I suppress a laugh as her eyes comb over me.
“I’m jealous,” she continues. “You don’t have to worry about flashing an arena.”
“True.” I take a few steps toward her. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t find a way to embarrass myself.”
She gives me half a smile and starts to back away from me. “Well, you’ve made it this far. You must’ve done a few things right.” She turns around and reaches for a guitar case propped against the wall. I don’t remember seeing it before.
“Whose is that?”
“Yours,” she says before placing it in my hands. “It was delivered to me with strict instructions to make sure it got safely to you.”
I’m confused. I take the case from her and set it on the vanity in front of the mirrors. Popping the latches, I open the lid to a familiar sight.
“No way,” I breathe as I stare at the Fender. It’s Latson’s. The same guitar he let me play the night of Dean’s show. There’s a folded piece of notebook paper tucked in the strings, and I wiggle it free.
So we can be on stage together.
She’s yours now. I know you’ll take good care of her.
You’ve got this, Little Bird. Knock ‘em dead.
– Latson
I’m speechless. His gift is unexpected and over the top. Slowly, I run my fingers over the strings.
“Do you like it?” Ariel asks.
“Very much.”
“Then it looks like my job here is done. I’ll leave you two to get acquainted.”
“Thank you.” I meet her eyes. “You didn’t have to be Latson’s delivery service.”
She smiles. “He thought if he sent it to Dean you might accidentally see it and ruin the surprise.”
“I don’t ruin surprises,” Dean’s voice sounds as he enters the room. “Ariel. How in the hell are ya?”
She opens her arms wide and squeals. “C’mere! I need hugs!”
Dean wraps her tiny frame in his big arms. “Thank you so much for this. We’ll make you look good, I promise.”
“No worries. When that Australian boy band canceled I knew who I wanted to open for me.” She steps out of his embrace and hangs on to his hands. “I’m so glad you’re here! It’s almost like old times.”
As the two of them reconnect, Paul appears by my side with his bass. “Hey. You want me to help you tune that thing?” His eyes dart to the Fender.
“Yeah.” I lift it out of the case. I swear the air around me changes the moment I slide the strap over my head. I position my fingers on the strings and Paul strums an E. With his tone as a reference, I strum the same note and then adjust the tuner. We go through all six strings and play the beginning of our opening number for good measure.
“Sounds good,” Ariel says. “I’ll be watching you guys.” She starts to leave, but stops. “Oh, and I’ll see you after the show. You’re coming, right? Never mind. I just made it mandatory. I’m at the Ritz. In the penthouse.” She gives us two thumbs up before disappearing out the door.
“After party?” I ask the guys.
Drew stops doing push-ups and wags his eyebrows. “Oh, yeah.”
Why is he on the floor? “What are you doing?”
“Pre-show ritual,” he huffs. “Gotta get the blood flowing.”
Good to know.
I run my hand over the smooth face of my new guitar before I decide to give Latson a call. I want to let him know I got his gift. It’s unbelievable, and he shouldn’t have done it. I no more than tap his name on the phone when headset guy returns for a third time. He must get exhausted running back and forth all night.
“D.U. The stage is ready when you are.”
I swallow and hang up.
“Okay.” Dean looks at us. “Ready?”
Drew gets to his feet, and Paul slams the last of his Red Bull. They both walk toward Dean, so I do the same. We end up standing in a circle, and Dean puts his fist in the middle. Paul follows suit and so does Drew. I place my fist in last. It looks small next to the others.
“Tonight is the beginning of something I thought I’d never see,” Dean says. “I wasn’t sure I’d set foot on a tour again, let alone one this big. You all made that possible. We’ve put in the hours and we’ve practiced our asses off. Now, there’s only one thing left to do.” He looks each one of us in the eye. “Go out there and kill it.”
“Hell yeah!” Paul pumps his fist in the air.
“Kill it!” Drew does the same.
“Let’s do this!” Dean says with the most excitement I’ve ever seen from him. He high-fives me, and then we file out the door.
When we get to the side of the stage, the place is swarming with crew. They descend upon us, attaching receiver packs to the backs of our clothing and helping us place our ear piece monitors. Dean and Paul are given their guitars, and another crew member tries to hand me mine until he sees the Fender in my hands.
“Change of plans?” he asks.
“Yes. Sorry. Is it a problem?”
“Nope. Here.” He hands me a few extra picks, and I slide them into my back pocket. “You’re all set.”
I give him a nod of thanks and suddenly Roxanne is in my face. “Nervous?”
“A little bit, yeah.”
“Well, snap out of it. You’re stepping on stage in less time than it takes to pour a cup of coffee.”
My expression twists. “Gee. Thanks for the pep talk, coach.”
She gives me the first genuine smile I’ve ever received from her. “You don’t need any talk from me. I saw the effect you had on that girl at the meet and greet. I don’t know what you said to her, but she was grinning from ear to ear. I like it.” She leans closer. “Now go out there and show the boys how it’s done.”
I’m starting to like Rox a little more now.
Drew walks on to the darkened stage and I go with him. I find my place and plug into the sound system as he gets settled behind his kit. Paul joins us, and my eyes catch the first arena audience I’ve ever seen.
Now would be a good time to remember how to breathe.
My hand clutches the neck of my guitar as I stare. I can see the arena isn’t full by any means; however, a lot of people have found their seats. Other concert-goers wander the aisles trying to find their section and, closer to the stage, I see people returning to their friends carrying plastic cups. Drew hits the bass drum a few times and does a quick fill, testing the sound of his equipment. This gets the attention of the audience and, realizing something is about to happen, a small cheer erupts. The sound sends chills down my spine.
Paul gets my attention from across the stage. He tests a few chords, and I respond back on the Fender. Satisfied with the sound coming through the amps, he starts the bass line that will weave into our first song. In this big space, with this many speakers, you can almost see the notes vibrate through the air. On his cue, Drew jumps into the mix, pounding the drums in a familiar rhythm. Each hit resonates deep in my chest and I close my eyes, listening until the hair on the back of neck stands on end. It’s time for me to add the hook.
Taking a deep breath, I think of Latson and his faith in me. I think of Oliver, my brother, Jules, and everything that’s brought me here. I open my eyes and see Dean standing at the side of the stage, ready to make his entrance. I strike my first note.
And find absolute heaven.
~~~~
“Break free of the bonds
Break free of the chains
Own the blood
That runs through your veins
Love’s bigger than you
And it’s bigger than me
We’re breaking free, baby
We’re breaking free.”
I finish singing the chorus with Dean. “Breaking Free” is the last song of our set. As the final notes of our instruments fade, Dean sings the ending lines solo:
“There’s so much more out there to see