping—his voice pairs perfectly with Grady’s elaborate piano work.

And the crowd goes wild for it—it’s no longer a restaurant but a concert. “That’s just the way it is… Things will never be the same.”

“Excuse me!” Cora’s irritated voice again draws my attention as she pushes through the crowd with her party behind her. They’re leaving—their table sits empty, their drinks abandoned.

My smile widens, shifting my eyes back to Grady.

The song changes again, slowly. “Last one before the real band takes over,” he says. “Come here, Marina.”

I hesitate, but the crowd pushes me up there, cheering me on as I go. He takes my hand, pulling me around the instruments until I’m beside him. From this vantage point, I spot Wade, Christie, and Roy at the bar’s end, beaming at us and cheering louder than anyone.

“Help me get her to say yes to a second date, huh?” he grins, instigating the crowd as he starts playing “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls. I match his slow swaying beside him, my arm drifting naturally around his waist.

His fingers bang the keys. The crowd dances, lifting their drinks. It’s a celebration.

The song switches midway, transitioning perfectly into “Slide.”

I wanna wake up where you are… I won’t say anything at all… So, why don’t you slide?

His words fade, and the song transitions again into “Better Days”—a Goo Goo Dolls compilation that somehow makes sense though they’re three different songs.

‘Cause tonight’s the night the world begins again.

The words hit home as I stand beside the man I want to Super glue to my side for the rest of eternity. Tonight feels like a new start, a new world, a better us now that we’ve let each other in.